With Roster Set, Jets Take Aim at Cowboys – Pro Football NYC
by TJ Rosenthal
Week one is closing in at the speed of light. The NFL in just five weeks time went from a lockout, to free agency to an August tune up schedule that seemingly evaporated before it even began. There were shotgun weddings in every city, on every practice field. Arriving players who were thrown playbooks and asked to study overtime in order to get ready for THIS week now.
For the the Jets and Cowboys, Sunday night will be the first test. A nationally televised battle on the tenth anniversary of the 9-11 tragedy that will begin to answer the questions of preparation, cohesiveness and Super Bowl caliber worthiness. It will also begin the weekday classroom and practice field habit of game planning for opponents. A notion that is absent during the preseason.
Both the Jets and Cowboys will seek this week, to identify and attack the others primary weaknesses. The Jets will hope to establish the new Ground and Pound led by Shonn Greene before going after a Cowboys secondary that Jerry Jones has stated public concerns about. They’ll do so with a new wide receiving corps that has yet to put it all together. Dallas will counter with pressure on QB Mark Sanchez, hoping to turn the third year QB into the mistake machine he’s been during his slumps over the past two seasons.
Rex Ryan will throw the kitchen sink at the Cowboys revamped offensive line. One that in 2010, left QB Tony Romo on the turf, in a a season ending broken collar bone injury. Dallas will fight back with speed. Using new feature back Felix Jones, while trying to get the ball out of Romo’s hands quickly, delivering it to a trio of talent in Dez Bryant, Miles Austin and Jason Witten.
The Jets offensive line, now back at full strength, needs to hold up their end of the bargain as well. Minor injuries to Nick Mangold and Brandon Moore stunted the growth of this unit in August, as backups filled in to hold the fort yet often times were liabilities causing the Jets to have to curtail extended work on their downfield passing game. Expect the Cowboys to test this unit with force.
One on one matchups will be picked apart this week by both clubs too. Let’s assume for example, that Jets CB Antonio Cromartie will be an isolated target full for Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett as he oversees designs drawn up to identify openings for long gains. Popular formations will be isolated on film, as they are every week. Others will not, as they have been kept under wraps for maximum impact. One such potential formation wrinkle for the Jets is the notion of a two tight end set, designed by former Colts guru Tom Moore. With personnel featuring Dustin Keller and Jeff Cumberland.
Another strategy that a team can employ in order to combat the enemies gathering of pre kickoff information, is to line up a player or players, in a place unseen before. A look designed solely for a particular game to impart confusion. To be thrown away the following week while the next team on the schedule expends time and energy trying to understand it’s concept. The Jets amoeba defense, one that walks around, never settling pre snap, is the perfect setting for these one time appearances.
Tricks and ploys will only get a team so far though. A solid understanding of an opponents tendencies and deficiencies is what really counts. Knowledge is the difference between winning and losing. Bill Parcells, who spent time coaching BOTH the Jets and Cowboys, once said that in order to win, you must understand how the opponent can beat you. For the Jets and Cowboys, that process won’t wait until September 11th. It starts now.