Dallas Cowboys: Film Study: This is what O-Line Cowboys should do to revive their once-feared racing game against the Giants

The identity of the Dallas Cowboys as a team is their running game. You know it, I know it and every NFL team knows it. The Cowboys have built their entire team with that identity in mind.

That's why the Cowboys have allocated a ton of their resources to the offensive line. That's why they took fourth place overall when most teams devalued the position. This is also why the attack tends to blur when the current game struggles to keep the Dallas offensive afloat, thus forcing a drifting attack.

The Cowboys desperately need to resume their attack on the New York Giants after running for only 94 yards on 22 runs against the Carolina Panthers.

This is a crucial task, given that the Giants have the best defense defensive lineman in football – the Damon nose tackle "Snacks" Harrison. Harrison was a problem for the Cowboys offensive, even when Dallas had Travis Frederick. Harrison alone could destroy Cowboy attacks without Frederick.

Harrison, who is the nose-tackle in the Giants' 3-4 defense, is mainly taking advantage of his impact between the B's gaps, which means the Cowboys would be smart to attack the edges against New York. The Giants will probably have the not-so-dynamic duo of Kareem Martin and Lorenzo Carter who are mainly responsible for protecting the tip.

Last week, the Cowboys were prejudicial in attacking midfield Panthers defense, averaging only 2.86 yards per run. Carolina has the best defensive duo of the NFL – Kawann Short and Dontari Poe – with the league's best linebacker – Luke Kuechly.

Nevertheless, there was a glimmer of hope in the Cowboys' struggles last week. They had some success in attacking Carolina's defensive advantage with pin-and-pull-sweep concepts. Here is an example:

The pin-and-pull system is a system that uses a mixture of falling blocks and blocks to "pin" defenders inside and multiple tie-rods to the edge. This is a variant of the outer zone – Dallas' favorite racing game – but instead of the typical rules of rip / reach / overtaking, the "pin" gives the offensive line better angles to make his blocks.

In the game above, The El Collins "pins" the defensive tackle of the game, while Joe Looney and Zack Martin "shoot" to take the lead of Elliott.

Interestingly, the Cowboys scored this sweep with a second-level reading on the linebacker. If the linebacker does not bite on the stitch action, Dak Prescott passes the ball to Elliott as he would normally. However, if the linebacker bites on the action of the race and crashes towards the line of scrimmage, Prescott will look to throw the back – Michael Gallup on this game.

The Cowboys have been consistent in their application of the Carolina fight, running it several times with great success, averaging 12.66 yards per stroke on scans and 3.29 yards per run on all other concepts. . However, they used a different wrinkle each time.

Here, the Cowboys perform a sweep that is essentially identical to the one above. Collins "pins" the defensive tackle of the lawn while Looney and Martin "shoot" on the edge.

Yet, instead of reading the linebacker of the weakest part to touch the back of receiver X, Dallas sent Blake Jarwin, back short, on a road of meeting. Because the low-side linebacker kept his depth, Prescott was again forced to hand the ball to bearer Rod Smith, who gained five yards on the game.

In the other match against Carolina, the Cowboys decided to score the sweep with a zone reading instead of a pass concept. Viewing:

Here, the Cowboys have managed to get a big gain through the pin-and-pull sweep, but pay close attention to Prescott. Instead of reading the weak linebacker to throw the ball, Prescott reads the weak linebacker (No. 54 in the clip above), who has approached to see if he should keep the ball and throw it . himself or give it to the bearer.

Reading is simple. If the linebacker on the weaker side (# 54) stays home, Prescott passes the ball to Elliott. If the linebacker hangs on the throwing action, Prescott keeps the ball and runs along the released weak area.

Against the Giants, the Cowboys will have to make slight modifications to their blocking assignments, as New York has a 3-4 loss while Carolina has a 4-3. The Cowboys would probably have Looney "pin" the nose plating while Martin and left-guard Connor Williams "would pull" on the edge.

Although they must always go after the defense to keep the Giants honest, the Cowboys should make a more concerted effort to attack the edges with pin-and-pull concepts on Sunday night.

It is possible that the Cowboys, once feared, are attacked.

John Owning writes about the evaluation of NFL players for SportsDayDFW.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JohnOwning.