Article on how predictable Cowboys were on offense

[Jarv]

That's just not true. 2016 we went through with our QB3 and played two games with a backup LT. We have been very effective on offense for years. Yes, I'm not counting 2015 when we didn't have a QB on the roster.

In those playoff games, we scored 21 (and had 7 points taken off the board) and 21. We gave up 26 and 34.

I'm all for varying up the ways we're able to attack defenses. That's where I actually think we're limited offensively. But even then, it's a relatively minor issue given the other problems this team has. But for whatever reason, it's one fans like to talk about.

That's just not true, we talk about the other problems all of the time, especially on the defense, the predictable tendencies happen to be the topic of this discussion.

Backup LT and QB did not limit the current champions, obviously a management change is needed.

 

[Idgit]

those earlier teams are gone.
romo is on tv.
leary is gone.
tsmith has a bad back, causing a major issue in draft/fa priorities along with wr, lb, 1tech and g.
getting competent coaches is free as far as the salary cap is concerned.
and so is getting better-than-competent coaches.

Meh. We've got our QB and replacing a LG is not difficult. It wasn't the real issue last season. The issue was replacing the backup LT, which is what we're trying to do this week.

The coaches are competent. Fans just aren't satisfied with the lack of playoff success and would rather change coaches and start long threads about 'predictability' as if it's been the problem all along when the issues have actually largely been on the other side of the ball. But nobody ever wants to talk about legitimately fixing the defense for some reason.

 

[waldoputty]

Oh you know I agree, brother. I am merely saying that Dak, particularly, gave much more reason to play very close to the vest last year (i.e., dramatic increase in INTs and accuracy issues) and that often influences play calling tendencies. We've been a run heavy offense for a while now, but we should always be able to use that to our advantage to make defenses pay when they load up. Last year, we were not able to do that consistently (the Denver game being the most egregious example of that as they had 9/10 defenders crowding the LOS all game long). I thought, in 2016, Scott did a good job running different plays out of same formations (good example is the fake bootleg in the Bengals game that Zeke took to the house right up the gut...the play initially appeared to be a bootleg to Witten). With a regressed Dak in 2017, Linehan went too conservative at times and it got compounded as defenses adjusted to our strengths from 2016. The most damning thing for me is our inability to adjust to the opposition's adjustments...either due to personnel issues OR lack of in-game coaching (e.g., Atlanta game) or combination of the two.

yes, but running from run-heavy formations 100% of the time is just weird.
and this is happening with 1st and goal on the 3.
dak's accuracy and issues were not helped with the 10 sack game.

 

[Jarv]

Meh. We've got our QB and replacing a LG is not difficult. It wasn't the real issue last season. The issue was replacing the backup LT, which is what we're trying to do this week.

The coaches are competent. Fans just aren't satisfied with the lack of playoff success and would rather change coaches and start long threads about 'predictability' as if it's been the problem all along when the issues have actually largely been on the other side of the ball. But nobody ever wants to talk about legitimately fixing the defense for some reason.

LOL...The lack of playoff success surely proves they are not competent!

 

[waldoputty]

Meh. We've got our QB and replacing a LG is not difficult. It wasn't the real issue last season. The issue was replacing the backup LT, which is what we're trying to do this week.

The coaches are competent. Fans just aren't satisfied with the lack of playoff success and would rather change coaches and start long threads about 'predictability' as if it's been the problem all along when the issues have actually largely been on the other side of the ball. But nobody ever wants to talk about legitimately fixing the defense for some reason.

all this data shows we have the worst coaches in the league.
there is confident, but this data shows they lack imagination and creativity and worst of all, lack the ability/drive to do better.
they may be competent for a high school team, though @Ranching may take offense at that.

 

[beware_d-ware]

It would be interesting to see how much we ran it on 1st down. For most of the season, a 1st down gut run was pretty much a guarantee.

Also, it would be interesting to see how those ratios (running ~90% of the time from 2-blocker sets) compare to 2016. People complain about how our gameplan didn't change between those two years (it didn't), but our running game was dynamite in 2016.

 

[Ranching]

all this data shows we have the worst coaches in the league.
there is confident, but this data shows they lack imagination and creativity and worst of all, lack the ability/drive to do better.
they may be competent for a high school team, though @Ranching may take offense at that.

High School teams are much more creative. These guys are a few years behind in game planning and schemes. They are coaching like we have more talent than everyone else, we don't.

 

[waldoputty]

High School teams are much more creative. These guys are a few years behind in game planning and schemes. They are coaching like we have more talent than everyone else, we don't.

i think we need to give IQ tests for coaching hires.
imagine pats coaches will rate the highest and cowboys coaches would be the lowest.
despite going to princeton, garrett probably is the lowest of the low.

i wonder if cowboys do any analytics?
i can just see the opposing team planning for the cowboys.
multi TE formation, field position within 35 yard line...
look, they run 100% of the time. ok,
lets put 8 in the box!

 

[CATCH17]

Being "run heavy" and having formation tendencies are not the same thing.

Yep..

I'm a big believer in running the ball to set up the pass. Especially the play action.


But it does not matter if you don't break from tendencies.

There is not enough deception in the Cowboys playcalling.

When you run the ball like we do then we should be hitting bombs downfield all the time.

We used to destroy teams with our bootleg game but then the tendency showed that almost the only time we run a boot is on first down and it became way less effective.

Things like that shouldn't happen in the NFL.

 

[Idgit]

all this data shows we have the worst coaches in the league.
there is confident, but this data shows they lack imagination and creativity and worst of all, lack the ability/drive to do better.
they may be competent for a high school team, though @Ranching may take offense at that.

No, it doesn't. It doesn't show anything of the sort.

We ranked 9th in points/offensive series in 2017, by the way. Predictable or not. That's with the obvious protection issues. We were 4th in 2016, with the same predictable offense.

7th in red zone TD percentage in 2017. 5th in 2016.

But let's pretend for arguments sake you're right that they're the worst coaches in the entire league and they lack imagination, creativity, and drive to get better. Again I ask: so what, if they're productive?

I say let's worry about stuff that's actually getting us beat in football games.

 

[Idgit]

LOL...The lack of playoff success surely proves they are not competent!

How so? The teams that win playoff games are the teams with the most competent coaches, I gather?

 

[Jake0]

i think we need to give IQ tests for coaching hires.
imagine pats coaches will rate the highest and cowboys coaches would be the lowest.
despite going to princeton, garrett probably is the lowest of the low.

i wonder if cowboys do any analytics?
i can just see the opposing team planning for the cowboys.
multi TE formation, field position within 35 yard line...
look, they run 100% of the time. ok,
lets put 8 in the box!

Dude was a history major at Princeton and probably got in for his athletic ability and not his academia. The Princeton degree doesn't really stand out in his coaching prowess though that much is glaringly obvious.

I just am really shocked he still has a job as the coach of the most popular franchise in the NFL. This really should be his last year to prove himself that he can change.

 

[waldoputty]

No, it doesn't. It doesn't show anything of the sort.

We ranked 9th in points/offensive series in 2017, by the way. Predictable or not. That's with the obvious protection issues. We were 4th in 2016, with the same predictable offense.

7th in red zone TD percentage in 2017. 5th in 2016.

But let's pretend for arguments sake you're right that they're the worst coaches in the entire league and they lack imagination, creativity, and drive to get better. Again I ask: so what, if they're productive?

I say let's worry about stuff that's actually getting us beat in football games.

they spend how many % of the salary cap in offense.
they darn well better be successful on the offensive side.
it is the lack of imagination and drive to be better that REQUIRES the offense to keep doing the same with MORE salary and MORE draft resources.

it is an EMBARRASSMENT that the offense collapsed with an injury to 1 ol.
look at the eagles and how they succeeded after their lt went out for the year.
it is because they are competent whereas our coaches are incompetent - ie. allow green out there for 6 sacks...

these stats are damning.
any team with any analytics capability will have their defense ready knowing what we are going to do before the snap.

 

[DiResta]

It seems this issue comes up every so often. Ray Lewis used to say Dallas was too predictable.

So what is the common denominator for this team to continually be so evident with they play selection at the line of scrimmage?

while i agree it is too predictable
he also describes how difficult is to stop
he of course being hof linebacker

he also said it is 80% won in the trenches
Dallas was terrible last year on the offense line and for several different reasons

so even predictable with their line playing in sync and with a rb like Zeke or Demarco they can dominate

 

[waldoputty]

Dude was a history major at Princeton and probably got in for his athletic ability and not his academia. The Princeton degree doesn't really stand out in his coaching prowess though that much is glaringly obvious.

I just am really shocked he still has a job as the coach of the most popular franchise in the NFL. This really should be his last year to prove himself that he can change.

yes, i know of some ivy athletes that are not so bright and got there purely because of athletics. some of those take classes that are amazingly high school level.

 

[4th_and_short]

This article uses a bunch of words to say little.

Oh, 2 TE set near the red zone? Odds are it’s a run.

Bunch receivers? Odds are it’s a pass.

Even pee wee players could make that read.

 

[Toruk_Makto]

Where there 13 reasons.

I love running it down their throats even when they know it's coming was said a million times.

 

[Toruk_Makto]

It's not the run heavy part that bothers me.

It's the playing into our tendencies that bother me.

In this league you have to stay ahead of things.


In 2014 we came out with a power run game which was the complete opposite of the pass happy Garrett offense.

2015 Romo was injured, they got rid of Murray, and had a year of tendencies.

2016 Dak and Zeke changed things up. Teams weren't ready for them.

2017.. Year of tendencies and shut down everything we like to do.




The coaches need to stay ahead of things and keep defenders thinking but instead defenders know exactly what Dallas will do based on their tendencies.

What did Dak and Zeke change up from Romo and Murray?

You can't just make things up.

 

[robbieruff]

yes, but running from run-heavy formations 100% of the time is just weird.
and this is happening with 1st and goal on the 3.
dak's accuracy and issues were not helped with the 10 sack game.

Yeah...I think we're agreeing...

 

[CATCH17]

What did Dak and Zeke change up from Romo and Murray?

You can't just make things up.

Different players with different skill sets and different things they struggle against.

They have different tendencies then Romo and Murray.

With Dak he liked to use Cole Beasley a lot more then Romo did. Teams figured out that tendency and absolutely shut down Beasley and the Cowboys never countered.