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Scout's Eye: Cowboys Have Opportunity Vs. Atlanta Ol; Tough Test For Terrance

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Scout's Eye: Cowboys Have Opportunity vs. Atlanta OL; Tough Test For Terrance
Thursday, September 24, 2015 12:04 PM CDT
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By Bryan Broaddus

Football Analyst/Scout

IRVING, Texas – As you might expect, the matchups for this game have been greatly affected by the change in personnel on the field. The Cowboys are working with a new quarterback, and they don’t have their top receiver – which will undoubtedly change the way they matchup with Atlanta.

One of today’s two matchups is a direct result of that fact, but the other is fairly straightforward. Regardless of who’s missing on offense, I think this Cowboys pass rush is going to have a great opportunity to take advantage of the Falcons’ offensive line.

Conversely, if Brandon Weeden is going to have success – and if the Dallas rushing attack is going to have room to work – I think it falls on how well the Cowboys can make plays through the air.

Let’s take a look at this week’s matchups:

Cowboys DE Jeremy Mincey against Falcons OT Jake Matthews

For all the positive traits that Jake Matthews has as a tackle -- initial quickness, lateral range and body control -- the one area that he struggles with is with his overall strength. Matthews is an outstanding athlete, very similar to what the Cowboys have in Tyron Smith, but he doesn’t share Smith’s upper and lower body power.

Where Matthews will have problems in this matchup with Jeremy Mincey is when Mincey wants to put his head down and just run right over the top of him. In these first two games I have studied for the Falcons, rushers have had far better success playing Matthews this way instead of attempting to work the edges on him. Matthews is just too athletic to allow you to beat him around the corner, but handling power is a whole different story.

If Mincey wants to carry Matthews back into Matt Ryan, there will be an opportunity to do that. The adjustment that the Falcons will likely make -- and I have noticed -- is that they will keep a tight end or a “H” back to Matthews’ side in order to try and help him. If that is the case, I still believe Mincey can work against Matthews with some success due to the fact that Mincey is quick to the inside and the extra blocker would have trouble getting into position. If Mincey was more of an edge rusher – then that blocker might help, but in this case it doesn’t.

Cowboys WR Terrance Williams against Falcons CB Desmond Trufant

As much as I believe that Dallas needs to stay away from Desmond Trufant, there are going to be some snaps where they just can’t avoid him.

Trufant is the best defensive back that the Falcons have. He is highly competitive and he is physically tough. His playing speed and short area quickness are impressive. Trufant is one of the few corners that I have seen that shows the ability to be able to carry a route across the field and not lose contact or position with the receiver. His best trait is his recovery speed. There were snaps where it appeared that he was beaten, but just before the ball arrived, he was right there to knock it down.

Trufant is going to not only make Williams fight for space, but the other Dallas receivers as well. If Williams is going to make plays in this game, they will likely be contested -- which hasn’t always been his strength. Williams is going to have to be smart in the way he plays against Trufant in regard to how he executes his routes. If he is lazy, then Trufant will eat him up, but if he can just buy a little separation – Brandon Weeden has the arm strength to put the ball in there.

The Falcons normally don’t move their corners around, but Dez Bryant won’t be in the lineup on Sunday. Dan Quinn knows firsthand what Terrance Williams is capable of from his days in Seattle and might find it necessary to match him up with his best corner.

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I will not be starting Williams in my fantasy league

I wouldnt either, however, if Dallas is smart they will line Williams up against Alford. Quinn doesnt move his CBs around, so Trufant wont be following Williams. That is why OBJ had such a great 1st half against Atlanta. They lined him up on Alford.

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So, what was he wrong about? That Jake Matthews struggles with DEs with power or that Trufant will make Williams earn every catch he gets? shrug.001.gif

JAke Matthews last year and Jake Matthews this year have been two different players, dumba$$. He is healthy and has graded highly in both games, our best o lineman this year. You really don't look good in either match up.

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I wouldnt either, however, if Dallas is smart they will line Williams up against Alford. Quinn doesnt move his CBs around, so Trufant wont be following Williams. That is why OBJ had such a great 1st half against Atlanta. They lined him up on Alford.

Once again, you don't know what you are talking about. Alford really only gave up two catches, the rest were other defensive breakdowns. There has been analysis done on every OBJ catch. Of course, when he ended up on Trufant no passes were thrown at him.

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JAke Matthews last year and Jake Matthews this year have been two different players, dumba$$. He is healthy and has graded highly in both games, our best o lineman this year. You really don't look good in either match up.

Why do you always act like you have sand in your vagina at the thought of anyone mentioning a weakness in an Atlanta player?

...but I'm a Homer that oversells Dallas' players and sees no weaknesses in the team...

Just saying

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Once again, you don't know what you are talking about. Alford really only gave up two catches, the rest were other defensive breakdowns. There has been analysis done on every OBJ catch. Of course, when he ended up on Trufant no passes were thrown at him.

Pardon me, I wasn't trying to put OBJs performance on Alford. I was just showing that OBJ lined up all over the field and Trufant didn't follow him. If I were an opposing heah coach I would take full advantage of this. Like New York did.
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Why do you always act like you have sand in your vagina at the thought of anyone mentioning a weakness in an Atlanta player?

...but I'm a Homer that oversells Dallas' players and sees no weaknesses in the team...

Just saying

I was a little angsty this morning, I apologize. It was early.

But...you should really see the grades on Mathews so far this year. Healthy, he has been our best o lineman.

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Pardon me, I wasn't trying to put OBJs performance on Alford. I was just showing that OBJ lined up all over the field and Trufant didn't follow him. If I were an opposing heah coach I would take full advantage of this. Like New York did.

This is true. Since the game there was a lot of negative on Alford, and most of it wasn't on him. The catch for 67 yards/td was on the safety, as Alford's job on that play was to cover the sideline and the linebackers/safety to take away the inside. The linebackers failed as OBJ found a seam, and the safety failed for not preventing the catch and hen took a bad angle on the tackle.

Alford actually had a couple of really good pass defenses against him, and the catches on him he was right there and we're just terrific plays by OBJ.

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