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Cotton

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Tony Romo says Saints DC Rob Ryan ‘helped us offensively a lot’ during time with Dallas Cowboys
By Rainer Sabin
rsabin@dallasnews.com
4:43 pm on September 24, 2014

IRVING — Rob Ryan is well-liked by many of the players still populating the Cowboys’ locker room. That includes quarterback Tony Romo, who applauds the former Dallas and current Saints defensive coordinator for challenging him in practice in a way that spurred his continued development as a quarterback.

“It helped a lot,” Romo said. “It helped us offensively a lot. It helped change us moving forward, seeing a lot of that stuff. We were able to kind of plan for a lot of it and I think that’s a credit to Rob and what he did.”

Ryan was known for dialing up exotic blitzes, moving players around and disguising coverages in an effort to confuse the quarterback. He had some unorthodox methods, and Romo got a good look at all of them, gaining a deeper knowledge of defensive strategy.

“Rob pretty much used every player on his defense,” fifth-year safety Barry Church recalled. “If you were new guy who just came off the bus, he had a new package for you called the ‘new guy’ package. Then there was red coats package because I was just the freshman that just got there. He had a crusher package. He had 16 different packages.”

In Ryan’s final season with the Cowboys, Dallas lined up in 30 formations.

“I think Rob has a unique perspective on the game that provides trouble to opposing offenses,” Romo said. “They will be a lot of different stuff he’ll throw at you that you got to be prepared for.”

Romo knows. Last season, he connected on only 10 of 24 pass attempts for 128 yards and one touchdown in a 49-17 loss. The completion total was Romo’s lowest in a game he wasn’t injured since 2007.

With Ryan returning to Arlington for the first time since he was fired by the Cowboys, Romo is hoping he turns in a better performance against the Saints’ defense. If the quarterback does, Ryan, oddly enough, will deserve some of the credit.
 

Cotton

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p1_

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I'd say this bodes well... :picard
 

Cotton

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Dez Bryant: Double me and DeMarco Murray will make you pay
September, 26, 2014

By Tim MacMahon | ESPNDallas.com

IRVING, Texas -- Dez Bryant knows better than to expect any favors from his old friend Rob Ryan.

Bryant calls Ryan “one of my favorites to this day,” but the Pro Bowl receiver certainly didn’t enjoy himself the last time he saw the former Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator. Ryan schemed to make Bryant a nonfactor in the New Orleans Saints' rout over the Cowboys last season, using a variety of double teams to hold Bryant to one catch for 44 yards.

A lot has changed since last season, but Bryant still expects to be the focal point of Ryan’s game plan. He’s just optimistic that the results will change.

“I know he’s going to double me,” Bryant said. “I know he is. I’m ready for it.”

Then again, in his next breath, Bryant makes the case for why it might not be smart for the Saints to double him.

“If they want to keep doubling,” Bryant said, “DeMarco [Murray] will run for 150 or 200 more.”

The smashmouth Cowboys will gladly pound away on the ground if the Saints want to consistently commit a safety to helping on Bryant -- or put two defensive backs in his face at the line of scrimmage like New Orleans did in the red-zone last season.

Stack eight in the box and Ryan puts a cornerback who has struggled this season -- all of the Saints’ corners have -- on an island against one of the NFL’s premier playmakers.

That’s the beauty of balance.

“Obviously the more balanced you are, the different ways you can attack the defense, forces them to make some different decisions,” Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett said. “So if we’re running the ball effectively or if other receivers are stepping up, all of a sudden they have different decisions they have to make if they want to continue to take this guy, or these guys away from it. If you make them pay in other areas, they have to start having some conversations.”

Bryant hopes to cause his buddy to use some of his classic colorful language in his sideline conversations Sunday night.
 

Cotton

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Saints vs. Cowboys preview
September, 26, 2014

By Todd Archer and Mike Triplett | ESPNDallas.com

The last time the New Orleans Saints played the Dallas Cowboys, the Cowboys were embarrassed. In a 49-17 loss, the Cowboys allowed a franchise-record 625 yards and an NFL-record 40 first downs during that long night inside the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

The rematch is Sunday at AT&T Stadium with the Cowboys coming into the game with a 2-1 mark and the Saints a disappointing 1-2 record.

ESPN NFL Nation reporters Mike Triplett and Todd Archer offer up this week's game preview:

Todd Archer: Simple question to start, Mike: Why the slow start for the Saints?

Mike Triplett: The easy answer would be to pin the first two losses on defensive breakdowns. The Saints missed a ton of tackles that led to big plays in a 37-34 overtime loss at Atlanta, then they had a handful of blown coverage assignments in a last-second 26-24 loss at Cleveland. But they cleaned up most of those issues with a really impressive defensive performance in a 20-9 win over Minnesota this past week.

Obviously the offense deserves its share of the blame, too, for not being able to close out leads in both losses. And they’ve had some lulls in all three games. But for the most part, they look as good as usual.

Tony Romo has thrown a touchdown pass in 31 straight games, which is the sixth longest streak in NFL history and the second-longest active streak. Only Peyton Manning has a longer current streak at 42 straight games. Drew Brees owns the NFL record at 54 straight games.

ESPN Stats & Information rates New Orleans as the NFL’s most efficient offense. Drew Brees has been really sharp, with tight end Jimmy Graham as his go-to guy and rookie receiver Brandin Cooks adding another dynamic element. And the run game has been excellent, even with Mark Ingram sidelined by a broken hand.

The Cowboys know firsthand how potent this offense can be after last year's 49-17 rout in the Superdome. Has Dallas' defense improved enough to slow them down this time?

Archer: Since you started off with the simple answer, I’ll start off with a simpler answer: No. Well, I say that because the Cowboys haven’t faced a challenging passing game yet. They opened with the San Francisco 49ers and Colin Kaepernick is many things, but he's not a gifted thrower. And the score got so out of whack, that I believe the Niners sort of shut it down in the second half. In Week 2, they faced Jake Locker of the Tennessee Titans. Let’s just say he’s not the answer there. And last week they had Austin Davis, the St. Louis Rams' third-string quarterback, and he threw for 327 yards and wasn’t sacked.

I don’t know how the Cowboys slow down Brees, Graham, Marques Colston, Cooks or whoever runs the ball. They have yet to stop a tight end. They have allowed big plays. The run defense has been OK.

The best bet is for the offense to play keep away as much as possible.

Let's move away from the offense for a second. Is the bloom off the Rob Ryan rose after such great improvement defensively last year?

Triplett: Not yet. It’ll take more than two bad games for this town’s love affair with Ryan to die down after he was embraced so much last year for fitting in both on and off the field. But we did see a familiar theme emerge last week when the Saints decided they had to simplify their schemes and the amount of on-field checks they were doing. I know that was a big topic in Dallas, as well as some of Ryan’s previous defenses that were criticized for being too complicated.

I still think Ryan’s versatility and creativity rank among his strengths. Players have loved playing for him because of those things. And he really found a way to take their young, talented players and put them in positions where they could thrive last year. So I’m still very high on their potential, but Ryan clearly has to find the right balance.

What do the Saints have to worry about with Dallas' offense? I would have thought Dez Bryant, first and foremost. But have they turned into a run-first team?

Archer: These are the ground-and-pound Cowboys. At least they want to be. Murray leads the NFL in rushing with 385 yards. He has three straight 100-yard games. The last time a Dallas runner opened the year with four straight was Emmitt Smith in 1995. So that’s pretty good company.

The Cowboys have invested in their offensive line with first-round picks Tyron Smith, Travis Frederick and Zack Martin. They simply couldn’t run as much as they overhauled their line following the 2010 season. Now they have better players and can run the ball. It’s a good group.

But the running game can only take you so far. They’ve needed Tony Romo to be more situational with his big plays, and that’s a good thing for the quarterback. We’ll touch on that in a bit.

With the Cowboys showing the ability to run it, how have the Saints done against the run so far?

Triplett: The Saints have been pretty solid against the run this year, especially last week. But they haven’t been tested by anyone of Murray’s caliber yet. I think the two biggest goals for New Orleans’ defense will be to make the Cowboys “walk” down the field instead of breaking big gains with guys like Bryant, Terrance Williams and Murray. And they must find a way to make some big plays of their own.

The Saints have only forced one turnover this year (in the first quarter of Week 1). And they’ve forced only five turnovers in their past 14 games. So far, quarterbacks have stayed out of trouble with shorter, quicker passes to avoid the Saints’ pass rush instead of standing back and challenging them down the field.

Will Dallas give the Saints opportunities for those takeaways? I see that Romo is tied for the league lead with four interceptions right now.

Archer: Hey, don’t just get on Romo for those turnovers. Murray has fumbled in three straight games. Well, four in a row if you want to factor in the final game of the 2013 season. Romo was picked off three times in the season opener against the Niners and the Cowboys could not overcome it. He had a pick-six last week against the Rams to fall behind 21-0 in the second quarter, but they were able to come back.

The defense just isn’t good enough for the offense to not only give away possessions but give away points. They can’t do that this week against the Saints. Romo has only a 1-3 record against the Saints as a starter but he’s been picked off only twice.
 

Cotton

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It's being reported that the roof will be open for the game.
 

boozeman

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Practice Update: Both McClains, Melton Back In

Posted 4 hours ago



Rowan Kavner

DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer



IRVING, Texas – Friday’s practice gave a lot of reason for optimism on the defense prior to a Sunday night contest against the Saints.

Linebacker Rolando McClain (groin) and defensive tackles Terrell McClain (concussion) and Henry Melton (hamstring) were all on the practice field for the first time this week.

Melton and Terrell McClain both played last weekend against the Rams. Melton fought through the hamstring issue all game. Rolando McClain missed last weekend’s game, but he’s still second on the team in tackles.

The Cowboys already got Justin Durant back earlier this week. The addition of Rolando McClain would give them their full arsenal at linebacker. Head coach Jason Garrett said he was hopeful Rolando McClain would be able to do something by the end of the week, but if he got on the field, it would be in a limited fashion.

Defensive end Anthony Spencer wasn’t on the field after practicing two straight days for the first time this year, but the off day was part of the plan in getting him ready for Sunday. Spencer said he’ll make his 2014 debut this weekend, and the coaches have hinted at that all week.

“He’s had a couple of good days, but we’ve got to see how he responded to that work and see how he feels over the next couple of days,” said head coach Jason Garrett. “We want to be very mindful of where he’s been and how long it’s been since he’s played football. He’s worked very hard to get back. He’s had a good week, but again, we’ve just to see how he feels over the next 48 hours.”




Melton’s the only defensive tackle on the team to get on the stat sheet this year in the sacks department, notching half a sack against the Titans.

With Melton out Wednesday and Thursday, defensive tackle Tyrone Crawford has bumped inside from the end spot to take the reps as the three-technique.

But it’s possible the Cowboys won’t need him there if Melton or Terrell McClain, who both made their way back to the practice field Friday, is available in two days. Terrell McClain was able to practice after passing his concussion test.

“We’ve just got to see how those guys are today,” Garrett said. “Henry and Terrell McClain have not practiced, so hopefully they’ll be able to do something today. They’ve been good players for us in there and guys that we want to be a part of it. But we’ve got to see what their availability is.”
 

Cotton

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No worries, Claiborne's got this.
 

Cotton

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Graham is going to murder us.
 

Cotton

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Henry Melton, Rolando McClain among questionable Cowboys
September, 26, 2014

By Tim MacMahon | ESPNDallas.com

IRVING, Texas -- Five Dallas Cowboys defenders are listed as questionable for Sunday night's game against the New Orleans Saints.

The questionable defenders are defensive end Anthony Spencer (knee), linebacker Rolando McClain (groin), defensive tackle Henry Melton (hamstring), defensive tackle Terrell McClain (concussion) and defensive tackle Davon Coleman (knee/calf).

Spencer is expected to play for the first time since undergoing microfracture knee surgery in October. As was the case, he did not practice Friday after being a limited participant the previous two days, part of the plan to get him ready for his season debut.

Rolando McClain had not practiced since the Week 2 win over the Tennessee Titans until Friday, when he was a limited participant.

"It feels better than yesterday," said McClain, who declined to reveal whether he participated in team drills. "We'll take it day by day."

Melton and Terrell McClain were also limited participants after missing the previous two practices. Coleman, who missed last week's win, has been a limited participant the last two days.

Every other Cowboy on the injury report is listed as probable.
 

L.T. Fan

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No worries, Claiborne's got this.
Maybe Claiborne can have some success against Graham if he sticks with him and doesn't get over aggressive. Someone who can jump with him is what it will take to slow him down. He probably can't be shutdown but he might be slowed down. It worth a shot.
 

Cotton

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Maybe Claiborne can have some success against Graham if he sticks with him and doesn't get over aggressive. Someone who can jump with him is what it will take to slow him down. He probably can't be shutdown but he might be slowed down. It worth a shot.
No.
 

Cotton

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What would be your approach?
There are no really good answers, but there are really bad answers, and Claiborne covering him is one of them. I would put Moore on him. Leave Carr and Scandrick outside. Have Moore mirror him on every play.
 

L.T. Fan

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There are no really good answers, but there are really bad answers, and Claiborne covering him is one of them. I would put Moore on him. Leave Carr and Scandrick outside. Have Moore mirror him on every play.
How tall is Moore. Can he jump?
 
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Deuce

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There are no really good answers, but there are really bad answers, and Claiborne covering him is one of them. I would put Moore on him. Leave Carr and Scandrick outside. Have Moore mirror him on every play.
You'll get Wilcox and like it.

:budd
 
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