NFL.COM: Taking pass on the pass might prove beneficial for Cowboys

[WoodysGirl]

By Elliot Harrison Special to NFL.com

The Cowboys rose from the depths of 0-2 to get a much-needed win in Houston on Sunday. Yes, the defense was stifling. Yes, quarterback Tony Romo played almost flawlessly. But there was this little thing the Cowboys kept doing that might've shocked everyone this side of Don Meredith.

They handed off the ball.

The Cowboys running the football? What about Romo, Miles Austin, Dez Bryant, Jason Witten and the rest of the offense chuckin' the ball all over the field? Oh, they're still there, but the fascination with those guys and running a spread-like offense is a big reason the Cowboys got to 0-2 in the first place.

No team abandoned the running game through the first two games like the Cowboys did. They ran the football 29.6 percent of the time. Twenty-nine! That's a lot of passing, and also the lowest percentage of running plays to overall plays in the league.

So back to Sunday. The Cowboys took the ball out of Romo's hands -- at least some of the time -- and ran Marion Barber and Felix Jones with more aggression. Let's take a look at the numbers the Cowboys put up: 27 rushes for 101 yards, 3.7 yards per carry.

Read more: http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d81ae9434/article/taking-pass-on-the-pass-might-prove-beneficial-for-cowboys?module=HP_headlines

[jobberone]

Nice read.

[reddyuta]

In the Wade Phillips era (since 2007), the Cowboys have won 91 percent of the games (21 out of 23) in which they've ran the ball at least 27 times -- like they did on Sunday. As you would suspect, a few of those instances came when Dallas was already carrying a big lead and was just running out the clock. But many didn't, and 21-2 is too impressive to ignore.
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that is an interesting stat.i wonder if we would have ran the ball 27 times if the texans were more efficient on offense early on and actually had the lead at half time.

[odog422]

In the Wade Phillips era (since 2007), the Cowboys have won 91 percent of the games (21 out of 23) in which they've ran the ball at least 27 times -- like they did on Sunday. As you would suspect, a few of those instances came when Dallas was already carrying a big lead and was just running out the clock. But many didn't, and 21-2 is too impressive to ignore.
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that is an interesting stat.i wonder if we would have ran the ball 27 times if the texans were more efficient on offense early on and actually had the lead at half time.

Whose to say? But what it does say is that when we show a committment to the run, almost all the time, we win. If this fact/stat were made apparent to Wade, which I'm sure it has been, he should be sure that even if your scenario were the case, we still honor that committment to the run. Even if trailing at the half. You don't become one dimensional at halftime.

[stasheroo]

Is this enough evidence that being a 'passing team' has been detrimental to the Cowboys?

One thing I think we can all agree on is that the team needs to continue to mix in the running game more often.

[T-RO]

Stupid article. Dinosaur notion.

Take a look at our scoring drives on Sunday: pass, pass, pass.

We were heavy run in the 1st quarter and didn't score a point. We then used the run (appropriately) to burn clock in the 4th.

[stasheroo]

Stupid article. Dinosaur notion.

Take a look at our scoring drives on Sunday: pass, pass, pass.

We were heavy run in the 1st quarter and didn't score a point. We then used the run (appropriately) to burn clock in the 4th.

Confirms it for me, this article is on the money!