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Matt Cassel, Cowboys must handle Jets' blitz
Jean-Jacques Taylor
ESPN Staff Writer
IRVING, Texas -- The Dallas Cowboys have no chance to beat the New York Jets if they don't handle coach Todd Bowles' elaborate blitz package.
The Jets' defense is based on creating pressure and disrupting their opponents' offense. Sometimes the pressure causes turnovers. Other times it leads to negative plays or incompletions.
The key, though, is to make it hard for the offense to move the ball consistently. The problem for Dallas is that quarterback Matt Cassel has had issues with the blitz, completing just 22 of 50 passes for 266 yards with a touchdown and an interception this season. He's been sacked seven times in those situations and has a passer rating of 59.3.
The Jets have blitzed on 77 of 211 first-down passes and 61 of 161 second-down passes. And if the Cowboys face 3rd-and-7 or longer, Cassel won't have to wonder if the Jets are blitzing. They have blitzed on 38 of 56 plays in that situation.
"They use a lot of different players in a lot of different spots and they bring them from different areas on the field," Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said, "and they play a lot of different coverages behind it and they have really good cover guys and really good down guys who can rush. They have good players who do these things well and they do it from a variety of different looks."
The Jets' scheme can be taxing on players mentally. Miss a blitz pickup and it can lead to disaster.
"You certainly want to look at as many blitzes they run as possible in your preparation," Garrett said. "It's challenging to practice all of those, so you try to prepare for them different ways. Maybe you group them a certain way. There are certainly some concepts they use both in coverage and in pressure that you try to expose to your team and practice as best you can."
Jean-Jacques Taylor
ESPN Staff Writer
IRVING, Texas -- The Dallas Cowboys have no chance to beat the New York Jets if they don't handle coach Todd Bowles' elaborate blitz package.
The Jets' defense is based on creating pressure and disrupting their opponents' offense. Sometimes the pressure causes turnovers. Other times it leads to negative plays or incompletions.
The key, though, is to make it hard for the offense to move the ball consistently. The problem for Dallas is that quarterback Matt Cassel has had issues with the blitz, completing just 22 of 50 passes for 266 yards with a touchdown and an interception this season. He's been sacked seven times in those situations and has a passer rating of 59.3.
The Jets have blitzed on 77 of 211 first-down passes and 61 of 161 second-down passes. And if the Cowboys face 3rd-and-7 or longer, Cassel won't have to wonder if the Jets are blitzing. They have blitzed on 38 of 56 plays in that situation.
"They use a lot of different players in a lot of different spots and they bring them from different areas on the field," Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said, "and they play a lot of different coverages behind it and they have really good cover guys and really good down guys who can rush. They have good players who do these things well and they do it from a variety of different looks."
The Jets' scheme can be taxing on players mentally. Miss a blitz pickup and it can lead to disaster.
"You certainly want to look at as many blitzes they run as possible in your preparation," Garrett said. "It's challenging to practice all of those, so you try to prepare for them different ways. Maybe you group them a certain way. There are certainly some concepts they use both in coverage and in pressure that you try to expose to your team and practice as best you can."