Dallas Cowboys Should Study San Francisco 49ers Very Closely

Among my earliest Dallas Cowboys memories was the scar sustained following the 1981 NFC Championship Game loss to San Francisco. Just when I thought I might get to see what all this Super Bowl stuff was all about, Joe Montana hit Dwight Clark with “The Catch” and that was that. Tears fell and even Atari didn’t matter for a couple days.

So, for about as long as I have been a fan of the Cowboys, the 49ers have been public enemy No. 1—kind of like the first kid who knocked you to the ground, or the first girlfriend to break up with you right by the swing sets during recess.

Don’t get me started on how I thought I might not even survive the 1992 NFC Championship rematch at Candlestick Park.

Whatever the 49ers are doing, you can bet I’m aware. My San Francisco radar hasn’t been producing too much for a number of years. In fact, I wasn’t even concerned last summer when I saw that Dallas would visit the 49ers in Week 2 of the 2011 NFL regular season.

Climate changing asteroid impacts scar the earth more often than I miss a Cowboys game, and yet I had to pass on the game at Candlestick back in September due to a trade show in Las Vegas. If you have to miss a Cowboys game, then that’s the place to do it, I suppose.

My radar still stayed pretty quiet in the aftermath of a slim Dallas victory in overtime, especially given that quarterback Tony Romo was injured and primary wide receiver Dez Bryant didn’t even play. I did love wide receiver Jesse Holley’s Alvin Harper impersonation in overtime to clinch the victory.

But things sure changed from that point forward.

While the Cowboys continued their distinct yet unpredictable brand of sloppy, inconsistent play, the 49ers were forging their way to the NFC Championship Game, their first appearance there since January 1998.

This completely unexpected run by San Francisco should get the attention of Dallas owner/general manager Jerry Jones. I say this not so much because of Cowboys - 49ers history or because I think San Francisco is launching a dynasty again.

Jones should take note of the fact that San Francisco has molded its team into an obvious contender with almost the same philosophy as the Cowboys, and much quicker.

Let’s talk defense for a minute.

Running a 3-4 scheme, like Dallas does, San Francisco finally put the pieces together and shaped a surprisingly good defense in 2011.

Should it surprise anyone?

Not really.

The 49ers success on defense begins with stopping the run. They did that better than anybody in the NFL this season and that trend continues in the playoffs.

Nose guard Isaac Sopoaga (6’2”, 330) plugs the middle of this defensive line in ways that Jay Ratliff (6’5", 285) never will. The Cowboys, five years into this failed experiment, gave up 4.1 yards per carry in 2011. San Francisco countered with just 3.5, tying Baltimore for the league lead. The Ravens, not coincidentally, play in the AFC Championship Game against New England this weekend.

Now, Dallas and San Francisco tied for seventh in the NFL in sacks, along with Arizona, with 42 according to NFL.com. But you’ll notice that the 49ers sacks are spread out amongst numerous defenders while only DeMarcus Ware of the Cowboys was making a huge impact against opposing quarterbacks.

This tells me that the 49ers created many more 3rd-and-long situations than Dallas did, and there is no doubt about that. They did this because San Francisco’s defensive line is big, strong and physical. That pays off in December.

The Dallas defense is historically bad in December and notorious for giving up huge yards and carries on the ground.

What about offense?

Well, the 49ers don’t exactly toss the ball around the yard all day, leaving numerous opportunities for trailing opponents to get back into the game.

Instead, running back Frank Gore and the 49ers offensive line take over.

Investigate the stats all you want but the key difference between Dallas and San Francisco on offense is that one passes far too often behind a suspect offensive line and the other pounds the rock behind a powerful offensive line.

The Cowboys actually had a higher average per carry than the 49ers, 4.4 and 4.1 respectively. But that particular stat isn’t nearly as critical as rushing attempts per game and this is where the big differences emerge.

San Francisco rushed the ball 31.1 times per contest to Dallas 25.5—not bad for head coach Jason Garrett but you can and have to do better if you want to contend in the NFL.

Rushing touchdowns is where the divide turns into a canyon. The 49ers banged it into the end zone 14 times to the Cowboys' meager five for the season.

Again, the 49ers offensive line is built on power at all positions, and a guy like Kyle Kosier, already cast off from the 49ers years and years ago, might not even make the roster there now. San Francisco's offensive line is better at every position than its Dallas counterparts, period.

Basically, the Cowboys get big runs against opposing defenses expecting the pass out of Garrett’s silly spread formations. The 49ers essentially tell you they’re going to run the ball and they do it.

If you followed the Dallas Super Bowl runs in the 1990s that should sound familiar.

Finally, it seems clear that Jones really wanted to be in the “Young Head Coaches Club” as he jumped way ahead of the curve in securing the services of a career backup quarterback who can actually ice his own kicker because he thought he saw a ghost.

I’ll give Jones this much: He didn’t hire Josh McDaniels.

At the same time, Jones absolutely whiffed on Sean Payton, still with the Cowboys while Bill Parcells was head coach. That was the guy to keep around as an “heir apparent” as opposed to Garrett following a cruddy Wade Phillips.

On the contrary, Jim Harbaugh has been nothing short of outstanding as a rookie NFL head coach. His philosophy is exactly right and he could be just days away from his first Super Bowl appearance because of it.

I'll also add that, unlike Garrett, Harbaugh did have previous head coaching experience at Stanford University where he developed the likely first choice in the 2012 NFL Draft and also revived the career of another first overall selection, quarterback Alex Smith, who was labeled a 2005 NFL Draft bust prior to this season.

San Francisco may not win Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis come Sunday, February 5. But the 49ers are built to do so and will remain that way for several years.

The Cowboys need to follow that blueprint.