Patriots, Brady Preparing For Speedy Cowboys
FOXBORO (CBS) - One thing that stood out in the Bill Belichick and Tom Brady press conferences on Wednesday is their concern about the Cowboys speed on defense.
That defensive speed is something coach say the Patriots will have a hard time planning for.
"They're fast and they don't give up many plays," said Belichick. "You look at a lot of plays, the play starts and you think there's a hole, so this could be a pretty good play. Then all of a sudden four guys hit [the ball carrier] for a 2-yard gain. They close very quickly. [Anthony] Spencer and [DeMarcus] Ware on the edge, they're a problem, and the inside linebackers, especially [Sean] Lee, run well. Their defensive line is active, they really run well -- there's very good team speed. They don't give up many big plays period, run or pass. That's one of the big reasons: They converge to the ball so quick."
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"They just get there quicker than a lot of other people, that's all. Every team we play, they're chasing it too. These guys are just faster, they just get there quicker," Belichick said when asked how to prepare for Dallas' speed. "Obviously every team has its weaknesses, hopefully, that you try to attack. We'll try to attack these guys, just like we do any other team. One thing that's hard to do, I'm just saying, is out-run them. There aren't many guys that are just going to take the ball and take off that they can't catch. They track everybody down. "
Quarterback Tom Brady said after watching film, he can vouch for everything Bill is saying.
"They can really run, sideline-to-sideline, they track a lot of plays down from behind," said Brady. "Everything's very well-coordinated. They got a bunch of different things that they do, it's certainly not easy to prepare for. They've got a bunch of different blitz looks, a bunch of different defensive packages. It's kind of a game-plan defense, so you're never really sure what you're going to get until you're out there. So you gotta prepare for everything."
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