Eagles at Dallas: unfinished business…

Safety Gerald Sensabaugh (thigh) and cornerback Orlando Scandrick (concussion) missed practice, but the Cowboys are hopeful they’ll be available Sunday.

Cowboys defensive coordinator Paul Pasqualoni said another newcomer, inside linebacker Kenwin Cummings, is being prepared to play.

Also, there was no sign of running back Marion Barber, who missed his seventh consecutive practice because of a strained calf muscle. Barber’s absence eliminates any questions as to whether Tashard Choice will play a prominent role in the running-back rotation for a second consecutive game. Choice replaced Barber and ran for 100 yards in the win at Indianapolis.

Now I’m not one to ever gloat that injury conditions set up well for the Eagles offense… game-time adrenalin and the will to excel (and save jobs!) will kick in for the Cowboys at their house on Sunday night, negating much of what looks like a health advantage for the Eagles on paper. But I will say: whatever goes down in Dallas this time, it will not be so “predictable” as the poorly-disguised Eagles offensive game plan of 2009. And this time, I think we’ll see a whale of a game, as opposed to the dreadful process and results we endured in the Big D last season.

Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett knows his banged-up defense is challenged by an Eagles offense which, if able to execute, is “predictable” this time around to the tune of 28 points… 

So, if you’re Jason Garett, how do you counter the Eagles’ new “Starship 7” firepower and different look on offense? 

Simple, says Bob Sturm, resident football analyst for the Dallas Morning News who also hosts a daily radio show in Dallas on TheTicket 1310 AM. In a classic example of “opposite” strategic thinking, Bob says: “Dallas should game-plan as if Vick is a certainty to get 28 offensive points…therefore, the key to beating the Eagles is for the Cowboys to get 31 or more from their own offense…they must turn their own offense into their best defense…”

Bob Sturm, aka “The Sturminator” in Dallas…

Bob points out, when you look at the Eagles so far in 2010, they still generate gigantic defensive plays off the stress generated by a scheme to bring pressure as early and as often as they possibly can. And what are the results? The Eagles defense, in 2010, causes more turnovers (28), more interceptions (20), and more negative plays (-358 yards) than any defense in the National Football League. They are quietly winning games by getting stops and generating back-breaking moments while the national spotlight is distracted by Michael Vick and the big-play offense.

“There is no doubt that the Cowboys will need to generate offense to keep up with the Eagles,” said Sturm. “For the third straight week, we enter the game assuming 28 points from the offense will not likely be enough. Clearly, losing Tony Romo has not cut down on the production like we thought, so let’s take Dez Bryant away for the final month and see what difference that makes. I assume they will not attempt or succeed at running the ball anywhere near as well as Sunday at Indianapolis, but they will need a fair amount of that to keep the Eagles on their heels and of course eat up some clock to keep Michael Vick’s opportunities to a minimum. Should be an interesting test.”

So what’s Bob’s prescription to score a bunch of points on the NFL’s most underrated defense?

1) – Slow the blitz with the normal diet of screens – How do you deal with the #1 blitz defense in the NFL? You unleash the #1 blitz offense in the NFL, right? One of the most bizarre and difficult to believe statistics that 2010 has given us is that of the 32 teams in the NFL, no team has had greater success passing against the blitz than the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys have a 109.7 passer rating against the blitz. 10 TDs and 2 Ints, with only 7 sacks against in 146 blitzes. Why are they so good at dealing with the blitz? By starting to catch teams with quick slants (Hou, NO) and big screens (NY, DET). The best way to back off pressure is to throw right over the top of it and gash it hard with a big gain. And the numbers say that the Cowboys are great at it. I must confess, I would never believe that Dallas is #1 ranked in this statistic, so I would not argue that this is their greatest strategy, but that is what the numbers say.

2) – Attempt to isolate the LB’s in space – If there is one spot on the Eagles where they have had a revolving door over the last few years, it would have to be their Linebacking group. This group seems to be one of those spots on every team where the organization believes they can plug in just about anyone and they will be fine. It was sure interesting to see Peyton Manning go after Stewart Bradley repeatedly when they met last month and really, during the season, it seems like Bradley is the guy most QBs try to go after. After watching a few games in a row, I conclude that the Eagles don’t ask their safeties to worry about TEs down the seam, but rather live with Bradley trying to stay with them. Nate Allen (a Cowboys wish on draft day) has had a fine year, but they are not asking him to do too much. That is always a good idea for a rookie safety.

3) – Blitz Pickup from RB’s must be sound – This is the most basic and obvious of items, but it is worth noting that traditionally, this has been one of the main reasons why Marion Barber has been on the field the most often – he seems to always know his assignment, and almost always gets the guy blocked. So, with no Barber, who do the Cowboys trust to be on the field to always decode a complicated Eagles blitz package? Felix Jones and Tashard Choice are both interesting RBs, but there is no topic that is more emphasized by coaches but more ignored by fans than simple pass protection basics by a Running Back. Aside from the Double A-Gap, the Eagles have a large assortment of variations of pressure, and then they will spend much of the evening bluffing the blitz and trying to get you to misdiagnose their intentions. It is a wonderful chess game that plays out inside the game itself. Also, don’t forget to account for the elite rusher Trent Cole over there on the edge against Doug Free. For, Jones and Choice, I suspect this will tell us plenty about each guy – let’s see how they deal with the test.

4) – Figure Out How to Generate Big Plays Without Dez – Since Dez Bryant and Felix Jones were the players with the big- play splashes at Giants Stadium against that intimidating front, we must figure out how to generate similar large plays with Miles Austin and Roy Williams who are both extremely capable. Again, to steal from the Colts, the best way to attack inside pressure is with quick passes to the perimeter, something Dallas does pretty well. Bubble screens, smoke screens, and various variations of ways to get the ball to Jones, Austin, Williams, and even your TE’s should be considered at the proper time. And let us not forget that Kevin Ogletree is now finally active again (he was healthy, then scratched from week 5 until last Sunday)… perhaps they revive one of his one shining moments from the win last year at Philly…

Bob’s got me on the right track of thinking for this upcoming game.  His analysis is pretty objective, considering how badly he wants his Cowboys to win this one. And anyone who lectures on the importance of pass-protection reading and blocking by running backs is aces in my football IQ book…now that’s a guy who knows him some football.

See you again before the chess game in Jerry World.

(Bob Sturm is host of BaD Radio on The Ticket 1310 AM Mondays through Fridays at 12-3 p.m. He also hosts The Ticket’s Cowboys pregame show. Follow Bob on Twitter at www.twitter.com/bobanddan
Bob offers his exclusive analysis after games on SportsDayDFW.com …
Read all of Bob’s posts at this link: http://cowboysblog.dallasnews.com/archives/bob-sturm    )