‘Gesture Of Respect’: Tyler Smith Says Defenses Are Scheming To Stop Dallas Cowboys Run Game
FRISCO, Texas — Offensive lineman Tyler Smith said Thursday that the fronts and blitzes defenses are using to slow the Dallas Cowboys run game are frustrating, and a sign of respect.
Dallas ran 32 times and scrambled seven more against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday and finished with 93 rushing yards, 2.4 per carry, in a 33-30 overtime loss. A week earlier, the Cowboys ran for 204 yards in a win at Philadelphia.
Defenses are not playing Dallas straight, in Smith’s view, because they know what the Cowboys can do.
“It was extremely frustrating. But ultimately, at the same time, it’s a gesture of respect in a lot of ways. Like, people aren’t playing us straight up. They’re going to do things. They’re going to move fronts. They’re going to blitz. They’re going to bring guys through gaps to stop us from having success because they know how good we can be when we’re on point,” Smith said. “And so I think just knowing how they’re going to adjust and ultimately taking advantage of that.”
Tyler Smith Says Danger Brings Opportunity
Offensive line coach Klayton Adams has a saying Smith repeated. Once Dallas punishes a movement, he said, defenses stop running it.
“Like Coach Klayton says all the time, where there’s danger, there is opportunity. And, like, that’s real. If somebody does a movement and we pick that up or we run a play to that and we gash them, they’re not going to do that anymore,” Smith explained. “And so once we start showing people that they can’t do that stuff, that stuff will stop happening. But like I said, it starts in practice. It starts with being intentional. It starts with the way you’re preparing, the way you study.”
Unscouted looks are part of that preparation, along with reading the picture before the snap.
“We talk about all the time expecting movement, but actually practicing it, actually knowing when it’s coming, seeing the keys, seeing the safeties rotating or seeing that there’s not a backer in this gap or there’s not a D-lineman in that gap,” Smith said. “Just knowing that picture doesn’t look right. Something’s about to happen. So that anticipation is a very important aspect of it.”
Brian Schottenheimer Points To Combination Blocks
Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said Wednesday that the run game took a big step forward against Philadelphia before slipping against Arizona.
“A couple weeks ago, we certainly weren’t running the ball very well or consistently enough. I think we took a big step forward against Philadelphia. And then of course we didn’t perform very, very well with that,” Schottenheimer said. “We’ve talked a lot about blocking movement and stuff like that. But at the end of the day, I think it’s just us continue to work hard on the combination blocks and the fits and all those things.”
The Indianapolis Colts have allowed 1,054 rushing yards this season, fourth-most in the NFL. Kickoff at Lucas Oil Stadium is set for noon CT Sunday on FOX.
