Improve this and our offense will be dangerous again

[MCMetal69]

This is the one area where we really miss Dez ; he truly was great at the back shoulder fade , as I remember about 20 of those type TD catches alone performed by him...................

 

[Bobhaze]

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.

It’s not complicated to have a variety of red zone formations. The 4 teams that were in the conf championships- Pats, Chiefs, Rams and Saints- all ran empty backfield spread sets in the red zone very effectively all year.

Our stagnant red zone offense has been the biggest execution problem this team has had for two straight years. The Jumbo packages that Garrett loves are the easiest to stop because the defense has less field and less weapons to worry about. It’s not that complicated.

 

[Bobhaze]

This is the one area where we really miss Dez ; he truly was great at the back shoulder fade , as I remember about 20 of those type TD catches alone performed by him...................

He was great at that until 2015. Not so much after that.

 

[MCMetal69]

He was great at that until 2015. Not so much after that.

Because his QB up until 2016 was better at throwing that pattern.....................

 

[Bobhaze]

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.

Absolute truth here. The closer we get to the end zone, the more Garrett’s fear of losing points ends up costing us points because the aggressiveness that got us in the red zone is suddenly gone. Playing not to lose is Garrett’s specialty.

 

[kskboys]

Great stuff.

 

[Flamma]

It’s not complicated to have a variety of red zone formations. The 4 teams that were in the conf championships- Pats, Chiefs, Rams and Saints- all ran empty backfield spread sets in the red zone very effectively all year.

Our stagnant red zone offense has been the biggest execution problem this team has had for two straight years. The Jumbo packages that Garrett loves are the easiest to stop because the defense has less field and less weapons to worry about. It’s not that complicated.

Ok let me get this straight. If the Cowboys have the ball 1st and 10 from the 5 yard line, are you suggesting spreading out the offense?

 

[CowboysFaninHouston]

It’s not complicated to have a variety of red zone formations. The 4 teams that were in the conf championships- Pats, Chiefs, Rams and Saints- all ran empty backfield spread sets in the red zone very effectively all year.

Our stagnant red zone offense has been the biggest execution problem this team has had for two straight years. The Jumbo packages that Garrett loves are the easiest to stop because the defense has less field and less weapons to worry about. It’s not that complicated.

when you have a mobile QB like Dak, running a spread formation forces the defense to spread.....and provide running lanes for the QB....

 

[CouchCoach]

when you have a mobile QB like Dak, running a spread formation forces the defense to spread.....and provide running lanes for the QB....

Even QB's that can't run, and he can in a straight line, gain good yardage utilizing the spread in college. I watched one team last year, might have been one of those FL teams, that took the spread literally and lined WR's 3 yards from the out of bounds, crazy looking but effective because the D was forced into single coverage.

The value of Dez back in the day was the matchup and good OC's are very good at that in the RZ and I never quite understood why Beasley wasn't the real target in the RZ because he was a real problem to cover.

New people at the helm now so we'll see but one of the real advantages I see is an OC not long out of college himself speaking the QB's language.

Garrett grew up with Turner's offense that was so simple they used to say the Cowboys could tell the defense the play and they couldn't stop it because it was man on man battles but the talent level in the league is so close now, no team can just line up and say beat your man. Need some tomfoolery and shenanigans in the backfield. I think Moore's got some shenanigans in him.

 

[Sarge]

Start giving the ball to the best rb in the league when you’re one the 2 yard line might help.

 

[percyhoward]

He was great at that until 2015. Not so much after that.

Because his QB up until 2016 was better at throwing that pattern.....................

Bryant ranked 6th among WR in red zone TD in 2016-17.

Top 10 red zone TD
Nelson 16
Adams 14
MThomas 12
Landry 11
Crabtree 11
Bryant 10
ABrown 10
Evans 10
Baldwin 9
Fitzgerald 9

Dez was a big reason the Cowboys' red zone offense ranked 5th and 7th in TD% those seasons.

 

[Teague31]

It will be interesting to see the final roster. If we only keep 3 TE (Witten, Jarwin and Schultz) I think it will be a good indication that Moore is going to spread it out

 

[Bobhaze]

Start giving the ball to the best rb in the league when you’re one the 2 yard line might help.

I agree that Zeke should get the ball, but something has to improve. Last year inside the 10 yeard line, he had 11 carries for 5 yards.

 

[Bobhaze]

Ok let me get this straight. If the Cowboys have the ball 1st and 10 from the 5 yard line, are you suggesting spreading out the offense?

Maybe. The chiefs did that last year a ton. So did the rams. It doesnt have to be every posession inside the 10, but this offense was the most predictable, easy to defend in the red zone because they do not force defenses to cover the whole field.

 

[GMO415]

I agree Bob. Can't wait to see the Boy Genius at work. I'm even thinking about drafting Coop on my FFL.

 

[buybuydandavis]

Scoring TDs in the red zone is a critical success component of teams who win. Last year, the Cowboys scored a TD only 48% of the time it was in the red zone. That was 29th in the league in 2018. The league average for red zone TD scoring in 2018 was about 62%. Even after the Cooper trade, our offense finished 22nd in scoring last year.

That MUST improve if we are going to compete for a championship.

What’s even more amazing is even with the best RB in football, and the best running NFL QB in the red zone (yes Dak haters, the last 3 yrs Dak has been the best red zone running QB- even better than Cam Newton) the Cowboys have not been good in the red zone since 2016. And its even more startling when you consider, we finished 32nd- dead last in the league- in scoring TDs from a first and goal situation.

Here’s some interesting notes about WHAT was happening in the red zone and why most problems are mostly on Scott Linehan and Garrett:

• On first, second or third and goal situations inside the ten last year, Zeke had 11 carries for 5 yards.
• Dak averages 4.4 yards a carry inside the ten. That’s the best avg per carry of any player who ran the ball last yr inside the ten yl and yet, Linehan rarely called his number.
• Pass plays inside the ten were run mostly from Jumbo TE packages, and the best route runners were on the sideline.

So how can this be fixed?

• Spread out. Occasionally run a 5 Wide empty backfield using Zeke as a wide out which forces the defense to respect that you have passing options, or run a 4 WR set with Zeke in back field. Again forcing the defense to have multiple things to worry about. Dak was deadly as a runner from the empty back set.
• Just a side note on the empty backfield sets- Dak has scored 5 TDs and 3 two point conversions from this set. It’s almost unstoppable for defenses yet Linehan almost never used it in the red zone.
• Stop always going into the “Jumbo” TE package, which makes it easier for defenses to stop the run game inside the ten because they can sell out against the run and have very little area to cover receivers.
• The best offenses in the NFL last year- Rams, Chiefs, Saints, etc, ran spread formations more than half the time inside the ten.

The bottom line is this: If we want to take the next step in being relevant in January, we must improve our red zone offense performance. That’s going to fall mostly on the young shoulders of Kellen Moore. Hopefully he’s learned some things about what NOT to do in the red zone from Scott Linehan. And let’s hope Head Coach Vanilla doesn’t hinder the creativity of his OC.

Jumbo is fine if we actually go Jumbo. We go jumbo with 250-260 TEs who don't block that well. That's a loser. Go jumbo with beef.

Hill at FB, where he has played in college. If we don't trade Collins, put Williams in as a blocking TE. Maybe Rico if he continues to improve.

300lb FB with power, 6 quality olinemen, 3 of which are perennial pro bowlers, a 280 TE who should be able to post up. Then add the best goal line running QB and RB.

Probably keep Cooper on the field because it would be tough to cover him one on one.

It should be a cake walk.

As for Linehan not calling Dak's number, it's fair to wonder whether that comes from management wanted to preserve Dak.

Teach Dak a little blocking.

Dak is a massive advantage near the goal line. As is Zeke. As should be the oline this year.

 

[percyhoward]

Start giving the ball to the best rb in the league when you’re one the 2 yard line might help.

Dallas TD from inside opp 5-yd line, 2018
Elliott runs 36% (5 of 14)
all other plays 44% (12 of 27)

Success Rate
Zeke runs inside the 10-yd line
2018 40% (10 of 25)
2017 65% (13 of 20)
2016 67% (16 of 24)

 

[MojaveJT]

Dallas TD from inside opp 5-yd line, 2018
Elliott runs 36% (5 of 14)
all other plays 44% (12 of 27)

Success Rate
Zeke runs inside the 10-yd line
2018 40% (10 of 25)
2017 65% (13 of 20)
2016 67% (16 of 24)

As much as I want to give the ball to Zeke in those situations, everyone and their mom knows we’re going to run it down the middle. Hence the low success rate.

I don’t blame it all on Zeke and the Oline when the defense basically knows what we’re doing.

We need some new looks and to spread out the defense in the red zone. It will give Zeke room to run and will also have the look to throw if needed.

 

[ESisback]

Scoring TDs in the red zone is a critical success component of teams who win. Last year, the Cowboys scored a TD only 48% of the time it was in the red zone. That was 29th in the league in 2018. The league average for red zone TD scoring in 2018 was about 62%. Even after the Cooper trade, our offense finished 22nd in scoring last year.

That MUST improve if we are going to compete for a championship.

What’s even more amazing is even with the best RB in football, and the best running NFL QB in the red zone (yes Dak haters, the last 3 yrs Dak has been the best red zone running QB- even better than Cam Newton) the Cowboys have not been good in the red zone since 2016. And its even more startling when you consider, we finished 32nd- dead last in the league- in scoring TDs from a first and goal situation.

Here’s some interesting notes about WHAT was happening in the red zone and why most problems are mostly on Scott Linehan and Garrett:

• On first, second or third and goal situations inside the ten last year, Zeke had 11 carries for 5 yards.
• Dak averages 4.4 yards a carry inside the ten. That’s the best avg per carry of any player who ran the ball last yr inside the ten yl and yet, Linehan rarely called his number.
• Pass plays inside the ten were run mostly from Jumbo TE packages, and the best route runners were on the sideline.

So how can this be fixed?

• Spread out. Occasionally run a 5 Wide empty backfield using Zeke as a wide out which forces the defense to respect that you have passing options, or run a 4 WR set with Zeke in back field. Again forcing the defense to have multiple things to worry about. Dak was deadly as a runner from the empty back set.
• Just a side note on the empty backfield sets- Dak has scored 5 TDs and 3 two point conversions from this set. It’s almost unstoppable for defenses yet Linehan almost never used it in the red zone.
• Stop always going into the “Jumbo” TE package, which makes it easier for defenses to stop the run game inside the ten because they can sell out against the run and have very little area to cover receivers.
• The best offenses in the NFL last year- Rams, Chiefs, Saints, etc, ran spread formations more than half the time inside the ten.

The bottom line is this: If we want to take the next step in being relevant in January, we must improve our red zone offense performance. That’s going to fall mostly on the young shoulders of Kellen Moore. Hopefully he’s learned some things about what NOT to do in the red zone from Scott Linehan. And let’s hope Head Coach Vanilla doesn’t hinder the creativity of his OC.

Head Coach Vanilla made me spit coffee!

 

[percyhoward]

I don’t blame it all on Zeke and the Oline when the defense basically knows what we’re doing.

I don't think I even blame it at all on Zeke.