I'll keep this short, as there are many things going on today. Ideally I would have like to post this mid-week, but as Moe Szyszlak said, "Ain't none of us perfect." Anyway, let us go back to the last time the Jets faced the Cowboys.
It was Thanksgiving in 2007 in Dallas. The story line was the matchup between the running backs, Gang Green's Thomas Jones and his brother Julius Jones for the Cowboys. Julius said that with all due respect to his defense, he hoped to see TJ get his first Jets touchdown. That would not happen.
No Jets score would happen except for a Mike Nugent field goal of about 40 yards. On the other side, Cowboys K Nick Folk had plenty of extra points as Dalls ended up scoring 34. Six of those points came in the fourth quarter, as WR Terrell Owens caught Tony Romo pass in the end zone over rookie CB Darrelle Revis. It was terrific coverage by Revis, but the pass was perfect.
Dallas scored on their first drive. And then Cowboys CB Terence Newman intercepted a Kellen Clemens pass and returned it for a touchdown. Later on, Romo would find TE Jason Witten in the end zone, as the linebacker couldn't cover him. (I'm not too sure, and I don't care to check, but I believe it was against Matt Chatham).
Interestingly, as this week we have been exploring the use of screens against an aggressive defense, OC Brian Schottenheimer didn't call much of those against Big D. The offense ran a quarterback sneak on 2nd and 12 for a gain of six. And then a straight up run with RB Leon Washington on 3rd and 6.
The defense came off a surprisingly successful performance against the Steelers in the Meadowlands. The main strategy was that they would stand up instead of going in a stance to confuse the protection. This perplexed Pittsburgh QB Ben Roethlisberger and gave Gang Green the win. So of course, in the next game, HC Eric Mangini called the play only once.
Rookie LB David Harris played very well in the few plays he was in. WR Laveranues Coles was out, which is probably why Clemens seemed reluctant to throw, especially after the pick six. Kellen kept running out of the pocket under pressure. It was only very late in the game when he finally realized he only needed to take a step or two to elude the rush, but by then it was too late. On special teams, Brad Smith almost pinned the Cowboys at the one by batting the ball away from the end zone, but Wallace Wright came sliding in and crossed the line as he touched the ball. Also, there was only one option play with Smith, as far as I can recall. Cowboys HC Jason Garrett was the offensive coordinator. Dolphins HC Tony Sparano was a Dallas assistant.
In conclusion, let's hope we win tonight.