Cowboys need to rattle Hasselbeck’s cage

By Andy Targovnik  |   Friday, January 05, 2007  |  Comments( 3 )

Dallas Cowboys
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Assuming the Dallas Cowboys take care of the football, there's little doubt they'll put up a decent of amount of points against the Seattle Seahawks on Saturday night.

Not only can Dallas run on Seattle's defense, which has given up 128 yards a game rushing, but because Seahawks' two starting cornerbacks, Marcus Trufant and Kelly Herndon, won't play. Thus, Terrell Owens and Terry Glenn should be able to take advantage of what's normally a pretty good pass defense.

But the last thing the Cowboys need is a shootout, where the game's outcome will be decided based on the last team that has possession of the ball.

So the Dallas 'D' has to play much better than it has the last month. And while it's unrealistic to expect the group to totally shut down the Seahawks' offense, it certainly can limit the Hawks to few enough points, thus escaping Seattle with a win.

The Seattle offense can be scary - especially at the skill positions. So what do the Cowboys have to do?

First, there's Shaun Alexander.

While Alexander is certainly a future Hall of Fame running back, and he's still a threat, the 29-year-old simply hasn't been as effective as he once was.

Since returning from his broken foot on Nov. 19, he's only averaged 3.8 yards a carry. Maybe the foot hasn't healed properly. Or perhaps Seattle made a mistake by letting one of the best left guards in football, Steve Hutchinson, walk in the offseason.

Whatever the reason for Alexander's downturn, Dallas doesn't have to keep an abundant amount of players in the box, especially since Seattle's two guards, Chris Gray and Floyd Womack, and its center, Robbie Tobeck, may not play because of injuries.

That brings us to Matt Hasselbeck and the Seattle passing game.

There are two different Hasselbecks: one when he's under pressure in the pocket, and one when he's not.

Give him time, and there are not many NFL quarterbacks who are better at picking apart opposing defenses. But pressure him, and just like Tony Romo did the last couple of weeks, he'll turn the ball over.

With exception of the Seahawks' opening-day, 9-6 victory over the Detroit Lions, in Hasselbeck's five wins this season, he was sacked a little over two times per game. But in his five losses, he hit the dirt just under four times a contest. So the Cowboys have to pick their spots and send extra people after him. Send the safeties, send a corner now and then, send whomever - just keep him guessing and keep him off balance.

If Hasselbeck is allowed to get too comfortable in the pocket, it may very well be a long afternoon for Dallas - and an even longer offseason.
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CommentsComments: 3  |  Sign Up  View all comments
No.1
fr8ttrain		09:15 AM
01/05/2007
The defense needs to keep them from converting third downs. They can afford to give up a little to Alexander, but they need to...
No.2
T		07:58 PM
01/05/2007
Now this is a good review. Give Dallas some credit please! We have a good chance of beating this Seattle team, we just have to...
No.3
Goodbye, Dallas		01:22 AM
01/07/2007
Goodbye, Dallas!! Tony Romo choked. Terrell Owens and Bill Parcells will both be out of football for good. I love it! It's...
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