|
(Editor's Note: Each day we will take the 2 best questions for our staff writers to answer from the Mailbag. "Click here" to email questions now.)
JORGE NEGRETE - DONNA, TX: I love the way the secondary has been playing the last few games! They have been a physical, hard-hitting turnover machine as of late. But the Eagles pose a problem. They are not big receivers, like the Cowboys have been playing - Roddy White, T.J. Houshmandzadeh. They are pretty small and very fast. Will that be a problem for the secondary?
Nick: It very well could be a problem. Jackson has been playing outstanding here of late. Not sure if Steve Smith of Carolina is the same as he always was, but the Cowboys did a good job on him, too. Newman locked him up for most of the game, and Smith is similar in body-type to Jackson. Then again, the Cowboys have been physical against what you just called physical receivers. If they can get physical with the Eagles receivers, then they could pose a few problems for Philadelphia as well.
Josh: To me this one is on the safeties. We've seen the Cowboys play a good deal of single-safety high coverage, putting Ken Hamlin back there and letting Gerald Sensabaugh troll the middle of the field or man up with a tight end, but I don't think that works here. I think you need both guys back deep to take away those long throws to Jackson and Maclin. I think the Cowboys will do a lot of zoning, and hope their pass rush can get there.
Rob: Continuing what Wade Phillips said Monday (cornerbacks needing help on DeSean Jackson), much depends on safeties Ken Hamlin and Gerald Sensabaugh. They've got to provide good support for the corners. And don't forget about the Eagles' leading receiver, tight end Brent Celek. That assignment might go primarily to the linebackers (Bobby Capenter?) if the safeties are playing off.
CHRIS LUSK - BRYANT, AR: What do ya'll think of the Cowboys lining up Marion Barber at fullback and Felix Jones at running back? Seems like they've been showing that a few times each game.
Nick: Yes, I think that's what they should do. A few times a game. Nothing more than that though. Marion Barber is a running back and he needs to play running back most of the time. Occasionally that lineup might work, but I wouldn't want to get used to it.
Josh: Not a bad look in short yardage situations. They've got Barber in there to be able to hammer it into the middle, and can flip it to Jones and let him try and get around the edge. With them both in the game like that the defense can't cheat. It's almost like having the best of both world, but I don't see it as anything but a short yardage set.
Rob: It's fine here and there to make the defense guess who gets the ball. There's some versatility with that package. But full-time, no. Barber is a runner, not a blocker.
| Home | Email | Print | Register for New Alerts | RSS |
|