Thursday Breakdown – Week 6 – Clash of the Titans?
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From: http://afraidofedhochuli.blogspot.com/
What game to do? Maybe Tennessee at Tampa Bay? Or Miami at Cleveland …hmmm…oh, imagine a LOT of sarcasm in that last sentence.
There is NO other game to do. If you think there is, you are nuttier then this guy:
Is this a preview of the Super Bowl? No. Is it a battle of two 5-0 teams? Yes.
I am tired of the hype stating that the Cowboys are so great. They are 5-0, yes, and you can only play the teams that are on your schedule, but what are the combined records of these teams? Guess. No, I will wait. 6-19. As I have stated in the past: The Raiders would be 5-0 with this schedule.
Until the Cowboys show me that it is not a fluke that they are undefeated, I will be against the idea that they are that great.
So, I will get to breaking down.
New England Offense.
Run:
Remember when the Patriots had a 1-2 punch that teams had to worry about? Remember when Corey Dillon was there and he would run over guys and then Laurence Maroney would come in as a change-of pace back and confuse the heck out of the defense? Well, that time is back, only Maroney has taken over the roll of Dillon and out of the scrap heap came Sammy Morris. This run game is dangerous. They are averaging 155.0 rush yards a game (3rd in the NFL) and 4.5 a carry. And with the passing attack that they have it makes it difficult to bring 8 or 9 men into the box; leaving things wide open.
Dallas has been decently stout against the run; only allowing 80.6 yards on the ground per game. But this is how it happened.
Week 1 (NYG): 124 rush yards
Week 2 (MIA): 61 rush yards
Week 3 (CHI): 75 rush yards
Week 4 (STL): 62 rush yards
Week 5 (BUF): 81 rush yards
This isn’t too much of a feat seeing as how the teams above rank 13th, 19th, 27th, 21st and 20th in the league, respectively. They are going up against a much better run game then they have faced and will be on their heels the entire time.
Advantage: Pats (1-0)
Pass:
This is the scariest part of this New England Team. They are averaging 272.8 yards per game. Tom Brady is in a zone that none of us have seen since Rod Serling, Randy Moss is quickly bringing his career back and Ben Watson is showing that he is an elite TE.
Dallas is going to get smoked. Again, their Defense has yet to face a worthy opponent, and they are ranked 12th in Pass Yards Allowed.
Week 1 (NYG): 215.8 pass yards
Week 2 (MIA): 215.4 pass yards
Week 3 (CHI): 171.0 pass yards
Week 4 (STL): 195.8 pass yards
Week 5 (BUF): 106 pass yards
16th, 17th, 28th, 22nd and 32nd in the league, respectively.
Advantage: Pats (2-0)
Offensive Line:
Great O-Line.
How many sacks have the Pats allowed? Oh, right…3. The Cowboys have created 12, which is good enough for12th in the league. But really? The under-achieving D-Line VS the All-Pro O-Line is going to go to the All-Pro O-Line every day.
Advantage: Pats (3-0)
Dallas Offense
Run:
[1] Who else thinks that this is a great “Two-headed” monster? It was amazing that Julius Jones was the “break out star” of the defense, then they bring in Marion Barber III and they end up with a tandem that should strike fear in defenses. You have Jones who can pound the ball and pick up the tough yards. He is only averaging 3.4 yards per carry, but he gets people expecting the hard nose then they bring in Barber. Barber is the “electric” back of the two. He is averaging 6.0 yards per rush with 4 TDs, but has 1 TD when catching the ball for an average of 9.3 yards per catch. They are a great two-back set. This is why they are averaging 137.2 yards per game (7th in the league).
They will come up against a big problem, though: New England, who is ranked 5th in the league, allowing an average of 74.2 yards per game.
They allowed:
Week 1 (NYJ): 60 rush yards
Week 2 (SD): 52 rush yards
Week 3 (BUF): 110 rush yards
Week 4 (CIN): 57 rush yards
Week 5 (CLE): 92 rush yards
These opponents rank 29th, 17th, 20th, 26th and 16th, respectively. This is a good Defense, but it is a little unnerving that they have allowed some of the bigger days against BUF and CLE. They did hold SD to 52 yards, though, arguably as they were struggling.
Advantage: Cowboys (3-1)
Pass:
Tony Romo. Hmmm. An enigma. This guy seems to be the best one week and the worst the next. I would like to lay to rest, RIGHT NOW, that he is NOT the next Brett Favre. Brett is a tough, strong QB. Romo is a pretty-boy. But the boy CAN throw. I am excited to see the match up between him and the Patriots Defense.
Beli-cheat is a great planner. This Defense is always moving, changing and giving new looks. [2] Romo has yet to see anything this complex and I really do believe that the Defense will win this one out.
Advantage: Pats (4-1)
Offensive Line:
Romo stayed on his feet last week, but it wasn't because of his team. It almost looked as if they were trying to put him on the ground.
And we all know the kind of power the Patriots have.
Advantage: Pats (5-1)
Special Teams: (Not Scored)
Kickers:
Stephen Gostkowski 7/8, miss coming from over 40 yards; 27/34 last season
Nick Folk 10/11, miss was under 29 yards; rookie, game winner against Buffalo
Punters:
Chris Hanson averaging 36.3 yards per kick; 40.6 last season
Mat McBriar averaging 47.6 yards per kick; 48.2 last season
Advantage: Cowboys
Prediction: NE 32, DAL 10
I actually had a tough time writing this, because I really don't like either of the teams. The problem is that the Cowboys are outmatched in almost every single position. Sorry, Cowboys fans. This is going to be a blow out.
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Oscar De La Hoya would like to send an e-vite to Tom and Junior for next Saturday.
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