Scout’s Eye: Route Running, Pass Coverage; More
Following Sunday's dominant effort against the New York Giants, Bryan Broaddus sat down with the tape and found plenty to like about the Cowboys' game plan.
On Amari Cooper's touchdown reception, Dak Prescott knew exactly where he was going with the ball pre-snap. Deandre Baker had absolutely no help on the play. Jabrill Peppers was held in the middle of the field by Prescott looking at him the entire time. It wasn't until Jamize Olawale picked up Tae Davis on the blitz that Prescott turned his attention to Cooper. Prescott put the ball in a perfect spot where all Cooper had to do was run under it.
What a smart play by Xavier Woods to tackle Sterling Shepard once he saw Eli Manning break outside the pocket. Manning was looking toward Shepard, and he had a step on Chidobe Awuzie. If Manning had pulled the trigger on the throw it would have likely been a touchdown. With Shepard on the ground, he had nowhere to go with the ball. Leighton Vander Esch, once again playing outside leverage, forced Manning back to the inside where DeMarcus Lawrence had hustled over for the sack-strip and the turnover.
I talked on our pre-game show about Michael Gallup drawing some coverage to allow other receivers one-on-one looks. That was the case when Janoris Jenkins and Jabrill Peppers attempted to bracket Gallup, leaving Amari Cooper alone with Antoine Bethea -- which is a complete mismatch. Bethea tried to use inside leverage to cut Cooper off, but he never laid a hand on him. With free access like that and no help in the middle of the field, Cooper is going to win all day. With max protection Prescott had plenty of time to make the read and lay the ball out for Cooper to track.
I liked the idea of moving DeMarcus Lawrence around to see if he could take advantage of Nate Solder off the right side. Solder is not the strongest blocker and there was a snap where Lawrence completely overpowered him and was right on top of Manning, forcing the ball out of his hand before he was ready. The rush was so quick that Manning never had a chance to set his feet and the ball just fluttered toward the sideline in no real direction of a receiver.
Randall Cobb is never going to have a touchdown reception as easy as the one he had in this game. Prescott caught the Giants in a two-deep look where both Jabrill Peppers and Antonie Bethea were focused on the outside. The blown assignment was likely on Alec Ogletree, who got sucked up on the play action fake. When the safeties god wide, it's Ogletree's responsibility to carry the route up the middle of the field -- which he failed to do. Cobb had free access and all Prescott had to do was make sure he put the ball in a spot for Cobb to bring it in.
I had a feeling we might see Kris Richard mix up the coverage on Evan Engram in this game. It wasn't surprising that Byron Jones walked over the top of him in coverage when the defense was in dime. The Giants attempted to try and pick Jones as Engram went into the flat. Jones was able to work though the trash and make the throw a contested one, which Engram couldn't bring down. The Giants were forced to punt after the incompletion.
The Giants tried to confuse the Cowboys' pass blocking scheme by putting Markus Golden and Lorenzo Carter to the same side of the defense. They then attempted a twist stunt where Carter looped all the way around B.J. Hill and Olsen Pierre. The problem for them was that the offensive line sorted out the stunt and no one got near Prescott, who delivered a strike to Michael Gallup on the move for a 62-yard gain.
I can't tell you how many times I've seen Jason Garrett drill his defenders on how to play the "Hail Mary" attempt before the half or end of game. I remember one practice in Oxnard where Garrett had each defender explain his responsibility on the play before they were allowed to go off the field. His defense executed it well with Jeff Heath knocking the ball down in the end zone. Like Garrett had coached before, the defenders protected the sideline, then rallied to their positions in order to pick up the receivers.
Nice red zone creativity by Kellen Moore to get in 12 personnel and make the Giants believe he was going to hand the ball to Ezekiel Elliott. Instead, he went hard play action and had Amari Cooper and Michael Gallup crossed 10 yards down field. If Prescott had waited just a tick longer, he would have had Cooper open in the end zone for a touchdown. Instead, he threw the check down to Jason Witten for a short gain underneath.
Outstanding blocks by Tyron Smith and Amari Cooper on the Ezekiel Elliott touchdown run. Smith drove Lorenzo Carter to the outside, which gave Elliott a seam to the inside. Jabrill Peppers was attempting to fill on the play and was in position until Cooper hit him in the ear hole of his helmet, knocking him aside. It was all the space Elliott needed to run through Alec Ogletree and Janoris Jenkins into the end zone.
You should have seen the reaction by the Giants' coaching staff when they had Barkley on the wheel route against Xavier Woods and Manning threw it into Barkley's back. The Giants got what they wanted with Cody Latimer picking Woods, which allowed Barkley the initial space. Woods did a great job of fighting through it, but Barkley was already at full speed. If Manning had been more patient and thrown the ball with some touch, Barkley likely scores. It was a huge break for the defense that Manning and Barkley were not on the same page.
The special teams coaches swear by C.J. Goodwin on these cover teams. They appreciate his awareness of the situation and nose for the ball. Goodwin made a big time stop on a ball that Corey Ballentine decided to bring out of the end zone five yards deep instead of taking a knee. Goodwin lined up at the R4 and was one of the first men down the field. He was able to run past two blockers and close quickly on Ballentine as he was attempting to break the ball to the outside. Goodwin wrapped him up inside the 12-yard line with a textbook open field tackle.
