Bell: Matter of time; Eagles have to bring heat in a hurry against Romo
PHILADELPHIA – It was one thing to watch Tony Romo lead the Dallas Cowboys to another last-minute comeback victory Sunday night on national TV.
It was quite another matter for a man who will be chasing Romo on Thanksgiving to process the time that the Cowboys quarterback had on his 13-yard, game-winning touchdown strike to Dez Bryant.
Nine seconds.
This had Trent Cole shaking his head.
"That should be sack city right there," Cole, the veteran Philadelphia Eagles linebacker said, sitting at his locker stall on Monday afternoon. "A quarterback should never have that much time – at all. As a lineman, you've got to get there."
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NBC put up a graphic with an inset of a digital clock on a replay that emphasized the superb protection Romo received during crunchtime. On the replay of another play, the clock ticked to more than eight seconds.
What's a normal time for a quarterback to get the football out of his hands?
"About 2.5 seconds," Cole told USA TODAY Sports. "Usually, a quarterback is on his own after 2.5. He's got to make a move and get out of the pocket or throw the ball."
Time should be a huge difference-maker in the showdown at AT&T Stadium for first place in the NFC East. The Eagles love to control the clock, and not so much by the old-fashioned ball-hogging measure.
It all about tempo for Chip Kelly's team. This is obvious with the manner in which Kelly's fast-paced offense operates, firing off plays faster than any team in the league.
And if you listen to Kelly respond to one question after another at his press conferences in fast-talking, rat-tat-tat-tat fashion, it's clear that this is how he is most comfortably rolling.
Yet tempo matters to the defense, too.
The Eagles will head to Dallas with a defense that ranks second in the NFL with 38 sacks.
Listen to the rushers, including Cole and NFC sack leader Connor Barwin, and they'll tell you that effectively rushing the passer means just what it implies. Getting to the quarterback fast.
When they can't get there quick enough, bad things tend to happen.
The Eagles get a lot of sacks, but they also get burned way too much by big plays downfield. Philadelphia ranks 30th in the NFL for passing yards allowed.
Sure, any defense can get scorched by Aaron Rodgers, who passed for 341 yards and 3 TDs against the Eagles in Week 11.
But this defense also gave up 427 yards to Kirk Cousins and 375 to Austin Davis, young quarterbacks with no rings on their fingers or MVPs on their resumes.
In the 43-24 rout of the Titans on Sunday, it was a mixed bag.
The Eagles sacked Zach Mettenberger five times, using a stunts and games to bring a rhythmic type of pressure. Barwin, whose two sacks gave him a career-high 12 ½, said one of his sacks was set up by Cole as he looped inside on a stunt and the other came from winning a one-on-one matchup.
A Titans scheme that is heavy on vertical routes that take time to develop was beneficial, too.
But the rookie quarterback also passed for 345 yards on just 20 completions. The secondary can cover for only so long.
Now comes Romo, who was in the hospital for back surgery the last time the Eagles visited Dallas, which resulted in a victory in the regular-season finale in December that claimed the division title.
The protection Romo gets from an O-line built with investments including three first-round picks is one thing. His improvisational skill is another matter.
Kelly said that adds complexity in coverages that must adjust as receivers adjust route combinations.
"It's a huge challenge, because you have to know what they're going to do after Tony buys time for himself," Kelly said. "He does as good a job as any quarterback in the league at keeping plays alive. He's got a great feel in the pocket. He has a unique sense, in terms of if there's an unblocked guy, he just has a way of making them miss.
"But he's not looking to run. He's looking to throw the ball down the field, which is dangerous."
Barwin knows. His eyes lit up Monday, when someone asked about Romo's signature spin move.
"The guy we played yesterday was an iron deer," Barwin said of Mettenberger. "He wasn't going anywhere. When you get there against Romo, you've got to be under control. You can't really jump too much. He likes to spin out. So you can't go too high. You've got to be more of a sure tackler."
And in the nick of time.