Back in time: Jason Garrett and Roy Williams Predictability and Slant

khiladi

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http://www.examiner.com/article/terrell-owens-taking-his-beatings-roy-e-williams-slams-jason-garrett

Owens isn't the only Cowboys getting hammered. The battering of Jason Garrett, the Cowboys offensive coordinator, continues. Roy E. WIlliams said on his third radio interview of the week that cornerbacks would also ask him why he'd be running the same routes all the time. If true, it is a truly embarrassing mark against Garrett's offense. Williams said he didn't run a slant until the final game of the year. The Cowboys won championships on the slant. The could do it again.

While Roy Williams sucked no doubt, very little is remembered that the offense was getting slammed that year, because the emphasis was on TO as being a blow-hard and one who destroys the culture. Irrespective of this fact, there were still tendencies that were apparent on this offense which revealed problems with play-calling and utilizing players according to their talents.

There are two things that are now apparent even to the most die-hard supporters of Garrett who have turned, that has become essentially defining of Garrett's offense:

1. The predictability of the routes and their being limited, which is in stark contrast to the claim that routes are not run because WRs like Dez are idiots. This made it incredibly easy fo CBs to defend WRs.

2. We didn't run the slant then and we don't now that much, though the slant was clearly a favored route for guys like TO and Williams. This article brought back that very 'slant' play that Dallas finally used.

This article as an aside was from 2009, the season Roy was traded during the middle of the year and finished his first year with the Cowboys.
 

links18

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http://www.examiner.com/article/terrell-owens-taking-his-beatings-roy-e-williams-slams-jason-garrett



While Roy Williams sucked no doubt, very little is remembered that the offense was getting slammed that year, because the emphasis was on TO as being a blow-hard and one who destroys the culture. Irrespective of this fact, there were still tendencies that were apparent on this offense which revealed problems with play-calling and utilizing players according to their talents.

There are two things that are now apparent even to the most die-hard supporters of Garrett who have turned, that has become essentially defining of Garrett's offense:

1. The predictability of the routes and their being limited, which is in stark contrast to the claim that routes are not run because WRs like Dez are idiots. This made it incredibly easy fo CBs to defend WRs.

2. We didn't run the slant then and we don't now that much, though the slant was clearly a favored route for guys like TO and Williams. This article brought back that very 'slant' play that Dallas finally used.

This article as an aside was from 2009, the season Roy was traded during the middle of the year and finished his first year with the Cowboys.

I think that was 2008 actually, but it begs the question, what the heck happened to the offense from 2007 to 2008? We seemed to be able to move the ball at virtual will for much of the season in 2007.
 

dupree89

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For some bizarre reason, I truly expected Garrett to have a very creative, innovative offense. I expected him to have guys lining up all over the place.

Instead, it appears as though Garrett only changes things or mixes things up when he gets pressured to by Jerry.
 

khiladi

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I think that was 2008 actually, but it begs the question, what the heck happened to the offense from 2007 to 2008? We seemed to be able to move the ball at virtual will for much of the season in 2007.


Yeah, this article was at the end of the 2008 season. The first year Roy Williams was in this offense. This article also shows that the trade for RW for 3 picks as essentially as a remedy for this stale offense and grumblings were starting to manifest themselves against the offensive 'mind'. The culture was the scapegoat then. They tried the same 'story' with Dez as well.

2007, we had Sparano,who himself was average as an OC. I still remember in 2007, when we played the Eagles the second time, Romo called an audible with Owens on a hot-read of a blitz, from the slot, and hit him on the quick slant which resulted in like a 70 yard TD. By the end of 2007, after Owens high-ankle sprain, you could see a bunch of chunks in the armor anyways and very little usage of plays like this. The last game of the season, they were trying to get Romo the passing record against the lowly Skins and couldn't even move the ball the whole half.
 

Nation

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I think that was 2008 actually, but it begs the question, what the heck happened to the offense from 2007 to 2008? We seemed to be able to move the ball at virtual will for much of the season in 2007.

For starters, Flozell didn't play at an elite level like he had the year before, and with Kosier out it meant the turnstile that was Cory Procter. Then you had Romo go down, followed by the Brad Johnson and Brooks Bollinger experience, and then a disastrous December in terms of play and quality of opponent.
 

jblaze2004

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garrett sucks as a OC/play designer and game manager. We are still running his dated crappy offense. I been saying this for a while. Watching the game its like the guys run the same 3 or 4 routes. No wonder cb's are stuck to the wr's like glue. Just like Terrance Williams. The route he mostly run is a comeback route. If I can see it. Im pretty sure other DC's and CB's know it too. Dez routes are comeback, hitch or a deep in. Witten route 3 yard flare, hitch, out or end. Same routes over and over. Every now and then witten will run the seam and dez will go deep. But we for some reason limit guys to specific area's of the field and routes.

If losing the last 2 games or vs the eagles (I hate the skins, I want to win this game at least). But if we lose vs the eagles and don't make the playoff's and that allows us to get rid of garrett and his offensive scheme than Im all for it. I don't know how he could possibly allow to lose the games he did like the packers and the lions game. Be the head coach. Make the official call.
 

khiladi

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For some bizarre reason, I truly expected Garrett to have a very creative, innovative offense. I expected him to have guys lining up all over the place.

Instead, it appears as though Garrett only changes things or mixes things up when he gets pressured to by Jerry.

This last game was preceded by a whole bunch of talk from the Jones family about how the offense needs to be aggressive and take shots with Dez. The problem is, aggressive doesn't mean abandon what's working just for the sake of being aggressive. You still continue to keep the defense off balance by running the ball at certain times and forcing the DBs to think twice, which woul complement your desire to be aggressive.
 

Nation

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Yeah, this article was at the end of the 2008 season. The first year Roy Williams was in this offense. This article also shows that the trade for RW for 3 picks as essentially as a remedy for this stale offense and grumblings were starting to manifest themselves against the offensive 'mind'. The culture was the scapegoat then. They tried the same 'story' with Dez as well.

2007, we had Sparano,who himself was average as an OC. I still remember in 2007, when we played the Eagles the second time, Romo called an audible with Owens on a hot-read of a blitz, from the slot, and hit him on the quick slant which resulted in like a 70 yard TD. By the end of 2007, after Owens high-ankle sprain, you could see a bunch of chunks in the armor anyways and very little usage of plays like this. The last game of the season, they were trying to get Romo the passing record against the lowly Skins and couldn't even move the ball the whole half.

Was this the first game against Philly? Only reason I ask is because I don't think Dallas scored a touchdown in the second game in 07.
 

khiladi

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garrett sucks as a OC/play designer and game manager. We are still running his dated crappy offense. I been saying this for a while. Watching the game its like the guys run the same 3 or 4 routes. No wonder cb's are stuck to the wr's like glue. Just like Terrance Williams. The route he mostly run is a comeback route. If I can see it. Im pretty sure other DC's and CB's know it too. Dez routes are comeback, hitch or a deep in. Witten route 3 yard flare, hitch, out or end. Same routes over and over. Every now and then witten will run the seam and dez will go deep. But we for some reason limit guys to specific area's of the field and routes.

And I think this partially messes with Romo on timing with WRs during the context of the game as well, when they go 'outside the box'.
 

khiladi

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Was this the first game against Philly? Only reason I ask is because I don't think Dallas scored a touchdown in the second game in 07.

Yeah, I think your right and thanks for the correction. I just remember that call was awesome, but knowing Garrett now, I don't think he had any hand in it. BTW, that record was another hall-mark of JG since he's been here, especially his first few years. His record against teams the second time in a season was downright awful. Once they saw the tape, it was done.
 

NextGenBoys

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I think that was 2008 actually, but it begs the question, what the heck happened to the offense from 2007 to 2008? We seemed to be able to move the ball at virtual will for much of the season in 2007.

What happened is Garrett's offense didn't have any film to break down and we were catching everyone offguard
 

mahoneybill

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garrett sucks as a OC/play designer and game manager. We are still running his dated crappy offense. I been saying this for a while. Watching the game its like the guys run the same 3 or 4 routes. No wonder cb's are stuck to the wr's like glue. Just like Terrance Williams. The route he mostly run is a comeback route. If I can see it. Im pretty sure other DC's and CB's know it too. Dez routes are comeback, hitch or a deep in. Witten route 3 yard flare, hitch, out or end. Same routes over and over. Every now and then witten will run the seam and dez will go deep. But we for some reason limit guys to specific area's of the field and routes.

If losing the last 2 games or vs the eagles (I hate the skins, I want to win this game at least). But if we lose vs the eagles and don't make the playoff's and that allows us to get rid of garrett and his offensive scheme than Im all for it. I don't know how he could possibly allow to lose the games he did like the packers and the lions game. Be the head coach. Make the official call.

nice analysis. watching eagles play it seems their receivers are open and Foles is chucking the ball to them. As you have noted we seem to run routes where our guys are blanketed
and the throws are more avoid an int oriented.
 
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