JJT: Jason Garrett deserves blame for Cowboys' horrendous offense

[robjay04]

Didn't Dez score on a similar play against the Jets?

Can't recall if it was the same setup. It still doesn't happen enough. Gruden was acting like it was one of Denver's favorite plays.

 

[PJTHEDOORS]

Sure they do.

You're right. This is a lie, we are tops in the league........ The Cowboys have scored just 252 points, 31st in the NFL, and they rank last in the NFL in red zone touchdown percentage (41.4) and pass plays of 20 yards or more (32).

 

[DandyDon1722]

I wish I knew more about scheme and play design so I could wrap my head around what we do. Aren't route trees pretty much all the same?

It seems like balls are always contested which I guess goes back to the Garrett philosophy of our guy beating your guy. We just don't ever seem to find guys in space or running down the field open like Antonio Brown or hell, even TO back in the day.

It's so frustrating but articles help because we all know Jerry reads everything. Maybe stuff like this leads to at least a change within the system which is the best we can hope for at this point.

It simply has to be addressed.

 

[PJTHEDOORS]

You made a post earlier that you hope something gets done about the offensive play calling which is basically the same thing JJT and others are pointing out in terms of flaws in the system. You see the flaws too or you wouldn't want something to be done about the play calling. What would you suggest?

JJT didn't praise Moore as the second coming of Romo, that's why he's upset.

 

[Stash]

What change could they force really? Make him throw out the playbook? Who creates the new one? Linehan? Only thing that would work would be Garrett being shown the door, and we all know that won't happen. What I don't understand is why they don't design plays based on Romo's quick release. He has one of the fastest releases in football but we never see a slant, like ever. I really just don't get it. Get dez into space and throw it too him in stride. I don't get why this is so hard to comprehend. Instead we make romo hold onto the ball far too long, and guess what, he gets hurt. I run better plays in madden. It's sickening

I think Linehan goes and a new offensive coordinator is hired to bring in and run his offense.

Ideally, I hope that Payton and the Saints split and Jones makes the real and costly change, but my hopes aren't too high about that either.

 

[superonyx]

What worries me is that Jones will not replace JG as coach. JG is who he is and I can't expect he will suddenly completely change what offensive philosophy he knows and owns, it would be like asking Wade Phillips to suddenly excel at running the 4-3.

This means either Jones brings in a real OC and gives him absolute power over the offense or we are stuck with JG "tweaking" this system which will end with predictable results.

If he was capable it would have already happened.

The scary truth is that if JG was fired today not a single NFL team would hire him as their OC.
So why should he stay here when he is an OC promoted to HC?

 

[Dodger12]

JJT didn't praise Moore as the second coming of Romo, that's why he's upset.

Count me as one of the guys who wanted to see what Moore had. It was based more on the fact that Weeden and Cassell were scrubs but, unfortunately, I didn't see much from Moore that would give me any hope that he's anything better than a distant #3 and a future QB coach.

 

[Bleu Star]

IRVING, Texas -- Jason Garrett, hired by the Dallas Cowboys as an innovative offensive mind and play-caller in 2007, coaches the NFL's most pathetic offense.

The San Francisco 49ers have scored fewer points and the Indianapolis Colts have totaled fewer yards, but neither of those bad offenses had three offensive linemen named to the Pro Bowl, tight end Jason Witten for 16 games and Dez Bryant for 10 games when the playoffs were still a possibility.

No offense in the league has done less with more than Garrett’s group. The numbers that matter most to Garrett are worse than pathetic.
The Cowboys have scored just 252 points, 31st in the NFL, and they rank last in the NFL in red zone touchdown percentage (41.4) and pass plays of 20 yards or more (32).

This is the worst offense since Jerry Jones brought in Garrett as offensive coordinator. Garrett had never been in charge of an offense that had scored fewer than 361 points before this season. The past two seasons, the Cowboys scored 439 and 467 points, respectively.

Sure, Scott Linehan calls the plays, but this is Garrett’s offense and he deserves the credit when it works and the blame when it doesn’t. Linehan isn’t doing anything with the offense or play selection that Garrett doesn’t want.

The obvious answer to the issues -- the easy one -- is that Tony Romo has started and finished just two games, and the Cowboys won both of those.

So what?

If Garrett’s offense can’t function without Romo under center, where he excels at consistently getting the offense into the best possible play, then it’s worthless.

Garrett loves to say the Cowboys’ offense is flexible, able to take advantage of any matchup created by a formation. But it’s a timing-based scheme that is based almost entirely on a receiver or running back winning a one-on-one matchup.

That’s great when Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin, Emmitt Smith and Jay Novacek are the epicenter of the offense. And it’s fine when Romo, Bryant, DeMarco Murray and Witten are the central figures in every game plan.

But we’ve seen what happens when the Cowboys don’t have a significant skill advantage at receiver, running back or quarterback: The offense becomes abject.

We’re talking about a unit that has failed to score more than one touchdown in each of the past seven games.

Kellen Moore is the fourth quarterback the Cowboys have used this season, and despite all of the hype surrounding the 6-foot, 200-pound lefty with a storage unit of intangibles, he has been the worst of the bunch through six quarters.

Optimists see glimmers of potential and hope, while realists see a dude with a pop-gun arm who can’t consistently throw the deep outs, which are fundamental to this offense’s success.

He’s probably good enough to be a solid No. 3 quarterback, but he’s probably not good enough to be the backup on a team on which you have to expect a starter such as Romo to miss a few games per season.

The Cowboys are 1-10 when someone other than Romo starts this season. It’s enough to make you wonder about the fate of the franchise when Romo eventually retires.

It’s not like Brandon Weeden, Matt Cassel or Moore have showed vast improvement under Garrett, Linehan and quarterbacks coach Wade Wilson.

Each regressed, though Weeden managed to end his 11-game losing streak as a starter Sunday, when he led the Houston Texans to win over the hapless Tennessee Titans. Dallas released Weeden in November and Houston picked him up.

For now, Garrett has no concrete answers for why the Cowboys' offense has been so bad. He blames inconsistent execution and the lack of big plays.

When he sits down with Jerry Jones after this wretched season ends, he needs to have a better answer. Jones has spent too much money and too many draft picks on the offense to have the league’s worst unit.

http://espn.go.com/blog/dallas/cowb...deserves-blame-for-cowboys-horrendous-offense

Thank you JJT for having the courage to call it as you see it with perfect 20/20 vision.

 

[Stash]

I agree but the bolded part is problematic. It's no secret I'm no fan of Garrett's but he's the HC and Jones should not be forcing the changes. The HC should be the one who controls his staff and makes changes accordingly. Garrett should make those changes because, ultimately, it's his job on the line even though the previous HC didn't have that same option....you have to marvel at the irony.

Normally, I would agree, but this is the Jones' Cowboys, and normal has little to do with it. If it were done, it would effectively 'fire Garrett' without actually firing him, essentially removing him from everything to do with the on-field product.

 

[Doomsay]

Everyone here agrees with JJT. Telling.

Why don't you refute they article then?

 

[Stash]

Everyone here agrees with JJT. Telling.

And some again feel that it's their job to rally to the team's defense any time anything is criticized.

More telling.

 

[Rockport]

Why don't you refute they article then?

I have. Read my posts.

 

[Dodger12]

Normally, I would agree, but this is the Jones' Cowboys, and normal has little to do with it. If it were done, it would effectively 'fire Garrett' without actually firing him, essentially removing him from everything to do with the on-field product.

But it will solve nothing. The players will see Garrett for what he is (if they haven't done so already) and it just further undermines the HC. Nothing that happened this year wasn't plain as day the 5 previous years when JG was the HC. Heck, even Wade saw it when Garrett was the OC. Unfortunately, I think you're right though.

 

[FiveTime]

Can't recall if it was the same setup. It still doesn't happen enough. Gruden was acting like it was one of Denver's favorite plays.

Agreed, I would like to see it more often along with the quick slant to Dez that @phildadon86 mentioned. I loved seeing Irvin catch those slants.

 

[Avery]

Just make sure this 'horrendous' offense remembers this against WAS so we don't unnecessarily drop draft positions we desperately need.

 

[Dodger12]

I have. Read my posts.

You said you'd give Garrett one more year. That's just a way of you saving face at the expense of another lost season. All your other baseless excuses for Garrett don't hold water after this year and even you know that.

 

[Apollo Creed]

If Garrett got fired today he would have to go be a QB coach for Saban in Alabama.

No one wants him, except Jerry.

 

[jazzcat22]

With Dez, supposedly Irvin like, I can never understand why they don't use the slant route like they did with Irvin. It rarely ever failed. And when they do use it with any WR, it works.
It works with TWill often too. Then when they do something different, and seems innovative [to them] and it works, they go away from it. If used again, and even if ONE time it is stopped by the defense. They stop it altogether, as if it would never work again. But it did work 4 out of 5 times, but the shelf it.
Like the runs from Whitehead.

I was glad to see they went down field a little more, but those take practice and timing. can't hit on them every time with a slew of different QB's and WR's in there. Even McCarron last night missed on deep passes with AJ Green and others. Dalton probably would have made the throw, or at least close enough for the WR to adjust.

I am at this point, as where it doesn't bother me if they bring in a new system or make adjustments to the current one. I will just sit back and see what happens. i can't change it, so not going to lose any sleep over it. But something needs to change regardless. Losing romo doesn't help. But what will they do when romo is gone. They will need to devise a plan for a new QB. That doesn't make sense either. Can't plug and play like that.

 

[Bleu Star]

IRVING, Texas -- Jason Garrett, hired by the Dallas Cowboys as an innovative offensive mind and play-caller in 2007, coaches the NFL's most pathetic offense.

The San Francisco 49ers have scored fewer points and the Indianapolis Colts have totaled fewer yards, but neither of those bad offenses had three offensive linemen named to the Pro Bowl, tight end Jason Witten for 16 games and Dez Bryant for 10 games when the playoffs were still a possibility.

No offense in the league has done less with more than Garrett’s group. The numbers that matter most to Garrett are worse than pathetic.
The Cowboys have scored just 252 points, 31st in the NFL, and they rank last in the NFL in red zone touchdown percentage (41.4) and pass plays of 20 yards or more (32).

This is the worst offense since Jerry Jones brought in Garrett as offensive coordinator. Garrett had never been in charge of an offense that had scored fewer than 361 points before this season. The past two seasons, the Cowboys scored 439 and 467 points, respectively.

Sure, Scott Linehan calls the plays, but this is Garrett’s offense and he deserves the credit when it works and the blame when it doesn’t. Linehan isn’t doing anything with the offense or play selection that Garrett doesn’t want.

The obvious answer to the issues -- the easy one -- is that Tony Romo has started and finished just two games, and the Cowboys won both of those.

So what?

If Garrett’s offense can’t function without Romo under center, where he excels at consistently getting the offense into the best possible play, then it’s worthless.

Garrett loves to say the Cowboys’ offense is flexible, able to take advantage of any matchup created by a formation. But it’s a timing-based scheme that is based almost entirely on a receiver or running back winning a one-on-one matchup.

That’s great when Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin, Emmitt Smith and Jay Novacek are the epicenter of the offense. And it’s fine when Romo, Bryant, DeMarco Murray and Witten are the central figures in every game plan.

But we’ve seen what happens when the Cowboys don’t have a significant skill advantage at receiver, running back or quarterback: The offense becomes abject.

We’re talking about a unit that has failed to score more than one touchdown in each of the past seven games.

Kellen Moore is the fourth quarterback the Cowboys have used this season, and despite all of the hype surrounding the 6-foot, 200-pound lefty with a storage unit of intangibles, he has been the worst of the bunch through six quarters.

Optimists see glimmers of potential and hope, while realists see a dude with a pop-gun arm who can’t consistently throw the deep outs, which are fundamental to this offense’s success.

He’s probably good enough to be a solid No. 3 quarterback, but he’s probably not good enough to be the backup on a team on which you have to expect a starter such as Romo to miss a few games per season.

The Cowboys are 1-10 when someone other than Romo starts this season. It’s enough to make you wonder about the fate of the franchise when Romo eventually retires.

It’s not like Brandon Weeden, Matt Cassel or Moore have showed vast improvement under Garrett, Linehan and quarterbacks coach Wade Wilson.

Each regressed, though Weeden managed to end his 11-game losing streak as a starter Sunday, when he led the Houston Texans to win over the hapless Tennessee Titans. Dallas released Weeden in November and Houston picked him up.

For now, Garrett has no concrete answers for why the Cowboys' offense has been so bad. He blames inconsistent execution and the lack of big plays.

When he sits down with Jerry Jones after this wretched season ends, he needs to have a better answer. Jones has spent too much money and too many draft picks on the offense to have the league’s worst unit.

http://espn.go.com/blog/dallas/cowb...deserves-blame-for-cowboys-horrendous-offense

@Dodger12 dude.... I'm so sorry that I can only like this once. I feel like pulling a clapper on the like button.

 

[Galian Beast]

No NFL coach with a lower win percentage has received more time than Jason Garrett...

The only one that even comes close is 2012s Jeff Fisher who has a much better resume than Garrett...

Garrett certainly hasn't done enough to warrant this kind of loyalty... It's absolutely stunning.