Gosselin: Cowboys can learn two things from 49ers and Seahawks this weekend

[Aven8]

I don't think there's a template for success in this league. You have to do this well or that well. I think if you can be very good on one side of the ball and respectable on the other side, you have a chance.

The Cowboys are very good on offense, despite the cries from the Garrett lynch mob. They are inept on defense. I don't see how that changes next year. There's only so much upgrading one team can do in a single offseason and with no cap room to speak of.

The problem is we are not very good on offense. The stats look good, but they are empty. How many times did the offense sustain drives when we needed it? We don't impose our will on anybody. We react often when it's too late. That's the problem. We can't adjust and when we finally do it usually too late. Romo can only do so much and he can't see everything. That's where all the offensive coaches need to be better, not just Garrett. The problem is we usually panic and because they have no experience in in game adjustments we go back to what works which is Romo throwing every other down. We also can't find ways to utilize the skill position players effectively. Anybody ever see Randall Cobb, of Harvin, etc. lined up in the backfield, slot, etc.? Are you trying to tell me our best guy in space, Harris, can't get in on offense? Ludicrous!

As for the defense, Jerry gambled that Spenc and Rat would be there and that everybody would be healthy. It failed. But coming from the same guy that itched and moaned last year about the Oline, you seem to be fine with it now? Free played better, and the new guards, and then Berd played better. Plus the addition of the stud at center. So in actual reality it is possible to get better, but we must draft spot on early, get healthy, and have a little luck. At least right now we know what we have in Selvie and Hayden. Serviceable players that won't embarrass you. Now we can hope that Bass and Crawford come back, add at least two draft picks on the Dline, and work on LB IMO next. Now will it be Seattly of SF good? Hell no, but it will improve. There is only one other way to go when your ranked 32, stay put, or move up.

 

[Aven8]

Yea.

A. This organization has no plan. They don't know how to build a winner. They can't even copy proven ways of winning so all this talk is just nonsense.

B. gosselin writes the same article very year, and he changes how the organization should be operating every year. A few years ago we needed only to draft pass rushers and win like the giants did, then it was we needed to be able to run the ball and get takeaways like Pittsburgh. Then we needed to have a deeper roster because its the deep roster that won the sb for GB. In GB injuries do not matter...yea uh huh. Then it was back to being the giants and how they operated. Then last year this guy was suggesting we could learn from the Commanders.

He just writes this same sorry article every year. He knows as little about building a winner as the jones family does.

Bottom line here the important changes, the tough changes will never be made. The jones family will continue to pick the players, they will continue to undermine the coaches authority by talking all week before games, after games and having to be the voices of the organization.

And they will it hire a coach who operates the right way again because they won't allow that type of environment.

Here is what I know as a fan. The team thanks to a guy was here years ago has a quarterback who has been the difference between 5-11 that we were under campo. The jones family is set to never lose. The stadium will always be filled with fans, merchandise will always be bought, nationally televised games will always be played. The cowboys are just as good to them a loser as they are a winner. Jerry will take the credit if we ever win again and if we lose like recently he will just talk about the stadium.

And while all us fans try to view this stuff through common sense it's a waste of time, they are not going to change. Next year the first ever college football championship is going to be played at Jerry world, the NCAA basketball tournament this year....etc..etc...

No matter what they are buisness men who think and act like them. That is why the football product is always so poor. It's not going to change. They all have 80 different things going at once which are all related to making money for the cowboys brand. The football stuff is not that important. They are already getting what they want from that.

Anyway, god i hate talking about this and that damn family. They have basically almost ruin my love of the nfl and the cowboys. I can't stand them and wish they would just go buy casinos in Las Vegas and go away.

Great post, and my favorite was about the 5-11. I think you nailed it. We are no different then 5-11 with Campo, only this time around we have a QB which buys us 3 extra wins. Romo has to feel like Archie Manning sometimes. Sad.

 

[Risen Star]

The problem is we are not very good on offense.

You lost me right there.

 

[TNCowboy]

What the Cowboys can learn from the 49ers and Seahawks can't be taught.

The 49ers have 6 pro bowl level players in their front 7. We have one or two. No amount of book learnin' can overcome that.

 

[jterrell]

Here's something else both teams have in common.

A personnel guy named Scot McCloughan.

Coincidence?

According to Jerry it is, I'm sure.

Jerry has good personnel guys IMHO. (NOW not pre Parcells for sure--those were dark days indeed)
Not sure he always listens to them but neither did Parcells or Jimmy.
Whomever thinks they are the man pulls rank at least some.

I don't think that is our issue right now.
I think Coaching has been questionable but improving, injuries have been an issue that needs to be addressed--more flexibility work perhaps.
But again not sure it is a magic bullet any one place.
Though I know the fan base would love to give this thing a shot minus Jerry as GM there are going to be 30 non Jerry GM'd teams fail to win a SB this year and every other year.
At this point it is more than fair to say he is an impediment and hopefully he sees that.

 

[reddyuta]

Bad defense and rushing attempts go hand in hand,you will tend to throw a lot if your defense is historically bad.

 

[jterrell]

What the Cowboys can learn from the 49ers and Seahawks can't be taught.

The 49ers have 6 pro bowl level players in their front 7. We have one or two. No amount of book learnin' can overcome that.

ROFL, again this is the kind of weird complaint that devalues all complaints and begs of silliness.

Dallas entered 2014 with:
Spencer (Pro Bowler)
Hatcher (spare with pass rush potential)
Ratliff (former All Pro)
Ware (4x All-Pro and 7 consecutive Pro Bowls)

backed up by a 2nd year 3rd round pick and a 2nd year 4th round pick: Crawford and Wilber.

Carter --young, guy coming off a monster season
Sean Lee --franchise caliber LB.
Durant -- legit vet.

So yea Dallas was planning to "make due" with 4 Pro Bowlers" in the front 7.

Then of course there is Jerry saying our biggest priority in the off-season is overhauling the front 7.

----------------

The biggest problem for Jerry and the Cowboys is they'll focus so much on that front 7 they'll forget we super shallow at WR and have only 1 safety that could start for any of the 31 other teams.

 

[Offsides]

blount from New England is a free agent. Would he be the definition of a power back to compliment Murray? Or should the cowboys look for one in 3rd round or after in the draft. The top 2 rounds hopefully will be all defensive line.

 

[jterrell]

blount from New England is a free agent. Would he be the definition of a power back to compliment Murray? Or should the cowboys look for one in 3rd round or after in the draft. The top 2 rounds hopefully will be all defensive line.

there are any number of NFL backs floating around which we could grab if we will simply spend more than the 2nd or 3rd year minimum.

Our RB depth is all young, very cheap players.
At some point you need to see what an actual proven NFL player might look like behind this OL.
Murray is great when he is healthy so you'd like to see him in a tandem imho.

 

[DandyDon1722]

Lot of 'hopes' in that post.

Keep that up and you're gonna wear out your 'H' key!

Lol! Yeah hope is not a strategy.

 

[big dog cowboy]

The problem is we are not very good on offense.

Good luck with that.

 

[DandyDon1722]

agree but paying the wrong guys may be worse than not paying in a league with a salary cap

i am also not convinced that we are paying all the wrong guys, i have truly come around to the notion that the prevalent culture of the team, largely because of the influence of jerry jones, just creates an environment where holding players accountable and running a team with the sort of discipline that bellichick or harbaugh do it might not be possible for the HC

now, some guys are just who they are, witten, sean lee, they are self starters and have a higher degree of self respect, i do i think that on that seattle team or SF team or NE, players like carter would be true difference-makers

JMO

This is a great thread and I don't want to derail it with a Tony comment but in all fairness to him if you read the SI cover story on Romo you would appreciate the thousands of hours he has put in on his own and I believe that's why Witten has his back all the time - he knows a self starter like him when he sees it.

 

[visionary]

This is a great thread and I don't want to derail it with a Tony comment but in all fairness to him if you read the SI cover story on Romo you would appreciate the thousands of hours he has put in on his own and I believe that's why Witten has his back all the time - he knows a self starter like him when he sees it.

i agree with you that it is likely that tony puts in a lot of time
it was not my intention to knock him
my point was that, IMO many players on this team would be better in a different environment

 

[mrmojo]

Texas Sports Insider ‏@TexasInsiders 9m
@Dubuloso @JJT_ESPNDallas Dallas has fewest rushing attempts in a season since 1982 even tho Murray was at 5.2 ypc (good for top 5)

And I believe 1982 was a strike shortened season....so thats really bad.

 

[theSHOW]

Championships start with the trenches. Cowboys aren't going anywhere until they start investing major talent in the OL and DL.

Matter of fact, if we can take care of those this offseason, I wouldn't be surprised if we make it to the playoffs next year even if we don't add anyone at the skill positions. JMO.

Basic fact 101 of modern day football. Build a solid line on offense. Build a solid line on defense. "Championships start with the trenches." I would like to add 1 early draft pick for the budding offensive line. I think every poster on this board wants 2 early picks spent on the defensive front four.

 

[DFWJC]

Actually..

I'd like to see the figures concerning the offense vs. the defense and how the cap looks like that.

Willing to bet its heavily weighted offense..hmmm.

And part of my point is that Jerrah overpays for his players BEFORE they produce.

I bet the salary cap hit for offense and defense are pretty equal...the defense has it's share of contracts (Carr, Ware, Spencer, Ratliff, Mo, Lee...)

 

[percyhoward]

The problem is we are not very good on offense. The stats look good, but they are empty. How many times did the offense sustain drives when we needed it?

When a team starts a drive at their own 20-yard line, what is the chance that they'll score a touchdown? In 2013, the answer to that question was 17.6%. For the average starting point to be the 20, I looked at all drives that began inside the offense's 35. Any closer to a team's own goal line, and the average starting point is inside the 20. Any farther out on the field than the 35, and the average starting point is beyond the 20. In the NFL in 2013, 76% of all drives started inside the offense's 35-yard line. So this is a huge sample size, consisting of 4,531 drives.

When the average team took possession of the ball inside its own 35, it scored a TD 17.6% of the time. The Cowboys' offense scored a TD 24% of the time. That success rate was second only to the Broncos and Saints. So there were only two offenses that were better than the Cowboys at taking the ball from the 20 to the opposite end zone.

But when a team took possession of the ball inside its own 35 against the Dallas defense, it scored a TD 26% of the time. There was only one defense that allowed the opponent to drive the length of the field more often than our defense.

Drives that ended in a touchdown
(Avg. start at offense's 20-yard line)
offense
1st DEN 32%
2nd NO 26%
T3rd DAL 24%
T3rd CHI 24%
5th PHI 22%

defense
28th ATL 23%
29th WAS 23%
30th MIN 25%
31st DAL 26%
32nd CHI 28%

The Bears were right there next to us, on both offense and defense. Guess what their record was.

 

[TNCowboy]

ROFL, again this is the kind of weird complaint that devalues all complaints and begs of silliness.

Dallas entered 2014 with:
Spencer (Pro Bowler)
Hatcher (spare with pass rush potential)
Ratliff (former All Pro)
Ware (4x All-Pro and 7 consecutive Pro Bowls)

backed up by a 2nd year 3rd round pick and a 2nd year 4th round pick: Crawford and Wilber.

Carter --young, guy coming off a monster season
Sean Lee --franchise caliber LB.
Durant -- legit vet.

So yea Dallas was planning to "make due" with 4 Pro Bowlers" in the front 7.

Then of course there is Jerry saying our biggest priority in the off-season is overhauling the front 7.

----------------

The biggest problem for Jerry and the Cowboys is they'll focus so much on that front 7 they'll forget we super shallow at WR and have only 1 safety that could start for any of the 31 other teams.

Have to assume you're joking. Or drunk. I guess in 2012 when most of these guys were playing we had a D similar to the 49ers? Oops, nope, these sad sacks were awful in 2012 also. The Cowboys have had most of those players for a while. Few of them had shown themselves to be anywhere near the level of the SF D. Ratliff hadn't been a pro bowl level player in years. You see, my post was referring to current pro bowl level players, not washed up has beens who are playing for other teams now. Perhaps you meant to list Bob Lilly, Harvey Martin, Charles Haley, and Randy White as well? Comparing players from the past wasn't really the point of my post, but I guess that sailed over your head.

And for some bizarre reason you list Crawford and Wilber, guys who've hardly even seen the field, to support the notion our front 7 is as talented as the 9ers. What?

Sean Lee played about as well as their LBers, but even then, only part time since he spends so much of his time watching from the sidelines, or hampered once he gets his annual major injury.

The only player we had legitimately, consistently playing at that level was Hatcher, and he's probably gone.

The Ware of the last couple years would be the 5th or 6th best player on their D. Probably not even that. But since you're operating from a historical perspective, the Ware of 2007-2011 would fit right in with them.

Can't even imagine why you even listed Durant. Shows how desperately you were grasping to support your ridiculous response. To say nothing of the laughable notion that we should be spending more picks and $ on the secondary. There's no place in the universe you could say what you said above and not get laughed out of the room. Proof's in the pudding. The 49ers had the NFL's most dominant D, and the losers you listed haven't shown anything resembling a dominant D for 5 years, or in most cases, ever.

Absurd posts like yours are what makes CZ worthwhile. If all that were here to read were the same complaints about Jerry Jones or the same homer points over and over again, it would get stale and boring fast. Over the top nonsense like yours make it a great daily read.

 

[Aven8]

When a team starts a drive at their own 20-yard line, what is the chance that they'll score a touchdown? In 2013, the answer to that question was 17.6%. For the average starting point to be the 20, I looked at all drives that began inside the offense's 35. Any closer to a team's own goal line, and the average starting point is inside the 20. Any farther out on the field than the 35, and the average starting point is beyond the 20. In the NFL in 2013, 76% of all drives started inside the offense's 35-yard line. So this is a huge sample size, consisting of 4,531 drives.

When the average team took possession of the ball inside its own 35, it scored a TD 17.6% of the time. The Cowboys' offense scored a TD 24% of the time. That success rate was second only to the Broncos and Saints. So there were only two offenses that were better than the Cowboys at taking the ball from the 20 to the opposite end zone.

But when a team took possession of the ball inside its own 35 against the Dallas defense, it scored a TD 26% of the time. There was only one defense that allowed the opponent to drive the length of the field more often than our defense.

Drives that ended in a touchdown
(Avg. start at offense's 20-yard line)
offense
1st DEN 32%
2nd NO 26%
T3rd DAL 24%
T3rd CHI 24%
5th PHI 22%

defense
28th ATL 23%
29th WAS 23%
30th MIN 25%
31st DAL 26%
32nd CHI 28%

The Bears were right there next to us, on both offense and defense. Guess what their record was.

Our redzone offense is the major improvement this year, and IMO has to do with Cally calling plays over JG. However, when I say that the offense isn't any good, I mean rhythm, philosophy, and the inability to adapt on the fly, and utilize all of our weapons.

That's what drives everybody crazy about JG. Outside of the missed game mgmt issues, it's his offense and we still cannot figure out how capitalize on our players strengths. Remember the two TE offense in TC? What happened to that? We had three healthy TE's all year. Where the hell is Dwayne Harris? The best thing we did this year was getting Beasley finally involved. So what next year Harris, then the next Escobar/Hannah?

It's mind blowing to me why we suck at adapting, game planning, we panic, we throw way too much, etc. Yes the defense was all beat up, but we've had pretty good defenses before, in fact when we went 11-5 with Wade we were pretty darn good, but there was our offense screwing it all up yet again.

 

[Aven8]

You lost me right there.

You lost me when you said our offense was fine.