Offense better than you think

[CCBoy]

In the 2016 draft, we took a RB in the 1st and a QB in the 4th. Then over the next two years, our established QB and his All-Pro pass catchers reach their expiration dates.

Offense
Total = 27th
Points = 25th
Passing = 28th
Rushing = 4th

The offense probably isn't any better or worse than we think. It's about what we could have predicted it would be.

Up front, I'm thinking that Dak had his confidence (focus point) shaken at last year's Atlanta game. His vision, after first year success, was shaken at the NFL level. He then viewed things differently. He will overcome his reflex vision, as time wears on. Myself, I think that he still has the talent and with coach, will stabilize his delivery; be able to deliver a better down-the-field ball; and better use his running abilities and decide effectively when to role outside and place a ton more pressure on opponents. When Austin returns, play action can become a killer...and down range.

 

[bsbellomy]

There are fans who will always complain about something/anything/everything. To coin a phrase, they are the "negative Nancy's". I don't know this to be a fact but I suspect they lead their entire lives being negative. There probably is a good reason for that.

Is this a team destined to play in the SB, no. Is this a team that could make the playoffs, yes. Does that piss some fans off, yes. Why? Because many have a hate on for Garrett/Dak/pick your poison and a play off appearance isn't good enough. On top of that it could save Garretts/Dak's/pick your poisons job and another year of negativity.

When I look around the NFL, 80% of the teams are struggling with one facet of their game or another and aren't consistent. 23 teams are 1-2 games over .500 or worse. The two juggernauts in the game last night scored104 points. If we were one of those teams playing last night, the "negative Nancy's" would be whining about our defense giving up so many points and defenses winning SB's.

I don't come on here much now and for good reason. I like the Dallas Cowboys football team and enjoy the game. The negativity on here takes a good experience for me and makes it bitter. C'est la vie!

There is good football discussion here as well and if you are going to let someone's post bother you because it's not in line with your thinking that's pretty sad.

 

[Sydla]

This.

Whether we win 22-17 or 34-29, the most important stat is that we win.

Our defense has consistently held teams under 21 points this year. Only twice in 10 weeks has a team scored more than 20.

Therefore 24 to 27 points per game should do the trick. Or, 5 points more than the other team.

In theory, sure.

But in the playoffs we are going to have to see the Saints and/or Rams, who likely are going to score more than 20 on us. So the offense is going to have to be better if we have any delusions of making any noise in the playoffs.

Further, just to dash a little bit of cold water on the defense............ in 10 games, they have only faced 3 Top 15 scoring offenses (Atlanta #9, Carolina #11 and Seattle #14). There is no question that our defense has improved a lot over the last few years, but I think if people are thinking we can ham and egg it on offense like we have and make some noise come January because our defense is going to keep the Rams or Saints in check, that's likely not going to happen.

 

[BigD_95]

Not when that is how your offense is literally designed and you come out with a W.

This is not directed to you...but I don’t think fans in general understand offensive philosophy.

People believe the main objective of an offense is to score a touchdown as quick as possible. That’s not the objective for this offense...especially against a high powered offense. You need to force an opposing offense to play your game.

If you go out and put together a 7 minute drive that even ends in a field goal(I don’t condone this). That will psychologically mess with the playcalling of a high powered offense. The last thing an opposing offense will want to do is score fast and throw their tired defense on the field again.

This is just one example...this team is not going to score points like that by design. In their perfect game, they won’t even have nowhere near as many possessions as the teams last night to even sniff those scores.

That was how Dallas's offense was set up in the 90's and they would still throw the ball down field and get big plays. I get what you are saying but you have to have the threat of going deep and you need to hit some big plays here and there.

We got the win. I'm happy. I thought Dak played better as the game went on. He really just needs to work on his timing routes and trust the receivers more. Hopefully he keeps improving. Big game on Thursday. Pull this one out and we are in the drivers seat.

 

[percyhoward]

Up front, I'm thinking that Dak had his confidence (focus point) shaken at last year's Atlanta game. His vision, after first year success, was shaken at the NFL level. He then viewed things differently. He will overcome his reflex vision, as time wears on. Myself, I think that he still has the talent and with coach, will stabilize his delivery; be able to deliver a better down-the-field ball; and better use his running abilities and decide effectively when to role outside and place a ton more pressure on opponents. When Austin returns, play action can become a killer...and down range.

He's made some progress at tuning out the chaos. At this point, I think it's less about the mental aspect and more about the players around him.

Prescott's passer rating
with Frederick
vs. blitz 109.1
no blitz 89.8

without Frederick
vs. blitz 71.1
no blitz 98.0

 

[thechosen1n2]

An antiquated offense like ours can work against mediocre teams like the Eagles or Falcons. Cool.

We go against the Pats, Rams, Chiefs, or Saints... We're gonna get blown out by 20.

This isn't 1993.

A couple three-and-outs and we would quickly be down 14; and at that point, our running game (which is our only hope for scoring points) is rendered obsolete.


Yeah, we scored 22 against the Falcons. Could have scored 27. That means next-to-nothing in the 2018 NFL.

In theory I agree, but we have to look beyond the surface. If we score 27 aaaaaand control the clock, the Rams, Chiefs, Saints Pats wont have time to score 45 on us. This does not mean that I am happy with our offense...Im Not!!! But we dont need to get in a scoring contest with those teams either.

 

[Swagger]

That's the very reason we can't be a serious threat to win a Super Bowl.

The Cowboys offense has to play consistently perfect in order to have a chance. They rely on eating up 7+ minutes per drive and not screwing something up while they're taking 4 yard gain after 4 yard gain. There can't be a holding penalty, there can't be a drop, etc. The QB isn't good enough to get the team over those hurdles.

In the modern-NFL, you have to have quick-strike ability. If you're a threat to go 90 yards in :90, you can overcome a holding penalty or a couple INT.

Sure, the Cowboys can possibly compete with the elites if everything is perfect. But they're one Aaron Donald strip sack away from having no shot at all.

Sad yet true.

Need the ability to strike quickly through the air to win a Superbowl these days.

Whilst the Saints establish the run in pretty much every game, if they needed to, Drew could cut a team apart through the air. Could we...

 

[kskboys]

We had 350 yards and one player had over 200. You can call it an average performance but you can't call it good. Had we lost the game we'd all be complaining about it. But we have put up several other turds this season, and I'm not sure we're out of the woods yet.

I can and do call it good. Those are ball control O numbers.

Philly beat ATL last year in the first round of the playoffs w/ 334 yards of total O.

NE had 344 yds of total O last year in beating the Jags.

Don't get stuck on numbers.

 

[kskboys]

Destroyed the 23rd and 27th ranked defenses by a combined total of 10 points. We are 25th in scoring offense 27th in yardage. I know we can't blame Dak for any of it but stop acting like this offense is even average when it is struggling to stay off the bottom of the barrel.

The O was horrific early, and has steadily gotten a bit better. Not good enough yet, no, but possibly headed in the right direction.

 

[Nav22]

Gotta love the Bozos who obsess over fantasy football stats over winning. LOLLLLL

Same idiots who said Carson Wentz “outplayed Dak” last Sunday night because Wentz had 360 pass yards.

Never mind the fact that Dak was CLUTCH while Wentz wasn’t, which directly led to a Cowboys win.

“Why won’t Dak pass for 300+ like Wentz!?!?”

Well, for starters, Philly is a SPARKLING 0-4 when Wentz goes for 300+ this year!!!

 

[DC Cowboy]

We had 350 yards and one player had over 200. You can call it an average performance but you can't call it good. Had we lost the game we'd all be complaining about it. But we have put up several other turds this season, and I'm not sure we're out of the woods yet.

I agree. A lot of people look at the Rams, KC or NO and say that's what I want to the Cowboys to be. Well, it's never going to happen. That's not our style of football. We play ball control and the time of poss. game. I would love to see the Cowboys with a offense that was more dynamic and scored huge points every week, but those same offenses kill their defenses and they get gassed by the end of the game. I'll admit, our offense is incredibly boring to watch. The major fatal issue with our offense is if Zeke goes down, we're in trouble. We do need to be more dynamic and not be so focus on one player.

This is my point! With Zeke having the game he was having should have opened more space for Beasley and Cooper. I don't care about the drop from Beasley.

 

[Sydla]

Gotta love the Bozos who obsess over fantasy football stats over winning. LOLLLLL

Same idiots who said Carson Wentz “outplayed Dak” last Sunday night because Wentz had 360 pass yards.

Never mind the fact that Dak was CLUTCH while Wentz wasn’t, which directly led to a Cowboys win.

“Why won’t Dak pass for 300+ like Wentz!?!?”

Well, for starters, Philly is a SPARKLING 0-4 when Wentz goes for 300+ this year!!!

The team is 5-5. We are only in the playoff race because the division blows and Philly and Washington are sending 3-4 players to the hospital every weekend.

How much winning is actually happening?

Let's not act like we are 8-2 here fighting for home field advantage in the playoffs playing the quality of offense we are currently playing.

 

[hopemsu]

It's because I feel that we have the best defense we have had since the 90's and it's frustrating watching play calling that is often predictable and a quarterback generally struggle painfully with any throws where the receiver isn't already wide open. This would not be enough to get the W in the play offs.

If we had a proper quarterback who could actually execute difficult throws to receivers who are not already wide open then I genuinely believe we have the overall quality to be a Superbowl contender.

I make no reference to #9 at all and am looking forwards - it's just frustrating watching Prescott bumbling around and missing throws as I think the offense would be explosive with a proper QB. To his credit, we only spent a fourth round pick on him and he has proved to be excellent value.

Amari Cooper was wide open on that pass to the sideline late in the game? I recall Ryan throwing the ball to a cowboy, yet I don't recall Dak throwing the ball to a Falcon.
Dak needs to work on his game when he is under pressure, but if you give him a clean pocket, his throws are right on par with other good qbs. Is he top 2-3 QBs in the game right now? No, i'm not saying that. But he isnt bottom 10 either, much less bottom 2-3. With our offensive scheme, no QB would come here and throw for 350 yards a game.

in 2015, romo averaged 221 yards per game
in 2014, romo averaged 247 yards per game
Romo had one year where he averaged 300 yards per game, and his career is around 250.

The year that Romo had 300 yards per game, he also had 19 interceptions with a rating of 90.5 and the cowboys were 8-8..

 

[Idgit]

The offense is about as mediocre as I think. But at least we’re starting to see again the way thinks are intended to work. Elliott is a legitimate threat, and Cooper has opened up the passing game underneath. Losing the TE actually hurts now. And we need another player (looking at you, Beasley and Gallup) to step up and start gutting teams to let Dak elevate his game another notch.

It could happen. Until it does, though, I’m not holding my breath.

 

[nate dizzle]

The O was horrific early, and has steadily gotten a bit better. Not good enough yet, no, but possibly headed in the right direction.

They have been better lately and hopefully will continue to do so, but that's the optimist in me talking.

The realist in me sees that our "improvement" has come against the Eagles 26th ranked passing (23rd overall) missing their top 3 starting corners, and a Falcons 29th ranked passing (29th) overall defense.

So you have to consider the measuring stick you are using to define our improvement. Did we actually improve or did we just look good against bad competition?

 

[Stash]

The team is 5-5. We are only in the playoff race because the division blows and Philly and Washington are sending 3-4 players to the hospital every weekend.

How much winning is actually happening?

Let's not act like we are 8-2 here fighting for home field advantage in the playoffs playing the quality of offense we are currently playing.

And the 5 wins have come against teams with an 18-34 record. The pattern continue where we don't beat good teams.

But hey, we've had two road wins in a row against what were considered good teams in the past. I'll consider that as something. Now string together three in a row and set ourselves up to take this division on Thursday. And then we can talk some more.

 

[Nav22]

The team is 5-5. We are only in the playoff race because the division blows and Philly and Washington are sending 3-4 players to the hospital every weekend.

How much winning is actually happening?

Let's not act like we are 8-2 here fighting for home field advantage in the playoffs playing the quality of offense we are currently playing.

Philly and their fantasy football QB who can’t close games is 4-6. It’s cute that you’ve given them an excuse for sucking. The Cowboys have had injuries too.

Our offense has been very solid the last 2 weeks. If they keep playing like that while the D improves a bit (still need more sacks and takeaways), they can hang with anyone.

 

[Sydla]

The offense is about as mediocre as I think. But at least we’re starting to see again the way thinks are intended to work. Elliott is a legitimate threat, and Cooper has opened up the passing game underneath. Losing the TE actually hurts now. And we need another player (looking at you, Beasley and Gallup) to step up and start gutting teams to let Dak elevate his game another notch.

It could happen. Until it does, though, I’m not holding my breath.

As someone said they have gone from poor to possibly mediocre.

That's probably the best I think you can hope from this outfit, maybe a bit more consistent.

 

[percyhoward]

Losing the TE actually hurts now.

Swaim's average separation when targeted ranks 5th in the league.

 

[Sydla]

Philly and their fantasy football QB who can’t close games is 4-6. It’s cute that you’ve given them an excuse for sucking. The Cowboys have had injuries too.

Our offense has been very solid the last 2 weeks. If they keep playing like that while the D improves a bit (still need more sacks and takeaways), they can hang with anyone.

OK so Philly stinks and are one game behind us. Frankly, pointing out what is going on in Philly isn't helping your case here since we are only a game up on them.

The Cowboys have not had nearly the injuries the Skins and Eagles have had. I mean the Eagles were literally playing 3 guys in the secondary against the Saints that they had just picked up off the street last week.

The offense is mediocre. It has to be better if this team has any delusions of making some noise come January.