I think it is more they knew they were soft in the middle with Biadasz and left handed in gimp Steele at RT. They knew they were going to have to to more zone as opposed to the straight ahead we all know and love.
I think there is a significant chance the young bloods will help us be more physical.
True, when OL is smash mouth ( Physical) the run game always open up, average RBs look like stars, but the opposite is also true, below average OL can diminish star RBs too, there can a few individual brilliance runs but overall Running will not help.
Solari and Schottenheimer love the inside zone. I think the difference this year is they will actually do more of it because the strength of the backs we picked up (Elliott and Freeman) is inside running. Of course, Solari does like power too, so maybe he'll lean on that more with Smith and Martin both inside, especially if Beebe wins the center spot.
Middle iso ad nauseum. With a power center, I think every OC likes power runs.
We are going to resurrect 3 yards and a cloud of dust. Obviously, we'll primarily be a passing team, but when we run it will be with power up the middle. Defenses will know what is coming because we don't have the backs to win on outside runs, so we'll use those sparingly and just to keep the defenses honest. In fact, I think most of our outside runs will come on sweeps to Lamb and Turpin.
Why would you even say this part? Anyone who has watched Mike McCarthy call plays knows he wants to throw it. In the NFL outside run success is way more predicated on blocking than on speed. NFL defenders are too fast to just outrun them to the edge so the linemen have to get on their guy and the ends and WRs have to get on theirs. The main reason the Cowboys have not had a ton of coast to coast runs in recent years is basically our wide receivers are C minus blockers for the most part. Terrance Williams and Dez Bryant might have been the best blocking WR duo I've ever seen. The Cowboys have not come close to replacing those guys in the downfield blocking department which is why the only time we've seen any kind of long run plays have been late in games when the defenses have been either tired out or just giving up because the score is out of hand.
I hope so. Those runs are chain movers and clock burners. Desperately needed!
Nice points.
Absolutely.. The line's job is to get the runner to the second level .. anything that happens after that is on the backs and receivers 99% of the time. You will get an occasional lineman hustling downfield 30 yards but those are about as common as T-Rex sightings. I am far less worried about the running game than some because I trust Zeke to not forget how to tote the rock. With his power the line really just needs to stalemate and let him do the rest for the most part. When he (and pretty much any other back who has ever lived) struggles is when the d-line wins and is there waiting for him to take the handoff or they just stonewall the line at the point of attack. No back born yet has been powerful enough to move 3000 pounds of humanity out of the way. With the encouraging reports coming out about Guyton and our guys Steele, Smith and Martin returning to form this team just needs the center to not become a turnstile to be a strong power running team. I think Hoffman fits that bill nicely and he don't then Beebe will.
We are going to run between the tackles. Solari and Schottenheimer showed last year that that's what they like even if they don't have a back that is a great fit for it. Three yards and a cloud of dust does not mean we are going to become a running team, it just means that when we run the ball, we are going to try to pound it up the middle. That best fits our backs and how the coaches want to run when we do it.
The difference is this year they will have as many as three such backs in Zeke, Freeman and Luepke. And to a lesser extent Dowdle. This team will run the ball better this year than last year. Book it.
Ohhhhh, so that's who that is. I thought you had that avatar as a representation of the Dallas defense in the playoffs last year.
Remember the Murray to Zeke peak years featured Callahan as the OL coach. That dude knows how to coach run blocking. Which always puzzled me that he couldn't generate a consistent rushing attack in DC. But back when he was with the Raiders they plugged damn near any back in back there and ran the ball extremely well. Unfortunately when they made him head coach he completely abandoned any thoughts of running the ball! LOL!
