Dallas Cowboys have many advantages over the Seattle Seahawks
In today’s NFL, it’s difficult to beat a team twice in one season. That’s just one statistic working in favor of the Dallas Cowboys this Saturday.
The Dallas Cowboys begin their 2018 NFL playoff journey at home against the Seattle Seahawks this Saturday. Week Three seems like a long time ago, but that is when the Cowboys lost to the Seahawks in Seattle 24-13. Should Cowboy Nation expect a similar result?
There are a few things working against a Seattle Seahawks playoff victory in Dallas. The Cowboys have developed, matured and become a better team since Week 3. The five offensive linemen have learned to play together and able to form Voltron.
The addition of wide receiver Amari Cooper, the emergence of defensive end Randy Gregory and rookie linebacker Leighton Vander Esch combined with the stellar play of future Hall of Fame safety Jeff Heath have made the Cowboys a vastly improved, formidable opponent.
This time the Cowboys are playing at home in AT&T Stadium – aka The House That Tony Romo Built. Just like the gambling experts in Las Vegas, Nevada, I too believe in the power of home field advantage. In fact, those experts have listed the Cowboys as a 1 point to 2.5 point favorite.
I would rather see and hear the Cowboys playing at home than in Seattle. If you’ve never been, I definitely encourage you to make a trip to the Pacific Northwest. Seattle is a beautiful city and hot dogs with cream cheese is a better tasting combination than I expected. As it relates to football, I don’t think words could ever accurately describe how deafening loud their CenturyLink Field is. Not playing in Seattle definitely gives the Cowboys another advantage.
Unless you have a horrible team in your conference, like the New York Jets (4-12) in the AFC East, the Raiders (4-12) in the AFC West, the Arizona Cardinals (3-13) and San Francisco 49’ers (4 – 12) in the NFC West – it’s difficult to beat a team twice in one season. Like patterns in a video game, every team has systems, tendencies and habits that become familiar over time. Coaches and coordinators will usually bring their old system to their new team. That brings me to the one negative about this matchup.
The Cowboys newest coaching staff addition, defensive backs coach and passing game coordinator Kris Richard, spent seven years with the Seahawks. These schemes and systems typically don’t change as much as verbiage. Players screaming “Fox, Fox, Fox” in Seattle could mean the same as “Wolf, Wolf, Wolf” in Dallas. Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson could walk up to the line of scrimmage and know exactly what the defense is going to do.
It’s the little things that appear on film that give teams the winning edge. Wilson may expect a Cover 2 zone instead of Cover 3 by noticing the depth of the safeties. It will seem that Seattle picked the perfect play. To counter this, there should be a lot of pre-snap motion and movement by the Cowboys defense to disguise coverages.
The Cowboys will need continued great performances by the two linebackers that lead the team in tackles – Leighton Vander Esch (140) and Jaylon Smith (122). Every Seahawks receiver will get hit by safety Jeff Heath – a.k.a. Mr. Put Some Respeck on His Name – who is also the Cowboys third leading tackler (85). Fun fact: Heath has statistically outplayed Seahawks safety Earl Thomas III this season.
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Expect this game to be a chess match. For those attending – remember to wear white to the game. For the rest of Cowboy Nation, follow the advice of Hall of Fame wide receiver Terrell Owens and “Get your popcorn ready!”
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