Gotta tighten this up

[Doomsdayblitz]

With the 'Boys off to such a great start, it's easy to overlook some kinks in their armor. However, there is one thing they can do to . For several years now, they continuously hike the ball with 5 seconds or less on the play clock-many times 1-2 seconds. The play where Romo pulled the Houdini act against JJ Watt to throw a TD pass could've been a disaster had Romo's spidey sense not tingled. With 5 seconds left on the play clock, Watt knew that as soon as Frederick's head came up, the ball would have to be snapped. Another play, they had to call a time out to avoid a delay of game penalty.

If this offense could get the call in & be up to the LOS with 12-15 seconds on the clock, it would open so much more up for Romo. He could hard count, audible, etc., with time to spare. The defense couldn't just tee off like they have done so often, with time running out. I believe both the coaches and Romo need to tighten this up if they're going to have a chance against the Seahawks.

 

[dragon_mikal]

The more I look at that JJ Watt play the more I think he was offside. I mean I think if that had been Ware a flag woulda been called.

Still...they need to get the ball off a bit quicker IMHO.

 

[jazzcat22]

The more I look at that JJ Watt play the more I think he was offside. I mean I think if that had been Ware a flag woulda been called.

Still...they need to get the ball off a bit quicker IMHO.

He was very close to it, it not offsides, that's for sure.
Still drives me nuts when the play clock gets that low.

 

[Reality]

In years past, I would have agreed with you, but this year changes that thinking because the Cowboys have changed their philosophy. Because they are a run-first team now and the defense, while improved, is still flawed in some areas, their strategy has been to use the offense to help the defense. Considering the Cowboys are running the ball a lot more and that Romo's completion percentage is in the high 60% range, that means the game clock is usually counting down when they come to the line and waiting each time until the play clock nears zero helps run time off the clock and keep's the other team's offense off the field.

You are right though that it hurts in some cases which is why as great as Murray has been, he's had a lot of negative yard plays where he got hit yards deep in the backfield. That said, it's still the best strategy to control the clock as much as possible. The Cowboys have done a great job at that this season and I hope it continues.

 

[Richmond Cowboy]

I think the notion that taking the play clock to 5 seconds helps the defense is overplayed. DL are looking for tells, twitches, and ball movement to try to jump the snap. I doubt they are looking at the play clock trying to jump the snap.

 

[Idgit]

I think we need to consider a We Need to Stop Snapping the Ball as the Play Clock Winds Down Zone.

I'll just say what I always say to it, which is that it can't be something the team just hasn't noticed through 3 different head coaches and 4-5 different OC throughout Tony's tenure. And if it's something we've noticed and never changed, it's a safe bet that the team believes whatever benefit the bad guys get from us snapping the ball later is offset by a greater or equal benefit to the offense.

Fans just don't like it because it seems like an unnecessary risk to see the play clock clicking down to 1 second. And then the occasional penalty also seems like an unnecessary foul. Personally, I believe a bunch of big plays come off of buying Tony that extra time before the snap, so I'm perfectly ok with it and don't want it to change unless Tony wants it to change for some good reason.

 

[xwalker]

With the 'Boys off to such a great start, it's easy to overlook some kinks in their armor. However, there is one thing they can do to . For several years now, they continuously hike the ball with 5 seconds or less on the play clock-many times 1-2 seconds. The play where Romo pulled the Houdini act against JJ Watt to throw a TD pass could've been a disaster had Romo's spidey sense not tingled. With 5 seconds left on the play clock, Watt knew that as soon as Frederick's head came up, the ball would have to be snapped. Another play, they had to call a time out to avoid a delay of game penalty.

If this offense could get the call in & be up to the LOS with 12-15 seconds on the clock, it would open so much more up for Romo. He could hard count, audible, etc., with time to spare. The defense couldn't just tee off like they have done so often, with time running out. I believe both the coaches and Romo need to tighten this up if they're going to have a chance against the Seahawks.

FYI - The saying is "a chink in the armor".

The play is coming in with plenty of time. Romo intentionally runs the clock down so that the defense can't make any last second alignment changes.

They did have a delay of game, but it came after a timeout. It appeared that the play clock started much earlier than Romo expected. I'm not sure exactly how they determine when to start the play clock coming out of a time out.