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Friday, January 22, 2016

5C

NFC CHAMPIONSHIP | Arizona (14-3) at Carolina (16-1), 5:40 p.m. Sunday (Ch. 4)

Slowing Short has

become a tall order
Fueled by emergence of
DT, Panthers defense
has gained top-10 status
CHARLOTTE, N.C. Josh
Norman has some advice for
Arizona Cardinals quarterback
Carson Palmer if he sees Carolina Panthers defensive tackle
Kawann KK Short heading
his way Sunday in the NFC
Championship Game.
Run, the Panthers All-Pro
cornerback said with a hearty
laugh. Run, run as fast as you
can, Im the Gingerbread Man.
Norman has seen Short
blossom into a dominant inside pass rusher in just his third
season with the Panthers, recording 11 sacks a franchise
record for a defensive tackle
along with 32 quarterback
pressures.
The 6-3, 315-pound Short
carried that momentum over
to the playoffs last week, pressuring Seattles Russell Wilson
into throwing a first-quarter

KAWANN
SHORT

interception
that was returned for a
touchdown by
Luke Kuechly,
giving Carolina an early
14-0 lead and
setting
the
tone for the

game.
He also had a sack of Wilson.
That play was all KK,
Kuechly said of the interception. When you look at the
play, if you really break it down,
it was him. He made a move on
the guard, and just like that, he
was on Russell. Really, I was
just kind of standing there and
he tossed it right to me. I give
KK all the credit because he deserved it all.
When general manager
Dave Gettleman came to Carolina in 2013, he spent his first
two draft picks on hog mollies, selecting a pair of mammoth defensive tackles in space

NFL CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS

SUNDAYS GAMES
AFC: New England at Denver
NFC: Arizona
at Carolina

(Ch. 11) 2:05

(Ch. 4) 5:40

SUPER BOWL 50
Sunday, Feb. 7
(at Santa Clara, Calif.)
AFC champion
vs. NFC champion

(Ch. 11) 5:30

eater Star Lotulelei in the first

round, followed by pass-rushing specialist Short in the second.
They have become fixtures
on a defense that has ranked in
the top 10 in each of the past
three seasons and forced a
league-high 39 turnovers in
the regular season.
He and Star form a really
good tandem inside, Panthers
coach Ron Rivera said. Star
seems to do a lot of the dirty
work, a lot of the physical work,
and KK is explosive and a pass
rusher.
Cardinals coach Bruce Arians said Lotulelei and Short are
the best pair of defensive tackles Arizona has seen all season.
The linebackers are great,
Arians said, but they [the

Patrick Smith/Getty Images

Kawann Short (99) kept the heat on Seattles Russell Wilson in Carolinas divisional playoff
victory. Short had 11 sacks in the regular season, a franchise record for a tackle.

tackles] help make them great.

Short became the first Carolina player to win NFC Defensive Player of the Month twice
in the same season and was
named second-team All-Pro.
I have been paying attention to details, studying the
game, Short said. I took all of
these pieces of advice from other people, put them in the
bucket, and now Im using it.
Shorts quickness is his
forte.
He plays the three tech-

nique on defense, the position

Warren Sapp played for the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Like
Sapp, Short has a quick burst
off the line that allows him to
get by slower offensive linemen, particularly when not
double-teamed.
Norman said he didnt realize how athletic Short was until
they participated in a pickup
basketball game. When he saw
the big man make a spin move
and drive to the basket and
dunk the ball, he was amazed.

Ive tried to guard him and

he gets the best of me, Norman
said. So now, every time I
play with him, I pick him on my
team. Hes my No. 1 draft pick.
Norman said given that
quickness, its easy to see why
Short has excelled on the football field.
His focus, his work ethic
and his massive size cant
nobody block him, Norman
said.
Steve Reed,
The Associated Press

BRIEFS

First full-time female assistant coach pursued passion

Love of sports drove
Bills Smith on her way
to historic promotion
BUFFALO, N.Y. Competing in lacrosse, swimming
and bowling in high school
wasnt enough for Kathryn
Smith.
Come fall, she would spend
most Friday nights on the football sideline helping her father,
Robert, track statistics for
Christian Brothers Academy in
Syracuse, N.Y.
Little did anyone envision 15
years later that Smiths passion
for sports would lead her to become the NFLs first full-time
female assistant coach.
Thats just her nature that
whatever shes doing, shes certainly going to jump in head
first, Christian Brothers athletic director John Wleklinski
said Thursday.
Wleklinski spoke fondly of
Smith a day after coach Rex
Ryan and the Buffalo Bills

NFL
picks

AFC: New England at Denver (+3)

NFC: Arizona (+3) at Carolina
Last week vs. line
Season vs. line
Last week straight
Season straight

TIM
COWLISHAW

BRANDON
GEORGE

RICK
GOSSELIN

DANA
LARSON

JON
MACHOTA

CRAIG
MILLER

DAVID
MOORE

NEWY
SCRUGGS

KEVIN
SHERRINGTON

Columnist

Cowboys
Insider

Columnist

FSSW

Cowboys
Insider

The Ticket

Cowboys
Insider

Ch. 5

Columnist

vs. Line
Straight
Denver
Denver
Carolina Carolina
0-4 (.000)
130-128-6 (.504)
4-0 (1.000)
172-92 (.652)

vs. Line
Straight
NE
NE
Carolina Carolina
3-1 (.750)
121-137-6 (.469)
4-0 (1.000)
155-109 (.587)

vs. Line
Straight
Denver
Denver
Carolina Carolina
2-2 (.500)
137-121-6 (.531)
4-0 (1.000)
169-95 (.640)

vs. Line
Straight
Denver
NE
Carolina Carolina
0-4 (.000)
126-132-6 (.488)
4-0 (1.000)
157-107 (.595)

vs. Line
Straight
NE
NE
Carolina Carolina
4-0 (1.000)
117-141-6 (.453)
4-0 (1.000)
148-116 (.561)

Straight
vs. Line
Denver
NE
Arizona
Arizona
2-2 (.500)
132-126-6 (.512)
3-1 (.750)
154-110 (.583)

broke the leagues gender barrier by promoting the 30-yearold to be their special teams
quality control coach.
I appreciate Rex Ryan giving me this opportunity based
on the merit of my work and
commitment to this organization, Smith said in a series of
statements released by the
team. The amount of attention generated in the past 24
hours has been extraordinary.

vs. Line
Straight
NE
NE
Carolina Carolina
1-3 (.250)
133-125-6 (.516)
4-0 (1.000)
172-92 (.652)

vs. Line
Straight
Denver
Denver
Carolina Carolina
1-3 (.250)
131-127-6 (.508)
4-0 (1.000)
164-100 (.621)

However, my focus remains on

my job responsibilities and
helping the team win.
Browns official says no
rush on Manziel call: Cleveland Browns head of football
operations Sashi Brown revealed the franchise fined
Johnny Manziel at the end of
the 2015 season, but he insisted
the new regime wont rush to a
verdict on the troubled quarterbacks future.

What we expect is Johnny

to have a good offseason and
come back and be ready to go,
Brown said. Were not in any
panic to make any decision one
way or another on him. He understands whats ahead of him
and what he needs to do to have
a career in this league and with
the Browns.
Manziel reportedly partied
in Las Vegas the night of Jan. 2,
three days after the Browns

vs. Line
Straight
NE
NE
Arizona
Arizona
1-3 (.250)
122-136-6 (.473)
2-2 (.500)
159-105 (.602)

placed him in the NFLs concussion protocol. Then he

failed to show up at team headquarters Jan. 3 for treatment
required of players in the protocol. Manziel also didnt attend the regular-season finale
Jan. 3 at FirstEnergy Stadium.
I dont know where Johnny
was the final game of the season, Brown said. I do know he
was late for his treatment and
he was fined for that.

AROUND THE LEAGUE

Green Bay: QB Aaron Rodgers is being replaced in the Pro
Bowl because of an undisclosed
injury. Oakland QB Derek Carr
has been added to the roster.
Kansas City: Brad Childress and Matt Nagy were promoted to co-offensive coordinators, replacing new Philadelphia coach Doug Pederson.
The Associated Press

DAVID MOORE

Romos scrambling is a plus except perhaps it isnt always

Continued from Page 1C

they have selected to fill in behind Romo.

Those are the things well
be going over, Stephen Jones
said.

Romos take
As one quarterback after
another failed to win in Romos
absence this season, it raised
the question as to whether the
offense had become too Romocentric.
Its kind of a silly comment,
to be honest with you, Romo
said. When players can do
something well, theyre going
to make a system work.
My job is to make any system work. It doesnt matter
whose system it is.
Systems
evolve.
They
breathe and adapt to fit the
strengths of individuals. No
one can deny that has happened with Romo.
But he maintains success is
about execution, not evolution.
Ninety-five percent of
coaches are doing the same
thing, Romo said. Its just a
matter of players going out and
executing and doing things
faster, doing things better.
Were not doing anything
different, or that much different, than a lot of other teams.
And then the stuff that you

sprinkle in that is different,

those are the week-to-week adjustments that are made.

Bailed out by Tony

White is more than a casual
observer. He has served as the
color analyst for Cowboys
broadcasts on the Compass Radio Network for the last five
years. This is what he sees:
Lets say Romo recognizes
man-to-man coverage and has
the primary receiver run a 10yard hook route. The receiver
fails to get open initially. Rather
than immediately settle for the
second option, Romo moves
around in the pocket to buy
time.
If the primary receiver
comes open, he makes the
throw. If someone else breaks
open he goes there. A structured play has become an elaborate scramble drill.
Its a successful play because Tony bailed everyone
out, White said. That has happened, in my opinion, over and
over to the point it has become a
major point of the Cowboys offense. They rely on Tony to do
that.
Now, can someone come in
from an offense someplace else
and run that in one or two
weeks or even a year? I think its
pretty hard.
The numbers suggest its ex-

Cowboys to coach QB Wentz at Senior Bowl

The Cowboys coaching staff should get to know North Dakota
State quarterback Carson Wentz very well over the next week.
The Senior Bowl rosters were revealed Thursday morning. The Cowboys staff will be working
with the North team, a group headlined by Wentz.
Many experts consider the 6-5 Wentz to be a
first-round pick. If the Cowboys are impressed, he
could end up being the fourth overall pick.
Other notable QBs on the North roster include
USCs
Cody Kessler and Stanfords Kevin Hogan.
CARSON
Both
are
likely to be drafted in the later rounds.
WENTZ
The top running back prospect at the Senior
Bowl, set for Jan. 30 in Mobile, Ala., will also be coached by the
Cowboys. Louisiana Techs Kenneth Dixon is projected by
CBSSports.com to be a second- or third-round pick.
Other notable North players: Ohio State wide receiver Braxton
Miller, Penn State defensive tackle Austin Johnson and Notre
Dame guard Nick Martin, brother of Cowboys guard Zack Martin.
Jon Machota

ceedingly hard. Matt Cassel,

Brandon Weeden and Kellen
Moore combined for a record of
1-11 in Romos absence. Backup
quarterbacks have gone just 720 in this offense since Romo
took over as the starter during
the 2008 season.
Theres an art to the receiver
working the cornerback to get
the defenders hips turned before the receiver plants his foot
to come back for the ball. Its not
that the Cowboys receivers fail
to do this. But when they dont
execute their routes crisply,
they can still win the battle

thanks to Romo.
Watch New Englands Tom
Brady and Denvers Peyton
Manning on Sunday afternoon.
They will make one timingroute throw after another. They
will take a five-step drop and release the ball when the receivers back is turned to them.
White did this when he was
the Cowboys starting quarterback and earlier when he
backed up Roger Staubach.
It was called a 15-yard silent
route.
You dont see much of that
in the Cowboys offense, White

said. In fact, I havent seen any

of it.
Another thing you dont see
is a hot route. When the blitz
comes, how often do you see
Romo release the ball when his
heel touches the ground on his
third step? Rarely. He usually
has a hitch or moves to his left
or right to buy a little more time.
Romo isnt the only quarterback who operates this way.
Green Bays Aaron Rodgers
falls into the same category.
Why risk throwing to a receiver
with his back turned when you
can buy a little extra time to
make sure he sees the ball coming his way?
But how many quarterbacks
improvise and still throw the
ball downfield like Romo and
Rodgers?
Theres a lot more to it, and
I know Tony would put up a
good argument with me and so
would Jason, White said. But
thats what I think has happened to their offense.

Time for a change?

Its easy to understand how
the offense has reached this
point. The Cowboys have had
success with Romo. Why
change?
You change because Romo
will be 36 in three months and
is coming off a season when he
missed 12 games. You change

because this offense has shown

it cant win without Romo.
You put timing routes back
into the offense. You emphasize
hot reads on the blitz.
Thats the challenge, White
said. I think what you do is you
gradually work back to a traditional-type offense. Tony may
have to get a little bit uncomfortable, at least in practice, and
work on some of these things,
throwing these timing routes
and blitz reads and getting rid
of the ball quickly. There needs
to be more of that.
I think thats what theyve
got to do now. Theyve got to
start working back toward a little more traditional passing
game.
Romo will tell you systems
arent about an individual. Hes
right. But theres no denying
this offense has evolved around
his unique skills.
On another note, science has
busted the frog theory. The animal will jump out of water as it
heats up rather than boil to
death.
Will the Cowboys do the
same with their offense?
Catch David Moore and cohost Robert Wilonsky on The
Ticket (KTCK-AM 1310 and 96.7
FM) on Intentional Grounding at
7 p.m. on Wednesday through
the Super Bowl.
Twitter: @ DavidMooreDMN

C5 01-22-2016 Set: 21:09:56

Sent by: [email protected] Sports

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