Cowboys at Tampa Bay Film Review: Standouts, Notes, and Observations
By Reid Hanson
The Cowboys took on the Buccaneers on Sunday searching for their first win since September. What did the film tell us about the Cowboys yesterday?
Statistics don’t tell the whole story, that’s why we slow the film down and watch the individual execution every week. After reviewing the game tape, here are Sunday’s standouts, notes, and observations:
has been a constant force rushing the passer and adding pressure on regular basis but he’s been coming up just short on sacks. He’s had multiple opportunities (two this week alone) where he had the sack but couldn’t make the tackle.
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The Cowboys got their first 4
th
quarter takeaway in seven weeks when the opportunistic Jeff Heath corralled his second tipped ball for interception. Jeff Heath had an ok game overall but the tipped balls were simply a matter of “right place, right time” and not great play.
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Tampa Bay mixed their coverages. One play they covered Dez in a close press look at the line, then chase with deep coverage responsibility and safety help. The next play they lined up seven yards off with short zone and deep safety help. Another time they push a linebacker back into zone to cut off the slant and let the corner drop back with deep responsibility. In other words, the Bucs were disguising and changing coverage constantly on Dez’s side of the field.
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- Don’t let the announcers fool you; Anthony Hitchens was not great in pass-coverage on Sunday. Just because the pass is incomplete doesn’t mean the coverage was strong. Hitch is great near the line of scrimmage but gets lost the farther back he plays. He’s consistently a great run-stopper and below average in pass-coverage.