Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg knows he will face a staunch foe this Sunday in the Dallas defense.
"This week, we have a great opportunity and quite a challenge," said Mornhinweg during a press conference Thursday. "With this defense, the numbers are high in virtually every category with very few exceptions. They have great skill and ability, and they have some very good pass rushers. Start with [DeMarcus] Ware, and [Jay] Ratliff in the middle is fantastic. Their linebackers are excellent, and the man from Penn State is playing at a high level, Sean Lee. Their secondary is very aggressive and have made some offensive groups look really bad. We've got a great challenge and we look at it as a great opportunity."
The Cowboys have surrendered fewer rushing yards per game than any team in the NFL. They gave up just 16 points to the New England Patriots two weeks ago, then seven this past week against St. Louis.
Mornhinweg expects Cowboys defensive coordinator Bob Ryan to camouflage his defenses and would be surprised if the Cowboys did not blitz very often.
Mornhinweg later expanded on his praise for Cowboys defensive tackle Jay Ratliff.
"I think he's one of the great players in the game on the inside at tackle," Mornhinweg said. "Typically when you have one of the great players in the game, he has it all. He's got strength, quickness, speed, has all the techniques down, spin moves and he's a powerful man. He's gotten after some guys, so we have quite a challenge there with our rookie center."
Mornhinweg believes Ratliff is talented enough to adapt to any defensive scheme.
"With some 3-4s, they want a guy with bigger size. I think he can play with any defense. I don't care if it's the nose or defensive tackle, he could probably play fullback really. The great ones can play in any type of scheme," said Mornhinweg.
The Eagles have suffered a rash of turnovers during a 2-4 start, giving the ball away 17 times, the most in the NFL. They realize the issue and will look to solve it against Dallas.
"Our whole offense, I told them a couple weeks ago, that 90% of our offense is outstanding," noted Mornhinweg. "We're moving and grooving. Five percent is okay, and the other five percent is when we turn the ball over. It's crystal clear that it was a big problem."
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