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There have been a number of articles written about what it means for Dallas to have Bill Callahan calling plays this season.
Callahan, part of the "Bill Walsh coaching tree," took the Raiders to the Super Bowl in 2002 during his first year as head coach. He also coached the offensive line for the New York Jets when they had a dominant running game. He employs a zone-blocking scheme, but he can also coach man-blocking. He’s made many friends and also some enemies. Many different perspectives have been given.
But I would like to point out something a bit more straightforward.
Callahan will be good for Dallas because he understands how to use his weapons to score and he knows how to “weaponize” players that others may have overlooked.
In 2012, Dallas had one of the more potent passing games in the league, yet they were mediocre at scoring points for yet another season. Despite having a roster that featured Dez Bryant, Miles Austin, Jason Witten, Dwayne Harris, James Hanna and DeMarco Murray, Jason Garrett’s boys finished 15th in scoring.
When Callahan coached the Raiders a decade ago, he finished second in scoring, and he managed to get seven rushing touchdowns and another four receiving touchdowns from his number-one running back, Charlie Garner. He also managed 92 receptions for Jerry Rice and 81 receptions for Tim Brown. Rice and Brown also combined for 11 touchdowns. Then there was Jerry Porter, a large, fast receiver in his second year. Despite being a third receiver, Porter still caught nine touchdowns. Finally, there was the case of Zack Crockett.
During his first four years, with Indianapolis, Crockett managed just one touchdown. In 1999, he came to Oakland and in the next four years, while Callahan was coaching, he ran for 25 touchdowns.
I’m not anointing Callahan an offensive genius yet; let’s see him field a functional offensive line first, for starters. But I am saying that he has a history of getting the most scoring production from his weapons.
The same can’t be said for Garrett. Aside form Bryant, who scored 12 touchdowns last year, none of the other stars really delivered touchdowns at the level one would expect. Murray ran for three, Austin caught six, Witten had three, Harris had one and Hanna had none.
I can’t tell you if Callahan will call plays with a distinct West Coast-flair, or if he will pound the ball as they used to do with the Jets.
But I do believe this is a coach who understands that job security starts with getting the ball in the hands of your most dangerous weapons over and over again, until they are standing in the end zone.
Read more Dallas Cowboys news on BleacherReport.com
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Callahan, part of the "Bill Walsh coaching tree," took the Raiders to the Super Bowl in 2002 during his first year as head coach. He also coached the offensive line for the New York Jets when they had a dominant running game. He employs a zone-blocking scheme, but he can also coach man-blocking. He’s made many friends and also some enemies. Many different perspectives have been given.
But I would like to point out something a bit more straightforward.
Callahan will be good for Dallas because he understands how to use his weapons to score and he knows how to “weaponize” players that others may have overlooked.
In 2012, Dallas had one of the more potent passing games in the league, yet they were mediocre at scoring points for yet another season. Despite having a roster that featured Dez Bryant, Miles Austin, Jason Witten, Dwayne Harris, James Hanna and DeMarco Murray, Jason Garrett’s boys finished 15th in scoring.
When Callahan coached the Raiders a decade ago, he finished second in scoring, and he managed to get seven rushing touchdowns and another four receiving touchdowns from his number-one running back, Charlie Garner. He also managed 92 receptions for Jerry Rice and 81 receptions for Tim Brown. Rice and Brown also combined for 11 touchdowns. Then there was Jerry Porter, a large, fast receiver in his second year. Despite being a third receiver, Porter still caught nine touchdowns. Finally, there was the case of Zack Crockett.
During his first four years, with Indianapolis, Crockett managed just one touchdown. In 1999, he came to Oakland and in the next four years, while Callahan was coaching, he ran for 25 touchdowns.
I’m not anointing Callahan an offensive genius yet; let’s see him field a functional offensive line first, for starters. But I am saying that he has a history of getting the most scoring production from his weapons.
The same can’t be said for Garrett. Aside form Bryant, who scored 12 touchdowns last year, none of the other stars really delivered touchdowns at the level one would expect. Murray ran for three, Austin caught six, Witten had three, Harris had one and Hanna had none.
I can’t tell you if Callahan will call plays with a distinct West Coast-flair, or if he will pound the ball as they used to do with the Jets.
But I do believe this is a coach who understands that job security starts with getting the ball in the hands of your most dangerous weapons over and over again, until they are standing in the end zone.
Read more Dallas Cowboys news on BleacherReport.com
Continue reading...