How badly did we mess up the RB situation?

[Stash]

Did not say it would. Williams in particular has had some good performances, with a less than stellar OL and their backup QB, who might not be any better than Cassel or Weeden.

I realize how crucial Romo is, but to come up with an epic losing streak equalled by only the worst squads in our entire history, logic states that you start looking at other possible reasons for the skid.

Right now, even one win provided by leaning on a run game to steal a victory would have everyone feeling a little differently.

When you lose your QB, the natural tendency is to ride your running game, which we really have not during this time period. We have had some decent performances which honestly could have been better with a better talent. Contrary to what has become the running theme around here, it is not completely impossible to win one game out of seven without your starting QB.

Yeah, but blaming it all on the loss of Romo is easier for fans to take than admitting this team has other problems or - gasp! - that they may have made some bad decisions along the way. The thought is too much for some people to bear.

 

[KJJ]

No rookie rb would of offset the loss of Tony Romo.

A consistent running game certainly would have helped by not having to depend so much on the QB position to win games. If any QB needs help it's a backup.

 

[Pessimist_cowboy]

It's pretty bad but nothing that can't be fixed next year.

 

[noshame]

people began crowding the LOS before Romo left and will continue when he returns. They will challenge us to go deep. If we don't there will be no running game, I'd imagine we'll start out with a dink and dunk to keep people off Tony and shake the rust off. After Carolina we should begin to go 15 to 20 yds down the field.

 

[KJJ]

It's pretty bad but nothing that can't be fixed next year.

We're never able to fix the defense despite adding our 2 top picks and Hardy and nothing has changed.

 

[Bleu Star]

I agree with @Risen Star.

We'll fix it in the offseason folks. No worries. We've excelled at fixing our issues every offseason for the past 20 seasons. All is well folks. There's nothing to see here.

Lovingly Yours,

Baghdad Bob

 

[Pessimist_cowboy]

We never seem to be able to fix the defense we added our 2 top picks and Hardy and nothing has changed.

I know it seems like that ! But bro think about this for a second 10,13,13 those are the point numbers the defense has given up 3 out of last 4 weeks. I think they've improved . With Romo tell me those games aren't blowouts ? I know it's tough when our offense sucks so bad !

 

[KJJ]

They didnt mess up the rb situation at all.

How did you come to that conclusion?

 

[Nightman]

people began crowding the LOS before Romo left and will continue when he returns. They will challenge us to go deep. If we don't there will be no running game, I'd imagine we'll start out with a dink and dunk to keep people off Tony and shake the rust off. After Carolina we should begin to go 15 to 20 yds down the field.

So teams are able to completely shut us down by crowding the LOS. That is sad. We have a monster OL that can't hold off the rush long enough to beat one on ones across the field.

It is funny that whenever I watch the game it looks like every WR is double covered and no one is ever wide open. You would think that would happen more with press man coverage. It sure does happen to us a lot.

 

[Alexander]

And if your an opposing coach, your going to do everything possible to stop the Cowboy's run game, so...

I really don't think they are committing as much to crowding the LOS as much as being supposed. They are pretty much playing us straight up, not a lot of run blitzing and daring us to compete a pass more than a few yards downfield.

 

[Pessimist_cowboy]

So teams are able to completely shut us down by crowding the LOS. That is sad. We have a monster OL that can't hold off the rush long enough to beat one on ones across the field.

It is funny that whenever I watch the game it looks like every WR is double covered and no one is ever wide open. You would think that would happen more with press man coverage. It sure does happen to us a lot.

Our Wide receivers have dissapointed me more than our RB's . Devon street is a waste , williams is a 3rd/4th at best . DEz has had a bad season and cost us the TB game. It's been tough , this team took the cheese nothing but Super Bowl talk in preseason .

 

[RomoFor6]

Everyone keeps saying 8 and 9 in the box. I just don't see it.

If Cassel and Linehan can't shred 9 in the box they should retire.

Are you telling me Sterling Moore completely shut down Dez one on one? Witten, Beasley and TWill can't beat single coverage?

And people think we can go 7-0.

Ehhhmmm ya? Moore completely shut out Dez. TWill hasn't beaten single coverage for the majority of his career. How many catches does he even have this year? He's not an NFL receiver.

 

[Yakuza Rich]

I really don't think they are committing as much to crowding the LOS as much as being supposed. They are pretty much playing us straight up, not a lot of run blitzing and daring us to compete a pass more than a few yards downfield.

The Patriots played 8 in the box on first down. They knew we were going to run the ball. Then they kept 7 in the box on 2nd down just in case we ran and they doubled underneath and dared Cassel to beat them deep which he hardly ever attempted.

The Bucs were lining up their LB's and safeties in the A-Gap. I think the gameplan was obvious, take away the run and they didn't think Cassel could beat them with a quick pass or a pass over the top. To me, Cassel was quite bad in the Tampa game. The O-Line can only block so many players and he couldn't make Tampa pay for crowding the LoS.





YR

 

[Nightman]

Our Wide receivers have dissapointed me more than our RB's . Devon street is a waste , williams is a 3rd/4th at best . DEz has had a bad season and cost us the TB game. It's been tough , this team took the cheese nothing but Super Bowl talk in preseason .

Pro QBs dream about 8 in the box, 9 in the box is like shooting fish in the barrel. How did we go from 30ppg to this and it's not just Romo.

 

[Alexander]

Ehhhmmm ya? Moore completely shut out Dez. TWill hasn't beaten single coverage for the majority of his career. How many catches does he even have this year? He's not an NFL receiver.

Williams just looks like he does not know how to run a lot of route concepts crisply if asked to be on his own without a supporting combination route. He also struggles to get separation. He is much better when he is ad-libbing with Romo, that is where a lot of his big plays have come from.

 

[Pessimist_cowboy]

Pro QBs dream about 8 in the box, 9 in the box is like shooting fish in the barrel. How did we go from 30ppg to this and it's not just Romo.

Im telling you the Wrs have not done their part. This tells me one thing ! Romo makes them look better than they really are !

 

[Yakuza Rich]

Everyone keeps saying 8 and 9 in the box. I just don't see it.

If Cassel and Linehan can't shred 9 in the box they should retire.

Are you telling me Sterling Moore completely shut down Dez one on one? Witten, Beasley and TWill can't beat single coverage?

And people think we can go 7-0.

I don't know, it's right there for people to see. I don't see a lot of 9 in the box, but a lot of 8 in the box or 7 in the box with the LB's up tight. The Tampa game was pretty obvious with them stacking the A-gaps.

The receivers couldn't beat the TB defenders one-on-one because Cassel often times couldn't make the read or get them the ball. Dez didn't play a very good game either. But, Cassel was a larger problem. He wasn't seeing the field and his timing was off all game long.






YR

 

[Alexander]

The Patriots played 8 in the box on first down. They knew we were going to run the ball. Then they kept 7 in the box on 2nd down just in case we ran and they doubled underneath and dared Cassel to beat them deep which he hardly ever attempted.

The Bucs were lining up their LB's and safeties in the A-Gap. I think the gameplan was obvious, take away the run and they didn't think Cassel could beat them with a quick pass or a pass over the top. To me, Cassel was quite bad in the Tampa game. The O-Line can only block so many players and he couldn't make Tampa pay for crowding the LoS.





YR

Teams did similar things last year. We would get 4-5 yards, with Murray falling forward. This year we have tenative backs who get 2-3 yards. That changes the whole dynamic. The dirty yards concept Garrett kept talking about with Murray was not just chatter. It was something they learned to depend on and in the case of this year, forget what buttered the bread last year.

Is it why we have lost seven games straight? Of course not. But in these close games, it has mattered and cannot just be ignored while everyone throws it all into the "No Romo" bucket.

 

[KJJ]

I know it seems like that ! But bro think about this for a second 10,13,13 those are the point numbers the defense has given up 3 out of last 4 weeks. I think they've improved . With Romo tell me those games aren't blowouts ? I know it's tough when our offense sucks so bad !

The defense hasn't given up a lot of points but they've given up a number of plays and some big plays that have cost us games including 2 OT games. Our D never gave our offense an opportunity with the ball in either OT period despite the rules giving teams a chance with the ball provided they don't give up a TD. On Sunday a costly defensive penalty gave Tampa a fresh set of downs inside our one yard line and they proceeded to win the game on the very next play. Heading into last week our defense had a league low of only 4 turnovers....EMBARRASSING! There's no rule that says your offense has to give your defense a big cushion.

Although the Cowboys offense has struggled due to their QB situation and the lack of a consistent running game they've given us the lead in 6 of the Cowboys 7 losses and the defense hasn't been able to protect those leads. The offense has done enough to give us leads but the defense hasn't been able to hold. Seattle would have never reached the heights they have if their defense couldn't make stops in tight games. It's not always about how many points you give up it's about making critical stops when games are on the line.

 

[Yakuza Rich]

Teams did similar things last year. We would get 4-5 yards, with Murray falling forward. This year we have tenative backs who get 2-3 yards. That changes the whole dynamic. The dirty yards concept Garrett kept talking about with Murray was not just chatter. It was something they learned to depend on and in the case of this year, forget what buttered the bread last year.

I agree, Murray (when healthy) is a better back than McFadden. But, it's the ole 'pick your poison' dynamic. If you want to focus in on the run...fine...we'll throw over the top eventually and beat you with the pass. Without Romo, there's nothing there.

The only team that sold out against the run last year was the Eagles and they held Murray to 31 carries for 81 yards while Romo went 22-31 for 265 yards, 3 TD's and 0 INT's in December...in Philly.

Except that Murray doesn't exist this year and it's likely due to him getting 436 total carries last year. And there is little in the way of repercussion of continuing to stack 8 in the box and run blitz this year because of the loss of Romo and Dez.





YR