Photo by Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images
Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons was relentless on Monday night
Following the Dallas Cowboys’ 31-14 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a few different storylines are emerging. One involves Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, and how far he can take this Dallas team if he continues to play like he did Monday night. Another involves the fascinating schematic clash that awaits us next Sunday, when Dan Quinn’s defense will look to slow down the San Francisco 49ers offense.
Then there is, of course, the speculation over Tom Brady, and his future. The veteran quarterback said that he would take some time to think about what is next after the loss, and while it is hard to imagine Brady walking away with that as his final game, Monday night might be the last time we see him in an NFL game.
If Brady does decide to walk away, there will be several reasons why: His age, the fact that he has nothing left to prove, and the big contract awaiting him with FOX Sports.
Another reason?
Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons.
Parsons was relentless on Monday night, pressuring Brady early, and often. In studying this game, I charted Parsons with ten pressures on Brady, starting on Tampa Bay’s first possession of the game and culminating in his sack of Brady in the closing minutes, which was a thing of beauty.
Parsons’s first pressure on Brady came with the Buccaneers facing a 3rd and 12 on their opening drive of the game. Parsons aligns over left tackle Donovan Smith and uses a dip-and-rip move to the outside. Parsons gets into the backfield so quickly that Brady, as soon as he hits his drop depth in the pocket, is forced to climb, and move off the spot:
Parsons even drew a flag for holding on Smith, but with Brady’s pass falling incomplete, the penalty is declined. Bring on the punt team.
The Buccaneers faced a 3rd and 5 quickly during their next possession, and with the football near midfield, it was a chance for Tampa Bay to get some momentum going on offense.
Parsons had other ideas.
Working against Smith, this time Parsons attacks to the inside with a rip move, slicing into the pocket and working into Brady’s lap. The QB’s throw again falls incomplete, and the Buccaneers are forced to punt:
Both of these plays came with Parsons operating on the edge, but later in the first quarter, Quinn slid Parsons back into an off-ball role, lurking in the middle of the Dallas defense. The book on Brady — as it is with almost all quarterbacks to be clear — is that near-immediate interior pressure is a serious problem. With Brady, who is a timing and rhythm thrower, that near-immediate pressure disrupts everything he wants to do in the pocket.
On this 2nd and 6 play from late in the first quarter, Parsons blitzes through an A-Gap from that inside, off-ball role. Leonard Fournette is tasked with picking up the blitz, but this is another example of Parsons’s relentless motor:
Fournette tries to cut Parsons as the linebacker explodes into the backfield, but Parsons simply runs through the attempt, flushing Brady out of the pocket. Parsons does not get home for the sack, but Brady’s throw is low and off the mark, resulting in yet another completion.
This is a good moment to pause and appreciate the idea of “pressure is production.” After all, on all three of these plays highlighted, Parsons did not get home for a sack. But what you are seeing unfold is what sustained pressure, particularly early in a game, can do to a quarterback. We use boxing analogies often when writing or talking about football, particularly when talking about the running game and the idea of “body blows.”
Early, consistent pressure on a quarterback is another example of body blows when it comes to a football field. Feeling and facing that kind of pressure wears on you, and starts speeding up that clock in your head. You start to think that you have to get the ball out quicker and quicker, or yet another hit is coming your way. Again, for timing and rhythm throwers, like Brady, this kind of pressure is a big problem.
The third quarter offers another example of Parsons’s relentless motor. This time, the linebacker starts on the edge over the LT but loops behind interior defenders, into the A-Gap. He is initially blocked, but does not stop until he once more flushes Brady from the pocket, and forces an incompletion:
Parsons even gets a hand to this throw, disrupting Brady’s release and forcing a throw that is well short of the target.
Then, late in the game, Parsons finally got home, using a spin move that is just incredible — or terrifying — depending on your point of view. Working against right tackle Tristian Wirfs, Parsons stresses his outside edge before snapping back to the inside:
From this old, washed-up quarterback’s point of view? That’s terrifying.
Up next for Parsons? A date against Kyle Shanahan and a talented 49ers offense. The chess match between Quinn and Shanahan during that game might be the schematic storyline of the week, if not the season.
But Quinn has something terrifying at his disposal: A pass rusher in Parsons with a relentless motor, a varied skill set, and the ability to disrupt from almost anywhere on the field.
As for Brady, rewatching this game on this gloomy Tuesday morning here in the Washington, D.C. suburbs, I am reminded of the wise words from Detective Roger Murtaugh, as portrayed by Danny Glover:
“I’m too old for this shit.”
