The Dallas Cowboys were added as the 17th opponent for the Patriots this past off-season.
Whether it’s been at home or on the road, the Patriots have owned the Cowboys in recent years. Bill Beluchick has never lost to Dallas as Patriots head coach.
Of course that could end today as the 4-1 Cowboys are a far more talented team than what they’ve had in the past and Mike McCarthy could match wits with Belichick.
Let’s meet the Cowboys and tell people what they will schematically.
Head Coach: Mike McCarthy
Offensive Coordinator: Kellen Moore
Defensive Coordinator: Dan Quinn
Special Teams: John Fassel
The Cowboys are primarily an 11 personnel team. They will get into 12, 20 and 21 as well but their primary object is to mix and match personnel groupings and formations that allow them to put their best people on the field.
Expect a lot of 12 personnel formations that feature the tights on both sides. Ezekiel Elliott is most effective running out of one back. Look for the Cowboys to use Schultz and Blake in different alignments and move them around.
The Patriots could see a fair amount of zone read and speed option. Especially on short yardage and goal one situations.
The Patriots play a lot of man so expect Dallas to take their shots and run a lot of crossing routes. Post, dig, post corner, deep sail routes and go routes are all routes that Dallas will use to beat New England’s man coverage.
Dallas use more sprint outs and bootlegs than the average NFL offense. The Cowboys like to move the pocket for Prescott and give him half field reads.
Defense
New defensive coordinator Dan Quinn has brought the 4-3 and Under front with him to Dallas. The Cowboys play in their base a lot and they play a fair amount of nickel (5 DB’s) but not a lot of dime.
Quinn isn’t a big blitz guy. Instead he relies on twists and games along the defensive line. The Patriots offensive line will see a fair amount of T-E stunts in this game.
Dallas plays a lot of Cover 3 and Cover 1 (Man-Free) depending on what the offense is in. The Cowboys will also play a lot of Tampa 2 on early downs.
Quinn likes to play split coverages. He plays a lot of man to one and match up zone to the other side. The coverage is predicated on the personnel and formation of course.
When Dallas does blitz, they blitz inside a lot and they like to blitz from depth. They will simulate some pressure but when they decide to come, they come. They don’t bluff a lot.
Depth Chart (Courtesy of Ourlads)
