Is the Cowboys offense "overrated"?

[TheMarathonContinues]

Why?

You think defenses play the same in the second half up by 3 vs. up by 10 or 14?

How many games were the Cowboys down by 2 scores and won? Seems like they got down and that would be that.

 

[Johannes44]

But that’s what happens when you go against any good team with a decent defense, that’s football
You can’t be a one dimensional team

This team has no dimension. Whatever you are seeing is about as substantial as cotton candy.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

Anytime they go up against a half way defense they struggle and remember, that's the stronger side of the football on this team.

That’s every team. No one is scoring 30 on a good defense.

 

[GINeric]

That game would of been long over if the Eagles offense did anything.

We're not discussing what "would have been". We're talking about what happened.

How does a Superbowl caliber team let an overrated offense and a 32nd ranked defense come back from being 21 points down and beat them?

That Superbowl caliber Eagles offense couldn't do anything vs a 32nd ranked defense and you ask if the Cowboys offense is overrated? Tell me what's wrong with this picture....

 

[Blackspider214]

Exactly who is saying this is an elite offense? Haven't heard anything close to that since 2021-2023. It's been anything but the last 2 seasons and I have heard nothing but concerns this offseason with the OL issues, do we even have a reliable run game and Dak not being able to be counted on when it matters most.

 

[Kwyn]

Good post. I would argue a couple points though. I think Prescott's rz struggles do relate to his head and arm to an extent. His cautious nature causes many of those throwaways where other QB's would be more confortable threading the needle. His decision making has always been on the slow side as well. In the tight spaces you need to be decisive and willing to let it rip.

His struggles also make it easier for defenses to pay more attention to the rg and take their chances on Prescott beating them with his arm.

His lack of mobility does make it easier on defenses. I'm not sure it matters as much inside the ten though. Allen is a nightmare for defenses down there. Dak will never be Allen and he doesn't have to be. He should pick his spots though. If for no other reason to give the defense something to think about.

Thanks. I like what you said and i’m somewhat aligned.

Let’s take a look at other top red zone offenses and see how they differ from the Cowboys

First though, the baseline:
Cowboys were 16th in red zone efficiency, scoring TDs 57% of the time


Rams - 7th in red zone efficiency

Stafford and the Rams did it with him being an immobile, pure pocket, statue.
What was the difference? Was it Stafford vs Daks arm and head?

That’s a reasonable starting point but the actual difference, the real difference, was that the Rams had a punishing and physical ground game in the red zone.
It was reminiscent of some other great running attacks we might be familiar with here.

They were predictable and in your face because Kyren Williams and their OLine just mauled defenses.

Since the entire front seven had to commit to packing the box, Stafford and his pass catchers had a much easier time when they decided to throw. Stafford rarely needed to “let it rip” and “thread the needle”. He was sometimes just able to toss it.

Eagles - 1st in red zone efficiency

The Eagles had a ridiculously good red zone offense. They were #1 and scored TDs 70% of the time inside the 20.

Hurts is a good passing qb but no one would ever say he has “lightning fast” processing speed or reads of the defense. Dak has it over Hurts in this regard hands down

It’s Hurts mobility that was the difference for them. Again, they were obvious about it. Everyone knew what was coming at the goal line and their success with the butt blast made it easy for them to trick a defense when they wanted to by tossing tds.

Hurts had 16 passing TDs and only 2 INTs because even the DBs had to be aware of him either running past the edge or just smashing it in over center.

Bengals: 3rd in red zone efficiency

Burrow is elite, and a better QB than any of the four being discussed. His golden arm is there but he also is top level when it comes to reads and decision making.
So, what happens when his first read is covered presnap?

Well, Burrow had Chase Brown who was money for 4+ yards in the red zone. Unlike Dak, he could just audible out of the pass, hand it off, and still move the ball in the compressed area of the field.
Javonte simply couldnt do that. Every third down, it was Daks arm or bust

Mobility and a rushing attack absolutely matters inside the 10. Look at the Eagles. Hurts, Allen and Burrow don’t need elite, lightning-fast processing because their teams running threat forces the defense to respect the ground attack, opening up massive passing lanes.

Stripping Dak of his legs meant Dallas played 10-on-11, or even 9-on-11 if Javontae is off, forcing a pocket-bound QB to beat a defense not threatened by any type of rushing attack.

 

[erod]

Gotta be able to keep the other team to at least 20 points or less

Iin many of those games we lost, the defense did. Especially against the 49ers.

23-17 and 19-12