Unveiling the new offense against unsuspecting Carolina

[erod]

This weekend has an eerie, onerous feel to it as a Cowboys fan.

But it's also wrapped in a shroud of uncertainty for Carolina as well.

Carollina can play some defense, and last year's Cowboys offense would likely struggle to score more than 20 points against it. The Panthers can play you straight up, sit in zones, and fly to the short throws. That was Kryptonite for the Cowboy offense last season.

However, this isn't last year's Cowboys offense. Dallas showed almost nothing in preseason, vanilla-ing teams to death through a dreadfully boring 16 quarters of yuck. Basic, basic, basic. Not a hint of nuance or misdirection all August long.

Entirely by design. Carolina is left entirely to guess.

Gone are Witten and Dez. Here are Austin, Hurns, Gallup, Thompson, Olawale, 17 new tight ends, and an entirely new coaching staff under Linehan, along with a subtle hint from Mr. Jones to "make things more comfortable for Dak" by implementing more of what he did in college.

What's next is pure speculation. Including ours. The first couple of teams on the schedule get to find out first what's not on film yet.

Will it look wildly different? No, it'll still be Zeke and the freight-train running game carrying the water, but expect a lot of new looks, especially on 3rd downs. Austin will be all over the place. Look for a lot of underneath "picks" and quick outs disguised in all sorts of packages, along with some deep shots down the sideline when they can get single coverage with late safety help.

Will it work? Sure, I think it'll help quite a bit. Will it score more points? I have my doubts. Will it work against good defenses several games from now when it's all on film? That's where my darkest doubts lie.

Granted, it often takes a couple of weeks for NFL teams to settle in and find their rhythm, especially with so few reps in the preseason. So only so much can be expected or gleaned from the first game of the season.

But I believe the new-look Cowboys offense is hoping to steal some games early on the strength of their current anonymity. A good start to the season is vital with multiple tough games looming.

The Cowboys can weather the storm better with it's new-found defense. It's up to the offense to find a new stride, too, and as quickly as possible.

Carolina is a good test, and a great chance to take a big offensive step in the right direction.

 

[Aviano90]

We get to unveil our top 5 defense too. Team with no line should allow them to get off to a great start.

 

[erod]

We get to unveil our top 5 defense too. Team with no line should allow them to get off to a great start.

Carolina's o-line issues are certainly hanging over their season already. Especially Kalil.

 

[ghst187]

Guarantee we will unveil our bottom 5 coach too unfortunately

Wait til they get a load of JGs new clap

 

[CATCH17]

If they put any effort into making this pass game more dynamic I will applaud them.

Looking for matchups and not being so incredibly predictable and actually making DB's have to think when defending will be nice.



I'm just upset Dez never got an opportunity here to play for a coach that didn't allow DB's to sit on all of his routes.

 

[erod]

If they put any effort into making this pass game more dynamic I will applaud them.

Looking for matchups and not being so incredibly predictable and actually making DB's have to think when defending will be nice.



I'm just upset Dez never got an opportunity here to play for a coach that didn't allow DB's to sit on all of his routes.

You mean....his route.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

You say not much will be that different, other than personnel, so what exactly will help so much?

Personally, I think we'll see a few more RPOs, a few more designed Dak runs, and that's about it. I do think Dak running will help, but I don't see the personnel making much difference because the players aren't much -- if any -- better.

 

[erod]

You say not much will be that different, other than personnel, so what exactly will help so much?

Personally, I think we'll see a few more RPOs, a few more designed Dak runs, and that's about it. I do think Dak running will help, but I don't see the personnel making much difference because the players aren't much -- if any -- better.

I'm saying the run game will be the same and carry the load of the offense still. The pass game will be a lot more spread out and "college looking" with quick passes to get the ball out of Dak's hand asap. And yes, some more RPO, which I think is foolish. Dak isn't built like RG3, but he can't take too many hits either.

 

[Future]

The offense is going to look exactly the same as it did last year.

Few shots down the field, risk-averse playcalling and too-little play action.

 

[erod]

The offense is going to look exactly the same as it did last year.

Few shots down the field, risk-averse playcalling and too-little play action.

Linehan calls what his quarterbacks can do.

I think they've worked in a lot more of what Dak did in college to help him out.

 

[Future]

Linehan calls what his quarterbacks can do.

Right. And Dak can't throw the ball down the field consistently, so the offense will be exactly as it was last year. The only way that changes is if Dak has made huge strides since, like, 3 weeks ago.

 

[atlantacowboy]

The DC of Carolina is probably having panic attacks at the thought having to cover the likes of Geoff Swaim, Cole Beasley, AND Terrence Williams.

 

[John813]

I hope we blitz if their injured starters on the O-line is unable to play. Give Cam no time to set his feet.

 

[Denim Chicken]

Good post.

From the pieces I've read all throughout camp and pre-season, I think you'll see more receivers in motion before snap (which I'm a big fan of), the mentioned RPOs, limited pick plays, bunched receiver sets, a reinvigorated screen game, and more downfield shots. Since Witten has moved on, I think we may even see some 10 personnel, which is intriguing with our diversified WR group.

We'll likely see less 12 personnel with the TE group we have, at least early in the season. I think they'll spread it out a bit more than we're use to seeing--make the reads a tad easier and clear the box for Elliot.

 

[Carson]

The offense is going to look exactly the same as it did last year.

Few shots down the field, risk-averse playcalling and too-little play action.

This. Now with a legit defense, we will play to score 10-17, let the defense dominate and win

 

[erod]

This. Now with a legit defense, we will play to score 10-17, let the defense dominate and win

You score 17 or less, and you'll be luck to be 4-12. Good teams score on good defenses.

 

[dwreck27]

Honestly feel like our Defense will shine in this game with the way our Dline looks with such depth and look to exploit that weak Panther oline

 

[Staubacher]

People have to understand the opposing defenses aren't scared of our run game. All they have to do is avoid quick long scores. Make us go 10-12 plays, knowing most drives will either die by penalty, turnover, or field goal attempt.

The run game is great for closing out 4th quarters with a nice lead, but that ain't gonna happen much.

Hope our defense is as good as hyped and we win a lot of 12-9 games

 

[Future]

The DC of Carolina is probably having panic attacks at the thought having to cover the likes of Geoff Swaim, Cole Beasley, AND Terrence Williams.

I'm not nearly as worried about the WRs themselves as I am worried about our coaching staff's ability to get them open. Hurns, Williams, Beasley and, I think, Gallup can all win against man-to-man coverage. The problem is that this team is poorly equipped to win when they aren't winning matchups across the board - which has plagued them basically for the entire Garrett era.

 

[erod]

People have to understand the opposing defenses aren't scared of our run game. All they have to do is avoid quick long scores. Make us go 10-12 plays, knowing most drives will either die by penalty, turnover, or field goal attempt.

The run game is great for closing out 4th quarters with a nice lead, but that ain't gonna happen much.

Hope our defense is as good as hyped and we win a lot of 12-9 games

True.

Teams will give you all the stats you want between the 20s. They'll just wait for the holding call, dropped pass, or misfire, and let you punt and kick field goals.

Big plays and red-zone efficiency is what matters.