FEATURED Linehan's effect on 3rd down, Dez, and the offense

[WPBCowboysFan]

Let me boil this down real fast. Romo won't throw the ball down field on 3rd down. How a new passing cord is going to solve that, I can't wait to see.

Yea, too bad Linehan couldnt bring Stafford with him

 

[percyhoward]

Yeah, I saw where we averaged 7 on 1st and 2nd. That does scream a making yardage on 1st and 2nd to average that much considering we had a lot of 3rd and longs. Some of that was penalties. Some just apparent bad play calling, and some just not being consistent for all the other reasons.

True, and a lot of it is just the fact that 3rd downs only made up 18.8 percent of our plays.

 

[Hostile]

Most are knowledgeable.

And I assume quieter than the squeaky wheels.

 

[casmith07]

Yea, too bad Linehan couldnt bring Stafford with him

lol

 

[Risen Star]

Hey, Percival....the next time you start a thread like this, be prepared and do some homework first.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

Love me some percy, but I really don't know how much of what Linehan did at Detroit will be applicable to here, because this will be Garrett's offense. This isn't a move to get a new offensive philosophy, it's a move to get someone Garrett is buddies with because he didn't get along with Callahan.

 

[percyhoward]

Maybe somebody with all-22 access (and time) will tell us about the types of plays the Lions ran.

Somebody did.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap20...detroit-lions-keep-opposing-defenses-guessing

 

[CowboyStar88]

Hey, Percival....the next time you start a thread like this, be prepared and do some homework first.

WTH is that suppose to mean? He did his HW. It was very good and had a lot of info, I'm not sure what your crapping about now.

 

[Risen Star]

Love me some percy, but I really don't know how much of what Linehan did at Detroit will be applicable to here, because this will be Garrett's offense. This isn't a move to get a new offensive philosophy, it's a move to get someone Garrett is buddies with because he didn't get along with Callahan.

I agree with this.

But, I would say that a head coach should want to work with his assistants. He should even, ~gulp~, pick his assistants. So if Bill Callahan was a Jerry hire, he shouldn't be here.

 

[noshame]

I'm doing something else but I and others have posted stats that don't reflect that. However, my eye tells me we could throw it downfield more often. I don't place even the majority of that on Romo though. Witten and Dez are your two primary 3rd down backs although I thought Williams got better in general later on. But if you double Dez and take away Witten under then stunt and blitz you can create problems for our offense.

Check you're stats. But more importantly watch the 22 and see who's open and who pulls the ball down and waits for the drag to open.

 

[percyhoward]

Love me some percy, but I really don't know how much of what Linehan did at Detroit will be applicable to here, because this will be Garrett's offense. This isn't a move to get a new offensive philosophy, it's a move to get someone Garrett is buddies with because he didn't get along with Callahan.

It's inevitable that Linehan will have influence, whatever motivated the hire. People who get along usually listen to each other.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

WTH is that suppose to mean? He did his HW. It was very good and had a lot of info, I'm not sure what your crapping about now.

Relax Clarence. I'm pretty sure that Risen was simply yanking Percy's chain.

 

[BigStar]

Percy..Great research and insight to the possible improvements (3rd down effeciency by improving on 1st and 2nd down positive yardage, involving the rbs more, Dez become targeted more on 3rd down, etc.) Linehan could bring to the table. Always enjoy reading your breakdowns and other posts. Risen writes that way and his sarcasm dripping off the page.

 

[CowboyStar88]

Relax Clarence. I'm pretty sure that Risen was simply yanking Percy's chain.

Clarence? Never can tell with RS he's always complaining about something.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

I don't know that I love the Linehan hire, to be honest. I mean, I watch Detroit and I see a lot of reflection in the mirror. I think that they are better at using their backs in the passing game but I don't know that Linehan is much of an improvement in actually running the ball.

Since 2009, when Linehan arrived in Detoit, to 2013, Detroit hasn't actually been superior in this respect. Here are the League Stats.

League Rushing Rankings:


2009 Detroit 17th 4.0 YPC
2010 Detroit 23rd 4.0 YPC
2011 Detroit 17th 4.0 YPC
2012 Detroit 23rd 4.1 YPC
2013 Detroit 17th 4.0 YPC


2009 Dallas 7th 4.8 YPC
2010 Dallas 16th 4.2 YPC
2011 Dallas 18th 4.4 YPC
2012 Dallas 31st 3.6 YPC
2013 Dallas 24th 4.5 YPC


I know it's not popular around here to think that running the ball is as important as throwing the ball is but, of the 4 teams in the Conference Finals, all of them are able to run the ball (even Denver).

I guess I just wonder if Linehan is more of the same? IDK............

 

[jobberone]

Check you're stats. But more importantly watch the 22 and see who's open and who pulls the ball down and waits for the drag to open.

Not saying I didn't say something wrong but are you saying Dez and Witten aren't the most likely targets on third down? Not saying how many balls go their way because the point is the defense puts their emphasis on those two players. If you stop Dez and Witten then you create problems for the Dallas offense.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

Clarence? Never can tell with RS he's always complaining about something.

Well, I've know Risen for a long time and trust me, this is not complaining from him. This is just a little subtle humor.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

Not saying I didn't say something wrong but are you saying Dez and Witten aren't the most likely targets on third down? Not saying how many balls go their way because the point is they put their emphasis on those two players. If you stop Dez and Witten then you create problems for the Dallas offense.

But if you would run a bit more balanced offense, it would be much, much harder to stop those guys. Not telling you anything you already don't know Jobs, this I know as well.

 

[percyhoward]

Clarence? Never can tell with RS he's always complaining about something.

The genius of RS is his intentional vagueness. He is a misunderstood genius -- by definition and by design.

 

[Nova]

Great question. And believe it or not, I had originally included that information. I took it out because it ended up being just too many numbers from too many different contexts for the reader to take in.

Here was the field position for the 4 INT on Johnson's 3rd-down targets:
1. (3rd and 12) opp 28
2. (3rd and 10) opp 37
3. (3rd and 9) Det 23
4. (3rd and 10) Det 20

Here was the opponent's field position after the INT:
1. own 18
2. own 7
3. Det 9
4. Det 34

On #1, the Lions squandered a FG opportunity that would have tied the game. They lost by 3 points. #2 was just as good as a punt in a game the Lions ended up winning by 30 anyway. #3 would have cost Detroit the game, but their defense held the opponent to a FG in a game the Lions won by 2 points. #4 happened when the Lions were down by 3 with 4:28 left. The opponent scored a TD off it to go up by 10 and secure the game.

So 3 out of the 4 were game changers, or should have been

It's really strange that they turned the ball over in probably the worst situations (in their own red zone, and in scoring position).

Good to know though. I trust Romo more than Stafford in those same situations.