Anyone study tape that can say what’s happened to the offense?

Creeper

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It seems to me teams have picked up on what Denver did and are using hybrid Denver defenses to stop Dallas. First, they are playing a lot of man-to-man coverage on the Cowboys WRs, none of whom are fast enough to just run away from CBs. This is why we are not seeing a lot of separation. Some defenses have played press as well but you need the personnel for that.

The other key piece of this has been the pressure on Dak. Some teams, like KC, were getting good pressure from just the front 4. Some were sending extra guys. When I rewatched the Saints game I saw more blitzing than I did watching it live. I think the goal is to play tight coverage and force Dak to make quick decisions. If the Cowboys were a decent screen team they might have a lot of success with that play. But it seems every time they run it the other teams recognize it almost immediately. In fact, has anyone else noticed how passes to the flat are almost always stopped dead by other teams while against Dallas those plays often go for 10 yards or more?

One thing Dak could do to change the defenses a little is to run. But he is slow to make that decision and when he does he is getting caught from behind by defensive linemen. It seems almost every game a DT is catching Dak as he tries to scramble away from pressure. He does not have the speed of Taysom Hill or Jalen Hurts.
 

Ranching

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It’s beyond clear that the offense is not what it was several weeks ago. What I’m wondering is, are we (or other teams) doing anything differently?

My initial instinct was that teams were taking away the big play and daring us to dink and dunk. Indeed, I saw more check downs last week than I’ve seen in a long while. But it also seems clear that the separation isn’t the same. Just about every pass is contested.

Or maybe it’s Dak that needs to pick his game up. We seen him miss throws, but that sort of thing happens. What I’m trying to say is that contested throws seem like a QB thing as much as a receiver thing. I say this because when I watch really terrible QB’s, they very often throw to contested guys. In others words, they’re making the wrong decisions.

And of course, the running game has also suffered. Is that the key? Are teams stopping the run without stacking the box (leaving more guys in coverage)? I don’t know, but many seemed to scoff at the idea that the broncos found the formula. But it’s seems more plausible that this is indeed what happened,
Don't need to study tape...no Tyron for a couple of games, no Coop for 2 games, no CeeDee for a game and a half, McGovern is no where close to Williams, no Gallup for a while....no HC or OL coaches this last week....pretty easy to see from my view.
 

AbeBeta

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nflreplay.net is what I'm using over here, since we don't get many games on TV. Works like a charm.

As far as the OPs topic goes. I just don't know. A bit of everything I suppose. Dak is a fraction of his former self at the beginning of the season. Same with Zeke. The O line has basically collapsed, maybe they need to go back to the initial formation with Steele at RT.

It's not easy to understand whether Kellen Moore has changed anything apart from partially giving up on the run game. But I mean it's what these guys do for a living, 24/7. So how can any of us have a better insight on what's really going on than the coaches and coordinators? Everything discussed here on the boards is just an outside view and apart from analyzing stats completely useless. Still fun though. :D

It actually is easy to see why Moore hasn't changed anything up. 3 games on 10 days with Coop and Lamb out for a huge chunk of practice. You can't install changes in that environment
 

CWR

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It’s beyond clear that the offense is not what it was several weeks ago. What I’m wondering is, are we (or other teams) doing anything differently?

My initial instinct was that teams were taking away the big play and daring us to dink and dunk. Indeed, I saw more check downs last week than I’ve seen in a long while. But it also seems clear that the separation isn’t the same. Just about every pass is contested.

Or maybe it’s Dak that needs to pick his game up. We seen him miss throws, but that sort of thing happens. What I’m trying to say is that contested throws seem like a QB thing as much as a receiver thing. I say this because when I watch really terrible QB’s, they very often throw to contested guys. In others words, they’re making the wrong decisions.

And of course, the running game has also suffered. Is that the key? Are teams stopping the run without stacking the box (leaving more guys in coverage)? I don’t know, but many seemed to scoff at the idea that the broncos found the formula. But it’s seems more plausible that this is indeed what happened,

One of the podcast said the Saints were playing in 2 High Shell. We tried to get the run going to pull them out of it, but could not.

It sounds like the opposite of what is preached here. They are daring us to run.
 

glimmerman

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This last game was the first game we had most of the Offense back and Coop still not 100%. And we were missing coaches. This next game will let us know..
 

DUO_CORE

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Put Williams back at guard and let McGovern play FB as needed
Hopefully Cedric Wilson gets healthy: He has quick twitch speed, aka Beasley.
Coop wasn't 100% healthy after his bout with the C'-Virus

Dak needs all his guys.
 

CWR

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Opponents are stacking the box, our run blocking is horrible so we abandon the run early on and just pass. Easier to defend a one dimensional team.

Also, since Dak hurt his calf he won't run so one less thing for the defense to worry about.

I'd love to see how often the saints stacked the box. I don't buy that for a second. They can't simultaneously stack the box and be glued to those wide outs.
 

reddyuta

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Moore doesnt play to the players strength.for example CD ran a ton of slants in college but its rarely called by moore.feels like the whole thing is broken.
 

shabazz

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has anyone else notice when Dak is in shotgun how close he is to the center? its seems like hes maybe in entire yard closer than most other QB's in the shotgun

Our Qb, with the fastest release in the NFL , doesn’t need that much of a cushion from the defensive line
 
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Risen Star

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This last game was the first game we had most of the Offense back and Coop still not 100%. And we were missing coaches. This next game will let us know..

Another week, another this next game will tell all declaration.

I agree. Until next week.
 

JBond

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It’s beyond clear that the offense is not what it was several weeks ago. What I’m wondering is, are we (or other teams) doing anything differently?

My initial instinct was that teams were taking away the big play and daring us to dink and dunk. Indeed, I saw more check downs last week than I’ve seen in a long while. But it also seems clear that the separation isn’t the same. Just about every pass is contested.

Or maybe it’s Dak that needs to pick his game up. We seen him miss throws, but that sort of thing happens. What I’m trying to say is that contested throws seem like a QB thing as much as a receiver thing. I say this because when I watch really terrible QB’s, they very often throw to contested guys. In others words, they’re making the wrong decisions.

And of course, the running game has also suffered. Is that the key? Are teams stopping the run without stacking the box (leaving more guys in coverage)? I don’t know, but many seemed to scoff at the idea that the broncos found the formula. But it’s seems more plausible that this is indeed what happened,
Starting WR's out and dumb changes on the OLine. Simple as that.
 
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It’s beyond clear that the offense is not what it was several weeks ago. What I’m wondering is, are we (or other teams) doing anything differently?

My initial instinct was that teams were taking away the big play and daring us to dink and dunk. Indeed, I saw more check downs last week than I’ve seen in a long while. But it also seems clear that the separation isn’t the same. Just about every pass is contested.

Or maybe it’s Dak that needs to pick his game up. We seen him miss throws, but that sort of thing happens. What I’m trying to say is that contested throws seem like a QB thing as much as a receiver thing. I say this because when I watch really terrible QB’s, they very often throw to contested guys. In others words, they’re making the wrong decisions.

And of course, the running game has also suffered. Is that the key? Are teams stopping the run without stacking the box (leaving more guys in coverage)? I don’t know, but many seemed to scoff at the idea that the broncos found the formula. But it’s seems more plausible that this is indeed what happened,

Philbin and Moore need to pull their head out and earn their paychecks. They need to figure out what can be done with that weak middle of the line and the poor TE blocking then design around it, go west coast offense if they have to with quick outside passes. Something like this shouldn't stop Dallas in its tracks. QB "Guru" McCarthy needs to coach up Dak, Dak needs to un-rattle himself and get used to the idea they're going to keep blitzing him until he figures out how to make a quick hot read and deliver the ball on target.
 

nyc-cowboy

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It seems to me teams have picked up on what Denver did and are using hybrid Denver defenses to stop Dallas. First, they are playing a lot of man-to-man coverage on the Cowboys WRs, none of whom are fast enough to just run away from CBs. This is why we are not seeing a lot of separation. Some defenses have played press as well but you need the personnel for that.

The other key piece of this has been the pressure on Dak. Some teams, like KC, were getting good pressure from just the front 4. Some were sending extra guys. When I rewatched the Saints game I saw more blitzing than I did watching it live. I think the goal is to play tight coverage and force Dak to make quick decisions. If the Cowboys were a decent screen team they might have a lot of success with that play. But it seems every time they run it the other teams recognize it almost immediately. In fact, has anyone else noticed how passes to the flat are almost always stopped dead by other teams while against Dallas those plays often go for 10 yards or more?

One thing Dak could do to change the defenses a little is to run. But he is slow to make that decision and when he does he is getting caught from behind by defensive linemen. It seems almost every game a DT is catching Dak as he tries to scramble away from pressure. He does not have the speed of Taysom Hill or Jalen Hurts.
Excellent post - especially the BOLD - and yes I have definitely noticed, I was thinking someone got a hold of the playbook. ; )

BTW - Happy Birthday. :star:
 

Nexx

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Our Qb, with the fastest release in the NFL , doesn’t need that much of a cushion from the defensive line

Dak lines up 3 yards behind the center in the shotgun. Rogers lines up five yards. Rogers does a lot less back pedaling once the receives the ball and gets deeper. that forces the ends to take a wider angle towards the QB and makes the pocket largers allowing Rogers more room to step up and causes more spacing between defenders in case he needs to scramble.
 

Montanalo

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No, I don't know the answer, but this is really a good question.

A simple answer might be the lack of a good ground game. If you approach that question in the same manner as an incident investigation, it begs a lot of questions beginning with why is the ground game not functioning well??

@Ranching hit on a lot of potential answers - injuries and shifting personnel, latent injures to Zeke, key WRs missing games, etc.

Personally, I think there are a couple issues: Zeke is not playing to the same performance standard as earlier in the year.. whether that is an injury is anybody's question. And, second, I think KM is Garrett-like in his impatience with the run game.
 

shabazz

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Dak lines up 3 yards behind the center in the shotgun. Rogers lines up five yards. Rogers does a lot less back pedaling once the receives the ball and gets deeper. that forces the ends to take a wider angle towards the QB and makes the pocket largers allowing Rogers more room to step up and causes more spacing between defenders in case he needs to scramble.

Excellent observation on that point
 
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