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Originally Posted by InmanRoshi
I think it had more to do with the fact that Austin was hobbled and our #3 WRs generally sucked last year. The dropoff from Laurent Robinson to Ogletree/Harris/Beasley is one of the more underrated narratives that no one talks about. One of the first stats I generally look at on any passing offense and/or QB is Net Yards/Pass Attempt. It's generally always a good barometer of how efficient a passing offense is. Romo has historically been among the elite QBs in the NFL in this category, and this year he suffered quite a dip (although he was better than average). I attribute that towards depending way too much on Witten in the passing game to pick up the slack from our WRs.
God bless Jason Witten and what a warrior he is, and it still astounds me that a guy who probably runs a 4.8 at this point in his career can get open so efficiently. That kind of guy can have a role in any offense, it's just not always good thing when he's the featured target.
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Everyone has talked about the dropoff from Robinson this year to Ogletree/Harris/Beasley this year. It has been brought up quite a bit. I agree that Witten received a few more targets because of it, but I don't really think he was featured any more this year than in years past. With Robinson's history, there is also no guarantee that if Dallas could have afforded to keep him that he would have been able to match his production from 2011. That season is the definite outlier in his career.
Again I point to the fact that Dez finished 10th in receptions and Miles finished 30th. The top two receivers were still a big part of the passing game. They would have been featured even more had it not been for some nagging injuries.
I also think the running backs factored into the equation. If both Murray and Jones could stay healthy for longer stretches of time, they would get incorporated more in the passing game.
I look at yards per completion. Romo averages 12.27 yards per completion for his career and this year averaged 11.54 yards per completion. A very down year. He just didn't have the time to let plays develop and get the ball down field as much this year as he has in years past. I think this falls more on the offensive lines deficiencies than anything lacking in the wide receiving corp although that plays a part. The beneficiary becomes Witten. This doesn't mean he is featured, but rather the easiest resort in a tough situation as most good tight ends would be.