News: Cowboys offensive struggles due to drop-off in OL play/OL Coach

[WoodysGirl]

by Greg A. Bedard

• When I made my annual pilgrimage to the Coaches of Offensive Linemen Clinic in Cincinnati last month, a popular sentiment was that the Cowboys’ struggles on offense didn’t just have to do with the injuries to Tony Romo and Dez Bryant. Several coaches said there was a noticeable drop-off in the play of the offensive line under first-year OL coach Frank Pollack, who was promoted from assistant OL coach last off-season when Bill Callahan left town to join Washington. Something to keep an eye on as the Cowboys enter year two under Pollack, whose only previous experience in charge of an NFL unit was in 2013 with the Raiders (he was an assistant for five years with the Texans before that).

http://www.si.com/nfl/2016/06/23/nfl-lockout-offseason-news-cowboys-broncos

 

[bayeslife]

The drop in OL play seems overdramatized. They were still ranked #1 by PFF

 

[DeaconMoss]

Callahan is the best OL coach in the biz. Hate he is Washington.

 

[Alexander]

That is not all that surprising. They just looked out of synch. Now whether that was due to Callahan being gone, not 100% sure.

They did tweak the scheme and at times it did not look nearly as well-oiled as they appeared to be in 2014.

Pollack is no Callahan, that is for certain though.

 

[KJJ]

Not having as talented a back in the backfield didn't help the OL. A back can also make an OL look good. I also think the OL got fat and happy reading all the press clippings and hearing everyone tell them how great they were. When you start making comparisons between this OL and the Great Wall of Dallas that's going a little overboard.

 

[Pandora]

Ridiculous.

 

[Alexander]

The drop in OL play seems overdramatized. They were still ranked #1 by PFF

I don't think they were as polished last year as they were in 2014. But I think saying the offensive downturn was due to them dropping off is just nonsense. Bad QB play is the obvious reason.

 

[Alexander]

Ridiculous.

Perhaps the writer of the article took a little liberty here. He was talking to people at the OL clinic. So them saying the OL looked off last year is understandable. But I find it hard to believe they pinned the offense struggling strictly on the OL. Did they have their moments? Of course.

But even Callahan being around could not have fixed the fact we had horrible QBing to go with a little bit of confusion overall offensively. Things just did not appear right. Even if Romo had stayed healthy, they lost Murray and Bryant being out does not help either. The offense as a whole just looked like they lost their way.

 

[theebs]

Zach martin getting banged up in the preseason, then ronald leary getting hurt and replaced by a rookie in collins had more to do with it I bet than Callahan.

Then of course throw in the loss of Romo, Murray and for most of the year bryant.

Not a knock on Callahan but I think the injuries had more to do with the line being different if that is even true.

 

[StarBoyz83]

Oline is the only part of the team I'm not worried about. They are no doubt a top 5 unit.

 

[Idgit]

Zach martin getting banged up in the preseason, then ronald leary getting hurt and replaced by a rookie in collins had more to do with it I bet than Callahan.

Then of course throw in the loss of Romo, Murray and for most of the year bryant.

Not a knock on Callahan but I think the injuries had more to do with the line being different if that is even true.

Yep. They were definitely out of sorts the first third of the season above and beyond what was happening at QB and WR. Martin's stinger and Leary's back, and then the replacement at LG. It took a while. They did seem to turn things around by the end of the season.

 

[Nova]

Not having as talented a back in the backfield didn't help the OL. A back can also make an OL look good. I also think the OL got fat and happy reading all the press clippings and hearing everyone tell them how great they were. When you start making comparisons between this OL and the Great Wall of Dallas that's going a little overboard.

Where are you getting that from? All indications are to the contrary.

 

[BigStar]

Zach martin getting banged up in the preseason, then ronald leary getting hurt and replaced by a rookie in collins had more to do with it I bet than Callahan.

Then of course throw in the loss of Romo, Murray and for most of the year bryant.

Not a knock on Callahan but I think the injuries had more to do with the line being different if that is even true.

I thought the scheme was altered to man blocking instead of the zone scheme we went with in 14'? I believe this was done for McFadden after realizing Randle wasn't the answer. That was the only thing that seemed out of sync outside of the higher amount of flags drawn by Martin (he's too good to really care; similar to Flo/Witten).

 

[percyhoward]

Dallas led the league in fewest pressures (that's per dropback), with quarterbacks who all took longer than average to get the ball out. McFadden was the 4th-leading rusher in the NFL. The time of the Cowboys' average possession ranked 3rd in the league. The offense didn't struggle to pass protect, and didn't struggle to run the ball or control the clock. It struggled to score touchdowns, especially from outside the red zone.

Dallas Touchdowns
from Inside/Outside Red Zone
2006 35/12
2007 33/17
2008 26/15
2009 26/14
2010 29/10
2011 25/13
2012 22/15
2013 35/10
2014 33/20
2015 20/4

That's not the OL, it's the QB.

 

[Idgit]

Where are you getting that from? All indications are to the contrary.

It just seemed that way. Or he trusts what his eyes tell him. Either way, fat and happy it is.

 

[Idgit]

Dallas led the league in fewest pressures (that's per dropback), with quarterbacks who all took longer than average to get the ball out. McFadden was the 4th-leading rusher in the NFL. The time of the Cowboys' average possession ranked 3rd in the league. The offense didn't struggle to pass protect, and didn't struggle to run the ball or control the clock. It struggled to score touchdowns, especially from outside the red zone.

Dallas Touchdowns
from Inside/Outside Red Zone
2006 35/12
2007 33/17
2008 26/15
2009 26/14
2010 29/10
2011 25/13
2012 22/15
2013 35/10
2014 33/20
2015 20/4

That's not the OL, it's the QB.

Lol. That's hilarious. I mean, completely depressing.

 

[big dog cowboy]

Zach martin getting banged up in the preseason, then ronald leary getting hurt and replaced by a rookie in collins had more to do with it I bet than Callahan.

Then of course throw in the loss of Romo, Murray and for most of the year Bryant.

Not a knock on Callahan but I think the injuries had more to do with the line being different if that is even true.

Great points. Right on the money.

 

[ScipioCowboy]

Dallas led the league in fewest pressures (that's per dropback), with quarterbacks who all took longer than average to get the ball out. McFadden was the 4th-leading rusher in the NFL. The time of the Cowboys' average possession ranked 3rd in the league. The offense didn't struggle to pass protect, and didn't struggle to run the ball or control the clock. It struggled to score touchdowns, especially from outside the red zone.

Dallas Touchdowns
from Inside/Outside Red Zone
2006 35/12
2007 33/17
2008 26/15
2009 26/14
2010 29/10
2011 25/13
2012 22/15
2013 35/10
2014 33/20
2015 20/4

That's not the OL, it's the QB.

No, no. We are going with the "fat and happy" narrative. It provides a better soundbite.

 

[KJJ]

Where are you getting that from? All indications are to the contrary.

Got some of it from Frederick last summer who said the OL needs to stay grounded that there's still work to be done when responding to all the praise the OL was receiving. The OL did receive a lot of props after the the 2014 season that had many calling our OL the best in the league. There did appear to be a drop-off in the OL's play last season, a thread was even started about it during the season. When you receive as much anointing oil as our OL has it could result in some complacency.

 

[percyhoward]

What's funny is, if you don't like McFadden, don't like the quarterbacks, and now don't like Pollack...that means you have to be even more impressed by what the OL did in 2015.