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Eagles expect Cowboys to make run at improved defense
CULLEN JENKINS believes he will be a busy man Sunday evening.
"Up front, we've got to be real stout," Jenkins, an Eagles defensive tackle, said about this week's home matchup against the Dallas Cowboys.
Like most of his teammates, Jenkins assumes the Cowboys will want to test the Birds' sudden improvement against the run in their win at Washington before the bye. "Any time a team wants to come and they want to power it, you get double-teams and things like that, you gotta be stout. You've got to make sure you're holding up, not letting them get push on you. If you hold the double-teams well, it makes it a lot easier for the linebackers to fit their gaps and flow over."
The Eagles went from 30th in the NFL against the run to their current 23rd on the strength of holding Washington to 42 yards on 14 carries. Before that, opponents were averaging 140 rushing yards per game. The Cowboys weren't a great running team - that was among the problems in a 2-3 start - until rookie DeMarco Murray stormed through the Rams for 253 yards on 25 carries in last week's win, Murray's first extensive action of the season.
"Coming off what Dallas just showed against St. Louis, they've got a lot of momentum with their running, they're real confident in it," Jenkins said. "It's something that they're going to be coming and trying to get against us, especially with how people make it seem, like we can't stop it."
They stopped it in Washington, finally, reining in the "wide nine" on first down and focusing on tackling fundamentals. The Eagles forced Rex Grossman to beat them with his arm and he couldn't. Dallas' Tony Romo has his ups and downs, but he is a more capable quarterback than Grossman, and has a more lethal group of receivers.
Still, with the Eagles' strong group of corners, and their apparently improving safeties, you have to think the ground game is where the Birds have the most to prove. Or, as defensive coordinator Juan Castillo said yesterday, it all starts with the run.
"Once you stop the run, then you go to the second step and have to start taking care of those great skill guys that they have," Castillo said. "But the first thing that we have to do is we have to stop the run."
The Birds will be bolstered by the return of defensive end Trent Cole from a calf injury, which ought to help more than just the pass rush. Cole, unlike some sack specialists, is happy to fight through blocks and sort out a running back.
"Trent, he's crazy on the field," Jenkins said. "He plays the pass the same way as the run. He plays with a lot of energy. He's going to fight, he's going to claw, he's going to get after you. Having him back is going to help us out a lot."
"We've talked about Trent before. He's a special guy, just all of his energy in the huddle," Castillo said. "And then, he plays at a high level. I mean, him and [defensive end] Jason [Babin], it's hard, both of those guys are - you have 100 percent, and then you have Trent Cole and Jason Babin 100 percent. You know, it's different . . . they bring everybody up to their pace."
The things the Eagles did against the Redskins' run game might not work against the Cowboys. Dallas takes a more varied blocking approach, Castillo said.
"The Redskins were basically an outside zone scheme . . . they were pretty good at that because [they run a lot]," Castillo said. "The Cowboys use a little bit of each scheme, so we're having to take time [to study and] we're fortunate we had Monday [an extra practice day after the bye] where we worked on a certain part of their running attack. So we're trying to break down the schemes so we can stop the run."
Jenkins said that while the Redskins ran a lot of stretch plays, the Cowboys tend to go right at the tacklers.
"The Cowboys will hit harder, more downhill running and more power," Jenkins said. "You've just got to be prepared for it."
Several Eagles said the real difference in the Washington game wasn't adjustments to the scheme, it was tackling. In fact, middle linebacker Jamar Chaney disputed one of the things many of us reported after the Washington game, that the linebackers were moved closer to the line; Chaney said that actually happened earlier in the season. It just became more noticeable when the linebackers started making plays.
Against the Redskins, the Birds got to the ball and got the runner down, something they hadn't done consistently in the first five games, whether because of talent level, or some players' hesitancy in a new scheme, or lack of sufficient desperation.
"What it all comes back to is being where we're supposed to be, as far as our gaps, and making tackles," defensive end Darryl Tapp said. "That's probably the biggest thing. The first few weeks, we just weren't making tackles, whether it's because we were thinking or out of position, or what. We've really got to focus in on being in the right position and making tackles when they come."
Murray, Castillo noted, broke a lot of tackles against the Rams. "He's fast, elusive," Castillo said. "I mean, in the Rams game, he looked special."
Murray ought to be front and center again. Not only did he set the franchise's single-game rushing record last week, Felix Jones (ankle) didn't practice yesterday, and Tashard Choice (shoulder) was limited.
The Eagles were completely healthy yesterday, which is downright eerie, six games into the season. (Of course, run-stuffing defensive tackle Antonio Dixon is gone for the season after surgery for a triceps tear.) But everybody on the 53-man roster was a full-practice participant, which will lead to some interesting activation decisions Sunday night.
"We want to be more consistent," Tapp said. "That Redskin game, honestly, was just the tip of the iceberg for us."
For more Eagles coverage and opinion, read the Daily News' Eagles blog, Eagletarian, at www.eagletarian.com.
Follow him on Twitter at
Read more: http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/eagles/132756998.html#ixzz1cEgqRgPk
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CULLEN JENKINS believes he will be a busy man Sunday evening.
"Up front, we've got to be real stout," Jenkins, an Eagles defensive tackle, said about this week's home matchup against the Dallas Cowboys.
Like most of his teammates, Jenkins assumes the Cowboys will want to test the Birds' sudden improvement against the run in their win at Washington before the bye. "Any time a team wants to come and they want to power it, you get double-teams and things like that, you gotta be stout. You've got to make sure you're holding up, not letting them get push on you. If you hold the double-teams well, it makes it a lot easier for the linebackers to fit their gaps and flow over."
The Eagles went from 30th in the NFL against the run to their current 23rd on the strength of holding Washington to 42 yards on 14 carries. Before that, opponents were averaging 140 rushing yards per game. The Cowboys weren't a great running team - that was among the problems in a 2-3 start - until rookie DeMarco Murray stormed through the Rams for 253 yards on 25 carries in last week's win, Murray's first extensive action of the season.
"Coming off what Dallas just showed against St. Louis, they've got a lot of momentum with their running, they're real confident in it," Jenkins said. "It's something that they're going to be coming and trying to get against us, especially with how people make it seem, like we can't stop it."
They stopped it in Washington, finally, reining in the "wide nine" on first down and focusing on tackling fundamentals. The Eagles forced Rex Grossman to beat them with his arm and he couldn't. Dallas' Tony Romo has his ups and downs, but he is a more capable quarterback than Grossman, and has a more lethal group of receivers.
Still, with the Eagles' strong group of corners, and their apparently improving safeties, you have to think the ground game is where the Birds have the most to prove. Or, as defensive coordinator Juan Castillo said yesterday, it all starts with the run.
"Once you stop the run, then you go to the second step and have to start taking care of those great skill guys that they have," Castillo said. "But the first thing that we have to do is we have to stop the run."
The Birds will be bolstered by the return of defensive end Trent Cole from a calf injury, which ought to help more than just the pass rush. Cole, unlike some sack specialists, is happy to fight through blocks and sort out a running back.
"Trent, he's crazy on the field," Jenkins said. "He plays the pass the same way as the run. He plays with a lot of energy. He's going to fight, he's going to claw, he's going to get after you. Having him back is going to help us out a lot."
"We've talked about Trent before. He's a special guy, just all of his energy in the huddle," Castillo said. "And then, he plays at a high level. I mean, him and [defensive end] Jason [Babin], it's hard, both of those guys are - you have 100 percent, and then you have Trent Cole and Jason Babin 100 percent. You know, it's different . . . they bring everybody up to their pace."
The things the Eagles did against the Redskins' run game might not work against the Cowboys. Dallas takes a more varied blocking approach, Castillo said.
"The Redskins were basically an outside zone scheme . . . they were pretty good at that because [they run a lot]," Castillo said. "The Cowboys use a little bit of each scheme, so we're having to take time [to study and] we're fortunate we had Monday [an extra practice day after the bye] where we worked on a certain part of their running attack. So we're trying to break down the schemes so we can stop the run."
Jenkins said that while the Redskins ran a lot of stretch plays, the Cowboys tend to go right at the tacklers.
"The Cowboys will hit harder, more downhill running and more power," Jenkins said. "You've just got to be prepared for it."
Several Eagles said the real difference in the Washington game wasn't adjustments to the scheme, it was tackling. In fact, middle linebacker Jamar Chaney disputed one of the things many of us reported after the Washington game, that the linebackers were moved closer to the line; Chaney said that actually happened earlier in the season. It just became more noticeable when the linebackers started making plays.
Against the Redskins, the Birds got to the ball and got the runner down, something they hadn't done consistently in the first five games, whether because of talent level, or some players' hesitancy in a new scheme, or lack of sufficient desperation.
"What it all comes back to is being where we're supposed to be, as far as our gaps, and making tackles," defensive end Darryl Tapp said. "That's probably the biggest thing. The first few weeks, we just weren't making tackles, whether it's because we were thinking or out of position, or what. We've really got to focus in on being in the right position and making tackles when they come."
Murray, Castillo noted, broke a lot of tackles against the Rams. "He's fast, elusive," Castillo said. "I mean, in the Rams game, he looked special."
Murray ought to be front and center again. Not only did he set the franchise's single-game rushing record last week, Felix Jones (ankle) didn't practice yesterday, and Tashard Choice (shoulder) was limited.
The Eagles were completely healthy yesterday, which is downright eerie, six games into the season. (Of course, run-stuffing defensive tackle Antonio Dixon is gone for the season after surgery for a triceps tear.) But everybody on the 53-man roster was a full-practice participant, which will lead to some interesting activation decisions Sunday night.
"We want to be more consistent," Tapp said. "That Redskin game, honestly, was just the tip of the iceberg for us."
For more Eagles coverage and opinion, read the Daily News' Eagles blog, Eagletarian, at www.eagletarian.com.
Follow him on Twitter at
Read more: http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/eagles/132756998.html#ixzz1cEgqRgPk
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