Dan Pompei

The best teams in the NFL have become the best passing teams. And it is no coincidence. Teams such as the Patriots, Colts, Cowboys, Packers, Lions, Saints and Browns can create problems that defenses just can't seem to provide solutions for.

How do you cover Randy Moss? There isn't a cornerback in football who can hang with him over the course of four quarters. The only way to contain him is to assign two defenders to him. The problem with that is it leaves your defense vulnerable in other areas.

How can you match up with a team like the Lions that plays four high quality wide receivers at once?  Do you take two linebackers off the field and replace them with sub corners who aren't as capable of making plays?  If so, you'd better hope the Lions don't starting handing the ball off to Kevin Jones.

How do you deal with a team like Indianapolis that runs a lot of vertical routes?  You'd like to leave your safeties back in a two or three deep zone. But if a team has a decent running game, eventually they'll make you pay.

These are some of the issues Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Johnson is dealing with this week as he prepares his gameplan for the Cowboys.

Sometimes, Johnson admits, success hinges on whether he guesses correctly. "If you are in a Cover 2, you have a much better chance of defending some of this stuff," Johnson says. "If you are concerned with the run and you bring an eighth man in the box, it's a little tougher. Sometimes you have to be in the right coverage, but you have to mix it."

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Johnson has noticed a change in the way offenses are attacking. He said for awhile, offenses were emphasizing the run. There were times when a team might rush for 200 yards but not score enough points to win a game. Now, teams are taking shots at big plays in the passing game because such plays are more likely to lead to points.

"It seems we're getting more of a vertical passing game," Johnson says. "It goes through a phase. It's not the West Coast offense anymore. It's more downfield routes. Now people are protecting more and getting maybe three receivers out.

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"It's even happened with our offense. We were a big West Coast team, but now we protect more and get people down field off of play action and try to get those 25, 30, 35-yard pass completions."

As much as the passing game is creating waves this year, no team thrives on the pass alone. The best teams can move the ball by land or air.

The Cowboys, for instance, have the third-ranked passing offense but also the ninth-ranked rushing offense. Pay too much attention to Terrell Owens, and Marion Barber is sure to remind you about it. Vertical routes help the running game, and play action helps the passing game.

Ultimately, if all a team can do is pass, defenses will find ways to minimize the damage. "In the end, you want to have some kind of balance," Patriots coach Bill Belichick says. "Defensively, the hardest thing to attack is a balanced attack, not a one dimensional one. So you try to strive for that."

Every team strives for it. But not many achieve it.

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