Improving our offense- Simple advice from Warren Sharp

[Bobhaze]

There's a time to sit on a lead and a time to come out a'gunnin'. We have no clue as to which is which.

The teams that are winning Lombardi’s don’t stop being aggressive with the lead. Honestly they all have had better HCs.

 

[kskboys]

Some good points here. I agree with you about play action.

But I disagree about “just doing what you do best” and “just execute” those plays. That worked in the 90s when the NFL didn’t have parity or a salary cap. In the 90s we could have the defense stand in our huddle and they still couldn’t stop us. But those days are gone. The talent differences between teams now are razor thin. You have to be better at scheme and play calling. Just lining up and dominating an opponent physically is mostly a thing of the past.

I don’t disagree with you about better execution. But before we even get to better play execution, we have to have better, more creative game planning.

And our problem is we went from throwing prolifically on 1st down to running prolifically on 1st down. Instead of mixing it up.

 

[Bobhaze]

And our problem is we went from throwing prolifically on 1st down to running prolifically on 1st down. Instead of mixing it up.

Yep. Predictability worked with those 90s teams. It works with teams like Oklahoma and Alabama in College fb. Garrett coaches like he’s got a Nick Saban Alabam team against Holy Cross. I swear I don’t think Garrett understands the modern game.

 

[Idgit]

This reads like something someone might come up with by pouring over splits and comparing the percentages across teams by down, distance, and game situation without actually needing to watch any tape. Any outliers that show a trend? Suggest the team do opposite next time.

Because we all know it’s even more important to be unpredictable than it is to be effective.

We run more in the third quarter with a lead because we believe we’re built to wear teams down, and that’s when you do it. We also win more than most teams with the current setup, so maybe there’s something to it.

 

[Bobhaze]

This reads like something someone might come up with by posting over splits and comparing the percentages across teams by down, distance, and game situation without actually needing to watch any tape. Ant outliers that show a trend? Suggest the team do opposite next time.

Because we all know it’s even more important to be unpredictable than it is to be effective.

We run more in the third quarter with a lead because we believe we’re built to wear teams down, and that’s when you do it. We also win more than most teams with the current setup, so maybe there’s something to it.

Wouldn’t it be better to be both unpredictable AND effective? Because our predictable offense made us one of the lower scoring teams in the league last year. Shouldn’t we try to be more effective?

You are certainly welcome to disagree with Warren Sharp’s observations but he’s one of the most respected NFL consultants known for his tape study and statistical analysis. He’s advised some of the best offensive minds in the NFL including Andy Reid, Sean McVey and Josh McDaniel.

 

[CowboyRoy]

IMO, Sharp’s comments sound like @75% of all Cowboy Zone play-calling advice threads from last season.

One thing that will be revealed in the coming season is, if Moore’s calls should seem in any way too conservative, then we’ll know that such past problems were likely more on Garrett than Linehan.

Garrett has been here for 12 years running his offense. Its Garrett. Jerry has finally brought in Moore and specifically told Garrett to get out of the way and implement Moore's changes and upgrades.

Linehan was handpicked by Garrett to run HIS offense.

We already know Garrett was the problem. We are seeing a focus on the deep ball and motion. Things Garrett rarely did.

 

[CowboyRoy]

Wouldn’t it be better to be both unpredictable AND effective? Because our predictable offense made us one of the lower scoring teams in the league last year. Shouldn’t we try to be more effective?

You are certainly welcome to disagree with Warren Sharp’s observations but he’s one of the most respected NFL consultants known for his tape study and statistical analysis. He’s advised some of the best offensive minds in the NFL including Andy Reid, Sean McVey and Josh McDaniel.

Honestly...........the offense we saw in the preseason game was a cookie cutter, conservative offense we saw the last 10 years from Garrett.

But my feeling is that it was vanilla and they were showing them any of the changes. Sad that their new vanilla offense is Garretts old offense.

 

[Bobhaze]

Honestly...........the offense we saw in the preseason game was a cookie cutter, conservative offense we saw the last 10 years from Garrett.

But my feeling is that it was vanilla and they were showing them any of the changes. Sad that their new vanilla offense is Garretts old offense.

IMO, you can’t look at a pre season game and have any idea of what this offense will be this year. Coaches literally do not game plan for a Ps game and don’t want to show any new wrinkle or idea in a game that means nothing. Whatever the Cowboys offense is going to look like this year, we can’t use pre season games to judge it.

 

[CowboyRoy]

IMO, you can’t look at a pre season game and have any idea of what this offense will be this year. Coaches literally do not game plan for a Ps game and don’t want to show any new wrinkle or idea in a game that means nothing. Whatever the Cowboys offense is going to look like this year, we can’t use pre season games to judge it.

Isnt that exactly what I just said? What we saw in preseason was the vanilla version?

Which was the in season version of Garretts vanilla offense his entire career here.

 

[CowboyRoy]

Wouldn’t it be better to be both unpredictable AND effective? Because our predictable offense made us one of the lower scoring teams in the league last year. Shouldn’t we try to be more effective?

You are certainly welcome to disagree with Warren Sharp’s observations but he’s one of the most respected NFL consultants known for his tape study and statistical analysis. He’s advised some of the best offensive minds in the NFL including Andy Reid, Sean McVey and Josh McDaniel.

He simply doesnt get it. Even with all the evidence watching this Garrett offense, then a analyst laying it out in front of his face, he still comes up with the idea that maybe Garrett is doing it right? LOL

 

[Jake]

This afternoon I heard Warren Sharp, one of the most respected offensive minds in the NFL on Dallas radio station “The Ticket” being interviewed by Bob Storm. It was very insightful to say the least (Here’s a link to Sharp’s website-https://www.sharpfootballanalysis.com/)

Sharp is often a consultant to NFL teams using stats and trends to improve offensive performance. He had some fascinating points and ideas on how the Cowboys can improve their performance on offense. Here were some of his major points describing some of the Cowboys offensive problems and how to fix them:

• The Cowboys became way too conservative in the 3rd qtr, especially when they had the lead. They ran the ball on first down nearly 60% of the time, and were usually facing 2nd down and long way too often. He recommends passing more on 1st down, especially in the second half to keep defenses honest. He also said throwing a pass to Zeke on first down was a statistical strong play that Linehan rarely called last year.

• Improving FIRST DOWN playcalling. The Cowboys had THE most predictable offense on first down in the NFL, especially when they had the lead. Sitting on a lead, especially a less than two score lead can kill your momentum and it gives the opponent the edge on being aggressive. The days of being conservative with the lead have become old fashioned. (A real sad trademark of Garrett coached teams)

• Be more aggressive. Throw deep more, especially on first down. Defenses against us typically stack the box and don’t respect any kind of deep threat. Even if you don’t convert a deep ball, two positives can happen- a PI call or if nothing else, the defense now knows you might try to go over the top and may back off a little on the run.

• Red zone improvement? Utilize Dak more as a runner. Dak has been the second best red zone runner in the NFL the past two seasons. Because Zeke is expected to run the ball inside the 10, Sharp said running Dak way more than they have in the red zone keeps defenses more in their heels, especially if Dak is a frequent runner.

• Give defenses more wrinkles in their standard formations. The Cowboys have been extremely conservative in the type of plays they run in certain formations. For example, when running 4 wide and 1 back, they almost always throw, which is fairly predictable. How about running the ball there more? Or with the empty backfield 5 wide sets, how about running a QB draw?

In short:
1. Be more aggressive, especially in the 3rd qtr. (Don’t get so conservative with a lead)
2. Throw deep more.
3. Let Dak run more, especially in red zone.
4. Throw to Zeke more on 1st down.
5. Run less predictable plays from standard formations.

I hope Garrett lets Kellen Moore have the freedom to do these changes. Otherwise, expect another frustrating year on offense.

Predictability is a great way to neutralize your own talent.

I've often wondered how much scouting the Cowboys do on themselves. There should be a scout team whose sole job is to study the Cowboys as if they're an opponent, identifying tendencies and how to best break them.

If that's happening already they need to fire those scouts and hire some new ones.

 

[Bobhaze]

Isnt that exactly what I just said? What we saw in preseason was the vanilla version?

Which was the in season version of Garretts vanilla offense his entire career here.

Sorry I misunderstood you. Vanilla flows in the football veins of Jason Garrett. I sometimes feel like he coaches this team like he’s Nick Saban (who he worked for in Miami) coaching an Alabama team with a huge talent advantage. If there are any talent advantages in the NFL, they are razor thin. Which is why you need creativity to be successful.

 

[Idgit]

Wouldn’t it be better to be both unpredictable AND effective? Because our predictable offense made us one of the lower scoring teams in the league last year. Shouldn’t we try to be more effective?

You are certainly welcome to disagree with Warren Sharp’s observations but he’s one of the most respected NFL consultants known for his tape study and statistical analysis. He’s advised some of the best offensive minds in the NFL including Andy Reid, Sean McVey and Josh McDaniel.

I don’t care about predictability. All I care about is effective. However we get there is ok by me.

And I don’t have strong feelings about the comments, except to say that it reads like someone sat around looking for statistical outliers and then wrapped a bullet point around it.

Thanks for sharing, though. It’s a good topic.

 

[kskboys]

I don’t care about predictability. All I care about is effective. However we get there is ok by me.

And I don’t have strong feelings about the comments, except to say that it reads like someone sat around looking for statistical outliers and then wrapped a bullet point around it.

Thanks for sharing, though. It’s a good topic.

It really doesn't. It appears to me that you're seeing what you want to see in this thread.

Being unpredictable is part of being effective.

 

[Montanalo]

This afternoon I heard Warren Sharp, one of the most respected offensive minds in the NFL on Dallas radio station “The Ticket” being interviewed by Bob Storm. It was very insightful to say the least (Here’s a link to Sharp’s website-https://www.sharpfootballanalysis.com/)

Sharp is often a consultant to NFL teams using stats and trends to improve offensive performance. He had some fascinating points and ideas on how the Cowboys can improve their performance on offense. Here were some of his major points describing some of the Cowboys offensive problems and how to fix them:

• The Cowboys became way too conservative in the 3rd qtr, especially when they had the lead. They ran the ball on first down nearly 60% of the time, and were usually facing 2nd down and long way too often. He recommends passing more on 1st down, especially in the second half to keep defenses honest. He also said throwing a pass to Zeke on first down was a statistical strong play that Linehan rarely called last year.

• Improving FIRST DOWN playcalling. The Cowboys had THE most predictable offense on first down in the NFL, especially when they had the lead. Sitting on a lead, especially a less than two score lead can kill your momentum and it gives the opponent the edge on being aggressive. The days of being conservative with the lead have become old fashioned. (A real sad trademark of Garrett coached teams)

• Be more aggressive. Throw deep more, especially on first down. Defenses against us typically stack the box and don’t respect any kind of deep threat. Even if you don’t convert a deep ball, two positives can happen- a PI call or if nothing else, the defense now knows you might try to go over the top and may back off a little on the run.

• Red zone improvement? Utilize Dak more as a runner. Dak has been the second best red zone runner in the NFL the past two seasons. Because Zeke is expected to run the ball inside the 10, Sharp said running Dak way more than they have in the red zone keeps defenses more in their heels, especially if Dak is a frequent runner.

• Give defenses more wrinkles in their standard formations. The Cowboys have been extremely conservative in the type of plays they run in certain formations. For example, when running 4 wide and 1 back, they almost always throw, which is fairly predictable. How about running the ball there more? Or with the empty backfield 5 wide sets, how about running a QB draw?

In short:
1. Be more aggressive, especially in the 3rd qtr. (Don’t get so conservative with a lead)
2. Throw deep more.
3. Let Dak run more, especially in red zone.
4. Throw to Zeke more on 1st down.
5. Run less predictable plays from standard formations.

I hope Garrett lets Kellen Moore have the freedom to do these changes. Otherwise, expect another frustrating year on offense.

For the most part, Sharp's analysis and the conclusions he reaches are more about the "what". I am more interested in the "how" and in this regard, observations for TC about players in motion, hurry-up offense, has me exited than whether we become more or less conservative at any point in the game. To me, a hinges on creating mis-matches.

 

[TheBigEasy]

Jerry is a gambler. Garrett is conservative. How in the heck have they gotten along this long is beside me. Garrett should have been out the door.

The same reason why Jerry has been married to the same woman for however long he has....opposites attract. He sees Redz as his Wifey II and, even though he may enjoy looking at the menu, he's never going to place that order for something different.

 

[kskboys]

The same reason why Jerry has been married to the same woman for however long he has....opposites attract. He sees Redz as his Wifey II and, even though he may enjoy looking at the menu, he's never going to place that order for something different.

Plus, Jason is getting top pay for a job he's mediocre at, so he knows to just shut up.

 

[Idgit]

It really doesn't. It appears to me that you're seeing what you want to see in this thread.

Being unpredictable is part of being effective.

Is it, though? I've seen plenty of good teams that just lined up and did what they did and made it really difficult to stop it.

Even this current offense has been a lot more productive than people probably suspect on a points/series basis. We're typically in the bottom of the top-10 under Garrett if I remember correctly (not including years where we have no QB). We just play a style of football that limits possessions for everybody when we can.

 

[Batman1980]

Our offense had historic ineptitude in 2017 and Garrett is largely to blame for that. Not even going to touch on the 2015 fiasco or even the dauntingly bad run last year before we signed Coop.

 

[Dre11]

This reads like something someone might come up with by posting over splits and comparing the percentages across teams by down, distance, and game situation without actually needing to watch any tape. Ant outliers that show a trend? Suggest the team do opposite next time.

Because we all know it’s even more important to be unpredictable than it is to be effective.

We run more in the third quarter with a lead because we believe we’re built to wear teams down, and that’s when you do it. We also win more than most teams with the current setup, so maybe there’s something to it.

Exactly idgit, also it's common sense as to why they run more in the second half. If a team goes in at halftime and you've been killing them throwing on 1st down, what do people think they're going to load up to stop in the second half. They're going to take away the 1st down pass because that's what you've been beating them with. So what are you going to do when they focus on the pass on 1st down? You're going to run more and shorten the game. Now, maybe balancing it out in the second half more is ideal, but being balanced is harder to achieve. But as idgit said we win , so it must not be too bad. And don't give me the close game bit, the league is a 7 point league and the good teams win close games.