Addition By Subtraction: An Attempt At A Definition Or Explanation

[Hostile]

Now who can argue with that?

TO fanboys.

 

[cowboyfreak]

Yes, I am. It will come out at the end of this season so that it recounts 50 years of Cowboys History. I am currently trying to negotiate the use of the team pictures for the book. Wish me luck.

You got it! I can"t wait!:starspin :starspin :starspin

 

[Yakuza Rich]

I think if we score fewer points, allow fewer points, and improve significantly on Special Teams this team can have a better record in 2009 than 2008. Ultimately there are more ways to win games than wide open throwing the ball to Owens.

I think if we can be about 10th in points scored and finish in the top 5 in time of possession and get Romo to greatly cut down his turnovers...particular ones on our side of the field, this could be a very tough team to beat. If those things happen, then we have a special teams unit that can dominate field position for us and an offense that can score points and chew up the clock. That makes the opponent more one dimensional and having to pass the ball to stay in the game, where we are a team that has had 104 sacks in the past 2 seasons. Yes, our pass defense has been somewhat suspect, but for the most part when teams have been one dimensional passing attacks against us the past 2 years they've lost handily. They may get some nice plays and score a TD or two here, but they usually start getting sacked and turning the ball over.

No WR in History is so important to an offense that without him the other 10 pieces and the replacement piece completely fall apart.

Yes, but there needs to be an adjustment, particularly made by Garrett. He needs to become more 'running-centric' and then use more play action off that running game. He needs to stick with the running game even when it's not on fire and then try to use each of the tailbacks until he finds the hot hand. If he can't, then the passing game should be dominating the defense.

I think Roy Williams can match his production. I just don't think 1100 yards and 10 TDs is critical mass.

I think Crayton is fine at #2 though I prefer him at #3. Still, he has proven he can produce.

I don't have much confidence in Crayton anymore. He seems to really struggle getting seperation and did for the past 1 1/2 years.

Witten is the best TE in the NFL and call me a homer but I think Bennett is a much better weapon than Fasano ever hoped ot be as a complimentary TE. Phillips will do the blocking at TE.

Bennett was better last year than Fasano ever was as a Cowboy.

If the Offense improves and the team's record does too then I do believe we can do more with less. It's like Jeff George. No doubt about it, he was a talented QB. But teams did more with lesser QBs than him because much like Owens he had a higher risk than he did a reward.

Jeff George was a joke of a QB. He had a fabulous arm, but everything else sucked. Some of the worst footwork I've ever seen came from George and he had little pocket presence, ability to scan the field and any of the other subtleties that came with the position. He constantly failed as a QB because he was just a guy that looked great in 7 on 7 drills because he could really wing it. He's just nowhere near the talent that Owens is at WR. The Niners tanked big time w/o Owens and the Eagles tanked in '05 w/o Owens and really haven't been quite the same since.

That's something the Cowboys need to worry about.

I do believe we have more total talent on offense than the Niners and Eagles teams did, but we need that talent to start living up to its potential in order to do more because we will have more total talent. That's why I say doing more with less is a fallacy, you do more with more.




YAKUZA

 

[THUMPER]

Jeff George was a joke of a QB. He had a fabulous arm, but everything else sucked. Some of the worst footwork I've ever seen came from George and he had little pocket presence, ability to scan the field and any of the other subtleties that came with the position. He constantly failed as a QB because he was just a guy that looked great in 7 on 7 drills because he could really wing it. He's just nowhere near the talent that Owens is at WR. The Niners tanked big time w/o Owens and the Eagles tanked in '05 w/o Owens and really haven't been quite the same since.

YAKUZA

George had some very good seasons in his career: 1995 with the Falcons, 1997 with the Raiders, and 1999 with the Vikings. He didn't turn the ball over much, in fact he has a lower INT% than Troy Aikman.

I think his biggest problem was that he simply wasn't a good leader and could never turn his passing ability into consistent wins. He tended to alienate teammates and coaches which is something you can't do as a QB in the NFL and expect to succeed.

You are correct that he was not very good at avoiding the rush and got sacked a lot (led the league twice) which resulted in a high number of fumbles. His footwork and pocket presence were terrible but he had a pretty quick release and a very good arm.

He is a good example of why guys with all the measureables don't always pan out. he had it all physically but had too much ego to be successful in the NFL, much like Ryan Leaf.

 

[LittleBoyBlue]

TO is gone. Even I have had enough of it a this point.

To say that now he is gone and the team will be better is a HOPE until it actually happens.

While he was here we blew opportunities. He was a hired gun and the organization/team choked twice. I am a big fan and it's not something you like to say BUT IT HAPPENED.



Hoping for the best in NEW season. I have little faith in Wade and never liked the hire.

I have said it before. We will have to win in spite of him not because of him. He may help with defense.

 

[jday]

Enjoyed the read immensely, sir.

 

[Doomsay]

btw, good luck with the book, it would be interesting to see a history penned by a knowledgeable fan/student of the team vs. the usual journalist in search of a hook or a company-backed piece that generally spends a disproportionate amount of time lauding the current owners/management.

 

[Vtwin]

I think that it's reasonable to assume that player attitudes will improve due to the compositional changes. Everything is undeniably progressing towards the workman-like end of the behavioral continuum.

However, it is also reasonable to make the assumption that a veteran head coach's attitude, temperament and effectiveness will not change materially from prior years. He's not wired that way. After a knee-jerk save-your-job kind of pronouncement that he'd finally be getting tough, he immediately back tracked and confessed that it wasn't really in his nature to be firm.

Exactly,

This is my worry going into this season. The attempt at addition by subtraction is well placed. It's a bit telling about the leadership presence of the core group that the change had to come from the very top. Best case scenario the "leadership" in the locker room takes care of that business and gets everyone on the same page without having to let someone walk to make the team more "QB friendly". That didn't/couldn't happen so next best thing is for upper management to step in and clean up the mess.

However, come TC it will be the more or less the same coaching staff out there setting the tone and we'll have to wait and see whether the same locker room leaders who couldn't unite the team last year can do so this year without some of the obstacles that were to difficult for them to overcome.

This team has been pretty undisciplined since the mid/late 90's. Parcells instilled some but the team cried and immediately started talking about how much better things were under Phillips softer gentler approach.

A couple axioms that I have found to be true:

An organization takes on the personality of it's leadership.
and
A tiger can't change it's stripes.

In a way there is more drama going into this season without TO then there might be with him.

 

[TheDude]

2008 top 10 Receptions for WRs only

Andre Johnson
Wes Welker
Brandon Marshall
Larry Fitzgerald
TJ Houshmanzadeh
Eddie Royal
Anquan Boldin
Roddy White
Dwayne Bowe
Reggie Wayne


2008 top 10 yards for WRs only

Andre Johnson
Larry Fitzgerald
Steve Smith
Roddy White
Calvin Johnson
Greg Jennings
Brandon Marshall
Antonio Bryant
Wes Welker
Reggie Wayne


2008 top 10 avg. per catch for WRs only

Devery Henderson
Bernard Berrian
Justin Gage
Vincent Jackson
Steve Smith
Calvin Johnson
Mark Clayton
Marques Colston
Greg Jennings
Lee Evans


2008 top 10 yards per game WRs only

Steve Smith
Andre Johnson
Larry Fitzgerald
Anquan Boldin
Roddy White
Brandon Marshall
Calvin Johnson
Greg Jennings
Antonio Bryant
Wes Welker


2008 top 10 TDs WRs only

Larry Fitzgerald
Calvin Johnson
Anquan Boldin
Randy Moss
Terrell Owens
Lance Moore
Greg Jennings
Andre Johnson
Kevin Walter
8 players tied with 7 TDs


It is hard for me to call a man a top 10 WR when he only appears in one statistic and that one keeps company with Lance Moore, Kevin Walter, and several of the names tied with 7.

He was not a top 10 WR in 2008 and I seriously doubt he ever will be again. Hence the law of diminishing returns. As his age increases his production is decreasing.

Pull out the brad Johson games and prorate the Romo games and he was top 4 in almost all categories.

Injuries derailed 2008, led to chemistry issues and coaching issues (i.e. who let B Johnson on the field and why was Proctor over Holland)

 

[superpunk]

Pull out the brad Johson games and prorate the Romo games and he was top 4 in almost all categories.

Injuries derailed 2008, led to chemistry issues and coaching issues (i.e. who let B Johnson on the field and why was Proctor over Holland)

Pull out the San Fran game and prorate....etc...etc...blah...blah...

 

[TheDude]

Pull out the San Fran game and prorate....etc...etc...blah...blah...

Where was Roy W11 on that stat chart...

 

[superpunk]

Where was Roy W11 on that stat chart...

Where was Kenyon Rambo!!!!!!

Both questions are similarly relevant to the topic of discussion. When you figure that out, you will know the glory of Rambo.

 

[TheDude]

Where was Kenyon Rambo!!!!!!

Both questions are similarly relevant to the topic of discussion. When you figure that out, you will know the glory of Rambo.

So your saying RW11=Rambo.......

Stats were likely comparable last year. If RW11 duplicates 10 games for 189 yds, I'll give it to you.

Until then, I'll say RW11 > Rambo.


Oh wait, I'm sure there were "excuses" that must be factored into RW11 production/career

 

[superpunk]

So your saying RW11=Rambo.......

Stats were likely comparable last year. If RW11 duplicates 10 games for 189 yds, I'll give it to you.

Until then, I'll say RW11 > Rambo.

What I was saying was that your question was idiotic.

I just tried to dress it up a bit.

 

[TheDude]

What I was saying was that your question was idiotic.

I just tried to dress it up a bit.

Not really. Last I checked we gave up on WR in "one" of those top 10 categories to rely heavier on another WR that has rarely sniffed the top 30 in his career other than 1 year.

Optimism is one thing, but wow.

That doesn't mean impending doom, this team could be fine if FElix continues big plays. If he goes down, it will be more grind it out games. If the team gets behind, it will not be a quick strike team.

 

[Four]

so could we sign this kenyon rambo person?

I like his name.

 

[sonnyboy]

Greta Article Hos


I think if we can be about 10th in points scored and finish in the top 5 in time of possession and get Romo to greatly cut down his turnovers...particular ones on our side of the field, this could be a very tough team to beat. If those things happen, then we have a special teams unit that can dominate field position for us and an offense that can score points and chew up the clock. That makes the opponent more one dimensional and having to pass the ball to stay in the game, where we are a team that has had 104 sacks in the past 2 seasons. Yes, our pass defense has been somewhat suspect, but for the most part when teams have been one dimensional passing attacks against us the past 2 years they've lost handily. They may get some nice plays and score a TD or two here, but they usually start getting sacked and turning the ball over.

Excellent post.


I don't see running the ball more as a solution or a means to replace Owens' production or presence.

Owens wasn't the same player in 2008 as he was in 2007. Missing the 2008 Owens isn't going to hurt. Missing the 2007 Owens will.
After all, we're not trying to duplicate 2008, are we.

So how do we best replace the 2007 Owens, presence and production?

1) The WRs we have, Williams, Austin and Crayton have to step up their game a notch. Simple enough plan, but hard to execute.

2) Use fewer WRs on the average. Since we need these 3 guys to step up their game, the last thing we need is to have them fatigued. Or worse yet injured. We have little behind these guys.
I'd like to see less than 10% of plays run with 3 WRs on the field.

3) With fewer 3WR packages, we'll see a lot more 2 TE's and perhaps more 2 Back with Barber at FB. We have to seek out mismatches for Bennett and Barber in the passing game out of these formations.

This is where the shift must occur. In 2007 we had an All-pro WR who drew a lot double teams and opened things up for everyone else.

We no longer have that luxury. To get back to 2007 effiency we need to shift the passing game focus more to our #2 TE and Barber out of the FB role.

Of course Felix Jones will also come into play here. Use him on screens, flares and try to get him match up against a LB.

 

[Yakuza Rich]

One of our strengths should be running the ball. We have Barber, Felix and Choice. Running the ball more for the sake of it is not a good idea. Running the ball more to take advantage of the talent we have there is a good idea. And hopefully it will make for a more efficient offense. Move the ball with the running game, if the defense comes up to stop the run, throw it over the top and use play action for the big play. Hold onto the ball, don't turn it over and score some points. When we don't score, get McBriar to boom it 50+ yards and get the advantage in field position. Keep the defense fresh and if we can score an decent amount of points, we can make opposing offenses into more one dimensional passing team.

On the flip side, we can try to go away from our strong running game and start passing the ball early and often and increase the likelihood for turnovers and not dominating field position and having the defense on the field longer.

As far as the makeup of this current team, where we have an offense that can run the ball and score points, a special teams that can dominate field position and a defense that is pretty good and arguably the best at sacking the QB...I don't think there's another team that has that good of a makeup. But if Garrett neglects the running game and Romo turns the ball over it really doesn't matter what the makeup is.





YAKUZA

 

[DTK]

so could we sign this kenyon rambo person?

I like his name.

You sure you're a Cowboys fan? You don't remember him?

 

[sonnyboy]

One of our strengths should be running the ball. We have Barber, Felix and Choice. Running the ball more for the sake of it is not a good idea. Running the ball more to take advantage of the talent we have there is a good idea. And hopefully it will make for a more efficient offense. Move the ball with the running game, if the defense comes up to stop the run, throw it over the top and use play action for the big play. Hold onto the ball, don't turn it over and score some points. When we don't score, get McBriar to boom it 50+ yards and get the advantage in field position. Keep the defense fresh and if we can score an decent amount of points, we can make opposing offenses into more one dimensional passing team.

On the flip side, we can try to go away from our strong running game and start passing the ball early and often and increase the likelihood for turnovers and not dominating field position and having the defense on the field longer.

As far as the makeup of this current team, where we have an offense that can run the ball and score points, a special teams that can dominate field position and a defense that is pretty good and arguably the best at sacking the QB...I don't think there's another team that has that good of a makeup. But if Garrett neglects the running game and Romo turns the ball over it really doesn't matter what the makeup is.





YAKUZA

It should be, and I think it may be this year, but right now its not.
Our OL just hasn't run blocked all that well these past few years.

Can't stick a round peg in a square hole. We need to run more than in 2008 and I'm sure we will. We need a better balance but we shouldn't try to become a run first team. It doesn't play to our strength.

Our QB is too good. You want the ball in his hands with a chance to make a play more often than not.

We just need to find a way to best use the offensive skill players we have.
We need to get Barber and Jones on the field together for about half the game.
We need to have Bennett on the field with Witten for the other half.

We have to find ways to get Bennett, Jones and Barber more involved in the passing game.