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Taylor: Cowboys offense is sexy but won't matter this season
06:07 PM CDT on Wednesday, September 8, 2010
By JEAN-JACQUES TAYLOR / The Dallas Morning News
jjtaylor@dallasnews.com
Column by JEAN-JACQUES TAYLOR / The Dallas Morning News | jjtaylor@dallasnews.com
Jean-Jacques Taylor
Archive | Bio | E-mail
No matter what you hear or what you read, this season doesn't hinge on the Cowboys' offense.
Seriously.
Yes, the offense has a collection of sexy weapons in Tony Romo , Miles Austin, Jason Witten, Felix Jones and others, but the Cowboys' offense won't be the primary reason if Dallas becomes the first team to play the Super Bowl in its home stadium.
Dallas Cowboys / NFL
THE ULTIMATE COWBOYS PREVIEW
Cowlishaw: All the pieces are in place for Cowboys to make Super Bowl
Taylor: Cowboys offense is sexy, but won't matter this season
Fraley: Cowboys defense is Super-Bowl worthy, but is that important?
Archer ranks the Cowboys; Romo ahead of Ware; Dez at No. 17
Moore: Cowboys have a chance to go where no team has gone before
Which team is better: 1995 or 2010 Cowboys?
Story lines of the NFL season from A-Z; pencil in Dez Bryant as ROY
Rick Gosselin's All-NFL team: Two Cowboys make it
PREDICTIONS
Rick Gosselin's Super Bowl prediction
NFL East: How they'll finish
Dallas Morning News writers predict the season
Beat our experts: Win a trip to Hawaii!
Gerry Fraley's schedule analysis, game-by-game preview
COWBOYS AT REDSKINS, 7:20 p.m. Sunday
Cowlishaw: New-look 'Skins create unfamiliar rivalry
Redskins owner learns maturity in chase of Cowboys
Redskins, Cowboys owners are BFFs
New 'Skins coach knows Wade too well
BOB STURM
Decoding Jason Garrett's offense
Bob Sturm: Cowboys should be nervous about facing their difficult schedule
Cowboys' Tashard Choice a victim of being too versatile and too useful
DEZ BRYANT: A FUTURE STAR
Cowboys expect Dez Bryant to be a star, but history says it will take time
Wade Phillips not worried about game being too big for Dez Bryant
Maturity concerns are latest hurdle for Cowboys draft target Dez Bryant
The best photos of Dez Bryant
Training camp Dez highlights
EXTRAS
Schedule wallpaper
Super Bowl site | Classic Cowboys
Repeat after me: This season is all about the defense. Have you looked at the schedule? Have you seen the quarterbacks the Cowboys will face?
Drew Brees. Brett Favre. Peyton Manning . Aaron Rodgers.
Don't forget, this is a quarterbacks league. Always has been. Always will be. And if defenses ever catch up, the NFL will just alter the rules to favor the offense again like it has done since the late '70s.
That's why this season is about the defense.
In the last 10 seasons, only three units not ranked among the top 10 in total defense have won the Super Bowl – and each had extenuating circumstances.
New Orleans, last season's champ, led the NFL with eight defensive touchdowns. In 2006, Indianapolis had the league's worst run defense, but it had the best quarterback in Manning.
And in 2001, New England may have ranked 16th in defense, but everyone knows Bill Belichick is a defensive genius capable of shutting down any offense – even The Greatest Show on Turf – with enough time to prepare.
So if the Cowboys intend to play in their first Super Bowl since the 1995 season, it'll be the defense that leads the way.
The Cowboys play nine games against quarterbacks who finished among the top 12 in passer rating, including five of the top seven.
And that doesn't include games against Chicago's Jay Cutler, Tennessee Vince Young and Jacksonville's David Garrard, each of whom has played in the Pro Bowl.
Or guys such as Detroit's Matt Stafford, the top pick in the 2009 draft, and Philadelphia's Kevin Kolb, who could be a top quarterback by the time the Cowboys see him for the first time in December.
The good news is the Cowboys did a solid job against most of the top quarterbacks in 2009.
In Dallas' 11 games against top quarterbacks, only Eli Manning , Favre and Kyle Orton had a higher passer rating against the Cowboys than their season rating.
This was a good defense last year, which is why it finished second in the NFL in points allowed. It recorded shutouts in the final two regular-season games and manhandled New Orleans' offense earlier in December.
Now the Cowboys need to take the next step, which is forcing turnovers and giving the offense good field position and better opportunities to score.
The beauty of the Cowboys defense is that it has the perfect blend of youth, experience and players in their prime.
First, Alan Ball is the only new starter this year, so the players have continuity with each other and with Wade Phillips' scheme, since this is their fourth year in it.
Keith Brooking and Terence Newman are the only players in their 30s. Just about everyone else, including DeMarcus Ware , Jay Ratliff and Bradie James , is 27 to 29 and in his athletic prime. They have played long enough to know all the nuances of the game and still athletic enough to play their best football.
And then there are players such as Mike Jenkins and Anthony Spencer who are poised to become stars based on their performances last year. Even the Cowboys' top backups – defensive end Jason Hatcher and Stephen Bowen , rookie linebacker Sean Lee and cornerback Orlando Scandrick – would start for most teams.
"We have a chance to be a dominant group," Phillips said. "I like where we're at."
Top guns
How the Cowboys fared against the quarterbacks ranked in the top 20 they faced last season with their NFL passer rating and their rating in the game against the Cowboys:
Player Team Result Rating Rank vs. Dallas
Donovan McNabb Eagles W, 20-16 92.9 12 61.4
Matt Ryan Falcons W, 37-21 80.9 20 66.1
Donovan McNabb Eagles W, 34-14* 92.9 12 68.5
Donovan McNabb Eagles W, 24-0 92.9 12 74.2
Drew Brees Saints W, 24-17 109.6 1 81.5
Eli Manning Giants L, 31-24 93.1 11 88.9
Philip Rivers Chargers L, 20-17 104.4 3 89.6
Aaron Rodgers Packers L, 17-7 103.2 4 91.1
Eli Manning Giants L, 33-31 93.1 11 110.6
Kyle Orton Broncos L, 17-10 86.8 14 117.5
Brett Favre Vikings L, 34-3* 107.2 2 134.4
* playoffs
Pocket passers
The 2009 touchdown/interception ratio of the top quarterbacks the Cowboys will face this season:
Player, team Ratio
Brett Favre +26
Aaron Rodgers +23
Drew Brees +23
Eli Manning* +13
Peyton Manning +17
Matt Schaub +14
Donovan McNabb* +12
* Two games
• • •
06:07 PM CDT on Wednesday, September 8, 2010
By JEAN-JACQUES TAYLOR / The Dallas Morning News
jjtaylor@dallasnews.com
Column by JEAN-JACQUES TAYLOR / The Dallas Morning News | jjtaylor@dallasnews.com
Jean-Jacques Taylor
Archive | Bio | E-mail
No matter what you hear or what you read, this season doesn't hinge on the Cowboys' offense.
Seriously.
Yes, the offense has a collection of sexy weapons in Tony Romo , Miles Austin, Jason Witten, Felix Jones and others, but the Cowboys' offense won't be the primary reason if Dallas becomes the first team to play the Super Bowl in its home stadium.
Dallas Cowboys / NFL
THE ULTIMATE COWBOYS PREVIEW
Cowlishaw: All the pieces are in place for Cowboys to make Super Bowl
Taylor: Cowboys offense is sexy, but won't matter this season
Fraley: Cowboys defense is Super-Bowl worthy, but is that important?
Archer ranks the Cowboys; Romo ahead of Ware; Dez at No. 17
Moore: Cowboys have a chance to go where no team has gone before
Which team is better: 1995 or 2010 Cowboys?
Story lines of the NFL season from A-Z; pencil in Dez Bryant as ROY
Rick Gosselin's All-NFL team: Two Cowboys make it
PREDICTIONS
Rick Gosselin's Super Bowl prediction
NFL East: How they'll finish
Dallas Morning News writers predict the season
Beat our experts: Win a trip to Hawaii!
Gerry Fraley's schedule analysis, game-by-game preview
COWBOYS AT REDSKINS, 7:20 p.m. Sunday
Cowlishaw: New-look 'Skins create unfamiliar rivalry
Redskins owner learns maturity in chase of Cowboys
Redskins, Cowboys owners are BFFs
New 'Skins coach knows Wade too well
BOB STURM
Decoding Jason Garrett's offense
Bob Sturm: Cowboys should be nervous about facing their difficult schedule
Cowboys' Tashard Choice a victim of being too versatile and too useful
DEZ BRYANT: A FUTURE STAR
Cowboys expect Dez Bryant to be a star, but history says it will take time
Wade Phillips not worried about game being too big for Dez Bryant
Maturity concerns are latest hurdle for Cowboys draft target Dez Bryant
The best photos of Dez Bryant
Training camp Dez highlights
EXTRAS
Schedule wallpaper
Super Bowl site | Classic Cowboys
Repeat after me: This season is all about the defense. Have you looked at the schedule? Have you seen the quarterbacks the Cowboys will face?
Drew Brees. Brett Favre. Peyton Manning . Aaron Rodgers.
Don't forget, this is a quarterbacks league. Always has been. Always will be. And if defenses ever catch up, the NFL will just alter the rules to favor the offense again like it has done since the late '70s.
That's why this season is about the defense.
In the last 10 seasons, only three units not ranked among the top 10 in total defense have won the Super Bowl – and each had extenuating circumstances.
New Orleans, last season's champ, led the NFL with eight defensive touchdowns. In 2006, Indianapolis had the league's worst run defense, but it had the best quarterback in Manning.
And in 2001, New England may have ranked 16th in defense, but everyone knows Bill Belichick is a defensive genius capable of shutting down any offense – even The Greatest Show on Turf – with enough time to prepare.
So if the Cowboys intend to play in their first Super Bowl since the 1995 season, it'll be the defense that leads the way.
The Cowboys play nine games against quarterbacks who finished among the top 12 in passer rating, including five of the top seven.
And that doesn't include games against Chicago's Jay Cutler, Tennessee Vince Young and Jacksonville's David Garrard, each of whom has played in the Pro Bowl.
Or guys such as Detroit's Matt Stafford, the top pick in the 2009 draft, and Philadelphia's Kevin Kolb, who could be a top quarterback by the time the Cowboys see him for the first time in December.
The good news is the Cowboys did a solid job against most of the top quarterbacks in 2009.
In Dallas' 11 games against top quarterbacks, only Eli Manning , Favre and Kyle Orton had a higher passer rating against the Cowboys than their season rating.
This was a good defense last year, which is why it finished second in the NFL in points allowed. It recorded shutouts in the final two regular-season games and manhandled New Orleans' offense earlier in December.
Now the Cowboys need to take the next step, which is forcing turnovers and giving the offense good field position and better opportunities to score.
The beauty of the Cowboys defense is that it has the perfect blend of youth, experience and players in their prime.
First, Alan Ball is the only new starter this year, so the players have continuity with each other and with Wade Phillips' scheme, since this is their fourth year in it.
Keith Brooking and Terence Newman are the only players in their 30s. Just about everyone else, including DeMarcus Ware , Jay Ratliff and Bradie James , is 27 to 29 and in his athletic prime. They have played long enough to know all the nuances of the game and still athletic enough to play their best football.
And then there are players such as Mike Jenkins and Anthony Spencer who are poised to become stars based on their performances last year. Even the Cowboys' top backups – defensive end Jason Hatcher and Stephen Bowen , rookie linebacker Sean Lee and cornerback Orlando Scandrick – would start for most teams.
"We have a chance to be a dominant group," Phillips said. "I like where we're at."
Top guns
How the Cowboys fared against the quarterbacks ranked in the top 20 they faced last season with their NFL passer rating and their rating in the game against the Cowboys:
Player Team Result Rating Rank vs. Dallas
Donovan McNabb Eagles W, 20-16 92.9 12 61.4
Matt Ryan Falcons W, 37-21 80.9 20 66.1
Donovan McNabb Eagles W, 34-14* 92.9 12 68.5
Donovan McNabb Eagles W, 24-0 92.9 12 74.2
Drew Brees Saints W, 24-17 109.6 1 81.5
Eli Manning Giants L, 31-24 93.1 11 88.9
Philip Rivers Chargers L, 20-17 104.4 3 89.6
Aaron Rodgers Packers L, 17-7 103.2 4 91.1
Eli Manning Giants L, 33-31 93.1 11 110.6
Kyle Orton Broncos L, 17-10 86.8 14 117.5
Brett Favre Vikings L, 34-3* 107.2 2 134.4
* playoffs
Pocket passers
The 2009 touchdown/interception ratio of the top quarterbacks the Cowboys will face this season:
Player, team Ratio
Brett Favre +26
Aaron Rodgers +23
Drew Brees +23
Eli Manning* +13
Peyton Manning +17
Matt Schaub +14
Donovan McNabb* +12
* Two games
• • •