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Cowboys' DC Marinelli knows team will have to play fast to keep up with Eagles

With the Dallas Cowboys set to face the Philadelphia Eagles in a pivotal Thanksgiving matchup, Cowboys' defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli is worried about keeping up with the Eagles' torrid pace.

“You remember Loyola-Marymount with coach (Paul) Westhead, that pace?” Marinelli told ESPN's Todd Archer in reference to the successful basketball program known for its tempo. “They just run the pace and run their system, run the pace and run the system with speed. That’s something we’ve kind of believed in on defense. We’ve got to align, get set, get ready to get our feet in the ground and we have to play fast. So we’ve got to match that. The challenge is there.” 

The Eagles, who have an array of offensive weapons at their disposal, lead the league with 800 plays from scrimmage through 11 games (just under 73 per game), while the Cowboys are 19th with 696 ( just over 63 per game).

Despite this obvious difference in tempo between the two squads, Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett is confident in his team's ability to defend the Eagles' speed.

“Now, they’ve got really good players and a challenging scheme,” Garrett said. “They attack you a lot of different ways. Really just that basic element of 11 guys lined up the right way, everybody running the same defense, doing their job; that’s what gives you a chance to be successful against a team like this.”

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