How the Jets Can Dominate Dallas Cowboys from Start to Finish

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This Sunday, the New York Jets will host the Dallas Cowboys to kick off the 2011 NFL season.  

Led by head coach Rex Ryan and third year quarterback Mark Sanchez, the Jets will try to finish what they started in 2009 by winning a Super Bowl, rather than just appearing in another AFC Championship game.

Before they make the playoffs, the Jets will need to beat the Cowboys. While the Cowboys have not been a playoff team for a few years, the Jets still need to play a complete game in order to leave MetLife Stadium with a 1-0 record.

Some of the players that will be looked upon to help the Jets beat Dallas are Mark Sanchez and cornerback Darrelle Revis.

Here is a look at what the Jets need to do to not only give them a victory, but also allow them to dominate against the Cowboys Sunday night.

As always, feedback is welcome. Enjoy

Put the Pressure on Early

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Since Rex Ryan started coaching, the Jets have been known for their blitzing. This is best exemplified by their playoff victory against the New England Patriots when they sacked Tom Brady five times. Ryan's defenses are known to have exotic blitzes, created to confuse and attack the quarterback all at once.

Through the draft, the Jets were able to get some new talented pass rushers. Their first-round pick was used to draft Muhammad Wilkerson from Temple, and then they used their second pick to draft Kenrick Ellis out of Hampton.

This preseason Wilkerson showed that he was worth the first-round pick as he made plays throughout games, and with teammates like Sione Pouha, Mike DeVito and Calvin Pace attacking the quarterback with him, the Jets defensive line should be able to put pressure on Tony Romo all night.

Speaking of Romo, this will be his first regular season game since being knocked out by the Giants last October. So why not go after him and possibly knock off him off his game early on?

Ground N Pound (to the Inside)

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One of the benefits of having a running back like Shonn Greene and a fullback like John Conner is the ability to blow up inside gaps on running plays. This is the strategy the Jets need to put into effect when running against the Cowboys.

Going inside on running plays is the best choice for the Jets so they can avoid DeMarcus Ware on the outside, as he could easily break into the backfield on a toss or counter play and get a tackle for a loss or stop the play at the line of scrimmage.

Both Greene and Conner are physical, with Conner lead blocking and Greene bursting through the hole, the Jets will be able to make plays by going with inside run plays. That is also not to say that they should not run it to the outside, but if they do, try and avoid Ware, which makes it easier to gain yards.

Three C's: Consistency, Consistency, Consistency

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This one is all up to the quarterback.  

One of the problems Mark Sanchez had in his first two seasons is staying consistent; sometimes he will show signs of greatness and other times he looks like the quarterback that only played one season in college.

This season Mark Sanchez has another talented receiving core around him, and the Cowboys secondary is not as good as the Jets' or Eagles', which means he should be able to get the ball one of his receivers, at worst, a running back.

As long as Sanchez makes smart decisions throughout the game, the rest will fall into place. The Jets offense will still be able to produce plenty against a Cowboys defense that does not match up.

Mix It Up!

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I have been preaching this one all offseason since the Jets decided they would keep Brian Schottenheimer as the offensive coordinator—they need to mix up the play-calling.

Schottenheimer's lack of creativity killed the Jets throughout last season as defenses would pick up on what the Jets were running and were able to stop them.

An example of this would be only bringing out Brad Smith to run out of the wildcat formation rather than having him throw passes.

Now that Rex Ryan's twin brother Rob Ryan is the defensive coordinator for the Cowboys, being less predictable is even more important. Last season, the Jets played Ryan's defense when he was with the Browns, and they almost lost the game, if it was not for a fumble by Chansi Stuckey and touchdown by Santonio Holmes.

If Brian Schottenheimer wants his offense to run smoothly, he will need to take some chances, step out of his comfort zone and make sure the defense does not always see what his offense is going to run, or else it will be a tough game for Mark Sanchez and company.

Revis and Cromartie Islands

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If Rex Ryan and defensive coordinator Mike Pettine are going to apply pressure on Tony Romo and the Cowboys offensive line, they need to be able to depend on these two guys and possibly one more cornerback.

The Cowboys have talented receivers like Miles Austin and Dez Bryant; if they let these guys out of coverage, it could cause a big problem, especially if the Jets choose to blitz a safety, leaving their cornerbacks without help.  

Since his great 2009 season, Darrelle Revis has not had an interception; last year he was okay on account of his hamstring injury. This year, Revis has no excuse for not being able to cover his receivers, but he did not look like the Revis everyone has gotten used to when the Jets played the Bengals this preseason. There were a few times where rookie wide receiver A.J. Green was able to make a catch and get away from Revis after catching the ball.

Meanwhile, Antonio Cromartie will have to continue to prove himself; his departure from San Diego was due to his laziness, and last year he was able to improve, but he still has a long way to go. Cromartie's inability to play receivers off the line can cause some problems, but as long as he keeps his opponents gains to a minimum, there should be no problem.

A lot of what the Jets do on defense depends on how well these two can cover opposing receivers, and it will be interesting to see how Rex Ryan and Mike Pettine go about attacking the Cowboys on Sunday night.

 

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Watch the game Sunday night at 8 P.M. EST on NBC.