Switch was made for safety's sake

IRVING, Texas - The Patriots altered their defensive personnel for yesterday's game against the Cowboys, starting strong safeties Rodney Harrison and James Sanders side by side. Free safety Eugene Wilson was the third option, and the team often had all three on the field together.

The plan was designed to slow tight end Jason Witten, who had emerged as Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo's top weapon.

Harrison spent much of the day jamming Witten near the line of scrimmage. Not surprisingly, when Witten wiggled free, the Cowboys had success. But Witten was limited to three catches for 47 yards, all of them on a scoring drive at the end of the second quarter that sliced the Patriots' lead to 21-17.

"He caught two passes on me, a middle pass and an out-cut on me, but other than that, I think we did a pretty good job on him," Harrison said. "When you have a guy like Witten, who can run anything he wants to run, in and out, it's tough. We hadn't seen anyone stop him on film. He's an incredible tight end, but I think our guys all did a good job containing him."

For all the hype that followed Cowboys receiver Terrell Owens (6 catches, 66 yards, TD) into the game, the Patriots were equally - if not more - concerned about Witten. Because of that, the Patriots often used the not-seen-before nickel package (five defensive backs) that included three safeties.

"Just a little bit of a gameplan type thing," coach Bill Belichick said. "I think all three players have played well for us and have done a good job."

Added Harrison: "It was something we had for this week, and that's the versatility of what we do. Whether it's two safeties, three safeties, it might be four safeties next week. Who knows?"

In the big picture, the Patriots' defense was aided by its offense. The Cowboys possessed the ball for just 21:45, and the Patriots were on their heels at times - specifically at the end of the second quarter and early in the third quarter.

The defense had a few breakdowns trying to stop the running game when Dallas drove to take a 24-21 lead early in the third quarter. Running back Julius Jones had runs for 25 and 18 yards on the march, as the Patriots missed some tackles.

"That was a problem, but once we got that straightened out, it helped us make them more one-dimensional," Belichick said.

And when the Patriots were able to get the Cowboys in long-distance passing situations, they employed a unique dime package, with six defensive backs, four linebackers, and one defensive lineman.

"[Quarterback Tony] Romo is very athletic in the pocket and we thought it would give us more speed on the field against such an athletic team like the Cowboys," Belichick said. "We mixed it in some."