FRISCO, Texas — Another regular season of NFL football is here. As the Dallas Cowboys look ahead to the season opener on Sunday against the New York Giants, one of the biggest challenges for Dallas will be stopping the run.
The Cowboys finished the 2018 season ranked 5th against the run and they will have to carry that momentum into Sunday’s game against their division rival. With Golden Tate being suspended the first four games, along with Eli Manning’s go-to-target Odell Beckham Jr. now with the Cleveland Browns, the Giants’ offense will center on Saquon Barkley. New York will likely use a spread offense to open up natural running lanes for Barkley to get the ground game rolling to open up the passing game.
Cowboys’ defensive coordinator, Rod Marinelli, expressed the importance of stopping the run, “ I mean that group, those two veterans- the right guard and the right tackle; especially in the running game, boy you have a chance to watch those guys work and believe in that back. The back is special. We know that going into the game so the number one priority is you always have to stop the run… Everybody has to play their gaps and trust each other and tackle well and use our speed. “
Offensively, the Cowboys’ will have to start fast against James Bettcher’s 3-4 defensive scheme. Kellen Moore’s new innovative versatile play calling is an unknown, which gives the Cowboys an edge and Ezekiel Elliott is back in the fold after signing his six-year contract extension. Elliott has taken a few games to get into a groove the past few years, amassing just 20 carries for 51 yards against the Giants in 2016 for week one, and 15 carries for 69 yards against the Carolina Panthers in 2018 at the season opener.
However, the team has more talent across the board in the running back room arguably than ever before with Zeke, along with Tony Pollard and Alfred Morris at tailback. All are capable of carrying the load and bringing something different to the field as a runner, blocker, and receiver.
Morris has one of the highest football IQ’s and cerebral minds in the Cowboys’ locker room. I spoke with him on the challenges of the Giants’ 3-4 front and he had a lot to say, “ Some of the blitzes they bring and some of the personality they have; they have talent all over, especially in the front core. Usually that can cause problems. One of the differences between say their 3-4 defense and a 4 down defense, they are not penetrators. When you have somebody penetrating, you can kinda get somebody out of a gap and exploit that, but when they sit and kinda hold the line of scrimmage in a two-gap, it can make it difficult for a runner, it can make it difficult for some of the plays you want to run-whether that be play action, whether that be pass plays; it can make it very difficult to make them rush in the way you want them to rush. You can say it’s a screen game- they’re just kinda shooting and sitting at the line and that causes problems. “
Dallas had issues finding the end zone at the beginning half of the 2018 season and on Sunday, Dallas’ offense has to start fast, move the chains, and win the battle at the line of scrimmage.
