Post by Philly Jedi on Feb 26, 2011 14:24:58 GMT -5
This is a scouting report of the most dangerous player in this league. x Sleep x
Sunday's NFC Championship was a rematch from last year's match. The #1 seed Cowboys were the only team keeping the 49ers from defending their title in the Superbowl. The first quarter, Gore had to get subbed because of fatigue on the 49ers first drive (trailing 0-7) and Westbrook ran up the middle for 25 yards for the score to tie it up! The Cowboys and 49ers would exchange scores until the 49ers were able to stop the Cowboys and drive to score last before the half! The 3rd quarter went quickly because there was a defensive struggle, and after a Cowboys punt, Ted Ginn muffed the punt on the 5 yardline! The Niners recovered the fumble, and two plays and 84 rushing yards later, the 49ers were up by 14 points! (35-21) Here is a replay of the great play by the MVP running back.
The Cowboys were able to score VERY quickly after that, but the 49ers offense drained too much time off of the clock for the Home team to come back. The Cowboys had a final drive that took them to the 3 yardline because of a 41 yard pass to Felix Jones, but Ricky Watters recovered a fumble from a Nate Clements tackle effectively ending the game... What a game. Coach Garrett said that if they had scored, they would have gone for 2, which is why they ran so much clock near the end of the game...(Cowboys 28 - 49ers 35)
Offense:
The Cowboys were down 1 receiver in this game. (Miles Austin) I'm sure that helped me in this game. The Cowboys' owner can attack you in ANY formation. Literally ANY formation. He will go into 2 WR I-formation, Singleback 3WR, and 4WR bunches. He is most effective out of the 4WR bunches formation. (2WR on each side of the left and right tackles in close formation) He even will use this formation from the shotgun. He has his wide recievers (who are VERY speedy) run lots of complicated routes, and because of the bunches formation, Sleep will identify what formation you are in, pre and post-snap, and hot-route/audible into a play that will beat the coverage you are in.
He is an accurate passer (328/489 67% 68TDs 19INTs)and (as mentioned before) makes very quick and decisive reads. HE CAN AND WILL MAKE YOU PAY if you leave someone open. In fact that best describes his passing game. He throws to the "open" man. I'm sure he calls plays to get certain players open, but he'll throw to Roy Williams or Kevin Ogletree all game if you are doubling or covering his first/favorite options Miles Austin, (#19) and Des Bryant. (#88) The second you think his tight end is an afterthought, that is when Jason Witten will catch a 30-40 yarder on you. He is really difficult to stop.
If there is a weakness (if you will) in his offense it is his run game. I've played (and lost) a game against him where he only ran 11 times. 5 of the rushes were in the second half. But the next game we played he got almost 80 yards rushing with one player. His issues rushing could be because he had matchup issues against my (49ers) defense. We are pretty strong against the run. As mentioned earlier about his passing game, Sleep will run out of any of the above formations, but he is no where near as effective as his passing game. Romo will put the ball where it needs to be. And he USER CATCHES very well.
Keys to stopping his offense: Blitzing works, but you must refrain from calling too many. It should be a suprise. If he sniffs it out, expect to get a long TD passed to Miles or Dez. So the occational blitz to get Tony Romo uncomfortable can help. Felix Jones has 96 speed. Don't let him get outside. He will check down to him in the flats and make you pay if you aren't paing attention. In fact he will bait your defense with a few early flat passes to Felix to open up the downfield pass. You must play good pass defense. If you have speedy & aware cornerbacks, (like the Raiders have) you'll have a chance. Just DO NOT APPEAR PREDICTABLE against this offensive juggernaut...
Defense:
Sleep is just as effective if not more, as a defensive coordinator. He drafts very well, and plays to the strengths of his players. He likes to play lots of man to man defense, but I've also seen him mix the zone blitz and man to man blitzes against me. The best thing he does is scouting. Next to Black Reign, Sleep might be the best defensive scout. He has very good and speedy cornerbacks, with Terrance Newman being the standout. (FNG record 14 INTs in a season) So passing against him, while not impossible, will not be easy. His pass rush with Demarcus Ware is formitable. Add that with his USER CATCHING on defense, and you will be risking a lot of turnovers if you like to pass against him. He likes to use his Middle Linebacker, and is very good in coverage. At times he'll try to use his safety, but usually he's in the middle causing havoc.
Keys to beating his Defense: He doesn't blitz very often because he has confidence in his cover corners and safety play, so if you are a good and accurate passer, (like he is) you can play off of his confidence and formationally call plays that get your players open. But you MUST make good reads. Because his offense doesn't turn the ball over, much, make sure to score on every turnover he does give you. Also, a good balance between successful runs and passes will keep him honest. Finally and most important which has helped me beat him two years in a row in the NFC championship.... YOU MUST PUNT AND KICK FIELD GOALS against him. The one thing the Cowboys and 49ers do have in common is if you give us a short field, from a turnover on downs, you will get BLOWN OUT. If Sleep stops you... Just punt. Make him drive the entire field. If you do stop him, he will most likely punt it back to you, so don't give him the advantage of a short field. That is the worst mistake you could make.
All in all, playing against Sleep will get you better defensively, (without a doubt) and running plays against his defense will definitely test the soundness of your offensive philosophy. Guys like him will make you improve your game, and you'll always feel like you've just played the hardest, but best game you've had all season.
Sunday's NFC Championship was a rematch from last year's match. The #1 seed Cowboys were the only team keeping the 49ers from defending their title in the Superbowl. The first quarter, Gore had to get subbed because of fatigue on the 49ers first drive (trailing 0-7) and Westbrook ran up the middle for 25 yards for the score to tie it up! The Cowboys and 49ers would exchange scores until the 49ers were able to stop the Cowboys and drive to score last before the half! The 3rd quarter went quickly because there was a defensive struggle, and after a Cowboys punt, Ted Ginn muffed the punt on the 5 yardline! The Niners recovered the fumble, and two plays and 84 rushing yards later, the 49ers were up by 14 points! (35-21) Here is a replay of the great play by the MVP running back.
The Cowboys were able to score VERY quickly after that, but the 49ers offense drained too much time off of the clock for the Home team to come back. The Cowboys had a final drive that took them to the 3 yardline because of a 41 yard pass to Felix Jones, but Ricky Watters recovered a fumble from a Nate Clements tackle effectively ending the game... What a game. Coach Garrett said that if they had scored, they would have gone for 2, which is why they ran so much clock near the end of the game...(Cowboys 28 - 49ers 35)
Offense:
The Cowboys were down 1 receiver in this game. (Miles Austin) I'm sure that helped me in this game. The Cowboys' owner can attack you in ANY formation. Literally ANY formation. He will go into 2 WR I-formation, Singleback 3WR, and 4WR bunches. He is most effective out of the 4WR bunches formation. (2WR on each side of the left and right tackles in close formation) He even will use this formation from the shotgun. He has his wide recievers (who are VERY speedy) run lots of complicated routes, and because of the bunches formation, Sleep will identify what formation you are in, pre and post-snap, and hot-route/audible into a play that will beat the coverage you are in.
He is an accurate passer (328/489 67% 68TDs 19INTs)and (as mentioned before) makes very quick and decisive reads. HE CAN AND WILL MAKE YOU PAY if you leave someone open. In fact that best describes his passing game. He throws to the "open" man. I'm sure he calls plays to get certain players open, but he'll throw to Roy Williams or Kevin Ogletree all game if you are doubling or covering his first/favorite options Miles Austin, (#19) and Des Bryant. (#88) The second you think his tight end is an afterthought, that is when Jason Witten will catch a 30-40 yarder on you. He is really difficult to stop.
If there is a weakness (if you will) in his offense it is his run game. I've played (and lost) a game against him where he only ran 11 times. 5 of the rushes were in the second half. But the next game we played he got almost 80 yards rushing with one player. His issues rushing could be because he had matchup issues against my (49ers) defense. We are pretty strong against the run. As mentioned earlier about his passing game, Sleep will run out of any of the above formations, but he is no where near as effective as his passing game. Romo will put the ball where it needs to be. And he USER CATCHES very well.
Keys to stopping his offense: Blitzing works, but you must refrain from calling too many. It should be a suprise. If he sniffs it out, expect to get a long TD passed to Miles or Dez. So the occational blitz to get Tony Romo uncomfortable can help. Felix Jones has 96 speed. Don't let him get outside. He will check down to him in the flats and make you pay if you aren't paing attention. In fact he will bait your defense with a few early flat passes to Felix to open up the downfield pass. You must play good pass defense. If you have speedy & aware cornerbacks, (like the Raiders have) you'll have a chance. Just DO NOT APPEAR PREDICTABLE against this offensive juggernaut...
Defense:
Sleep is just as effective if not more, as a defensive coordinator. He drafts very well, and plays to the strengths of his players. He likes to play lots of man to man defense, but I've also seen him mix the zone blitz and man to man blitzes against me. The best thing he does is scouting. Next to Black Reign, Sleep might be the best defensive scout. He has very good and speedy cornerbacks, with Terrance Newman being the standout. (FNG record 14 INTs in a season) So passing against him, while not impossible, will not be easy. His pass rush with Demarcus Ware is formitable. Add that with his USER CATCHING on defense, and you will be risking a lot of turnovers if you like to pass against him. He likes to use his Middle Linebacker, and is very good in coverage. At times he'll try to use his safety, but usually he's in the middle causing havoc.
Keys to beating his Defense: He doesn't blitz very often because he has confidence in his cover corners and safety play, so if you are a good and accurate passer, (like he is) you can play off of his confidence and formationally call plays that get your players open. But you MUST make good reads. Because his offense doesn't turn the ball over, much, make sure to score on every turnover he does give you. Also, a good balance between successful runs and passes will keep him honest. Finally and most important which has helped me beat him two years in a row in the NFC championship.... YOU MUST PUNT AND KICK FIELD GOALS against him. The one thing the Cowboys and 49ers do have in common is if you give us a short field, from a turnover on downs, you will get BLOWN OUT. If Sleep stops you... Just punt. Make him drive the entire field. If you do stop him, he will most likely punt it back to you, so don't give him the advantage of a short field. That is the worst mistake you could make.
All in all, playing against Sleep will get you better defensively, (without a doubt) and running plays against his defense will definitely test the soundness of your offensive philosophy. Guys like him will make you improve your game, and you'll always feel like you've just played the hardest, but best game you've had all season.