IRVING – Surrounded by TV cameras the other day at Valley Ranch, Cowboys
safety Roy Williams squirmed like a 3-year-old in church.
But the following question appeared to rouse Williams from his
media-induced stupor:
"So why haven't you guys been blitzing?"
A suddenly animated Williams warned the Redskins to protect against the
blitz – or else.
"If they don't," Williams said. "We're going to be in the backfield the
whole game."
That's a place the Cowboys haven't spent much time lately. In the first
meeting between the two teams, Dallas used the blitz to sack quarterback
Patrick Ramsey four times and hold the Redskins to 124 yards passing.
|
|
Lawrence Jenkins / DMN
Roy Williams and the Cowboys used blitzes to sack Redskins
quarterback Patrick Ramsey four times in the teams' first
game. Since then, blitzing has not been as effective.
|
|
But in two straight losses, the Cowboys have all but abandoned the
blitz. Even though Bill Parcells has never been a strong believer in the
blitz, he and defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer used it liberally early
in the season.
But a loss at New England on Nov. 16 exposed the Cowboys' blitz for the
first time. Rookie cornerback Terence Newman got turned around on a
couple of jump balls from Patriots quarterback Tom Brady against the
blitz.
Now, opposing teams are finding several ways to beat the blitz. The
Dolphins and Eagles kept Dallas out of blitzing situations because of
their ability to get rid of the ball quickly to running backs in
one-on-one matchups against linebackers.
Cowboys linebacker Al Singleton said the defense wasn't able to blitz
against the Eagles last Sunday because they were using quick passing
routes across the middle in which receivers were picking for each other.
In recent weeks, even coach Steve Spurrier's devil-may-care Redskins are
using running backs and tight ends to protect quarterback Tim
Hasselbeck, who has replaced an injured Ramsey as the starter. The
Redskins, who were using seven-step drops with Ramsey, are now using
shorter drops with Hasselbeck.
"It was obvious the Cowboys did something to us that we weren't able to
handle at that point," Hasselbeck said of the teams' first game. "We
feel that we're better at picking up the blitz. We're better at getting
the ball out of our hands."
Parcells didn't use the blitz very often when he was coaching the Giants
because he didn't have to. New York could line up in its base defense
and overpower teams.
The Cowboys can't generate a constant pass rush with its defensive line
like the Giants could, and that's why Parcells used the blitz early in
the season.
Solid play by cornerbacks Terence Newman and Mario Edwards gave the
Cowboys enough flexibility to blitz linebackers and safeties. But after
Miami and the Eagles successfully took shots downfield against Edwards,
the Cowboys had to back away from the blitz.
"You can't just indiscriminately blitz all the time," Parcells said. "It
will kill you. We have taken a lot of chances to try to create, and it
has helped us. But you know, you got to be careful, because they scout
you pretty well on that stuff now. You wind up gambling at the wrong
time."
The lack of a consistent blitz has also seemed to lessen the impact that
the hard-hitting Williams has on games. Forced to stay back in coverage,
the 235-pound Williams has looked slow against receivers such as Miami's
Chris Chambers.
In the first game against Washington, Williams lined up near the line of
scrimmage and battered Ramsey. Now, he's hoping to give Hasselbeck the
same treatment.
The Cowboys have certainly reaped the rewards of the blitz this season.
But recently, they've only seen the downside.
E-mail mmosley@dallasnews.com
