Improve this and our offense will be dangerous again

[Flamma]

Forgive my ignorance, but I don't think that by complicating things will help us in the redzone. For whatever reason, and from inside the 10, Dak is not good at throwing it into the endzone. Keep in mind I am not solely blaming Dak, I said for whatever reason. That's also the primary reason our run game gets stuffed inside the 10.

Spreading out the offense within that tight space will only cause more chaos within a small area. Between the 10 and 20 yard line, I can see how spreading them out would/could be effective, but most of our problems are inside the 10. I'd rather keep it simple that close to the GL. You want the formation to show run as the primary threat. What would be a huge help is a really good TE.

 

[Whyjerry]

I don’t disagree with your main point. But last year, Zeke had 11 carries for 5 yards inside the ten. This OL was not capable of just imposing its will on opponents inside the ten. The Jumbo blocking packages Garrett has favored over the years have not been effective the last two seasons. I like running the ball too but some new wrinkles are needed to open things up.

To me a power running game is as much mindset as it is design. The OL was quite capable of playing big boy football but lost a lot of their edge with the repeated attempts to pass the ball or be too cute in the red zone. Same applies to Zeke. I also blame poor tempo for the problems. Dallas takes too much time to snap the ball. Rarely do they think attack and speed up the tempo. Good modern offensives do this all the time. Dallas did not.

 

[cowboyblue22]

the oc is responsible for this some but so is the qb you have to be able to have a really good passing game in the red zone

 

[Stash]

Good stuff from Sturm. I’m not a subscriber to the Athletic but I heard Bob Sturm talk about this yesterday on the Ticket. Sturm is usually very insightful.

Strum is one of the best in my opinion. He puts in the work and supports his beliefs. I respect that.

 

[TexasHillbilly]

Here’s what really held the 2018 Cowboys back, and what Kellen Moore’s 2019 offense must solve – Bob Sturm, The Athletic

Another deep dive from the Sturminator into the single biggest challenge facing new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore.

A branch off the red-zone tree makes them look even worse: No team (32nd) was more inefficient at scoring touchdowns after a first-and-goal than the Dallas Cowboys.

You mean to tell me with this running back and this offensive line (not to mention Prescottand Cooper) Dallas can’t punch in a first-and-goal? The Cowboys scored touchdowns after 52% of first-and-goals. The Saints led the league at 85%. Do you know how many points that accounts for? Seven different NFL teams were over 80% in this category! Minnesota was 19th in the league, and their rate was 75%!

If league average is 76% and you sat at 52% in a scenario you encounter at least 25 times per season, that means you left between six and eight touchdowns on the field last year. Let’s meet in the middle and call it seven. Since the Cowboys were so bad here, we can easily suggest that they kicked six field goals for 18 points, with the last attempt including a stopped fourth down or takeaway. That is a 31 point difference, roughly two points per game. Two points per game would vault a team from the 22nd-best scoring offense (where they finished the year) to about the 15th-best without changing a single other thing.

That illustrates how vital it is to be efficient in the red zone and inside the 10. You must take your chances and make them count. Yes, the Cowboys need a more explosive and diverse attack and that is being addressed in a number of ways. But the clearest and most obvious reason Scott Linehan was fired was that this offense was better at scoring from midfield than it was at scoring from the eight-yard line. And that is what Kellen Moore has been tasked with fixing.

https://***BLOCKED***/973039/2019/0...d-what-kellen-moores-2019-offense-must-solve/

Question is, can the whiz kid Moore make it happen?

 

[Stash]

Question is, can the whiz kid Moore make it happen?

I'm optimistic, if for no other reason that the fact that Linehan set the bar so low.

 

[glimmerman]

Hoping our new OC can shake some things up and help this team punch it in.

 

[glimmerman]

I'm optimistic, if for no other reason that the fact that Linehan set the bar so low.

I am leaning towards agreeing with you on Linehan. We are going to see soon. If Moore comes in and makes us less predictable and it totally turns this Offense around then how mad are we and the FO gonna be that they didn’t fire him earlier. He was on his way out at the bye week last year and they changed there minds.

 

[Future]

It didn't show his last year here.

He was absolutely still being doubled in the red zone. This was the only example I could find quick, but it was always the case.


There's also this:

 

[Stash]

I am leaning towards agreeing with you on Linehan. We are going to see soon. If Moore comes in and makes us less predictable and it totally turns this Offense around then how mad are we and the FO gonna be that they didn’t fire him earlier. He was on his way out at the bye week last year and they changed there minds.

Given the position talent of the players on this offensive roster, they should be an absolute matchup nightmare for opponents. The fact that they struggled to score is an absolute indictment of Scott Linehan and his abilities. And I think a big reason why he remains unemployed.

Any coordinator with faith in themselves should be chomping at the bit to work with these players.

 

[percyhoward]

It didn't show his last year here.

Of course it showed. It's not hard to identify the season the team was suddenly without Dez.

Red Zone TD%
2016 5th
2017 7th
2018 26th

 

[reddyuta]

I would have both Zeke and Pollard in the backfield,we can take advantage if they stack the box.

 

[Future]

Of course it showed. It's not hard to identify the season the team was suddenly without Dez.

Red Zone TD%
2016 5th
2017 7th
2018 26th

I was too lazy to look this up, thank you lol.

 

[percyhoward]

Even after the Cooper trade, our offense finished 22nd in scoring last year.

After the Cooper trade, we were 2nd only to the Falcons in TD scored from outside the red zone. Unfortunately, Cooper has never been a red zone threat. In his time in Oakland, the Raiders had a total of 74 red zone receiving touchdowns. Cooper only accounted for 8 of them -- in 52 games.

 

[Sydla]

First and goal on the 5. Zeke is on the team. Ton of capital spent on the OL. Team lines up in a spread formation and throws 2 fades routes.

Line up and run it between the tackles. Zeke almost never gets taken down for loss or no gain. Bootleg or get Dak space to run it. It is very simple.

The whole red zone philosophy needed an overhaul.

Its not that easy, especially against quality defenses. They sell out against us inside the red zone in terms of the run. They would rather force Dak to beat us with his arm than let Elliott plow them.

The stats seem to back it up:

YPC inside the Red Zone for TD leaders in 2018:

Gurley - 3.2
Kamara - 3.5
Connor - 2.7
Henry - 3.5
Barkley - 1.8
Gordon - 4.0
Howard - 3.2
Carson - 2.5

Elliott was at 2.4 in the red zone. Not a perfect measure but it gives you an idea that Elliott isn't exactly plowing teams in the red zone like some think and that we should just force feed him the ball and all will be great. Until Dak is a more consistent threat in the passing game, teams will continue to load up on Elliott. They could also run Dak more than they have but that comes with added injury risk obviously.

Fixing our red zone issues goes beyond just handing the ball to Elliott more. Dak has to be sharper down there, they have to more creative in their play calls and play design as well. So it's not all on Dak.

 

[Future]

Dak has to be sharper down there, they have to more creative in their play calls and play design as well. So it's not all on Dak.

This is #1. With nobody to command a double team, defenses are just going to stack the box. Until Dak consistently makes throws into tight windows, there aren't going to be opportunities to exploit in the run game.

 

[percyhoward]

Until Dak is a more consistent threat in the passing game, teams will continue to load up on Elliott.

And yet, we ranked 5th and 7th in red zone TD% the previous two years with the same QB.

What we really miss is a legit red zone receiving threat. That's not Cooper's game.

Red Zone TD catches in Dallas, 2014-17
(Dez Bryant's 54 games)
Bryant 21
others 34

Red Zone TD catches in Oakland, 2015-18
(Amari Cooper's 52 games)
Cooper 6
others 47

 

[Diehardblues]

Losing the threat of Dez and Witten in Red-zone was huge.

 

[CouchCoach]

Not going to be proficient at scoring TD's in the RZ when you're concerned about losing the FG attempt. That 'we gotta come away with something" thinking causes this team's chances to dwindle and plays into the hands of the defense.

 

[Doomsday101]

Redzone scoring no doubt needs to improve but quick strike ability I think would allow this offense to reach another level. Dallas is a great running team and often will force defense to put the extra man in the box but I think the offense has to be better hitting those down field quick strike passes