NFL Week 2

Sunday

Redskins 29, Saints 24 -- Recap | Box
Panthers 20, Bears 17 -- Recap | Box
Giants 41, Rams 13 -- Recap |

With Philly's complete domination of the Rams and the Cowboys' win over the Browns in Week 1, the game is a little more tantalizing than the last time these two teams faced off at Texas Stadium. Besides, my editor strongly suggested I preview this game, which means I'm previewing it in this week's film study.

Last season was really a "Can we do it over?" year for the Eagles with the lone bright spot being a win over the Cowboys on the road. The game didn't have its usual luster as the Eagles pulled into Dallas sporting a 5-8 record. Meanwhile, the Cowboys looked like the NFL's Ivan Drago at 12-1. But Philadelphia threw some blitzes and coverages at Tony Romo, perplexing him enough to intercept him three times and sack him four. Center Andre Gurodes' creative snaps in the Cowboys' shotgun formation only helped the Eagles dominate.

Week 2 of Monday Night Football probably will come down to the Eagles front seven, particularly their pass rush, against the Cowboys offensive line. Pass protection will be huge, which is something Scott Linehan and the Rams left at the hotel last Sunday. Protecting Marc Bulger and converting third downs were a couple of tasks the Rams didn't accomplish against the Eagles, who blitzed on 16 of 30 passing downs, getting to Bulger four times while hurrying him four more.

As Rams.com writer Nick Wagoner said, "The long third downs might as well have been an open invitation for Philadelphia defensive coordinator Jim Johnson to let his blitz happy imagination run wild."

It wasn't all about being romantically involved with blitzing, however. Defensive linemen Trent Cole, Brodrick Bunkley, Juqua Parker, Mike Patterson and Darren Howard all made plays, controlling the line of scrimmage and neutralizing Steven Jackson — so much so that St. Louis gained a measly 166 yards of total offense. Don't worry, the Rams made up for it by not converting a third down all game — as in 0-11. Yikes.

But that was the Rams, this is the Cowboys. In this week's film study, we look at the Dallas offense, and how it operated through the dominance of play-calling and its offensive line.

Film study

Dallas' opening drive versus Cleveland last week gave a strong indication of what to expect for the rest of the game and perhaps the rest of the season.

After the Browns punted on their first possession, Tony Romo and the Cowboy offense come out throwing on first down from the 20.

Cleveland, playing out of a 3-4 base defense, only rushes four. The Cowboys offensive line picks up linebacker Willie McGinest and the three down lineman easily, giving Romo plenty of time to hit Marion Barber over the middle for four yards. Innocent enough.

On second-and-six, the Cowboys line up strong right with two tight ends: Jason Witten and third stringer Tony Curtis (great actor by the way). Offensive coordinator Jason Garrett calls a pitch right to Barber, directly into the teeth of eight men in the box. Receiver Patrick Crayton, lined up right, goes in motion to the left side of the field to pull his defender away from the point of attack. The right side of the line, guard Leonard Davis and tackle Marc Colombo, pull to lead Barber. At one point, Browns corner Eric Wright sees 700 pounds headed his way. Wright goes a buck-90, and the 'Boys pick up 14 yards.

Barber is stuffed at the line on the next play. But while the two running plays gain virtually nothing, the Cowboys have established the threat of the ground game. Being forced to respect the run means that new defensive line acquisitions Corey Williams and Rogers can't just go after the quarterback. The one chance the Browns have on this possession to stop the vaunted Dallas offense comes on the next play.

Third-and-nine from the 21-yard line. The situation clearly favors the defense as a pass is surely expected. The Cowboys trot four receivers wide with Witten lined up in the left slot. Terrell Owens is slot-right with nickel corner Terry Cousin lined up over him.

Defensive coordinator Mel Tucker blitzes a linebacker and Cousin, leaving Owens to run free. Romo reads the safety moving up to fill the zone vacated by Cousin, pivots left, and hits Witten running past linebacker Leon Williams. Forget it, 19 yards, first down.

NFL on FOX analyst Troy Aikman points out Barber stepping up to hit Cousin. With the defensive line not even getting a push, the blitzers have to get to Romo. The block by Barber allows that play to work, which brings to memory the Vikings' Adrian Peterson asking Emmitt Smith what he should work on to be a great player. Without hesitation Smith says, "Pass protection."

A former teammate of Smith's, Flozell Adams, false starts to make it first-and-15, but once again, the defense can't capitalize. Sending eight guys back in coverage, the Browns give Romo all day to hit Owens for 12 yards. Replays show Romo cooking spinach lasagna as he waited for Owens to run all the way across the field, cruising past two defenders, before letting it fly.

Nothing is working for the Browns. On second-and three, safety Mike Adams blitzes. The Cowboys offensive line picks him up, going hat-on-hat with each of the five pass rushers. Witten slips into the zone Adams left, collecting another 20 yards.

Barber gets the call again on first down from the Browns' 11. While the run defense has done its job, particularly Rogers, Garrett continues to be patient using the threat of the run to open up the pass.

On the next play, Romo goes play-action, with seemingly 90 seconds to find Witten at the 1-yard line to set up first-and-goal. The pass rush is non-existent as Adams, Colombo, Davis, left guard Cory Procter and center Andre Gurode are doing their jobs.

The Cowboys punch it in with Barber, going up 7-0. Garrett's unit would move at will the rest of the day, piling up nearly 500 yards of offense in the 28-10 victory. You can put all themes about Romo and his girlfriend, Owens' persona, and "Hard Knocks" aside. This was all about the O-line doing its job, setting the tone for the rest of the game and, perhaps, the season.

What I learned

Short and sweet: Johnson can blitz the Cowboys all he wants, but he must mask who's coming and from where. It's the quality, not the quantity, which I'm sure Johnson understands as well as anyone.

Last year was Garrett's first year as an OC, so he will be better prepared this time. If Romo and Gurode can determine where blitzes are coming from pre-snap, the Eagles are not talented enough up front to beat the massive offensive line.

Pick: Cowboys

Odds and ends