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10	Dezember 2018

Scouting the 2018 Detroit Lions Check below fo

Know your Cowboys enemy:r previous scouting reports in this series: After losing in Seattle Youth Brett Maher Jersey , the Cowboys go home and host the Detroit Lions. They�re in the first year under new head coach Matt Patricia, and the team has progressively gotten better each game. They were utterly picked apart in Week One by the New York Jets, of all teams, narrowly lost to Jimmy Garoppolo and the 49ers, and then thoroughly beat Bill Belichick and the Patriots last week. Everything came together for Detroit in that game: their offense became balanced as rookie running back Kerryon Johnson became the Lions� first rusher of over 100 yards in a game since 2013, and the exotic defense that features multiple fronts started clicking. And the defensive fronts will give Dallas trouble, specifically. They line up in 4-3, 3-4, 3-3-5, and plenty of other creative ways. As such, there are a lot of players who get action on the field, including the likes of Sylvester Williams, Da�Shawn Hand, A�Shawn Robinson, Kerry Hyder, Ziggy Ansah (though he will miss the game), and Ricky Jean Francois. As far as linebackers go, Jarrad Davis has been the man at middle linebacker, leading the team in solo tackles. Christian Jones, Devon Kennard, Marquis Flowers, and Eli Harold all get involved in their own ways Youth Maliek Collins Jersey , too. Fortunately for Dallas, Ansah has already been ruled out for the game. Still, the Lions have created pressure without him, and both Kennard and Harold are tied for the team lead in sacks with three apiece. The changes in personnel between plays makes it harder for a quarterback to read, and going up against an offense in as much dormancy as Dallas�, it might be the perfect way to unravel this offense. The offense of the Lions is still their biggest threat, though. Matthew Stafford is a very talented quarterback who has shouldered an unholy load of work in his career. The rise of rookie Johnson at running back might be able to take that load off of him, and Johnson was by far the most underrated running back in the draft. LeGarrette Blount is a dangerous complement in the running game, while Golden Tate, Marvin Jones, and Kenny Golladay are a sneaky good receiving corps that Stafford utilizes well. Most importantly for Detroit, their offensive line looks the best it has for quite a while. Taylor Decker and Rick Wagner make for a very good pair of book end offensive tackles, and both center Graham Glasgow and right guard TJ Lang were pretty good last year. Rookie Frank Ragnow will slot in at left guard, and may very well end up being their best interior lineman - after a rough start to the season, he was wildly impressive against the Patriots. Unfortunately for Dallas, that doesn�t make clear any mismatches from a pass rushing perspective. DeMarcus Lawrence will have a fight against Wagner, and Randy Gregory will have a tough time against Decker. The defensive tackles will likely get some pressure up the middle against Glasgow and the rookie, but perhaps the best way to generate pressure in this game in with blitzes. Anthony Brown off the edge or Jaylon Smith are the best bets here. The best way to stop Detroit�s offense, though, is to throw Stafford off his rhythm. The running game will have success here and there, but it�s a passing offense through and through. Even if Johnson continues his success, this offense isn�t built to win games on their ground attack. And while Stafford is extremely talented Youth La'el Collins Jersey , his accuracy gets worse the farther he throws it. And with a secondary that prioritizes tight coverage now, and corners who have the talent to execute the style of play, Stafford will have a hard time to hit receivers regardless of how good his blocking is. Tight end Luke Willson probably has the best potential for a big game here, as he�ll be the one covered by a linebacker or safety. Still, Willson is no athletic freak and while he�ll probably lead the team in receptions in this game, it shouldn�t go for too many yards. As long as the secondary can maintain its coverage, Stafford will struggle. As mentioned before, the versatility of this Lions defense will help mask their weaknesses. The biggest issue is if those interior defenders get to go up against a Frederick-less offensive line, as Robinson in particular can bully around Joe Looney and shrink the pocket. The Lions� secondary is not without talent, as Glover Quin is quietly underrated as a safety, and Darius Slay is as opportunistic as cornerbacks come. Last week against Seattle, Dak Prescott had two interceptions off crazy plays that can only be summed up as a symptom of a poor passing attack. Detroit may not have Earl Thomas, but they do currently boast the best passing defense in the NFL. However, the Lions also have the worst run defense in the NFL.This is where Dallas has to take advantage if they want to win. If the offensive line can hold up for Ezekiel Elliott, he�ll bust through this defense and juke through the defenders. It�s crazy that this needs to be said, but Elliott deserves 20+ carries in this game more than any other. If the running game can actually be established, it might open up things for receivers such as Michael Gallup, Cole Beasley, and Tavon Austin to get the ball in space and wreak havoc with their ability to pick up yards after the catch. This might be a game where the Cowboys try to break their offense out of its funk by calling a lot of passes for Dak, but that would be a very ill-advised plan given the Lions� inability to stop the run. I mean, Matt Breida of all people put up 138 yards on just 11 carries. Imagine what one of the best running backs in the league could do with 20 carries. In the end, this is a game the Cowboys can easily win if they stick to what has worked offensively for them and stay away from the things that don�t. Unfortunately Youth Antwaun Woods Jersey , the Cowboys have seemingly done the opposite of that so far in 2018, and that makes this a game they could easily lose. If they do, falling to 1-3 is effectively a nail in the coffin for a team with much higher hopes than what they�ve shown so far.Cowboys OC plans to shorten rotation at receivers for Lions game & that�s a great place to start The Cowboys are implementing �some changes� on offense after they have fallen into offensive purgatory early in the season. Scott Linehan and Dak Prescott at least know that what they have been trying isn�t working. So, the offensive coordinator has decided to look at his roster that seemingly has 1,000 receivers and tighten up the rotation. For the first three games, six of the seven receivers on the roster have worked their way in and out of the lineup. Now, they have had some bright moments, like this one to Tavon Austin in week two�s win over the Giants (remember how fun that was?!).Then there was this one to the same guy even though it was during the middle of a terrrible game.These �moments� have been really rare to find in an offense that has rarely found success lately. Scott Linehan is well aware of the angry mob steadily approaching �The Star� since this �slump� started 11 games ago. He�s also well aware that in his 16-year NFL career calling offenses, he�s had a Top-10 offense in one area or another in 12 of them. Now, he faces a tough task of getting back to what worked for his personnel. That�s why tightening up the receiving rotation is a great place to start with the Detroit Lions� number-one ranked pass defense coming to town.A few days ago, we noted the passing offense being in such rough shape because there just hasn�t been much of a plan at receiver. The Cowboys have done more to take away from their passing game than help it. There has been no rhythm because there is literally no rhythm in how or when they deploy their receivers. Right now, Ezekiel Elliott and Geoff Swaim are technically the two pass catchers in snap percentage, over 90% for both. In targets, it�s Elliott (1st) and Swaim (4th). In receptions, Elliott (2nd) and Swaim (4th) again though both guys are the two lowest in yards per catch. Here is what the snap counts and production look like from just the receivers on this team:PlayerSnap Pct. (Rank)Targets (Rank)Rec (Rank)Rec. Yards (Rank)TDOne thing that stands out is hopefully what Linehan is talking about, and that�s getting a consistent rotation going. What happened to trading for Tavon Austin and �having a plan� for him? Austin has been one of the only bright spots in their struggles to find a passing rhythm. Terrance Williams has primarily been getting snaps as a run blocker with zero targets in the passing game in week three. Now, they are preparing to possibly lose Williams for a stretch so they added Brice Butler to the mix. The coaches have to decide which guys are going to be most productive and use them against the Lions. Do you remember that NFL clich about quarterbacks: If you have two of them, you don�t have a quarterback? Well, how about if you have seven receivers, you probably don�t have a chance for a clean passing game?When you�re facing off against guys like Quandre Diggs, Darius Slay, and Glover Quinn Womens Demarcus Lawrence Jersey , a plan is going to be needed. You can�t make it as easy for the defense. When you don�t have the respect of the defense for your receivers, you must find ways to earn it. You probably want to start with the most important question:What mismatches do the Cowboys have that they can use?A.) Short-area quickness/Speed- Tavon Austin, Deonte Thompson, and Cole BeasleyB.) Size & Athleticism - Rico Gathers, Michael Gallup, Allen HurnsC.) YAC potential - All of the above if used correctlyIt�s about finding a rhythm between your quarterback and his receivers that can be efficient. It�s unlikely that the Cowboys are going walk into this matchup and dominate this Lions defense at what they do best, cover the pass. At the same time, you have to find ways for a more efficient passing game. Linehan and Dak have said that they have added more wrinkles to the offense but what could that mean?Well, hopefully it means much less Air-Coryell and vertical routes that don�t really fit the personnel. In order to create some success in the passing game, they will need to think more along the lines of the West Coast or Spread concepts. Try more underneath routes or rub routes. Heck, why not some pick plays? You run the risk of getting caught but check outhow these pick plays have worked for the Saints and Patriots. Why use Rico Gathers as a blocker when you can run him on a crossing pattern? Most of all, get Dak Prescott comfortable using play-action. This should be a great game for the Cowboys to establish the run, against a Lions defense that surrenders 149 rushing yards per game, which is 32nd in the league. If Scott Linehan is looking to tighten up his receiving corps, then that�s good news for the offense. Pick a few that the quarterback can start building chemistry with instead of having six guys with no chemistry. With as bad as this Lions run defense seems to be, the Cowboys don�t have to pass their way to victory. It�s just important for them to find something that resembles an efficient NFL passing offense, do that and they just might find themselves in the win column.