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After getting embarrassed by the San Francisco 49ers in most facets, the Cowboys need to recover quickly before the season is lost. They have an opportunity this week to do so against an average Tennessee Titans team.
Although the Titans aren’t quite on the 49ers level, they do have the same number of victories after taking down the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium Week 1. Quarterback Jake Locker and the Titans defense were able to control the game en route to an easy opening-week win.
In order to beat Tennessee and get this season back on track, Dallas must play significantly better than it did in the opener. One player who can help the cause is change-of-pace back Lance Dunbar.
For some reason, offensive coordinator Scott Linehan decided to rarely use the explosive back. Dunbar played a total of four snaps the entire game. This isn’t close to enough for someone who can alter games like he can.
The odd part about Linehan’s use of Dunbar is that he simply stopped using him. Dallas didn’t abandon the run after falling behind early...just Dunbar.
The running back made good use of his time, too. He caught all three of his targets, the first two on back-to-back plays deep in San Francisco territory. His second reception was on a wheel route that gained nine yards and set Dallas up at the San Francisco 2-yard line. You all know how that possession ended.
All in all, Dunbar finished the game with the three grabs for 21 yards and zero carries. He didn’t see the ball after the first quarter.
Now don’t get me wrong, DeMarco Murray is the best running back on this team. However, if the Cowboys want this offense to be as dynamic as they planned, Dunbar needs to be a much larger part of it.
For a reference, let’s take a look at the Philadelphia Eagles this past week. Even though LeSean McCoy is superior to his backup Darren Sproles, Sproles still touched the ball enough to have an impact on the game. McCoy had 27 touches compared to 15 for Sproles. That’s a solid balance and one of the reasons Philadelphia has one of the best offenses in the NFL.
Perhaps a suggestion for Linehan would be to run more two-back sets. This allows both playmakers to be on the field and creates matchup nightmares for the opposing linebackers.
This would also allow Tony Romo to have more options when he needs to get rid of the ball. The quarterback was sacked three times against San Francisco and was hurried on several other dropbacks. Instead of Romo trying to force the ball downfield, checking down to someone like Dunbar is both safe and possibly opportunistic.
By doing this, Romo is able to get the ball safely to one of his better playmakers without having to do too much.
More Dunbar also allows Murray to be better. Although he didn’t show any let up, a possession or two on the sideline would only benefit the starting back so he can carry the load through the fourth quarter. This may come into play more when the team is actually winning, but having a rested back like Murray is critical to closing out games.
Watch for Dunbar to be a real contributor this week. If the coaching staff is smart, it will utilize one of its best options in a variety of ways.
Read more Dallas Cowboys news on BleacherReport.com
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