How Bad is the Running Game?

Gangsta Spanksta

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Somehow that is Dak's fault.
That's all on Jerry, if you going to give Dak the contract you need to get the free agents to win now. He did two contradictory moves. Dak on the other hand, certainly isn't living up to the contract either. Looking at how slow he looks, are you saying that Dak wouldn't look old and slow with a better running game? Would that somehow stop him from taking the sack once the defense brings on pressure?
 

plasticman

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Don't think the Cowboys run yardage is so low because they have to abandon the run, instead passing in order to catch up. The Cowboys are pass happy right out the gate.

In every game, the Cowboys have passed far more than they have run in the first half. They passed 71% of the time against the Giants and 68% of the time against the Steelers. They passed 68% of the time in the first half against the Saints and 75% against the Lions.

The average for the percentage of plays in which the Cowboys pass in the 1st half is 65.9% or about two thirds of the time. This is a very dangerous proportion when you think about the health of your QB.

Interestingly, the 10 QB's with the highest passer rating is averaging 29 pass attempts a game whereas the bottom ten is averaging 34 passes a game. The QB's that aren't required to throw as much probably has a good running attack. Not only do they not have to throw as much, they also do not have to force anything. Hence the higher passer rating.

Tony Romo's best season as a passer was 2014. He averaged the least passing attempts per game in his career. it was the same season Murray broke the Cowboys single season record for rushing yardage.

It is imperative that the Cowboys not make the same mistake next year. They must double down and sign a veteran RB and they must draft a RB....or two.

Meanwhile this offense is extremely one dimensional and it's a very narrow dimension.
 

fivetwos

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Jerry at the post draft PC: “ I want to see what Zeke Elliott can do as RB1.”

Yes…he said that.

Then after four or so games: “we are saving him, and we should.”

The guy has flat out no clue, and the kid is no better.
 

Sheepherder

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Its almost as bad as our GM'ing

It just hasn't been bad near as long.
Don't think the Cowboys run yardage is so low because they have to abandon the run, instead passing in order to catch up. The Cowboys are pass happy right out the gate.

In every game, the Cowboys have passed far more than they have run in the first half. They passed 71% of the time against the Giants and 68% of the time against the Steelers. They passed 68% of the time in the first half against the Saints and 75% against the Lions.

The average for the percentage of plays in which the Cowboys pass in the 1st half is 65.9% or about two thirds of the time. This is a very dangerous proportion when you think about the health of your QB.

Interestingly, the 10 QB's with the highest passer rating is averaging 29 pass attempts a game whereas the bottom ten is averaging 34 passes a game. The QB's that aren't required to throw as much probably has a good running attack. Not only do they not have to throw as much, they also do not have to force anything. Hence the higher passer rating.

Tony Romo's best season as a passer was 2014. He averaged the least passing attempts per game in his career. it was the same season Murray broke the Cowboys single season record for rushing yardage.

It is imperative that the Cowboys not make the same mistake next year. They must double down and sign a veteran RB and they must draft a RB....or two.

Meanwhile this offense is extremely one dimensional and it's a very narrow dimension.
It all makes for a losing team. Who runs the team?
 

nalam

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Somehow that is Dak's fault.
Yes, since he wanted extension, otherwise we could have brought Henry , but I’m puzzled at OL , no push in run game with Guyton, Smith, Beebe and Steele , Martin you give some leeway as it’s almost curtain time
 

Whyjerry

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In 7 games, out of 152 running attempts, the Cowboys have 10 plays that went 10 or more yards. Four of them belonged to a WR. The longest run from scrimmage so far this season is 13 yards.

Five RB's have now carried the ball for the Cowboys. Only one of them averages more than 3.1 yards a carry.

In the 1st half of games on 1st and ten, no Cowboys RB averages more than 3 yards a carry. Again, we are talking about 1st and ten only.

Inside the redzone, the Cowboys average .6 yards a carry.....as in six tenths of a yard......as in less than 2 feet....as in less than 22 inches.....a carry.

There are 9 RB's drafted in the past three years, in the 4th round or lower, that are currently averaging 5 or more yards per carry this season.

Currently, the Cowboys are ranked 32nd in rushing yards, 32nd in average yards per run, 31st in rushing TD's and 28th in average length of time per drive.

About a third of all Cowboys running plays by RB's went for 1 yard or less.

Only the Cowboys 1-15, 1989 season had fewer rushing yards after 7 games.

Only the Cowboys 2005 season averaged less yards per carry after 7 games
We like our guys.
 

Creeper

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Two guys were talking about how bad the Cowboys situations is, being last in rushing offense and last in rushing defense. I think one guy was Alex Smith the ex-QB of the Chiefs and Commanders. They also mentioned the Ravens are #1 in Rush offense and run defense. But hey talked about how hard it is to do what Dallas is doing this year being worst in both categories. They also agreed the problem is not getting fixed this year.

What irks me about this is coming out of the Green Bay game we all agreed that the Cowboys needed to fix their run defense, and get a better running game. If Jerry actually tried to improve both categories and the Cowboys are in this situation, it is a historically bad performance for a GM. What GM who is not the owner of the team would survive this performance?
 

Blast From The Past

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In 7 games, out of 152 running attempts, the Cowboys have 10 plays that went 10 or more yards. Four of them belonged to a WR. The longest run from scrimmage so far this season is 13 yards.

Five RB's have now carried the ball for the Cowboys. Only one of them averages more than 3.1 yards a carry.

In the 1st half of games on 1st and ten, no Cowboys RB averages more than 3 yards a carry. Again, we are talking about 1st and ten only.

Inside the redzone, the Cowboys average .6 yards a carry.....as in six tenths of a yard......as in less than 2 feet....as in less than 22 inches.....a carry.

There are 9 RB's drafted in the past three years, in the 4th round or lower, that are currently averaging 5 or more yards per carry this season.

Currently, the Cowboys are ranked 32nd in rushing yards, 32nd in average yards per run, 31st in rushing TD's and 28th in average length of time per drive.

About a third of all Cowboys running plays by RB's went for 1 yard or less.

Only the Cowboys 1-15, 1989 season had fewer rushing yards after 7 games.

Only the Cowboys 2005 season averaged less yards per carry after 7 games
To be fair and unbiased where do you see the oline making holes for these backs to run up in to? Barry freakin Sanders himself would be hard pressed to run behind this poorly coached and poorly performing oline. But this oline needs fixed and it has been a problem more than just this year. So it was left to fester and we suffer because of it. Sadly so. Thanks Jerry!
 

plasticman

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To be fair and unbiased where do you see the oline making holes for these backs to run up in to? Barry freakin Sanders himself would be hard pressed to run behind this poorly coached and poorly performing oline. But this oline needs fixed and it has been a problem more than just this year. So it was left to fester and we suffer because of it. Sadly so. Thanks Jerry!
I agree 100% that the line is weak right now. How can they be a cohesive unit when two of their starters are rookies and completely unfamiliar with their teammates.

To be effective, an offensive line must have cohesion, the ability to perform in sync with each other. That takes more than a single season. The best offensive lines have a core of 3 or 4 guys that have played together for several seasons. They know what each other will do under certain circumstances.

However, no matter how effective an offensive line is, the RB must have the ability to know how to use the line to his advantage. He must have the vision, the escapability and the power to maximize the advantage of his blocking.

Despite having three All-Pro O-lineman in 2015, the same ones that helped DeMarco Murray set a new single season rushing record for the Cowboys in the previous season, Joseph Randle was completely ineffective.

However, the next season in 2016, those same O-linemen helped a 2nd Cowboys running back in three seasons to lead the league in rushing.

There are at least three aspects to the success of a running game. They are the ability of the RB, the ability of the O-line and the gameplan prepared by the coaches. All three of these aspects are not at an acceptable level for the Cowboys even before the season began.

The frustrating thing is, it didn't have to be this way.
 

StarOfGlory

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Don't think the Cowboys run yardage is so low because they have to abandon the run, instead passing in order to catch up. The Cowboys are pass happy right out the gate.

In every game, the Cowboys have passed far more than they have run in the first half. They passed 71% of the time against the Giants and 68% of the time against the Steelers. They passed 68% of the time in the first half against the Saints and 75% against the Lions.

The average for the percentage of plays in which the Cowboys pass in the 1st half is 65.9% or about two thirds of the time. This is a very dangerous proportion when you think about the health of your QB.

Interestingly, the 10 QB's with the highest passer rating is averaging 29 pass attempts a game whereas the bottom ten is averaging 34 passes a game. The QB's that aren't required to throw as much probably has a good running attack. Not only do they not have to throw as much, they also do not have to force anything. Hence the higher passer rating.
Let's see if this is the case:

QBR Leaders
1. Burrow -- 28th rushing (3-5)
2. Jackson -- 1st rushing (5-3)
3. Murray -- 7th rushing (4-4)
4. Allen -- 12th rushing (6-2)
5. Daniels -- 3rd rushing (6-2)
6. Hurts -- 2nd rushing (5-2)
7. Mahomes -- 13th rushing (7-0)
8. Lawrence -- 16th rushing (2-6)
9. Purdy -- 4th rushing (4-4)
10. Cousins -- 15th rushing (5-3)

Nine of the ten QBR leaders have a rushing attack that is at league average or above. Strangely, the outlier is Burrow, the QB with the highest QBR. The three best rushing teams have a good/stud RB and a QB that can run.

Just for fun... 23. Prescott -- 32nd rushing (3-4)

On another note, Burrow has a crap o-line, barely any rushing attack, can't keep both his star receivers healthy at the same time--the man needs a new team. It's amazing he is #1 in QBR.
 
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plasticman

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Let's see if this is the case:

QBR Leaders
1. Burrow -- 28th rushing (3-5)
2. Jackson -- 1st rushing (5-3)
3. Murray -- 7th rushing (4-4)
4. Allen -- 12th rushing (6-2)
5. Daniels -- 3rd rushing (6-2)
6. Hurts -- 2nd rushing (5-2)
7. Mahomes -- 13th rushing (7-0)
8. Lawrence -- 16th rushing (2-6)
9. Purdy -- 4th rushing (4-4)
10. Cousins -- 15th rushing (5-3)

Nine of the ten QBR leaders have a rushing attack that is at league average or above. Strangely, the outlier is Burrow, the QB with the highest QBR. The three best rushing teams have a good/stud RB and a QB that can run.

Just for fun... 23. Prescott -- 32nd rushing (3-4)

On another note, Burrow has a crap o-line, barely any rushing attack, can't keep both his star receivers healthy at the same time--the man needs a new team. It's amazing he is #1 in QBR.
They have a successful running QB because the opponent defense cannot dedicate the resources to prevent them due to their focus on the high quality RB.

Do you think Jackson and Hurts would be able to run the ball successfully with Zeke as their RB? A fake handoff is far more effective using Barkley or Henry.
 

StarOfGlory

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They have a successful running QB because the opponent defense cannot dedicate the resources to prevent them due to their focus on the high quality RB.

Do you think Jackson and Hurts would be able to run the ball successfully with Zeke as their RB? A fake handoff is far more effective using Barkley or Henry.
Not as well, but they ran just fine the last few years without Henry or Barkley. But unlike us, they have an effective o-line in front of them. Switch Philly's or Detroit's o-line with ours and I think our running game improves by 10 places.
 

CowboysFaninHouston

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............the cowboys have the second-worst explosive run percentage at 6.6%, are last in total explosive runs with 10, and have no runs over 15 yards all season (shocking!!) The team has only averaged 3.5 yards per rush or lower in a single season, 1960, over 60 years ago.
 

Whyjerry

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............the cowboys have the second-worst explosive run percentage at 6.6%, are last in total explosive runs with 10, and have no runs over 15 yards all season (shocking!!) The team has only averaged 3.5 yards per rush or lower in a single season, 1960, over 60 years ago.
Just stop with all those stats. Jerry says he’s got this.
 

oldschoolfan

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In 7 games, out of 152 running attempts, the Cowboys have 10 plays that went 10 or more yards. Four of them belonged to a WR. The longest run from scrimmage so far this season is 13 yards.

Five RB's have now carried the ball for the Cowboys. Only one of them averages more than 3.1 yards a carry.

In the 1st half of games on 1st and ten, no Cowboys RB averages more than 3 yards a carry. Again, we are talking about 1st and ten only.

Inside the redzone, the Cowboys average .6 yards a carry.....as in six tenths of a yard......as in less than 2 feet....as in less than 22 inches.....a carry.

There are 9 RB's drafted in the past three years, in the 4th round or lower, that are currently averaging 5 or more yards per carry this season.

Currently, the Cowboys are ranked 32nd in rushing yards, 32nd in average yards per run, 31st in rushing TD's and 28th in average length of time per drive.

About a third of all Cowboys running plays by RB's went for 1 yard or less.

Only the Cowboys 1-15, 1989 season had fewer rushing yards after 7 games.

Only the Cowboys 2005 season averaged less yards per carry after 7 games
It starts with the O-Line… Zack isn’t getting the push he used to have and overall… no dominance…. Right now, the Lions have the best O-Line….
 

DuncanIso

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It's simple people... We can't block anybody. At least not in the scheme we are currently using. We continue to try and force all these huge offensive linemen to play twinkletoes with zone blocking schemes instead of lining 'em up and punching the defense in the mouth until they give in the way teams do to us. We continue to run delays, draws and shotgun handoffs to a one cut downhill power back. We also refuse to allow the backs or the line for that matter to get into any sort of rhythm in the run game. We almost never run the ball on back to back plays and we almost never give it to the same back on back to back plays. It's mind boggling. I am convinced that we simply don't WANT to the run the ball as much as we CAN'T run the ball.
Truth!
 
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