The Morning After Wk 15: Bullied Badly In Buffalo
Dallas thought they were ready for a chance at changing the narrative. They were not.
I know where the concern really started setting in for me.
After a week of feeling like this was going to be an epic showdown that would require all afternoon and plenty of bruises and a fair amount of blood, there was an ominous feeling very early in the proceedings on Sunday in Buffalo.
It was the fifth play of the game and the first time either team touched the ball. Dallas had won the coin-toss and deferred to the second half, because the decision maker set up the team for a long day and wanted that “double-up” opportunity at the half; a trick Mike McCarthy has enjoyed for years.
But, to get to that stage of the game looking smart, your defense has to get some stops in the first half so that you are within range of your opponent.
Buffalo would get the ball first on this brilliant day and their stadium was rocking. Again, a non-scoring play out near midfield on the fifth snap of the afternoon should not make anyone’s optimism for earning a big road win sink too much.
Yet, for some reason, it seems like it might be the snap that most sticks with me here in the aftermath of a 31-10 drubbing.
It was 1st-and-10 at the Buffalo 48-yard line. James Cook had just run 10 yards for a first down and Buffalo’s new offensive coordinator Joe Brady had called for 22 personnel. This brings on 245-pound fullback Reggie Gilliam in front of Cook and an extra tight end in the form of 252-pound run blocker Quintin Morris. Only one wide receiver (Trent Sherfield) was on the field and Dallas had its normal personnel.
Not sure if everyone knows what this means, but normal personnel for Dallas is small. Very small. On this play where Buffalo is loading up with as much beef as they have on the roster, Dallas had Mazi Smith – who came sprinting on the field as a late substitute, Osa Odighizuwa, and Dorance Armstrong on the field. Whatever you think of any of them, they are at least reasonable men of size for the NFL on a defensive front. Armstrong is 255 pounds at DE and Micah Parsons is well undersized at the other spot at barely 245 pounds. Then, they have two small-ish linebackers and five more defensive backs. Markquese Bell is so tiny that several of the Cowboys safeties look as big or bigger.
I am sure I am spending too much time on this particular play because it fits all of my concerns about what would happen in a situation that somewhat resembles going to San Francisco and getting into a war of might at the point of attack. There might not be many occasions to replicate how that feels from a simple position of physics. What happens when a group of 11 men who are just bigger and stronger start pushing on an opposing force that is faster, but smaller. Could they defend themselves on a frontal assault that will attempt to bulldoze them?
You decide. Here is how that play went. The Bills called a simple run that would challenge the spine of the Cowboys defense. Both Cowboys defensive tackles ended up on the ground and the other nine players tried to get Cook to the ground after about a 4-yard gain.