It's a passing League but,

[McKDaddy]

That's the biggest problem we don't have a front office with enough quality people to form a strategy.
We have a close the Barn door after the horse has gone strategy and it just leads to 30 years of failure

Unfortunately, I think it's worse than that. We have an owner who likes sizzle at the expense of the steak. The organization around him has learned to just go with whatever he wants to do so they keep their cushy jobs.

That's why we need a complete change of everyone in football operations.

 

[Bobhaze]

If you don't have Patrick mahomes or Josh Allen you may need a running game.
You may need a running back with speed and power that can impact the game and save your quarterback from himself.

We are perfect example of what happens when you don't recognize these facts.
Our Arch divisional rival recognized this after totally going in the tank last year and added saquon Barkley to their team and they are now a dominant Force.

The Baltimore Ravens are another example they added Derrick Henry and will be a serious Force to contend with.

The Lions and the Packers can seriously run the ball.

We just paid Dak a king's Ransom and ignore what he needs to make him even slightly competitive in the playoffs.
We don't even have anyone on the coaching staff that can properly judge who should be playing where on the offensive line as the backups were playing better than the starters who would have thought.

And to top it all off for good measure Tony Pollard is having a good season and we don't even have him.
What hope can you possibly have when your front office is unable to recognize the holes in your team and fill them or at least make an effort

Good post Blackie.

The NFL is still a passing game but the game has evolved to the point where the running game is certainly a necessary ingredient to a successful offense. In fact, all the really good teams that are going to compete for a SB have a good running game.

Sadly, our FO is always reacting late to league trends. They wait until it’s very obvious what they need to fix a problem. Most of us fans could see a mile away that the Cowboys had nothing at RB and counting on two rookies in the OL was risky at best.

 

[CowboysFaninHouston]

Just curious .........what's an excellent/good, reliable and bad running game?

*Excellent = can't be stopped ( Brakley, Henry ) ( team knows you are going to run and can't do anything to stop it .....see Emmitt Smith)
Usually a high-level RB
*Reliable = Quaility RB but needs a good scheme, QB and OLine to be effective
* Bad = Dallas Cowboys (lol) average to low-end RB, scheme or running games scares no one.

I am not saying you need a barkley or henry. its about probabilities and where you are and often down and distance dictate play call.
but if 70% or more of the time you end up in 2nd and 7 or longer, then 70% or mor of the time you are in obvious passing situation. if you can't consistently run for 2, 3 yards then your 3rd downs are most probably a pass play and defenses play to those tendencies.
IMHO we fall in the Bad category. average to low end RB and a rushing attack that doesn't scare anyone.
I am sure there will be those that will point to Washington game, but washington had the 32nd worse run defense going into the game.

our running game is not reliable.

 

[CowboysFaninHouston]

I agree some kind of balance you just can't depend on passing the ball all the time it's a recipe for disaster especially with a quarterback who is not up for the task in big moments.
Brady is gone Aaron Rodgers is done and if you don't have Patrick mahomes or Josh Allen
Guys that can improvise overcome and generally pull the rabbit out of the hat under any conditions.
A power running game covers a multitude of sins and provides a comfort zone for most quarterbacks that are not superhuman.
I think after a 10-year analysis we can all agree that our quarterback could use the help of a power running game not that it will solve all his problems but it certainly can't hurt.
The eagles recognized it the Ravens recognized it they don't want their starting quarterback to have to do all the running and get banged up.
It is reaping dividends for those teams while our quarterback is hurt and we have no running game

I agree, outside of one or two QBs, they need a strong team around them and nothing like a strong running attack to help the QB.
if you are in a 2nd and 5 situation about 50% of the time or consistently, then the defense is at a disadvantage.

 

[DeaconMoss]

Instead of one of these guys:
Jaylen Wright
Braelen Allen
Isaac Guerendo
Bucky Irving
Audric Estime
Tyrone Tracy
Dylan Laube
Kimani Vidal

You get Trance, No Seatbelt Carson, and/or Flournoy

 

[fivetwos]

What's crazy is our best chances /seasons of success were 2014 and 2016 when we had top-rushing RBs in both seasons.

Yes, playing keep away and controlling the clock masks many problems on the other side of the ball. I’ve been clamoring for it for years.

I don’t know enough to speak perfectly accurate on it, but I suspect that opponents are fixating on forcing our QBs to win games, and they pass so much because that’s what the defense is giving. They aren’t good enough to still run effectively when that happens.

 

[Blackrain]

Good post Blackie.

The NFL is still a passing game but the game has evolved to the point where the running game is certainly a necessary ingredient to a successful offense. In fact, all the really good teams that are going to compete for a SB have a good running game.

Sadly, our FO is always reacting late to league trends. They wait until it’s very obvious what they need to fix a problem. Most of us fans could see a mile away that the Cowboys had nothing at RB and counting on two rookies in the OL was risky at best.

Yes Bob we all beat that drum in the offseason to no avail. Nothing was done in free agency to fix this glaring hole that we all saw coming.
I really got a question Jerry's mindset after he sat through that Green Bay game and saw that of all things his franchise quarterback needed a running game to even be competitive in a playoff situation.
Instead of bolstering it like the other teams that wanted to compete did Pollard left and it got even worse.
That said I think if we trace it back far enough the league is very diluted at this point the elite pocket passers are gone.
Patrick mahomes is the exception rather than the rule. Guys like Dak need a running game they have just enough skill to get to the dance but that's as far as it goes when everybody's good all their warts come out

 

[Bobhaze]

I am not saying you need a barkley or henry. its about probabilities and where you are and often down and distance dictate play call.
but if 70% or more of the time you end up in 2nd and 7 or longer, then 70% or mor of the time you are in obvious passing situation. if you can't consistently run for 2, 3 yards then your 3rd downs are most probably a pass play and defenses play to those tendencies.
IMHO we fall in the Bad category. average to low end RB and a rushing attack that doesn't scare anyone.
I am sure there will be those that will point to Washington game, but washington had the 32nd worse run defense going into the game.

our running game is not reliable.

Agree 100%.

And on top of all that, look at how defenses have played their safeties against us all season. When there is no running game to respect, safeties drop back an extra 3-5 yards which makes it very hard to hit intermediate or deep routes.

When everyone screams that all we are throwing are check downs, we can thank the FO for not giving us even a decent running game for defenses to have to respect.

 

[CowboysFaninHouston]

Agree 100%.

And on top of all that, look at how defenses have played their safeties against us all season. When there is no running game to respect, safeties drop back an extra 3-5 yards which makes it very hard to hit intermediate or deep routes.

When everyone screams that all we are throwing are check downs, we can thank the FO for not giving us even a decent running game for defenses to have to respect.

agreed and I have observed the same. where it really manifests itself is inside the redzone, specially 15 yards in....when they don't respect your running game, the LBs tend to play off the line and flood the passing zones. in a 25 yard area its going to be very hard to pass consistently if you have 7, 8 people drop into coverage. the running game is so bad, the tendency for defenses has been play the pass first, then attack the run. watch the Detroit game and its a great example. watch the ravens game and its a great example. its so bad that the redzone for cowboys offense is inside the 30...