Special does have special meaning for Cowboys
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By Jeff Caplan
McClatchy Newspapers
(MCT)
IRVING, Texas — Wade Phillips hired hard-driving assistant coach Joe DeCamillis to clean up the Dallas Cowboys' underachieving special-teams units.
Here's how Phillips now describes those important, if not oftentimes undervalued, units.
"Our special teams," Phillips started, "have been special."
He is accurate. Special teams have done a 180-degree turnaround, primarily in the categories of kickoff coverage, punt coverage and punt return, highlighted by veteran punt returner Patrick Crayton recording his only two career returns for touchdowns in the past two games.
Crayton entered this season with 75 career punt returns and an average return of 8.4 yards. He's averaging 16.6 yards a return this season with the two scores. The Cowboys rank second in the league in punt-return average (14.3).
"I think it totally goes back to what coach DeCamillis has brought in," Crayton said. "He's brought a different attitude about it and the guys up front are really giving even more effort because I think they realize now that we have the potential to break one any moment. If we get a returnable punt and block up a little, we've got the potential to take it all the way back to the house now. It's a different attitude."
Rookie kicker David Buehler has performed as billed, booting kickoffs deep into the end zone for a league-leading 17 touchbacks. When he's not knocking them into the end zone, he kicks them high and has mastered the ability to kick directionally to give the coverage team the best angle to track down the ball carrier.
The Cowboys opponents' average starting field position is the 21.1-yard line, ranking Dallas fourth best in the league.
Mat McBriar ranks third in the NFL in net punting at 41.3 yards. DeCamillis brought in a new scheme there, too, which moves McBriar slightly to the side instead of lining up directly behind the center.
On punts, the linemen also spread out more than in the past to provide wider lanes to get downfield and tackle.
"We have a man protection on one side and a zone on the other," McBriar said. "No. 1, it's for protection. No. 2, it helps the guys get into coverage, get into their lanes faster."
Against the big-play, quick-strike Philadelphia Eagles, field position could be the game within the game.
AUSTIN READY AGAIN — Receiver Miles Austin has 482 yards and five touchdowns in the past three games, the best in NFL history for a player in his first three starts. But the Kansas City Chiefs, the Atlanta Falcons and the Seattle Seahawks rank near the bottom of the league in pass defense.
Austin will leave no doubt if he produces again Sunday when the Cowboys face the Eagles' 10th-ranked pass defense and Pro Bowl cornerback Asante Samuel.
"I want to see me do it against a Philly defense and a division game on the road," Austin said. "All I can do is play my hardest. That's what I've been doing, and we'll see what happens."
BRIEFLY — Kick returner Allen Rossum (hamstring) is the only player who didn't practice Friday. He will not play this week. ... For the second consecutive week, the Cowboys did not have a player fined by the league for an illegal hit. Safety Ken Hamlin was penalized 15 yards for unnecessary roughness in the fourth quarter against Seattle, but he was not fined. ... Third-string quarterback Stephen McGee has been playing the part of Michael Vick on the scout team this week. "He can run and he wears No. 7," Wade Phillips said. "We haven't gotten him throwing left-handed yet."
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(c) 2009, Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
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Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
