If the Cowboys want any chance at beating the Eagles, that defense has to play better than is has all season. Adjustments have to be made and Marinelli is going to have to coach the best game of his life.
The biggest adjustment should be the usage of Jaylon Smith. If he is still hurt, or still recovering I'm ok with that. Whatever is going on with him, he isn't an effective replacement for Sean Lee. He takes bad angles against running backs and is terrible in coverage. If they're going to use Jaylon Smith let him rush the passer. Blitz his ass! Philly is too good a team to allow Smith to make the mistakes he has been making all season. If he isn't deep enough in his coverage drops that can be six points. If he shoots the wrong gap in run support that can be six points. Philly is an explosive team and big gains turn into point for them fast.
The strength of this Cowboys team is the Defensive front. It's time to focus the defense around that. The Cowboys have to drop six and seven players in coverage. That means they must create one on one matchups for Demarcus Lawrence and David Irving. Irving has the ability to play inside and out. Lawrence is strictly an edge rusher. The Cowboys are going to need their most athletic defensive linemen for this game. That means Irving, Lawrence, Collins and Crawford must have monster games. The Cowboys can't commit anyone else to stopping the run. Those four guys have to get the job done up front.
Anthony Hitchens is the Cowboys next best linebacker. He isn't Lee but he is great in run support and decent in zone coverage. Hitchens is the only help that the Cowboys can give to that defensive front. Hitchens will have to fill gaps and make plays in the backfield. Jaylon Smith’s snaps have to be limited in this game. The other adjustment I would have gone with was starting Heath in the box next to Hitchens. That will give the Cowboys some tackling in =the box and coverage for tight ends and running backs. Heath is dealing with a concussions and may not play. This secondary will have to step up.
Playing the Eagles this week with Lee and Heath out may be the best thing that happened to this Cowboys defense. Jeff Heath isn’t that great a starting safety. He misses too many tackles and doesn’t make enough plays that change the outcome of games. With Heath out we get the chance to see the secondary of the future, the one that will go hand and hand with this pass rush and give the Cowboys a dominate unit.
Xavier Woods should get the start at Strong Safety. Woods has been excellent in run support this season. He has looked like a rookie at times in the passing game but he has tipped and batted enough balls to say that he is having a solid season. I think Woods is being groomed to be the Starting Strong safety next season. Woods will get his opportunity to show the Cowboys and the fans what he’s capable of this Sunday.
Chidobe Awuzie is the wildcard for this defense. Awuzie has played every position in the secondary in college and now in the pros. After the first two games of the season he was in the running for the other cornerback spot opposite Anthony Brown. He started battling injuries, Jourdan Lewis has been playing so well, and he became the forgotten man. This is the game for Awuzie to showcase his value to the Cowboys defense.
The Cowboys defense lacks playmakers. Sean Lee is the only player on this defense that will use his instincts, regardless of what the playcall is, and make impactful plays. Lawrence and Irving are shaping up to be two really good pass rushers but they have a ways to go before being labeled elite. Byron Jones is the most technically sound player on the Cowboys defense. Allow me to explain what I mean. Jones is always in the right place to make the tackle, always there to swat down a pass. He reminds me of Terence Newman. Newman was an excellent player, he didn’t make plays or wasn’t a playmaker, but he was always in the right position and where he was supposed to be. Defenses need players like Jones. He isn’t special like Earl Thomas, but he is reliable. I believe the Cowboys could do better than Jones at safety. I also believe they can do a lot worst. With Lee out Jones is the Cowboys best defender. That leads me back to playmakers.
Awuzie and Lewis were playmakers in college. They create turnovers, and made game changing plays. The Cowboys are in desperate need of big plays on the defensive side of the ball. Sean Lee being out presents the Cowboys with an opportunity to put more playmakers on the field.
Last season the Cowboys secondary was the defense's strength. Barry Church is an excellent safety, evident by his play in Jacksonville. He was the playmaker for this Cowboys defense last season. When he left that was a huge blow to the defense. It weakened the strength of this defense. Could you imagine what his defense would be if Church was still in this secondary, with that pass rush? What allowed Church to make plays was Marinelli using the big nickel package.
The big nickel is a formation that features three or four safeties, depending on how many linebackers you want on the field. There are many different variations of the formation but essentially you have three safeties on the field. The thought is that you get more athletes on the field while maintaining the ability to play the run. Safeties tackle better than corners. When the Cowboys went big nickel last season and played with Jones, Wilcox, and Church on the field at the same time this defense was pretty good. The one thing lacking last season was pass rush.
This year the Cowboys have the pass rush but haven’t been using the big nickel package as much. Why? I couldn’t tell you. We saw it in the Cardinals game and it helped them stop a passing attack that was shredding the Cowboy’s secondary. I think the big nickel is the only defense that will give the Cowboys a chance at beating the Eagles.
The Eagles like the use three wide receiver formations. When an offense uses the three wide receiver formation, the defense will counter by taking a linebacker off the field. The defense could also take a linemen off the field but that would depend on the abilities of the linebackers. When Sean Lee is healthy the Cowboys don’t have to remove a linebacker because Lee covers just as well as a safety. The Cowboys are confident enough in Lee to allow him to cover a slot wide receiver, tight end, or pick up a running back out the backfield. This is what makes Lee so valuable to the Cowboys. His play in coverage allows him to stay on the field and the Cowboys feel like they don’t have to adjust the personnel. They can focus on rotating the defensive linemen and cornerbacks.
When Lee doesn’t play then the Cowboys have to play the personnel game and match the defensive personnel according to whatever the offenes shows. The Big Nickel package should allows the Cowboys the flexibility to keep a competent personnel grouping and focus on rotations.
In college Awuzie played linebacker, strong safety, free safety, slot cornerback, and outside cornerback. He is a good tackler and has good instincts. Awuzie is a rookie so he struggles at times in coverage but doesn’t give up the big play. The Big Nickel is perfect for his skill set because of the versatility that it offers. The safety may play in the box on running plays and against tight ends. He may line up in the slot sometimes. If the offense motions a running back out the backfield he may be forced outside. Awuzie has played in all position so he is ready to go.
This Eagles offense is tough to defend against at full strength, it’s going to be a mountain to climb without your best player. The Cowboys are going to have to out scheme the Eagles and create turnovers in order to win this game. Having Awuzie, Jones, and Woods on the field at the same time will give them that opportunity. Playing Jaylon Smith in Sean Lee’s role will spell disaster for the Cowboy’s defense. Keep the four man front of Lawrence, Collins, Irving, Crawford. Allow Hitchens to be the only linebacker in the formation. Have the three corners Scandrick, Brown, and Lewis. Then go with Jones, Woods, and Awuzie at the safety spots. With Lee out the Cowboys have to get more versatile, even if it means giving up a few more rushing yards.
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