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

 

[Ironicalicon]

Even with the Tackle questions, it's Top-5, I think—but we did see it sputter at times last season. Need absolute consistency—an occasional pick or fumble, okay, that happens but otherwise it needs to be misfire-free. I really don't think that's too much to ask with the weapons on the Offense.

 

[Whyjerry]

Terrible tackles, a QB that chokes, and a JV head coach calling plays. So yes it’s overrated.

 

[75boyz]

the scoring output required to be a top-5 scoring offense generally ranges between 27.0 and 31.8 PPG depending on the year's offensive environment. [1]

therefore 28 points isn't random or arbitrary, it's a reasonable expectation for a TOP scoring team. the cowboys averaged 27.7.

you are correct, our D gave up 28 or more an extraordinary amount of games. I specifically said I didn't expect them to win them all.

if some of you would step back & look at what all this really tells you rather than just try to look at it through old lenses.

it reveals serious questions about whether this really was a top offense. average inflated by the early season 40 burgers, easy games & scoring late when the other team no longer cared?

in short, if a team is truly a TOP offense, I expect it to produce as such regardless of opponent's defensive strength or our defensive weakness more times than not.

that's earning the accolades instead of hiding behind misleading stats & the excuse of the defense was bad.

Well, I mean. You didn't expect for honest stuff like this to be considered did you?

That totally ruins the offense had no blame in last year's losses narrative.

I'm not sure that kinda stuff is allowed at the Zone.
I mean just go along to get along or
fake it and parrot off what a bunch of other people say.

Now, THATS more like it.
Zone Style.

 

[SteveTheCowboy]

For me...this offense rolls against bad teams or behind late in the game. Dlow starts that stresses our defense.

But Steve...what are tslking about. We are a top 5 offense.

Well...lets look ar 2023 playoffs. Stomped 8-9 loser bucs and pood our shorts against 9ers. How about packers whipping our behind at home?

Thats who we are until they prove otherwise....has to actually happen first.

 

[Flamma]

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

This seems to be a recurring theme with the Cowboys offense for multiple years now. If the Cowboys struggle on offense early, they can't seem to break out of it, with few exceptions.

 

[kskboys]

Maybe by a few rabid fans. Most of us know we have a good O, not great but quite good.

 

[kskboys]

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....

Our D was 30th, not 32nd, and the Eagles were not close to super bowl caliber last season.

 

[kskboys]

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

Eagles had the #1 D in the NFL in their super bowl year, and twice teams scored 30+ on them.

 

[Bobhaze]

We keep on hearing how the Cowboy offense is elite, but yet there were games last season where they truly underperformed:

14 points at Chicago-yes they lost Lamb early, but if I remember Chicago had a banged up secondary
20 points at Philly-they were shutout in the 2nd half where their defense only surrendered 3 points
17 at home against the Cardinals-there is zero excuse to lay an egg at home against one of the worst teams.
17 at home against the Chargers-Chargers dominated them

These are just a few examples. Everyone keeps on talking about the defense cause it was so bad, but the offense deserves some criticism as well. They must be more consistent or it won't matter how the defense performs.

One of the bad habits our FO has had for years…saying, “Hey we were good last year on this side of the ball. Let’s run it back with the same people. We’ll be fine.” They wait until a problem is obvious instead of being proactive ahead of the problem.

I have been concerned all off-season that we didn’t upgrade this offense. Yes the defense needed a TON of help. But this FO is terrible about just assuming something good one year will be just as good or better the next.

Having a FO address problems after they are obvious instead of before - one of several reasons we have a 30 year drought.

 

[gimmesix]

We keep on hearing how the Cowboy offense is elite, but yet there were games last season where they truly underperformed:

14 points at Chicago-yes they lost Lamb early, but if I remember Chicago had a banged up secondary
20 points at Philly-they were shutout in the 2nd half where their defense only surrendered 3 points
17 at home against the Cardinals-there is zero excuse to lay an egg at home against one of the worst teams.
17 at home against the Chargers-Chargers dominated them

These are just a few examples. Everyone keeps on talking about the defense cause it was so bad, but the offense deserves some criticism as well. They must be more consistent or it won't matter how the defense performs.

Definitely was not perfect, but the reality is that the offense played well enough to win 10-plus games last year. And reality is also that few offenses don't have lulls. The Rams last year scored 14 points in the first game against Houston (but still won because the Texans scored 9), 17 against Baltimore and 21 against Seattle (and still won all three of those games). Sometimes there are turnovers, sometimes there are games like the one against Philly where Lamb uncharacteristically dropped multiple passes.

 

[Floatyworm]

We keep on hearing how the Cowboy offense is elite, but yet there were games last season where they truly underperformed:

14 points at Chicago-yes they lost Lamb early, but if I remember Chicago had a banged up secondary
20 points at Philly-they were shutout in the 2nd half where their defense only surrendered 3 points
17 at home against the Cardinals-there is zero excuse to lay an egg at home against one of the worst teams.
17 at home against the Chargers-Chargers dominated them

These are just a few examples. Everyone keeps on talking about the defense cause it was so bad, but the offense deserves some criticism as well. They must be more consistent or it won't matter how the defense performs.

This entire team under performed if you ask me.....Always a bunch of hype.....and then the fade

 

[GINeric]

Our D was 30th, not 32nd, and the Eagles were not close to super bowl caliber last season.

So you're saying a 30th ranked defense is much better than a 32nd ranked defense. Ok. With that said, they pretty much had the same offensive personnel on offense that played in the Superbowl.

A 30th ranked defense was a problem for them?