Evolution on offense

[Galian Beast]

Addition by subtraction.

I think the removal of Marion Barber much like the removal of Terrell Owens allows this offense to evolve.

Without the need to press and get T.O. the ball Romo was able to reduce his turnover numbers by quite a bit. He had 9 turnovers, a couple of them weren't his fault, and at least one was a gimme on 4th down.

Moving away from Barber allows us to focus on offense around Felix Jones as an offensive threat.

Play call designed around taking advantage of Felix's attributes.

Get offensive linemen who are more athletic. Kosier and Free are definitely keepers, but we might have to look towards replacing Adams, Colombo Gurode, and even Davis.

Retooling this offensive line I think is important. Romo has made this offensive line look much better than it is for the last 4 years.

I was really hoping we would have got Shanahan, and he would bring his zone blocking scheme in, with more nimble offensive linemen.

We built this idea of having big bruiser offensive linemen, and its not working out for us. Speed rushers kill us, and get straight after Romo. I feel at least like Romo can get away from power rushers a lot more than speed rushers. So the offensive line might as well be suited to stop the speed rushers.

Remove Barber, and allow Felix Jones to be the primary running back.

Draft a goal line rusher that can actually move the line, because that isn't barber anymore.

And if you don't cut or preferably trade Barber, at least limit his carries to 8 a game. He was perfect in that role before.

 

[DallasDomination]

Another get rid of Barber thread.


I agree

 

[theebs]

Make it stop...Please.......make it stop.

 

[Galian Beast]

Dude Marion Barber hasn't been productive for the last two years. Coincidence, that he has been the starter for the last two years?

And this year, he wasn't at all physical. He likes to celebrate 4 yard gains, but he goes down at the slightest hint of contact now. He isn't the same running back he was when he was breaking tackles left and right to get yardage.

On top of that he is a liability in goal line situations.... how many times did he get stopped this year on 3rd and short or 4th and short? its not even funny.

He isn't the same running back, so we either give him an opportunity to be, or simply let him go somewhere else.

Felix Jones on the other hand is a home run threat, and could legit be our chris johnson.

 

[Future]

Get offensive linemen who are more athletic. Kosier and Free are definitely keepers, but we might have to look towards replacing Adams, Colombo Gurode, and even Davis.

We have one of the most athletic OLines in the league. Kosier and Davis both move very well and Colombo is decent in space. To my knowledge centers don't pull so Gurode's athleticism is moot.

 

[Eskimo]

I definitely agree with building this offense around Felix's talents running and catching the ball. Miles and Witten's skills will be greatly accentuated by the running threat that Felix represents. Furthermore, he brings much needed speed to the skill positions as previously Barber, RW, Crayton and Witten are not especially fast for their positions. Only Miles had speed that needed to be respected.

As far as the OL is concerned, we do need to get Felix in space which will require better athletes on the OL. While he might be better in a zone blocking scheme like they run in Denver, that is not the Forte of Houck. I think Felix can actually do fine in a man blocking scheme and has averaged over 6 ypc in that scheme playing behind a poor run blocking OL. I do agree that Colombo and Flo are not a part of the Cowboys' future and the sooner we are rid of them the better. I think Kosier, unfortunately, needs to go to the bench due to issues handling larger DTs - this could be delayed a year but that day is coming soon. It is a shame because Kosier's ability to move in space complements Felix so well. I do think Gurode is still a keeper because he handles DTs and NTs so well and he can get out to the second level and make blocks on LBs. It is actually fairly hard to find a C who is better than Gurode. I hope we get another 3-4 years out of him because he will be hard to replace. I would ultimately like to replace Davis but that day is far off. He whiffs too much in pass protection but he can be an absolute beast at the point of attack. It was Davis who was continually collapsing the DTs in front of him that was allowing Felix to rip off huge runs against the Eagles.

In summary, I think Gurode and Davis aren't going anywhere. I think Kosier is on borrowed time as a starter unless he can get much stronger at the point of attack but he is still above average overall and his ability to play in space will mesh well with Felix. I do think both OTs need to be replaced this year. Free will be the ideal sort of athletic LT that we are looking for as we build around Felix. I hope Brewster who is supposed to be the RT of the future can also play in space. If a great athletic RT type who doesn't have great LT pass protecting footwork falls in the draft, I think the staff would have to think twice before passing on him.

 

[Eskimo]

We have one of the most athletic OLines in the league. Kosier and Davis both move very well and Colombo is decent in space. To my knowledge centers don't pull so Gurode's athleticism is moot.

Colombo is terrible in space. Half of the time he pulls out to make a block in space he falls down without blocking anyone. Davis often just runs and hits nothing but he is hard to run around and no one will dare stand in his way.

Kosier and Free are dynamite in space. They will kill any moving objects in sight. Free is a sight to behold at his height getting out on those screens and terrorizing DBs and LBs once he has a full head of steam - just bends his knees well and explodes into the opposition. He is also a bit nasty - knocked one of the Saints' DBs out and knocked that Skins safety who intercepted Romo's pass in week 17 out of the game with a vicious tackle.

 

[NoLuv4Jerry]

Colombo is terrible in space. Half of the time he pulls out to make a block in space he falls down without blocking anyone. Davis often just runs and hits nothing but he is hard to run around and no one will dare stand in his way.

Kosier and Free are dynamite in space. They will kill any moving objects in sight. Free is a sight to behold at his height getting out on those screens and terrorizing DBs and LBs once he has a full head of steam - just bends his knees well and explodes into the opposition. He is also a bit nasty - knocked one of the Saints' DBs out and knocked that Skins safety who intercepted Romo's pass in week 17 out of the game with a vicious tackle.

Listen to Nate Newton....he talks about how much Leonard Davis lunges.....I have never seen a man that big and strong on the ground that much in my life....even when Davis hits 200 pound DBs...he ALWAYS ends up on the ground...because he does not RUN THROUGH PEOPLE...he gets close enough and launches himself....it is comical. When we had Larry Allen players would take the week off instead of wanting to face him. I thought Davis would bring that kind of intimidation factor to our OL....instead he makes contact with guys and HE GOES DOWN!

 

[CATCH17]

Make it stop...Please.......make it stop.

This will be the case until Barber comes out and shows next year that his quad injury hampered him the entire season.

 

[jay cee]

This will be the case until Barber comes out and shows next year that his quad injury hampered him the entire season.

What's weird is that when you look it up, you see that he was productive this year, even though he was IMO, hampered by the leg injury.

I'm not saying that he was great this year, but we have actually had someone comparing him to Hambrick.

That's just way over the top.

 

[CATCH17]

What's weird is that when you look it up, you see that he was productive this year, even though he was IMO, hampered by the leg injury.

I'm not saying that he was great this year, but we have actually had someone comparing him to Hambrick.

That's just way over the top.

I can see the frustration from fans because of what he was in the past and him cutting into Felix Jones's role.

But the guy has had 2 crazy injuries in the last 2 seasons that have slowed him down and him imposing his will is not enough unless he is healthy as well.

The injuries he has gotten weren't even caused by being featured. They were just freak injuries.

To me though Felix Jones needs a Julius Jones role in this offense and Barber needs his role back as well.

Which guy starts doesn't matter though as long as Felix Jones gets Julius Jones PT.

 

[zrinkill]

I think Felix should be the number one RB option ...... but I do not think you have to "get rid" of Barber to make that happen.

 

[DallasDomination]

We have one of the most athletic OLines in the league. Kosier and Davis both move very well and Colombo is decent in space. To my knowledge centers don't pull so Gurode's athleticism is moot.

say what?


I spit my drink out when I read this

 

[Future]

say what?


I spit my drink out when I read this

K, whose is better?

 

[Apollo Creed]

For 17 games this year our offensive line seemed rather dominant. The reality is, they are a solid run blocking unit, but Felix's long runs and Barbers' determination really inflate their stats.

Many of us have been screaming for years that Romo's mobility and elusiveness have made them look much better than they actually are.

 

[AmericasTeam31]

Dude Marion Barber hasn't been productive for the last two years. Coincidence, that he has been the starter for the last two years?

And this year, he wasn't at all physical. He likes to celebrate 4 yard gains, but he goes down at the slightest hint of contact now. He isn't the same running back he was when he was breaking tackles left and right to get yardage.

On top of that he is a liability in goal line situations.... how many times did he get stopped this year on 3rd and short or 4th and short? its not even funny.

He isn't the same running back, so we either give him an opportunity to be, or simply let him go somewhere else.

Felix Jones on the other hand is a home run threat, and could legit be our chris johnson.

He converted on 22 of 35 attempts of 2nd, 3rd, or 4th and 2yds or less... that is a 63% conversion rate... I don't know where that ranks him in the league, but 2 out of 3 ain't bad at all...imo

 

[Cowboy Brian]

stop posting get rid of barber in disguises.

Its annoying-@@@

Whos to say if Felix is the primary back he does not get injured the first week? Whos to say he can handle the load? Whos to say he can handle the blocking-