National Football League

Cowboys expect Cardinals to follow the same blitzing blueprint

Published Nov. 1, 2014 5:00 p.m. ET

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IRVING, Texas -- Washington didn't just hand the Cowboys a loss on Monday night. It may have handed other teams a blueprint to beat Dallas.

The central part of that blueprint is all-out blitzing. The Cowboys struggled against "Cover Zero" blitzes, where no safeties are deep and all 11 defenders are near the line of scrimmage.

This week's opponent, Arizona, is one of the top blitzing teams in the NFL. When they meet at  noon Sunday, the Cowboys expect to see more Cover Zero blitzes. At least until they show they can stop it.

"We're going to expect them to bring pressure, it's what they do," tight end Jason Witten said. "We've got to show that we've got answers for it. I think coming off the Washington game, we didn't do a good enough job to protect that pressure and having answers for pressure. So we're going to expect that to be how they approach it and we've got to have those answers to handle their blitz."

The Cowboys' offensive line has drawn high praise all season, so it was rare to see them struggle so much to handle blitzes. However, when it comes to Cover Zero and similar blitzes, the responsibility falls on more than just the five linemen.

On the play where quarterback Tony Romo was injured, the extra rusher was a linebacker who came up the middle on a delayed blitz.

"Everybody was on somebody, so it's one extra," center Travis Frederick said. "You can block it up a couple of different ways. Depending on who you talk to, they can each find a different solution to it. There is a solution to it, there is a way to block it, but there's always going to be that extra guy. There's only so much you can do in that situation."

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The most an offense can do is leave both tight ends and a running back in to pass block. That protection can account for eight rushers, but it limits the options for a quarterback to distribute the ball.

Passes into the flat and screens can slow down a pass rush, but a quarterback has to have a certain amount of time to deliver the ball. The Cowboys appeared unprepared to try those ploys against Washington's blitzes.

"They did a couple of things that were a little different that we had some miscommunication on, but  we'll be a lot more ready for it in the future," Romo said.

"In a couple of situations they kind of fell into a couple of things, where they had extra people coming than we had blockers. But you can have things to adapt to that. There are certain things you can do that we'll be probably adjusting to, moving forward."

Arizona defensive coordinator Todd Bowles is no doubt scheming ways to pressure the Cowboys the way Washington did, even if it's not an exact duplication of the Cover Zero looks.

"They do have a wide blitz package. I think it's a little bit different. I'm sure they'll pull one out that's similar to that, but I think they're different looks," Frederick said. "I would say we probably saw 10 zero blitzes this past game. I don't think that's Arizona's tendency, although we've seen it. They have it, so they might pull it out."

The Cowboys may be without Romo, who is listed as questionable with a back injury. Romo did not practice all week and it's likely a gametime decision whether to go with him or backup Brandon Weeden.

The Cowboys' offensive line may have another new starter as well. Guard Ron Leary did not practice all week, either, because of a groin injury. Mackenzy Bernadeau, a former starter, would play if Leary can't go.

The line is already missing starting right tackle Doug Free, out with a broken foot. Backup Jermey Parnell has played well in Free's absence.

While the challenge for the offensive line increases with more blitzing anticipated, the expectations don't change.

"What's great about our offensive line is, it's great that we have those guys that can step in the way that Jermey has and the way that, if Mac needs to, Mac will," Frederick said. "Because of the time that he spent with us, the time that he played last year, it's very comfortable with him stepping in."

Follow Keith Whitmire on Twitter: @Keith_Whitmire

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