The Lions will travel to Dallas this week to face a Cowboys team fresh off of an ugly divisional win over the rival Redskins. Dallas will have a short week of preparation and will likely focus on repairing their lackluster passing game, as well as an unproductive red zone offense. The key to addressing both of these deficiencies is one in the same, and his name is Jason Witten. The All-Pro tight end has long been the focal point of the Cowboy offense, and quarterback Tony Romo will be focused on feeding him the ball early and often.

Detroit will use a variety of personnel and coverage schemes to negate Witten throughout the afternoon, but success rests in the hands of Western Michigan product Louis Delmas. Witten has long been a matchup nightmare for opponents, with an athletic advantage over most linebackers, and a significant size advantage over most safeties. Detroit will most likely use a combination of Delmas and linebacker DeAndre Levy in coverage, as well as nickelback Eric Wright when Witten lines up as the slot receiver. All must contribute in some capacity in order to effectively neutralize the tight end, but Delmas’ role will be most crucial. Jason Garrett’s offense is built for down field passing, and flourishes when able to exploit the middle of the field and open up the sidelines for Dallas wide receivers. Delmas will often be responsible for covering Witten downfield, and preventing him from making the types of plays that serve as a lightning rod for Romo and the Cowboy offense. If Delmas and the Lions can hold Jason Witten in check, the Dallas passing game should be largely ineffective.

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In last season’s 23-20 overtime victory, wide receiver Calvin Johnson torched the Tampa Bay Buccaneers secondary to the tune of 10 receptions for 152 yards, effectively closing the door on Tampa’s playoff run. During that game the Bucs attempted to single cover Johnson using cornerbacks E.J. Biggers and Ronde Barber to little success. This season’s opener promises to take on a much different form, largely due to the return of a healthy Matthew Stafford, as well as the return of young Buccaneers cornerback Aqib Talib, who missed the matchup last year due to a season ending hip injury. Talib is now healthy, and despite off the field distractions, says he has been focused on his matchup with Calvin Johnson on September 11^th. The Buccaneers will be returning to their successful Tampa 2 defense for the 2011 season, which means that Talib will not be asked to blanket Johnson all over the field in man-to-man coverage. This will not be the often hyped “shut down corner” versus “stud receiver” showdown that football fans typically clamor for, but rather a battle of strength and will power that will take place within the first five yards from the line of scrimmage.

The Tampa 2 defense is similar to a typical 4-3 cover 2 scheme, with the main exception being the pass coverage responsibilities of the middle, or Mike, linebacker. In this coverage, when the Mike linebacker reads pass, he must drop from 11-20 yards deep into the center of the field, or what is known as “the pipe”, thus making it a 3 deep coverage with the safeties responsible for the outer thirds of the field (visit Inside the Playbook for Matt Bowen’s complete Tampa 2 breakdown). The cornerbacks, Talib in this case, are not only charged with covering the flats, but also have the responsibility of disrupting the route of the number one receiver. This is where this matchup will get interesting, as it is imperative for Talib to be able to “funnel” Johnson’s routes towards the middle of the field, where he will have coverage help from linebackers and safeties. This is a crucial part of the scheme, due to the natural weak spot in the Tampa 2 coverage along the deep sideline behind the cornerbacks. (more…)