kramskoi
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A year removed from the oppressive and underachieving Parcells regime, we find a team that has realized its talent and explosiveness.
With the hiring of Jason Garrett and the emergence of Tony Romo as one of the top three quarterbacks in the NFL, the Cowboys have grown from trainwreck to juggernaut on offense.
In Wade Phillips' first season as head coach, Dallas fields a defense that is now more barracuda than jellyfish.
Both of these units together have improved the Cowboys to a level of historic performance. And if we look at last years results versus the current edition of the Cowboys, we begin to see why this team is being labeled a superbowl contender. The most notable improvement though, has been the Dallas offense.
The offense has exploded this year and is currently one of the top ten units of the past 12 years. That the Cowboys have done this without #2 wideout Terry Glenn is remarkable. If the rumors of his death have been exaggerated, this unit will become arguably the best offense in football once he returns.
With tenacious pass-blocking and efficient run-blocking, the Cowboys sport one of the most balanced offensive attacks in football this year. The line play of Adams, Davis, Gurode, Kosier and Columbo have kept Romo cleaner, and he's sliced and diced some of the more proficient secondaries in the league.
Say what you want about Terrel Owens but he's put up some of the highest DPAR performances in DVOA history this year. The difference? He's being used correctly. At the heart of the offense we find Jason Witten, who's performance has risen to a lethal level of proficiency along with the emergence of Patrick Crayton as a more than viable third option. Throw in the "barbaric" slashing and stiff arms of Marion Barber with the receiving threat of Julius Jones and you have a unit for which an opposing defense must pick its method of ultimate demise.
That said, we can look at this years offensive and defensive DVOA performance versus last.
What we see is confirmation that Jones hit the jackpot with Phillips, as well as the Davis, Hamlin and Garrett signings:
=========================================================
/yr/......./rk/ ........./totDVOA/..../rk/.../rec/ ../OFF/...../rk/ ...../DEF/...../rk/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
2006......10 ....DAL ..[10.2%] ....15 ....9-7 ..[10.3%] ....8 .....[-0.1%] ...16
2007.......2 ....DAL ...[38.0%] .....2 ...12-1 ..[30.3%] ....2 .....[-7.0%] ....8
2007.......1 .....NE ....[60.5%] ....1 ...13-0 ...[48.2%] ...1 .....[-7.9%] ....7
=========================================================
Dallas has risen from 15th to the second-best offense behind you-know-who, who have themselves been off the chart at 48.2%, the best offense of the past 12 years and maybe all-time.
They will be tough to pass and Dallas will surely need Terry Glenn to return at pre-injury performance levels to have a decent chance.
There is, however, another route.
The Dallas defense, with the addition of Hamlin and the performance of the Ellis/Ware tandem, has improved from 16th to 8th. It has solved its deep play liability [passes over 16 yards] and was first in this category [31%] before the Detroit game. The unit has the third ranked defensive passer rating in the NFL [73.2] behind only Seattle and Indianapolis [67.7 and 72.0] and are rated eighth in CHFF's defensive hog index.
If corners Henry and Newman can return to form, then Dallas becomes better able to defend the multiple wide-receiver threats of Green Bay and New England in the playoffs.
So hope, pray and get ya popcorn ready.
With the hiring of Jason Garrett and the emergence of Tony Romo as one of the top three quarterbacks in the NFL, the Cowboys have grown from trainwreck to juggernaut on offense.
In Wade Phillips' first season as head coach, Dallas fields a defense that is now more barracuda than jellyfish.
Both of these units together have improved the Cowboys to a level of historic performance. And if we look at last years results versus the current edition of the Cowboys, we begin to see why this team is being labeled a superbowl contender. The most notable improvement though, has been the Dallas offense.
The offense has exploded this year and is currently one of the top ten units of the past 12 years. That the Cowboys have done this without #2 wideout Terry Glenn is remarkable. If the rumors of his death have been exaggerated, this unit will become arguably the best offense in football once he returns.
With tenacious pass-blocking and efficient run-blocking, the Cowboys sport one of the most balanced offensive attacks in football this year. The line play of Adams, Davis, Gurode, Kosier and Columbo have kept Romo cleaner, and he's sliced and diced some of the more proficient secondaries in the league.
Say what you want about Terrel Owens but he's put up some of the highest DPAR performances in DVOA history this year. The difference? He's being used correctly. At the heart of the offense we find Jason Witten, who's performance has risen to a lethal level of proficiency along with the emergence of Patrick Crayton as a more than viable third option. Throw in the "barbaric" slashing and stiff arms of Marion Barber with the receiving threat of Julius Jones and you have a unit for which an opposing defense must pick its method of ultimate demise.
That said, we can look at this years offensive and defensive DVOA performance versus last.
What we see is confirmation that Jones hit the jackpot with Phillips, as well as the Davis, Hamlin and Garrett signings:
=========================================================
/yr/......./rk/ ........./totDVOA/..../rk/.../rec/ ../OFF/...../rk/ ...../DEF/...../rk/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
2006......10 ....DAL ..[10.2%] ....15 ....9-7 ..[10.3%] ....8 .....[-0.1%] ...16
2007.......2 ....DAL ...[38.0%] .....2 ...12-1 ..[30.3%] ....2 .....[-7.0%] ....8
2007.......1 .....NE ....[60.5%] ....1 ...13-0 ...[48.2%] ...1 .....[-7.9%] ....7
=========================================================
Dallas has risen from 15th to the second-best offense behind you-know-who, who have themselves been off the chart at 48.2%, the best offense of the past 12 years and maybe all-time.
They will be tough to pass and Dallas will surely need Terry Glenn to return at pre-injury performance levels to have a decent chance.
There is, however, another route.
The Dallas defense, with the addition of Hamlin and the performance of the Ellis/Ware tandem, has improved from 16th to 8th. It has solved its deep play liability [passes over 16 yards] and was first in this category [31%] before the Detroit game. The unit has the third ranked defensive passer rating in the NFL [73.2] behind only Seattle and Indianapolis [67.7 and 72.0] and are rated eighth in CHFF's defensive hog index.
If corners Henry and Newman can return to form, then Dallas becomes better able to defend the multiple wide-receiver threats of Green Bay and New England in the playoffs.
So hope, pray and get ya popcorn ready.