Post by prossman on Dec 14, 2009 23:57:13 GMT -7
Predictable Dallas Cowboys help Chargers on goal-line stand
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Predictable Dallas Cowboys help Chargers on goal-line stand
12:39 AM CST on Monday, December 14, 2009
Column by BILL NICHOLS / The Dallas Morning News | brnichols@dallasnews.com
Bill Nichols
Archive | E-mail
ARLINGTON – San Diego quarterback Philip Rivers passed for 272 yards and one touchdown. And the Chargers put together a clock-guzzling late drive to secure victory.
But they were most electrified by four defensive plays late in the second quarter:
•Marion Barber off right guard for 3 yards to San Diego's 1.
•Barber off right guard for no gain.
•Barber off right guard for no gain.
•Barber off right guard for no gain.
Dallas' strategy caught none of the Chargers by surprise. Actually, they were shocked that the same play kept coming.
"They called the same play over and over," said San Diego inside linebacker Tim Dobbins, who plays primarily in short-yardage situations. "I don't know what they were thinking. I don't know if they were looking at my braces thinking the left side was the weak side or something, but it definitely wasn't the case."
Dobbins said that he and Brandon Siler, the other inside linebacker, knew what was coming once they saw Barber and fullback Deon Anderson in the backfield.
Siler went low, Dobbins went over the top. Barber went nowhere.
"In our mind, we knew he wasn't blocking," Dobbins said of Barber. "We knew he had to get the ball. He's not getting paid to block. Everybody knows that. Everybody in the stands knew that. We knew it was going to be a flip or a dive, one or the other. I don't know if they watched film or what."
Siler stopped Barber on first down. Dobbins made the stop on second. On thirddown, Dobbins took Anderson and end Jacques Cesaire was responsible for Barber. They combined on the tackle. On fourth, Dobbins and Siler made the stop.
"We felt like we were strong enough to make it down there," Cowboys coach Wade Phillips said. "I felt like if we didn't make it, we would at least have them backed up and have another chance to score. ... That was very disappointing for all of us."
The Chargers took over at the 1 with 2:13 left. Rivers promptly showed Dallas how to gain 1 yard by plunging ahead on the keeper. He missed deep to Vincent Jackson and was intercepted by Terence Newman at the 27.
But the Cowboys failed to capitalize. After an incompletion, a 3-yard gain by Barber and another incompletion, Nick Folk's 42-yard field goal attempt sailed wide left.
"Anytime you can get down there and keep a team from getting in the end zone, it's unbelievable," Chargers coach Norv Turner said. "Our guys take great pride in it. It's a collective group that has a mindset that they're going to stop them. But it's got to be individuals who step up and make those plays."
The Chargers made them. The Cowboys did not. Four times in a row.
"We had a lot of really good players out there," Dallas tight end Jason Witten said. "You just have to find a way to do it. You have to make something happen. We're all accountable for that.
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Predictable Dallas Cowboys help Chargers on goal-line stand
12:39 AM CST on Monday, December 14, 2009
Column by BILL NICHOLS / The Dallas Morning News | brnichols@dallasnews.com
Bill Nichols
Archive | E-mail
ARLINGTON – San Diego quarterback Philip Rivers passed for 272 yards and one touchdown. And the Chargers put together a clock-guzzling late drive to secure victory.
But they were most electrified by four defensive plays late in the second quarter:
•Marion Barber off right guard for 3 yards to San Diego's 1.
•Barber off right guard for no gain.
•Barber off right guard for no gain.
•Barber off right guard for no gain.
Dallas' strategy caught none of the Chargers by surprise. Actually, they were shocked that the same play kept coming.
"They called the same play over and over," said San Diego inside linebacker Tim Dobbins, who plays primarily in short-yardage situations. "I don't know what they were thinking. I don't know if they were looking at my braces thinking the left side was the weak side or something, but it definitely wasn't the case."
Dobbins said that he and Brandon Siler, the other inside linebacker, knew what was coming once they saw Barber and fullback Deon Anderson in the backfield.
Siler went low, Dobbins went over the top. Barber went nowhere.
"In our mind, we knew he wasn't blocking," Dobbins said of Barber. "We knew he had to get the ball. He's not getting paid to block. Everybody knows that. Everybody in the stands knew that. We knew it was going to be a flip or a dive, one or the other. I don't know if they watched film or what."
Siler stopped Barber on first down. Dobbins made the stop on second. On thirddown, Dobbins took Anderson and end Jacques Cesaire was responsible for Barber. They combined on the tackle. On fourth, Dobbins and Siler made the stop.
"We felt like we were strong enough to make it down there," Cowboys coach Wade Phillips said. "I felt like if we didn't make it, we would at least have them backed up and have another chance to score. ... That was very disappointing for all of us."
The Chargers took over at the 1 with 2:13 left. Rivers promptly showed Dallas how to gain 1 yard by plunging ahead on the keeper. He missed deep to Vincent Jackson and was intercepted by Terence Newman at the 27.
But the Cowboys failed to capitalize. After an incompletion, a 3-yard gain by Barber and another incompletion, Nick Folk's 42-yard field goal attempt sailed wide left.
"Anytime you can get down there and keep a team from getting in the end zone, it's unbelievable," Chargers coach Norv Turner said. "Our guys take great pride in it. It's a collective group that has a mindset that they're going to stop them. But it's got to be individuals who step up and make those plays."
The Chargers made them. The Cowboys did not. Four times in a row.
"We had a lot of really good players out there," Dallas tight end Jason Witten said. "You just have to find a way to do it. You have to make something happen. We're all accountable for that.