IRVING, Texas - There's a not-so-subtle difference between what the Cowboys did defensively in their best performance of the season, in a 13-9 win over Tampa Bay, and what has happened when the group struggles.
Against Tampa, the Cowboys allowed a season-low 49 yards rushing. With the Buccaneers forced to play a one-dimensional offense in the second half, the Cowboys were able to make enough plays against the pass to win the game. It would help if the defense could get back to playing so well against the run, because the Cowboys are 5-1 when allowing 91 or fewer yards per game on the ground.
In the season's four losses, the Cowboys have allowed an average of 150.3 rushing yards per game. They gave up 200 against the Giants Nov. 2, 190 against St. Louis Oct. 19 and 161 versus Washington Sept. 28. They gave up just 50 yards in the loss to Arizona, where their troubles were mostly related to special teams.
In the season's five wins, the defense has given up an average of just 72.6 yards per game. Wade Phillips says the absence of Tony Romo for the latest three-game stretch has something to do with the recent problems stopping opposing ground games. With Romo out of the lineup, teams were content to wear the Cowboys defense out, instead of having to worry about scoring with a high-powered offense.
"I think the Washington game was really the one that disappointed me the most because we had Romo, we were able to move the ball, and they ran the ball better (anyway)," Phillips said. The other games, it was a different situation . . . Not that Romo plays defense, but some of it is the game itself and whether you're ahead or not, those kinds of things as far as rushing is concerned."
In the short term, the defense could also be helped by the possibility that Washington's top two running backs are banged up. Clinton Portis, who went for over 100 yards in his last two games against Dallas, is nursing a bone bruise and sprained knee, and backup Ladell Betts is coming back from a knee injury of his own.
Portis' availability was estimated at 50 percent by Washington coach Jim Zorn on Monday, and even if he is able to play, the Cowboys have to believe they're catching the Redskins back at a good time.
But one thing's certain, if the Cowboys can't correct some of the problems they have had against hard runners like Portis, Stephen Jackson and Brandon Jacobs, trouble is on the way in the final seven games. Tackling has to improve, and the Cowboys need to be better at getting off blocks. Phillips said the corrections aren't always so simple.
"We work on a lot of things as far as run defense is concerned and it has to do with personnel, it has to do with schemes, it has to do with techniques that we're running," the coach said. "We try to refine those and get better all the time."
Cowboys Work Out Six
With the Cowboys players enjoying their fourth day off out of five, the team's scouting department was doing its due diligence by bringing in six free agents for workouts. No transactions are currently planned.
Though the auditions were essentially just a free look-see in the event the team decides to make a move, the fact that all six players were on the defensive side of the ball, and four were defensive backs, speaks to an evident depth problem there.
Two safeties brought in have notable NFL experience. Former Raider Stuart Schweigert was a third-round pick of Oakland back in 2004 and started 42 games there while tallying 315 tackles. He spent the preseason with the New York Giants but was released on the final roster reduction date of the summer. Also brought in was former Florida State safety Jerome Carter, a fourth-round pick of St. Louis in 2005. He started three games in three years with the Rams.
Defensive backs Curome Cox, most recently with the Saints organization, and Michael Hawkins were also brought in. Hawkins, an Oklahoma product, is a native of nearby Carrollton, Texas and has spent two stretches with the Cowboys' arena league affiliate, the Dallas Desperados.
The Cowboys also brought in linebackers Victor Hobson and David McMillan. Hobson started most of the last four seasons for the New York Jets. He was New York's second-round pick in 2003 and totaled 343 tackles and 11 sacks there. McMillan played in 29 games with the Cleveland Browns over the last three years, mostly on special teams.
T.O. Takes Manhattan
Just more than a week after his team's 35-14 drubbing at the hand of the New York Giants, Cowboys receiver Terrell Owens was back in the Big Apple on Tuesday to promote his fitness book.
Owens is expected to make a cameo on "The Late Show with David Letterman" Tuesday night to assist with the nightly Top 10 list. He also stopped by the Sports Museum of America in Lower Manhattan, signing copies of his fourth book, "T.O.'s Finding Fitness: Making the Mind, Body and Spirit Connection for Total Health."
Also available at the book signing were the line of signature t-shirts Owens has popularized around the Cowboys locker room.
Short Shots
A loss to Washington would give the Cowboys three straight defeats at the hands of their rival, which would be the longest streak the Redskins have had in the series since their four-game advantage between Nov. 23, 1986 and Oct. 9, 1988 . . . Dating back to the Redskins snapping the Cowboys' 10-game streak at the end of the 2002 season, the series is even at 6-6.
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