Garrett and running the football...

[Arkyvarminter]

I watched a short video where Goose Goslin said that he thought Garrett would continue to call the plays since his job may be on the line if the playoffs are missed. He went on to say that they would be better off with Callahan calling the plays because Callahan is known for running the ball and comes from college teams that ran alot. I know the league passes more than ever but I think we definitely need to run more. Garrett will pass the ball when the run is working which is something I have never understood.:bang2:

I also want to ask why we never run any screens out of the backfield when pressure is coming? It seems this would help Tony alot since he would be getting rid of the ball quickly and into the hands of someone like Murray who could do something with it. I swear sometimes Garrett just seems lost out there.....

 

[noshame]

No doubt we're building a stout OL that can wear down a DL. It's about time.

 

[Eskimo]

I think Garrett would like to have maybe a 55-45 split between passing and running. I actually think Garrett stuck with the run too much for most of last season. The one thing I wish he did more was run out of the S11 personnel where he passes 91% of the time. It would keep the defense a bit more honest.
I think the TFred pick was made deliberately for the running game. Some would say he was the key cog in the Wisconsin running attack and if you watch film from 2011 and 2012 you see Ball running right behind him over and over again. He is a true powerhouse as an inline blocker and frequently just completely turned his man right out of the hole and sealed it off completely.

As for the screen game, I know he would like to run more of them. I think part of the reason is that the OL isn't great at selling it to the defense but I think the bigger problem is that Romo just isn't good at throwing it. I don't know if the issue is size or what but we seemed to run screens more with Kitna in there in 2010 but stopped as soon as Romo was back in 2011.

 

[khiladi]

Targetting a specific pass-run ration is just silly IMO.

 

[CATCH17]

I just wish we would spread out more when we try to run the ball.

I hate it when we get 2 Tight with a fullback and try to jam it down teams throats with our bad OL.

 

[Cowboy4ever]

To me, it's not about running more.. it's about running more effective. You got to be able to run the ball in the red zone, you have to be able to pick up the 3rd or 4th and 1 by running. These two areas we struggled at over the last couple of years. This what has to improve, not the number of times you give it to the back. It could be an 80/20 split but if that 20 is highly effective, then that will open up the game plan and cause the defense more problems.

 

[03EBZ06]

Lets be real, the running game was horrible last year due to OL, plays and Murray getting hurt, which at times forced to rely heavily on passing game.

Hopefully this year with Better OL, better scheme, healthy Murray can improve running attack to prevent opponents keying on predictable passing plays.

 

[conner01]

garrett wants to run, but he does'nt want 2nd and 9 over and over again. we tried to run more last year but was'nt effective. if we can run the ball effective i think you will see more running especially late in games when running is so important. we ran about 35% of the time last year thats probably not gonna change to 50-50 but maybe 45% runs would make the pass even easier but you have to run effective

 

[erod]

Garrett sees the same offensive line we do, and without Murray behind it - which was a lot - it was even more putrid.

Murray made runs out of nothing. Could count the number of well-blocked run plays for the season on two hands. Yes, I want him to run it more, but I certainly understand why he didn't. However, it dang near got Romo decapitated.

If this offensive line isn't fixed by September, Romo won't survive another season uninjured, and nothing else will matter for this team. If they do fix it, this thing is primed for a deep run.

 

[Yakuza Rich]

It's the problem when you get former QB's calling plays, IMO. They love to throw the ball and are too often tempted by what they think is the easy pass versus the boring run the ball.

I think most people here know how much I am into the metrics of the game and it is a game where the team that passes the ball most effectively will win it 80% of the time.

But, I think the pass heavy offenses have their flaws to them, even when they are passing the ball well.

For starters, we know that defensive players are almost 3 times as likely to get injured than an offensive player. So with a pass happy offense the defense will likely be on the field for more plays and is now more likely to get injured. That's why so many of the pass happy teams can't field a defense come the playoffs...too many defensive players are injured.

It also becomes a problem when the wind picks up. That's how many of the Patriots losses have come from...games on windy days. Just too difficult for even Tom Brady to figure out the wind.

Lastly, I just think a good running game makes the QB's job easier. Defensive players always say 'stop the run first.' It's obvious that they cannot quite key in on the offense if there is a legitimate running threat there. And I believe the Zampese offense works best with a running game because the play action creates such big play capabilities.

I was encouraged to see that Romo wanted more of a say in the offense and reportedly Romo was saying the same things I've been saying. The offense needs to pick up the pace pre-snap, we need better interior protection and he wanted to go to a 2 TE system again (just get the right TE for the job). But he's a QB as well and I have my doubts if he will be different in terms of running the ball.

And IMO, I didn't have a problem with Garrett's playcalling from the perspective of running the ball last year (first year it's happened). I had more of a problem with the plays called, particularly passing plays and particularly against blitz packages. That and we still run out of the shotgun on first and 2nd down way too often.







YR

 

[CF74]

It all revolves around having a healthy o-line and last year it was decimated...

 

[xwalker]

I watched a short video where Goose Goslin said that he thought Garrett would continue to call the plays since his job may be on the line if the playoffs are missed. He went on to say that they would be better off with Callahan calling the plays because Callahan is known for running the ball and comes from college teams that ran alot. I know the league passes more than ever but I think we definitely need to run more. Garrett will pass the ball when the run is working which is something I have never understood.

I would like to see Callahan call the plays just to see something different. I don't think Garrett is as bad as some have made him out to be, but something just seems a little off with regards to play calling in critical situations. It would also be good to see Garrett focused on the big picture during games. Garrett can still have significant input into the process.

 

[nalam]

I would like to see Callahan call the plays just to see something different. I don't think Garrett is as bad as some have made him out to be, but something just seems a little off with regards to play calling in critical situations. It would also be good to see Garrett focused on the big picture during games. Garrett can still have significant input into the process.

I want to see it too, Garrett is ,,errr..... predictable ( for loss of better words) ...my belief is he lives in Norv turner offense of nineties where execution (&OL) was better, he doesn't have the horses for that kind of play calling and what happens is the game plan doesn't produce points , we lag behind in half time and Romo starts calling the shots we , go shotgun and throw , n throw ......get a bunch of yards , something happens turnover, penalties or short yard pickup fails ...

This was the scene last 2 years...

Now on the other hand if our OL plays half decent , the same thing can work most of the time and our TE/ WR/ RB talent with Romo can put a bunch of points in a hurry.

 

[Picksix]

I watched a short video where Goose Goslin said that he thought Garrett would continue to call the plays since his job may be on the line if the playoffs are missed. He went on to say that they would be better off with Callahan calling the plays because Callahan is known for running the ball and comes from college teams that ran alot. I know the league passes more than ever but I think we definitely need to run more. Garrett will pass the ball when the run is working which is something I have never understood.:bang2:

I also want to ask why we never run any screens out of the backfield when pressure is coming? It seems this would help Tony alot since he would be getting rid of the ball quickly and into the hands of someone like Murray who could do something with it. I swear sometimes Garrett just seems lost out there.....

You pass even though the run is working, because you can't go to that well too often, especially when you have a poor offensive line. All it takes is getting stuffed once or twice, and nobody wants to run anymore. The pass is still our most effective option on most downs. And again, Romo has the option to go with a run or pass, depending on what he sees at the line. If the defense comes up, he calls pass. Just because it didn't work, doesn't mean it wasn't the right call.

As for screens, well, you need lineman that can move in space, especially interior lineman. We haven't had much of that.

 

[Idgit]

I would like to see Callahan call the plays just to see something different. I don't think Garrett is as bad as some have made him out to be, but something just seems a little off with regards to play calling in critical situations. It would also be good to see Garrett focused on the big picture during games. Garrett can still have significant input into the process.

This is about where I am. I don't love our offense, but it's effective if we address systemic problems like the protection problems, the WR adjustments, and red zone scoring. Beyond that, honestly, I don't really care all that much who calls plays.

I do really like the way Garrett goes about assembling and running the team, though. That's definitely his strong-suit.

You pass even though the run is working, because you can't go to that well too often, especially when you have a poor offensive line. All it takes is getting stuffed once or twice, and nobody wants to run anymore. The pass is still our most effective option on most downs. And again, Romo has the option to go with a run or pass, depending on what he sees at the line. If the defense comes up, he calls pass. Just because it didn't work, doesn't mean it wasn't the right call.

As for screens, well, you need lineman that can move in space, especially interior lineman. We haven't had much of that.

This was a really nice, concise, post, btw, Picksix. And it's right on, too.

 

[Fredd]

It seems to me that with the additions from the draft, they could more likely be a pass-first team much more now if they can institute a true pass-catching, 2 TE set....they didn't go out and spend a 2nd and a 3rd to run more

the other thing I see is that the team moves the ball between the 20's because Romo and the passing game have more of the field in which to work...but, when they get into the red zone, things are tighter and with less room to work, you need to rely on a running game more...but, as many have said, we had no appreciable OL push in the running game last year

the team needs more of a balance from the standpoint of being able to do both, but I still see a 60/40 split for the most part based on where the m ost skill sits (WR & TE)

 

[xwalker]

It seems to me that with the additions from the draft, they could more likely be a pass-first team much more now if they can institute a true pass-catching, 2 TE set....they didn't go out and spend a 2nd and a 3rd to run more

But they did draft a 1st rounder to run more.

 

[coogrfan]

I think most people here know how much I am into the metrics of the game and it is a game where the team that passes the ball most effectively will win it 80% of the time.

Question: how would you reconcile this statement with the fact that in 2012 six of the eight division winners finished in the top half of the league in rushing yds, and 7 of 8 were in the top half for rushing atts?

Wash - 1st (3rd in atts)
San Fran - 4th (7th)
NE - 7th (2nd)
Hou - 8th (4th)
Balt - 11th (12th)
Den - 16th (9th)
GB - 20th (16th)
Atl - 29th (27th)

 

[speedkilz88]

At the end of cowboys break, Broaddus was saying Callahan was calling plays.

 

[burmafrd]

In the playoffs when you are up against usually quality defenses, and more than likely good passing defenses, being able to run the ball is something that can make the difference.