Most of the time, everybody takes the center snap for granted but this week it won’t be that case for the Eagles and backup center Nick Cole.
He’ll be taking over for injured starter Jamaal Jackson, who went down last week with a ACL tear.
First of all Cole will have to decipher the Dallas defensive front and make the proper blocking call, then his job will be to block Pro Bowl Cowboys Pro Bowl nose tackle Jay Ratliff.
He’s making his second trip to the Pro Bowl this year and currently has six sacks which is quite a bit for an interior defensive lineman.
It won’t be easy and if Cole doesn’t have a good day, chances are that the Eagles six-game winning streak will be over.
Cole must use his weight and strength to offset the quickness of Ratliff. Ratliff will be trying to jump around Cole and it will open running lanes if Cole stays on him and rides him out of the play.
On third downs, Ratliff will be matched up against backup right guard Max Jean-Gilles. These are usually pass downs which will mean, Jean-Gilles will be doing what he doesn’t do well, pass blocking, against what Ratliff does well, which is pass rushing.
You can’t run or throw ball with a interior lineman loose in the backfield. If Ratliff is getting penetration Donovan McNabb won’t be able to step up and he will be vulnerable to DeMarcus Ware and Anthony Spencer coming off the corners.
If Ratliff is getting penetration, it will force the Eagles running backs to change direction and end any chance of them running up the middle. The Birds running game will need to be effective if they plan on keeping the Dallas defensive line off balance.
There may be times when Ratliff gets into the backfield. In those cases, McNabb must protect the football and get the ball to Westbrook or McCoy on checkdown patterns.
I encourage to watch the battle in the middle of the line when the Cowboys have the football.
It will be number 59 of the Eagles versus number 90 of the Cowboys and it will have a lot to do with which team wins the NFC East title.
