The Cowboys struggled with the Steelers during the preseason when they scrimmaged each other. The Steelers seemed to have Dallas number winning 6 of 8 games. But just before the start of the regular season the Cowboys put a 47-14 thrashing on Teddy Brown, causing him to go back to the drawing board as the season approached. This game will be monumental for it could force a three way tie atop the NFC between Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Dallas. The key to the game will be Dallas' ability to contain the explosive Pittsburgh offense.

Keys to Dallas winning;

• Put pressure on Kordell Stewart. The Steeler offense struggled once Stewart was out of the game. Do not allow Kordell to scramble and roam freely to break down the coverage in the Dallas secondary.
• Mix defenses to confuse Stewart early. Show blitzes, then drop into coverage. Mix blitzes with double coverages and keep Yancy Thigpen covered the entire game.
• Use dbl. zones and dbl. coverages to contain Bettis out of the backfield. TACKLE well. One missed tackle and away Bettis goes.

Offensively the Cowboys must;

• Take what the defense gives them. Don't focus on going deep early. Play underneath the 3-4 defense.
• Incorporate Johnston and Smith in the short game early.
• Look for Irving later in the game deep.
• Use Deion out of the slot looking for the mismatches vs. the Steeler LB's.

As for the Steelers they must;

• Disrupt the Dallas timing offense. Mix defenses regularly. Don't blitz Troy Aikman.
• Keep the backs covered coming out of the backfield, a Dallas staple.
• Don't allow Irvin one on one match ups to often.
• Stay out of LB mismatches with Deion Sanders.

Offensively

• Try to establish the run early against the Dallas defense as they will play exclusively the pass early.
• Run away from Leon Lett.
• Stay away from Deion Sanders side of the field. Last week Sanders had 3 interceptions vs. Philadelphia.
• Watch the Cowboys defensive tendencies to exploit mismatches.
• Stay out of 2nd or 3rd and long situations.

I think this will be a close game unless one team commits several turnovers. This would create a blowout situation for the teams that makes the most of the turn over situation. However, I don't expect this to be a sloppy played game. Pittsburgh offensively will be confuse by the different looks and quick defensive audible that they will see from Dallas. This will slow down the Steeler offense and this should be the key to the game. The Steelers best chance for a win will be a high scoring affair, and I don't see that happening. Look for the Cowboys to exploit the vulnerability of the 3-4 defense early, put together long drives, and scoring TD's in the red zone. That's why I like Dallas.

The Pack got a big scare last week as they were only a few pass interference penalties from going 0-2. This certainly was not the way the Pack thought they would be starting their season, but I'm sure they will gladly take 1-1. Unfortunately for Green Bay, Miami is no cakewalk. The Dolphins held the same Pittsburgh offense that scored 24 points against them (GB) to only 9 points in week 2. To have the same type of defensive success the fins need to approach the Packers the same way Pittsburgh did.

Offensively

• Miami must attack the 3-4 defense early using dives and delays to Jabbar & Pritchard
• On passing situations, watch for Fox going to the 3-4 dbl. man, roll Erickson and give him the option of running or passing. Use motion to create overloads forcing a mismatch between a receiver and a defensive end. Here is where Womack must position his fastest receiver and get him in the slot. But be careful, Green Bay has some very fine defensive linemen with great speed and great cover ability.
• Don't run towards Reggie White or Gilbert Brown. Try to run more behind the right guard or right tackle since Fox moves White around to get a pass rush.
• Stay away from the screens and flats early until the middle of GB's defense has loosened up. Go deep early and run to force Fox to change his defensive scheme.

Defensively

• Mix Blitzes, Nickel Man and Dime Press often. Also 3-4 man under, and exchange are good to mix into the defensive scheme depending upon the situation. Green Bay loves to run the FB man under. Dime man press is a very effective defense vs. this play. It's one of GB's favorite.
• How GB runs the FB under
  • Favre looks primarily at four options. The first is usually Henderson the FB. Jam him at the line of scrimmage to slow down his timing. Second, Mayes in mtn. This is usually well covered by one of the safeties or dime backs, let him roam freely. Third, Dorsey Levens. This is a one on one match up with a DB. If Levens catches the ball in thefield, this favors GB. The DB MUST make thefield tackle or its a big gainer. Fourth, Antonio Freeman. Favre goes here only out of desperation. If you force Favre into this many reads, you will have the sack or a QB pressure.
• Play the Pro Slants. When Fox has not been able to run the FB under effectively, he goes to the slants from the Pro formation. This is where Womack must take away his two options, Levens or Mayes. Sometimes the Pack will run this from the Normal set which means Chamura, the great TE becomes the motion man. 3-4 exchange should handle this with no problem.
• Play Nickel Man against the Deep Ball. This also provides good deep coverage against Favre's go to guy, Derrick Mayes.
• Finally, QB pressure. This is what Brown used to create turnovers early in the game.

Womack will need to generate some offense early. The key will be the Dolphins ability to score in the red zone. Defensively the Fins must stop the Derrick Mayes to have a chance. Keep the pace slow and the scoring low, and it favors Miami. However, that may be easier said than done, and that's why I like Green Bay.

Oakland rolls into Kansas City to take on the upstart Chiefs. K.C. is still looking for its first win in the PFL. If Oakland plays the kind of football that was played in the second half of the 49er game, K.C. will get its first PFL win. However, I think the Raiders will revert to its preseason form against the Chiefs. The Raiders must be ready to face the dime and 3-4 defense and exploit these defenses for big gains. Ed Hayward really feels as though the Chiefs would have won theirng game, but acknowledged that clock management and the injury to Dale Carter were the factors that caused them to loose. Here are the keys to game.

Offensively the Raiders should;

• Work underneath and stay away from the corners early. K.C. has great corners in Carter and Hasty.
• Run Kaufman outside early to test the Chiefs OLB speed.
• Run away from Derrick Thomas.
• Look for one on one situations, stay away from the double coverage.

Defensively

• Start in a 3-4 based dbl man to protect the flats early.
• Mix Blitzes with man under from the 3-4 set.
• Force KC to establish the running game.

As for K.C. they must be ready to defend the deep ball and match the Raiders deep speed on the outside. The K.C. defense must play aggressive ala, San Francisco, and put pressure on Jeff George. The Chiefs must mix their coverages against the Raiders, confusing George so he doesn't know when the blitz is coming.

Offensively

• Keep the run in the game plan.
• Challenge the Raiders secondary early by going deep.
• Use Marcus Allen out of the backfield.
• Beat the Raider man press with quick slants and crossing patterns.

Defensively

• The Chiefs must prepare for the deep Raider arsenal. Jett, Howard, and Brown love to go deep. The Chiefs may want to consider playing the Nickel man to help in deep coverage.
• Move Derrick Thomas around in different formations. For instance, from the nickel, you may want him blitzing from the left, or in the dime, you may want to line him up on the right, and etc...
• Take away the post routes. Aggressive bump and run coverage, combined with a fierce pass rush, can provide the Chiefs with the type of pressure they need to throw off the Jags deep corner pass plays. The key is pressure on the QB. If Brunell gets the kind of time needed to sit back and wait for McCardell or Smith to break to the corner deep into their routes, you will see one big play after another. The Chiefs should gamble early occasionally to see what kind of pressure they can get on Brunell by mixing their double coverages with aggressive blitzes.
• Shut down the run early.

San Francisco rolls into New England to take on the Patriots. The Pats split last week falling to the Eagles, but topping the Raiders. The Pats know how to play the Niners tight, but Alex Smolka's losses to Wayne Allen usually are due to the mental mistakes late in the games. Here are the keys to a New England win.

• No offensive mistakes. San Fran loves to take advantage of turnovers. They are currently second in THE LEAGUE with a +5 giveaway takeaway margin. Bledsoe must stay away from the interceptions.
• Establish Ben Coates and Curtis Martin early. Line Coates up in the slot in the 3 wide formation to create mismatches against Allen's 3-4 defense.
• Attack the 3-4 with quick outs, streaks and deep corner routes to the speedy Patriot wide outs.
• Run, Run, Run Curtis Martin anytime you see the 3-4 defense. Use him on dives, and tosses. Substitute Martin to the FB position in SOME formations (not every) and have him run some FB dives.
• Use Martin on screens and flats like, HB screen from the near or far set, Pro slants or curls, I full back under, etc....
• Look exclusively for one on one match ups.

Defensively

• Don't allow SF to go deep. Force the Niners into 2nd or 3rd and long situations. These are good times to throw a Nickel man defense at the Niners to prevent the deep passes.
• Never leave Rice in man coverage unless you want an instant touchdown (just add water)
• Do not Blitz!!!
• Always jam Brent Jones at the line of scrimmage, and never allow him to be covered one on one by a LB.

As for San Francisco, keys to a Niner victory include;

Offensively

• Test the Pat's secondary early going deep.
• After forcing the Pat's into Dime and Nickel situations, go to Hearst and Floyd on plays like FB under, HB screens, Counter Pass and Pro Slants.
• Look for Brent Jones in mismatches.

Defensively

• Start in a 3-4 based dbl man to protect the flats early.
• Mix Blitzes with man under from the 3-4 set.
• Force NE to establish the running game.
• Jam Coates at the line to disrupt the passing flow.

I think New England will play the Niners tight and tough, but I like San Fran's coaching and experience to pull out a victory.

This is Jacksonville's first test for the season. Its been well documented that the Jags started out on fire and soon cool off late in the preseason. The big question is has Jacksonville retuned their game for the regular season. The Jags must be ready for the blitzing Bronco defense. Michael Dean Perry will be a major key in this game. If he can burst through the Jaguar line and put early pressure on Brunell, this will disrupt the Jaguar game plan completely. The Jags must counter early with quick passes to Means and slants to McCardell and Smith to beat the blitz. Keys for Jacksonville.

• Don't go deep early. Nickel and dime the Broncs early anticipating the blitz.
• Attack the 3-4 with dives and delays if the Broncos are not blitzing. The key is to read the LB's to pick up Gresham's defensive tendencies.
• Go out side quickly to the TE's or RB's to avoid the quick pressure up the middle. Use the passing game first toit up for the run. Wait until Gresham stops selling out and then attack the 3-4 with quick runs.
• Try to establish Natrone Means as a threat. Run away from Michael Dean Perry and when running outside always motion the TE if running to the weak side to use as a lead blocker.
• If the deep plays are not working, adjust the game plan to include more underneath plays finding the seams of zones.
• Use Brunell's scrambling ability to buy time by rolling him out of the pocket.
• Make the Broncos pay if they sell out at the wrong time.

Defensively

• Jam Sharpe at the line of scrimmage to disrupt the Bronco timing offense.
• Use 4-3 dbl. zones to help contain Davis.
• Mix 4-3 dbl zones w/crashes to play the run.
• If the Broncos have success going deep, go to the Nickel to prevent quick easy scores, especially on third and long situations.
• Capitalize when the Broncos fail to punt.
• Limit blitzes to first down situations, and use them sparingly.
• Play 3-4 man under when the Broncos go to the money play out of the Shotgun, with a slot receiver in motion.

As for Denver the Broncos should;

• Keep the game up tempo with a fast pace. Try to make this a high scoring affair.
• Run Terrell Davis early to make Jacksonville respect the run.
• Get Sharpe the ball on first downs. Set the offense up for 2nd or 3rd and short situations so the Jags won't know if to play pass or run.
• Exploit the Jags 3-4 defense looking exclusively for one on one mismatches vs. LB's.
• Once the short game is established, go deep for the quick easy big plays to break the Jags spirit.

Defensively

• Play the deep game early. Franklin may test the corners early.
• Concentrate more on man unders and zones to eliminate the quick strikes to the TE's.
• Mix blitzes and zones early to confuse Brunell early. The Jags will be expecting pressure early and will be ready for it. Blitzing too early could result in some easy Jaguar scores.
• Allow Michael Dean Perry to wreak havoc.