Thursday, November 25, 2010

Sacks - Week 10 vs Detroit

The NFL ruled that last week's "sack" where Kitna had his foot stepped on by Kyle Kosier before Osi Umenyiora ran over and touched him was revoked off the official stat sheet. Therefore, we erase it off our charts and going into the Detroit game, the season total for sacks allowed dropped back to 16.

Then, Sunday against the Lions, it was a clean 1st half, before the right side of the offensive line started breaking down a bit for 2 sacks and a safety.

So, overall, the Cowboys have conceded 18 sacks. That is still well below league average. At the same time, our eyes tell us that they know their limitations. Max protect is being used quite a bit to protect some real weak spots on this Offensive Line.

SACKS
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Play #24 - 3Q 3/9/21 - SACK by Suh and Jackson



What Happened: This is a simple twist stunt that has befuddled the right side of the offensive line on several occasions this year. The object of the game is to make Leonard Davis move laterally. If you can, there is a chance that you will get right to the QB. It starts with 94-Jackson diving to the "B-Gap" which is the gap between Colombo and Davis. Then, Suh will curve around Jackson and attempt to get past the edge to the QB. The idea is that 1 defender sacrifices himself in an effort to occupy both blockers, but in this case, both Jackson and Suh beat their men to the QB and meet there. No way to say anything good about what happened here. Looks like Witten was trying to chip Jackson on his way out, but it might have actually helped him slide by Colombo even easier.

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Play #25a - 1/10/4 - "22" - Safety by Suh



What Happened: This is technically not a sack, but given it is a safety that could have cost the Cowboys the game, I thought we should include it regardless. Again, this shows what pretty much every team is trying to do with the Cowboys - isolate Leonard Davis 1 on 1. Very simple, Defensive End edge rushes to the outside, and the double team with Gurode is on the other guy to help out Kosier for a change. This is "22" personnel, so the Lions are not even thinking there will be a pass rush opportunity with the ball at the 4 yard line. But Ndamukong Suh working against Davis, it doesn't take long for him to see and seize the opportunity to get to Kitna. Davis likely saves a safety by holding, but as we know, that is just the same as a safety.

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Play #40 - 4Q - "21" - 1/G/5 Sack by Jackson



What Happened: Here is a very confusing situation as "21" personnel is a rare Marion Barber/Felix Jones backfield at the same time. Again, it appears that the misdirection to Felix is the first plan, and then come back to Marion on a screen (I think - but this is pure speculation on my part). Anyway, in a screen, often you try to hold the rushers off for a moment, then release them upfield and drop the ball over the top of them. Regardless, this play doesn't work at all. It looks like Witten is left to try to block 94-Jackson by himself. As a tight end, Jason is a decent blocker, but as a tackle, he is overpowered by Jackson. It looks like Colombo is late to the scene, but again, without understanding the play call, this is all guess work. Regardless, you cannot take a sack on 1st and Goal at the 5. That could be an absolute game killer.



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Season To Date Sacks
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The Rankings for the season in Sacks Allowed among the OL: Davis 4.5, Coverage 3.5, Colombo 2.5, Costa 2, Free 2.5, Gurode 1, Jones 1, Colombo.

Sack #Down/DistPersonnelSackerBlame
1/12/10/D4512McIntoshGurode
4/13/10/D40S11JonesDavis
4/23/8/O28S11HopeCoverage
4/31/10/D2921BabinColombo
4/41/10/O34S12JonesDavis
4/52/32/D44S11BabinColombo
4/63/3/O18S11BrownCoverage/Witten
6/13/10/O40S11GrantDavis
6/23/10/O25S11BoleyFree
6/32/10/O45S11CofieldCosta
7/11/10/D21S11AlualuCosta
7/22/10/D13S11HartCoverage/Free
8/12/9/D3312MatthewsDavis
8/23/10/D11S11WoodsonKitna
8/32/10/50S11BishopJones
8/42/10/50S11WilsonFree
10/13/9/21S11Suh/JacksonDavis/Colombo
10/21/G/521JacksonWitten



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
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