2003 vs. 2006, a comparison (long)

[sk0aL]

I was bored thinking about the 2003 season, the last year we went to the playoffs and decided to do a bit of research to see how it compares to our current situation in the 2006 season. This post is a bit long-winded so bear with me.

I'm only going to break down the 2003 team and let the Zoners draw their own conclusions in how it compares the 2006 team. Keep in mind this is a rough presentation and there may be flaws in my theory so feel free to chime in.

I'll start my breakdown with the offense. Our offense that year was pretty much sub-par with a unit that got the job done just enough to win 10 games, many by a close margin.

Quarterback:
Quincy Carter threw for 3302 yards with a 58% completion percentage. He threw 17 TD passes but also had 21 interceptions. He rushed for 257 yards and 2 touchdowns. While not terrible numbers, they were far from great yet got the job done.

Running backs:
Our best rusher that year was Troy Hambrick. He carried the ball 275 times, amassing 972 yards on a mediocre 3.5 ypc average. He had 5 rushing touchdowns. He also had 17 receptions for 99 yards with no TDs.

Filling out our rushing attack was Richie Anderson with 306 yards and 1 TD, Aveion Cason with 220 yards and 2 TDs, and Eric Bickerstaff bringing up the rear with 56 yards and 1 TD.

Our rushing attack that year was the picture of mediocre, accumulating a total of 1999 yards with a 3.88 ypc average and scoring only 11 touchdowns.

Wide Receivers:
Terry Glenn was our best receiver that year with 52 receptions, 754 yards and 5 touchdowns. Those are numbers you mainly see from a #2 or even a #2 receiver, yet he was our best. Antonio Bryant had 39 receptions for 550 yards and 2 touchdowns. Joey Galloway rounded out the trio with 34 receptions, 672 yards, and 2 touchdowns. An important note here: the player to lead the 2003 team in receptions with 69 was Richie Anderson, a running back/wingback who rarely lined up as a wideout.

Tight Ends:
Our tight ends that year were almost invisible. Jason Witten, in his rookie season had 35 catches for 347 yards and 1 TD. Dan Campbell had 20 catches for 195 yards and 1 touchdown. Jeff Robinson(who?) had 2 catches for 8 yards and 2 touchdowns.

This rounds out the offense, and the numbers show that it was a unit that was hardly of championship caliber, yet managed to get the job done enough to sneak into the playoffs. Our offense that year accumulated 5346 total yards, which was ranked 15th in the NFL.

Now, on to the 2003 defense.





DEFENSE

Any real Cowboy fan will tell you the 2003 defensive squad is what got us into the playoffs. It was a unit ranked in the top 10 in almost every defensive category. Keep in mind this unit still ran the 4-3 scheme.

Vital statistics, with NFL rank in parentheses:
Passing yards allowed: 2820 (1)
Passing YPA: 5.72 (2)
Passing TDs allowed: 18 (11)
INTs: 13 (27)
Rusing yards allowed: 1425 (3)
Rushing YPA: 3.45 (4)
Rushing TDs allowed: 7 (3)
Total yards allowed, passing and rushing: 4245 (ranked 1st in the NFL)

That last stat is what made the 2003 Cowboys defensive unit the #1 ranked defense in the NFL that year, and is what allowed us to go into the playoffs.

The key defensive contributers that year came from the linebackers and the secondary.

Linebackers:

Dat Nguyen: 140 tackles, 2 sacks, 11 defended passes, 2 forced fumbles with 2 fumble recoveries

Dexter Coakley: 110 tackles, 1 sack, 1 INT, 3 passes defended, and 2 forced fumbles

Dat and Dexter were our top 2 defensive players leading the way that year, supported by great play from our defensive backs.


Defensive Backs:

Darren Woodson: In his final season Woodson was his usual solid self, gathering 99 tackles, 1 sack, 1 int, 15 passes defended, and 1 fumble recovery. He was the anchor of the defensive secondary and an important mentor to the young Roy Williams.

Roy Williams: Roy was hot on Darren's heels, picking up 86 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 INTs, 8 passes defended and forcing 2 fumbles.

Terrence Newman: TNew had a great rookie season. He made 80 tackles, had 4 INTs, defended 14 passes and recovered 1 fumble.


I could break down the entire defense, but the aforementioned 5 guys were the core of the #1 ranked 2003 Cowboy defense. The defense amassed 32 sacks and hurried the opposing QB 120 times. The 2006 defense has only sacked the opposing QB 27 times this year, and while the run defense has got the job done the pass defense has been lackluster.

2003 overall defense vs. 2006 overall defense:

Passing defense:

Pass yards allowed in 2003: 2820 (Ranked 1st in NFL)
Pass yards allowed in 2006: 2758 (Ranked 19th in NFL)

Pass YPA allowed in 2003: 5.72 (ranked 2nd in NFL)
Pass YPA allowed in 2006: 6.61 (ranked 19th in NFL)

Pass TDs allowed in 2003: 18 (ranked 11th in NFL)
Pass TDs allowed in 2006: 16 (ranked 15th in NFL)

INTs in 2003: 13 (ranked 27th in NFL)
INTs in 2006: 14 (ranked 13th in NFL)

Rushing defense:

Rushing yards allowed in 2003: 1425 (ranked 3rd in NFL)
Rushing yards allowed in 2006: 1243 (ranked 6th in NFL)

Rushing YPA allowed in 2003: 3.45 (ranked 4th in NFL)
Rushing YPA allowed in 2006: 3.71 (ranked 7th in NFL)

Rushing TDs allowed in 2003: 7 (ranked 3rd in NFL)
Rushing TDs allowed in 2006: 11 (ranked 18th in NFL)


This brings my post to an end, and if you've read this far I thank you. My point in this post (other than the fact that I was bored) was to show that in order to be successful in today's NFL you must be solid at every aspect of the game: offense, defense, and special teams. In 2003 our stout defense won us football games and allowed us to sneak into the playoffs. In 2006 our high-octane offense has kept us in games when the defense faltered and allowed us to win - just look at last night's game against Atlanta.

What will it be this year?





Sources:
http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/dal2003.htm
http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/dal2006.htm
http://kbim-roswell.com/cowboys/2003_stats.htm

 

[LowTech]

Good Job

 

[Haley94]

Good analysis.

This is what upset me. it's been three years, three 1st round picks, three high end free agents, and we still don't have that scary defense that crushes teams like I was expecting. Why did we switch to the 3-4? What was the pitch? Did Parcells hand pick the players?

For some odd reason they seamed to play better last year. I thought we were going to really get better this season.

Maybe i should just reset my expectation about this defense and just hope they don't break even if they do bend. It's just that I hate those types of defenses.

 

[Smith22]

Good analysis.

This is what upset me. it's been three years, three 1st round picks, three high end free agents, and we still don't have that scary defense that crushes teams like I was expecting. Why did we switch to the 3-4? What was the pitch? Did Parcells hand pick the players?

For some odd reason they seamed to play better last year. I thought we were going to really get better this season.

Maybe i should just reset my expectation about this defense and just hope they don't break even if they do bend. It's just that I hate those types of defenses.

It's insane if you really think about it. Look at all the attention our defense has gotten in the draft over the last 3-4 years or so, yet our offense is our bread and butter this year. Weapons with guys like Glenn, Owens, Witten and our running back by committe approach, and of course Romo.

About the defense, an earlier thread mentioned something about our lack of speed in the front 7, and I think that is one of our BIG problems. Ware is not only our best pass rushing LB'er, he is also our best backer in coverage. It is vital that we find another LB'er with abilities like Ware, whether it be AD (Ravens, Free agent) or someone in the draft. We also need a ball hawk at FS, but no sense in beating a dead horse. Eventually, the light needs to click for Canty and Spears. Yes, they stop the run pretty well, with a solid effort from big man Fergy, but they need to apply some pressure in obvious passing situations and right now they aren't even coming close. James is solid in the middle, but having a player with a bit more speed might help with our current weaknesses on defense.

 

[burmafrd]

the big FAULT with your analysis is that it does not take into account the strength of schedule and more importantly the type and quality of the offenses the D faced. If you look back, not one team that year that we beat had an offense in the top 10- except Philthy. this year we faced a number of teams with top offenses- BIG difference.

 

[CrazyCowboy]

Nice work....thanks

 

[chinch]

the big FAULT with your analysis is that it does not take into account the strength of schedule and more importantly the type and quality of the offenses the D faced. If you look back, not one team that year that we beat had an offense in the top 10- except Philthy. this year we faced a number of teams with top offenses- BIG difference.

bingo.