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Eatman: Texans See Vanilla Defense Turn Into "Tutti Frutti"
lol
HOUSTON - And we always say that preseason doesn't matter.
In fact, last month when the Texans dominated the Cowboys for a convincing preseason win, the theme of that game was how the Cowboys didn't really show anything defensively. What was also said was how much the Texans schemed that game in order to win.
Houston got that win, congratulations. But Sunday, the Cowboys got the win that will actually count for something. But don't think for a second that the Aug. 28 game against the Texans didn't have anything to do with the 27-13 spanking the Cowboys delivered here on Sunday.
"I know this, the things they ran against us the first time weren't working today," head coach Wade Phillips said. "They tried a few things that we saw in the first game and we played it differently."
Differently as in … more than one defense was called. A month ago, the Cowboys basically ran the same defense all game long - a simple cover 1 defense that virtually opens up the middle of the field. And if you remember, the Texans torched the Cowboys with those underneath crossing routes that left Orlando Scandrick and Terence Newman just chasing receivers with little to no help.
And since the Cowboys didn't blitz much in that first game, the Texans were able to establish a running game, something they actually did well again on Sunday with Arian Foster pick up 106 yards.
But overall, the Cowboys didn't show anything the first time around … they showed it all Sunday.
Actually, cornerback Mike Jenkins seemed to put it best.
"The first time we played them we were vanilla. This time, we were Tutti Frutti, baby!" Jenkins said coming off the field Sunday. "We just brought the heat. We didn't sit back this time. We played our game and we took them out of their game. That was the difference."
And what a huge difference it was. No longer did we see guys like Andre Johnson and Kevin Walter getting to do whatever they wanted across the middle.
Now let's be real about it. The Texans still got some plays. They weren't just shut out completely. But the Cowboys put that bend-but-don't-break style on display.
No big plays - just a 26-yarder to Johnson was the longest of the game. They made Houston work for everything and then when the Texans got close, the Cowboys put the clamps down.
"I thought we did a great job in the red zone on defense," Phillips said. "We made it tough to score down there. I thought it was a big difference in the game."
Arguably the biggest sequence of events occurred when the Texans trailed 17-3, but were driving at the start of the fourth quarter. It appeared Owen Daniels had caught a touchdown, but the officials rightfully changed the call and put the ball on the Cowboys' 1.
The Texans couldn't score as the Cowboys stuffed Foster for first no gain, and then a 2-yard loss. After offsetting penalties on third down, the Cowboys surprised Houston with a blitz and Keith Brooking rocked Matt Schaub for a nine-yard loss, leaving the Texans no choice but to kick a field goal, cutting the lead to just 17-6.
"I thought was a big stop for us," Brooking said. "We said in the huddle we weren't going to let them score (a touchdown) and we didn't. I thought the game changed right then."
Clearly, this entire game just seemed like an overall attitude adjustment. And not just a change from the first meeting in Houston last month, but even these first two games.
Against Washington and Chicago, the Cowboys looked more like a reactive team. They were waiting for the Redskins and Bears to do something, and then they adjusted. Now, in this league, you have to make adjustments all the time. But the game plan looked different in Houston. The Cowboys were the ones that set the tone with their defense.
Even though they gave up the first points of the game - a second-quarter field goal, the style was the same: Be aggressive, swarm to the ball, make the tackle, and tighten it up in the red zone.
That worked all game long until the fourth quarter when the Texans scored a garbage-time touchdown. I usually don't like that term because 60 minutes is 60 minutes. But when you see Leon Williams, Barry Church, Danny McCray, Stephen Bowen and Jason Hatcher walk off the field after that long drive, then you know the Cowboys had already emptied the bench.
And who would've thought that? The Cowboys would be so dominant all game long that they could afford to rest some players in the final minutes. But that's what preparation does for a team. Because Houston tipped its hand last month, the Cowboys were able to capitalize.
"When you look at it, they ran the same plays they ran last time," Orlando Scandrick said. "It helped us because we've already seen it. And we still ran our stuff, but we had a lot of different wrinkles and packages. I really didn't see anything different from them."
Advantage Cowboys.
Just remember how you felt after watching that Cowboys' loss to Houston back in late August. As bad as they looked that day, there was a reason for it. And it was crystal clear on Sunday.
The Cowboys will take that trade off every time.
lol
HOUSTON - And we always say that preseason doesn't matter.
In fact, last month when the Texans dominated the Cowboys for a convincing preseason win, the theme of that game was how the Cowboys didn't really show anything defensively. What was also said was how much the Texans schemed that game in order to win.
Houston got that win, congratulations. But Sunday, the Cowboys got the win that will actually count for something. But don't think for a second that the Aug. 28 game against the Texans didn't have anything to do with the 27-13 spanking the Cowboys delivered here on Sunday.
"I know this, the things they ran against us the first time weren't working today," head coach Wade Phillips said. "They tried a few things that we saw in the first game and we played it differently."
Differently as in … more than one defense was called. A month ago, the Cowboys basically ran the same defense all game long - a simple cover 1 defense that virtually opens up the middle of the field. And if you remember, the Texans torched the Cowboys with those underneath crossing routes that left Orlando Scandrick and Terence Newman just chasing receivers with little to no help.
And since the Cowboys didn't blitz much in that first game, the Texans were able to establish a running game, something they actually did well again on Sunday with Arian Foster pick up 106 yards.
But overall, the Cowboys didn't show anything the first time around … they showed it all Sunday.
Actually, cornerback Mike Jenkins seemed to put it best.
"The first time we played them we were vanilla. This time, we were Tutti Frutti, baby!" Jenkins said coming off the field Sunday. "We just brought the heat. We didn't sit back this time. We played our game and we took them out of their game. That was the difference."
And what a huge difference it was. No longer did we see guys like Andre Johnson and Kevin Walter getting to do whatever they wanted across the middle.
Now let's be real about it. The Texans still got some plays. They weren't just shut out completely. But the Cowboys put that bend-but-don't-break style on display.
No big plays - just a 26-yarder to Johnson was the longest of the game. They made Houston work for everything and then when the Texans got close, the Cowboys put the clamps down.
"I thought we did a great job in the red zone on defense," Phillips said. "We made it tough to score down there. I thought it was a big difference in the game."
Arguably the biggest sequence of events occurred when the Texans trailed 17-3, but were driving at the start of the fourth quarter. It appeared Owen Daniels had caught a touchdown, but the officials rightfully changed the call and put the ball on the Cowboys' 1.
The Texans couldn't score as the Cowboys stuffed Foster for first no gain, and then a 2-yard loss. After offsetting penalties on third down, the Cowboys surprised Houston with a blitz and Keith Brooking rocked Matt Schaub for a nine-yard loss, leaving the Texans no choice but to kick a field goal, cutting the lead to just 17-6.
"I thought was a big stop for us," Brooking said. "We said in the huddle we weren't going to let them score (a touchdown) and we didn't. I thought the game changed right then."
Clearly, this entire game just seemed like an overall attitude adjustment. And not just a change from the first meeting in Houston last month, but even these first two games.
Against Washington and Chicago, the Cowboys looked more like a reactive team. They were waiting for the Redskins and Bears to do something, and then they adjusted. Now, in this league, you have to make adjustments all the time. But the game plan looked different in Houston. The Cowboys were the ones that set the tone with their defense.
Even though they gave up the first points of the game - a second-quarter field goal, the style was the same: Be aggressive, swarm to the ball, make the tackle, and tighten it up in the red zone.
That worked all game long until the fourth quarter when the Texans scored a garbage-time touchdown. I usually don't like that term because 60 minutes is 60 minutes. But when you see Leon Williams, Barry Church, Danny McCray, Stephen Bowen and Jason Hatcher walk off the field after that long drive, then you know the Cowboys had already emptied the bench.
And who would've thought that? The Cowboys would be so dominant all game long that they could afford to rest some players in the final minutes. But that's what preparation does for a team. Because Houston tipped its hand last month, the Cowboys were able to capitalize.
"When you look at it, they ran the same plays they ran last time," Orlando Scandrick said. "It helped us because we've already seen it. And we still ran our stuff, but we had a lot of different wrinkles and packages. I really didn't see anything different from them."
Advantage Cowboys.
Just remember how you felt after watching that Cowboys' loss to Houston back in late August. As bad as they looked that day, there was a reason for it. And it was crystal clear on Sunday.
The Cowboys will take that trade off every time.
, I don't mean cheering like "yeah". I mean, cheering like it was his "supposed" team he was all decked out in doing the damage. 
