'Quiet Down!' Cowboys Get Bucs Game-Plan Advice from Ex Coach Jason Garrett

“They have to quiet the game down ... They have to hand the ball to Zeke Elliott time and time again in the middle of the defense.'' - Garrett on Dallas vs. Tampa.

FRISCO - The Dallas Cowboys could in theory beat the Tampa Bay Bucs in Sunday’s Week 1 NFL opener with the helpful advice of … 

Jason Garrett?!

Garrett, the former Dallas head coach now working as an NBC studio analyst, is offering his analysis of Bucs at Cowboys is warning his old team to “quiet the game.”

Meaning?

“They have to quiet the game down ... They have to hand the ball to Zeke Elliott time and time again in the middle of the defense,” Garrett said, via his first-year gig as part of NBC’s “Football Night in America” crew. “It might not be real productive, but they have to be patient …”

The Cowboys fan who finds himself to be a non-fan of Garrett may be rolling his eyes here. Dallas should be “conservative”? “Pound away”? “Be patient”? 

We have documented in this space the problem Dallas might have in trying to run Ezekiel Elliott into the teeth of Tampa’s stout defense. 

Meanwhile, it is a fact - not a criticism - that philosophically, has always believed in simply “beating the man across from you.” Garrett, who coached the Cowboys from 2011-2019, had some success here, of course, as he compiled an 85-67 record before being ousted.

It is also a fact that this game is a rematch of last season’s opener, which Dallas lost 31-29. … and there, QB Dak Prescott threw for 403 yards and three TDs - but needed 58 throws to do it.

Part of Garrett’s point? If coach Mike McCarthy’s club is forced to do that again, Dallas seems that much more likely to lose.

In that game, Elliott tallied just 11 carries for 33 yards. … and we will argue that for a Cowboys team planning to use Zeke and Tony Pollard as “two No. 1 running backs” - won’t work, either. 

But, Garrett said, “One thing they can’t do is throw it 58 times like they did last year. They have to be balanced. That’s the formula against this (Tampa Bay) defense.”

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