BTB: Dallas Cowboys Passing Game-The First Ten Weeks

[jobberone]

A marathon film session to watch every pass the Cowboys have thrown in 2013? Yes, that happened, and the results are below detailing the Cowboys ups and downs on offense.

So far in the 2013 season, according to Dallascowboys.com, Tony Romo has completed 239 of 370 pass attempts for 2,681 yards. Along with these 370 attempts, Romo has taken 22 sacks over the course of 10 games, and this weekend, I decided to watch every single one of them, at least twice.

So on Friday evening around 6 o'clock I settled in for the closest I've ever been to a coaches and players marathon film session, after calling it a night at 10 pm, I started up again at 8:45 Saturday morning, and finally finished with the Saints game at around 4:30 pm. So that's essentially 12 hours of film work over two days focusing on every aspect of the Cowboys passing game I could possibly observe, and now it's my goal to share the lessons I learned, first to describe the current state of the Cowboys passing game, and secondly (later this week) to prescribe my theorized cures for what ails the once explosive Dallas offense.

Major Points:

Play Calling:

Overall I was pleasantly surprised with the nuance involved in the design of the plays the Cowboys put on the field over the first 10 weeks. There is a lot of criticism thrown around by fans and writers alike (myself included) that this offense doesn't have any bread and butter plays that they can depend on when they need a conversion, and that the coaching staff doesn't do enough creatively to get their players in favorable situations, and doesn't use guys like James Hanna and Lance Dunbar properly or frequently enough.

However, when I was able to watch this offense, and take in the games as a big picture, and see the trends from game to game as well as series to series, I was able to uncover several "go-to" plays that this team turns to multiple times a game when they need conversions.

Let's go to the chalkboard to look over a few of those schemes:



http://cowboyszone.com/threads/btb-dallas-cowboys-passing-game-the-first-ten-weeks.274504/

 

[percyhoward]

I wish this person who obviously spent so much of his time analyzing every pass play had first taken into account the huge discrepancy between 3rd down and the other downs with regard to (1) passer rating and (2) receiver targeted. If Romo is the problem, then it has to be explained why the problem has been limited to 3rd downs, since the same guy is also throwing all the passes on 1st and 2nd.

In the last 5 games, where 3rd-down passing has hit rock-bottom, Romo is still the 3rd-highest rated passer in the league on 1st and 2nd downs, which account for 78% of the Cowboys plays!

 

[noshame]

Maybe the first 2 downs we complete passes 2-5 yds?

 

[percyhoward]

Maybe the first 2 downs we complete passes 2-5 yds?

If that were the case, Romo couldn't possibly have the 3rd-higest rating, because his YPA would be terrible. Over the last 5 games, our average completion goes for just over 11 yards on 1st and 2nd down.

86 of 136 957 yd 7 td 1 int 98.2

 

[OhSnap]

I think those 48 points they scored in Denver cost them points later on. They used everything they had and don't seem to surprise anyone anymore. I'm not smart enough to say the play caliing is bad on any given down or game but it looks like they're out smarting themselves and just need to go deep more often and stop concentrating on finding mismatches.

 

[TrailBlazer]

Stats don't always tell the whole story. Film don't lie. Tony's just been a little off, idc 1st down 2nd down and 3rd down.

 

[Nation]

Football Outsiders has situation and opponent specific rankings by Down and Distance.

1st Down we are 8th in the league.
2nd & Short 18th.
2nd & Mid 2nd
2nd & Long 8th
All 2nd 4th
3rd & Short 17th
3rd & Mid 27th
3rd & Long 31st
All 3rd 31st

 

[noshame]

If that were the case, Romo couldn't possibly have the 3rd-higest rating, because his YPA would be terrible. Over the last 5 games, our average completion goes for just over 11 yards on 1st and 2nd down.

86 of 136 957 yd 7 td 1 int 98.2

Now check your average yd per attempt. Especially in the first half.

 

[jblaze2004]

we suck on third down sums it all up. Our defense gave the ball back to the offense so many times.

 

[jobberone]

If that were the case, Romo couldn't possibly have the 3rd-higest rating, because his YPA would be terrible. Over the last 5 games, our average completion goes for just over 11 yards on 1st and 2nd down.

86 of 136 957 yd 7 td 1 int 98.2

11 is rocking!

 

[jobberone]

I haven't looked at that. In fact I've been busier than a one legged man and haven't had time to look at much at all lately. Has someone looked at 3rd down's and penalties contributing? That can't be the answer to it all and maybe not much but I'd like to know that and % of penalties in the RZ.

 

[OhSnap]

I haven't looked at that. In fact I've been busier than a one legged man and haven't had time to look at much at all lately. Has someone looked at 3rd down's and penalties contributing? That can't be the answer to it all and maybe not much but I'd like to know that and % of penalties in the RZ.

Theres prolly an easier way to check on penalties in the RZ but you might find this interesting. If you click on the date of the game for each game they break it down pretty good.

http://www.nflpenalties.com/team/dallas-cowboys?&year=2013

 

[khiladi]

This is a play that when you see the Cowboys run it, you really feel like they can get this anytime they want it. When they fake the run and run a dig behind it on the front side, it seems like it's open every time. Of course Dez Bryant is the most dangerous target on this play, as the dig is probably his best route, however, Terrance Williams has been open for chunks on this play multiple times this year as well.

You mean play-action is successful, yet we never run it, but rarely?

 

[khiladi]

The problem with the All-22 and watching game film and open receivers... What are we seeing with Romo?

http://smartfootball.com/quarterbac...l-coverages-or-keying-specific-pass-defenders

Progression Reads: A progression read is designed to have two, three, four, or five sequential choices of where to throw the ball. It is important for the quarterback to pre-read the coverage to get an indication of the coverage, but, more importantly, a progression read requires the quarterback to know where each of the receivers will be given the pattern called. This kind of read calls for throwing the ball with rhythm drops — i.e. on a five-step drop, the ball is thrown to the first receiver when the fifth step hits (the [SIZE=+0]“rhythm” throw[/SIZE]), the second receiver after a hitch-up or gather step (the [SIZE=+0]“read”[/SIZE] or “gather” throw), and the third receiver after resetting the feet.
Limitations of progression reads:

• A tendency to stare at the receiver that is first in the progression, which attracts other defenders.
• It is frustrating for coaches to watch because they can see that a receiver who is later in the progression is wide open. Thus coaches need to know the progression as well as the quarterback — the QB’s job is to throw it to the first open receiver in the progression.
• Quarterbacks will lose patience or think that because the first receiver in the progression was thrown to the first time that he won’t be there when the play is called again. Progression reads require the coach/quarterback not have their mind made up ahead of time.

 

[percyhoward]

Now check your average yd per attempt. Especially in the first half.

That's actually not new. Like last year, we're much better in the 2nd half. Here are 1st and 2nd downs only, last five games:

1st half
62 attempts
5.2 yards per attempt
66.7 rating

2nd half
74 attempts
8.6 yards per attempt
124.6 rating

And here are all downs, last five games:

1st half
86 attempts
5.4 yards per attempt
64.32 rating

2nd half
96 attempts
7.3 yards per attempt
97.4 rating

These passer ratings are for the second half over the last five games:
(minimum 70 attempts)
Romo 97.4
Rivers 97.1
Manning 95.1
Brees 91.1


Which just brings us back to the same kind of question. Why are Romo's bad reads, bad throws, and bad mechanics so damaging in the first half, but not the second half?

 

[jobberone]

Theres prolly an easier way to check on penalties in the RZ but you might find this interesting. If you click on the date of the game for each game they break it down pretty good.

http://www.nflpenalties.com/team/dallas-cowboys?&year=2013

Oh Snap I didn't know about that site!

On a serious note I appreciate that. I'll hit it later but I bookmarked it.