Dallas hasn’t been able to fill Ellis’ pass-rushing shoes

By Andy Targovnik  |   Thursday, December 14, 2006  |  Comments( 2 )

Dallas Cowboys
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Up until a month ago, Greg Ellis and fellow linebacker DeMarcus Ware led the Dallas Cowboys in sacks. While nobody was confusing them for the New York Jets Sack Exchange of the 1980s, their semi-regular presence in the offensive backfield was adequate enough to keep opposing quarterbacks off balance.

But then Ellis tore his left Achilles' tendon. Since that time, the Cowboys have generated no pass rush whatsoever.

During the last month, except for a couple of times against the Indianapolis Colts, opposing quarterbacks have been able to take a nap in the pocket while waiting for their receivers to get open.

As a matter of fact, during Ellis' absence, the Cowboys have totaled only four sacks - two of which were by Ware. The other two have come from backup defensive linemen Jeremiah Ratliff and Jason Hatcher. The starting defensive line and all other linebackers have none.

Considering how much trouble the safeties have dealt with in pass coverage this season, the lack of a pass rush is alarming. Give any NFL receiver enough time to get open and not only will the quarterback find him, but the results can be disastrous. Just ask Drew Brees who threw for 385 yards and five touchdowns last Sunday night. And even though the Cowboys beat the New York Giants a couple of weeks ago, Eli Manning still passed for 270 yards, and the game could have gone either way.

What can the Cowboys do? The obvious answer is to blitz, but Bill Parcells has been reluctant because it would leave an already weak secondary even more exposed.

And because the most effective way to contain Michael Vick is to keep him in the pocket, it's not likely that Dallas will have any kind of blitz "coming-out" party when the team plays the Atlanta Falcons this Saturday night. But even if this containment strategy is effective against the Falcons, it's not necessarily the way to go against the two opponents after that - the Philadelphia Eagles and the Detroit Lions. And should the Cowboys get into the playoffs, if you don't pressure on guys like Brees, Manning and Rex Grossman, your chances of winning are slim and nil.

At this point, though, the Cowboys can only take one game at a time. So for the time being, the defense's only concern is Vick and the rest of the Atlanta offense.

Eventually, though, Dallas is going to have to get to the quarterback. And if the Cowboys are reluctant to blitz, how will they do it? Your guess is as good as mine.

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