DALLAS – The Seattle Seahawks’ secondary faced the Dallas Cowboys two weeks ago.
Only, they were dressed as Arizona Cardinals.
Yes, when the Seahawks visit the Cowboys today for the league’s annual Dallas Thanksgiving Day football affair, the Cowboys’ passing game will bear a striking resemblance to Arizona’s, primarily because they too have big, strong wide receivers who are likely to cause Seattle’s defensive backs a large measure of misery.
In the Seahawks’ 26-20 loss to the Cardinals, 6-foot-1, 217-pound Anquan Boldin and 6-3, 220-pound Larry Fitzgerald combined to catch 23 passes for 337 yards, making the Seahawks look as if they were competing unsuccessfully in a seven-on-seven drill.
It gets no easier against the Cowboys today, with 6-3, 218-pound Terrell Owens and 6-3, 220-pound Roy Williams roaming through the secondary, terrorizing Seattle’s smallish cornerbacks.
“That’s a really apt comparison. They are both really athletic sets of receivers,” defensive backs coach Jim Mora said. “Anquan Boldin is like TO. He runs angry, just competitive as can be. Boldin will catch a pass and take a shot and he is just screaming out there. Fierce competitor. TO is the same way.
“Williams compares to Fitzgerald in that they are both tall, lanky. They both have outstanding hands. They just snatch the ball and you can’t get it away from them. In our man coverages (against Arizona), we were right there and it was tough to just get the ball away because they are big and strong.”
Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren has on more than one occasion in the past few weeks lamented the size of his defensive backs, who have been outmuscled or outjumped by bigger receivers in several situations this season, particularly Kelly Jennings, called “Slim” by teammates.
Mora said the key for Jennings, 5-foot-9 Josh Wilson and 5-11 Marcus Trufant to be successful today is for the defense to generate some type of pass rush.
Against Arizona’s Kurt Warner, they got very little pressure, sacking him twice. In fact, since Patrick Kerney was injured, the Seahawks have yet to achieve more than two sacks in any of their four games, all losses. They have more than two sacks in only two of their 11 games.
“The Arizona game showed you that even if you are draped all over those good guys, if the quarterback is hot, accurate and unaffected, they can make plays on you,” Mora said. “I think it starts with – this has nothing to do with the secondary – but affecting the quarterback so that he is inaccurate with his throws. And ultimately making plays at the ball. If you can’t get all those things going, it is tough sledding.”
Mora was in San Francisco as a defensive coach for the beginning of Owens’ NFL career and is amazed, he said, that 13 years later Owens appears to be just as effective as when he was wearing a Niners uniform.
There was some thought that Owens’ career was in disrepair in Dallas after he had five consecutive weeks with fewer than 40 receiving yards – some of which had to do with the absence of quarterback Tony Romo, who suffered a pinkie injury.
But after criticizing offensive coordinator Jason Garrett last week, Owens had a season-high 213 yards receiving against San Francisco on Sunday, including a 75-yard touchdown reception that seemed to turn Nate Clements inside out.
“He has been 13 years in the league now,” Mora said. “It’s amazing. And he looks as good or better than he ever has. I jut think the guy is obviously special.”
One of the best ways of combating Owens’ skills is to jam him at the line of scrimmage, something that Clements did not do last week and for which Niners coach Mike Singletary was heavily criticized.
That duty is likely to fall to Trufant, though he will get some help from safety Jordan Babineaux, who has a storied history against the Cowboys.
It was Babineaux who chased down Romo in the 2006 wild-card playoff game after Romo bobbled the snap on what could have produced the winning field goal. As Romo raced for a first down or the end zone, Babineaux dragged him to the turf short of both.
“It was pretty weird, and as I saw it happening I was thinking to myself, ‘This can’t be happening,’ ” Babineaux said. “But at the same time you are going 100 miles per hour trying to keep him from getting the first down. So, it was a big play and gave us a chance to advance in the playoffs that year.”
That was only one year after Babineaux intercepted a Drew Bledsoe pass in the final minute to set up the winning field goal in the Seahawks 13-10 victory that, Babineaux said, catapulted them to the Super Bowl.
“That was the game that really put us on the map and gave us our confidence as a team,” Babineaux said.
Perhaps it is because he is from Port Arthur, Texas, and his family members are all Cowboys fans that Babineaux conjures additional incentive against Dallas. Plays like that earned Babineaux the nickname “Big Play Babs.”
But, he said, he was not a Cowboys fan as a boy or as an adult.
“I was the kind of guy where everybody else liked the Cowboys so I didn’t want to,” Babineaux said. “I was a Niners fan. They were the two best teams in the conference every year. If the Cowboys weren’t winning the Super Bowl, the Niners were – but I was rooting for the Bay Area.
“Don’t tell them I said that.”
Extra points
The Seahawks on Wednesday signed tackle Kyle Williams from the practice squad and released tight end Jeb Putzier.
blogs.thenewstribune.com/seahawks
SEAHAWKS GAMEDAY
SEATTLE (2-9) at DALLAS (7-4)
1:15 p.m. at Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas; Ch. 13, 710-AM, 97.3-FM
The series: The Cowboys lead the regular-season series, 6-4, though Seattle won the most recent game in 2005; the Seahawks won the only playoff game, 21-20, in 2006 when Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo bobbled the snap on what would have been the game-winning field goal, then was tackled by Jordan Babineaux a yard shy of a first down and two yards short of the end zone.
What to watch: This is the NFL’s annual Thanksgiving Day game in Dallas. The Seahawks have been the Cowboys’ guests twice before. In 1980, the Cowboys embarrassed the Seahawks, 51-7. The 1986 Seahawks trounced the Cowboys, 31-14, behind Curt Warner (22 carries, 122 yards, 1 TD) and Dave Krieg (16-of-24 passing, 214 yards, 2 TDs, one interception).
The past two meetings in the rivalry (2005 regular season, 2006 playoffs) have been decided in the final minute each time, but there is not as much drama surrounding this game because of Seattle’s record, though the Cowboys need the victory to remain in contention for a playoff berth. This game also marks the first return of running back Julius Jones to Dallas since he left there as a free agent and joined the Seahawks after the 2007 season. Jones will start, though his line has been diminished because center Chris Spencer is not expected to play (sore back). For the Seahawks to win, they have to get pressure on Romo to limit his chances to pass to Terrell Owens and Roy Williams, who have a distinct size advantage on Seattle’s defensive backs.
TNT pick: Cowboys, 34-20.
Prime numbers
DALLAS
9Tony Romo (QB), 6-2, 224, 6th year
Wore a splint on his injured pinkie finger the past two games that affected his throwing.
81Terrell Owens (WR), 6-3, 218, 13th
Had receptions for 213 yards last week after five straight weeks below 40 yards.
24Marion Barber (RB), 6-0, 225, 4th
Marion the Barbarian is one of the most powerful runners in the league.
94DeMarcus Ware (LB), 6-4, 262, 4th
Among league leaders in sacks with 12. Cowboys’ best defensive player.
SEATTLE
8Matt Hasselbeck (QB), 6-4, 225, 10th
Has thrown INT on final offensive play of past two games.
22Julius Jones (RB), 5-10, 208, 5th
Returning to play against his former team. Will start.
55Darryl Tapp (DE), 6-1, 270, 3rd
Has been getting better pressure on QB. Needs to disrupt Romo.
23Marcus Trufant (CB), 5-11, 197, 6th
Will have to guard either Terrell Owens or Roy Williams, not an easy task.
Frank Hughes, The News Tribune
