Quick review of some offensive issues

[xwalker]

In reviewing the game, I noticed that they often didn't have much if any options for Romo in the short middle of the field and he had nowhere to go with the ball when they blitzed.

I didn't show the running game in the images, but in general they often had 2 TEs blocking in the 1st half. In the 2nd half they ran more from 3 WR sets. Many of the 1st half failed runs were due to failed blocks by the TEs. Hanna and Witten both had some failed blocks. By running from a 3 WR set it took carried the extra defender away from the line and/or replaced a LB with a DB.

Here are some images of the passing issues:

1st half often looked like this with nobody in the short middle area for an easy, quick throw. Here Witten and Beasley were short, but it's a longer, more difficult throw to the sidelines than directly over the middle.

In the 2nd half they changed things up a little. Here is a quick slant to Beasley. Beasley ran a slant in the 1st half but Romo held the ball 3+ seconds before the throw; whereas, herer it is out in 2 seconds.

Here they run crossing routes which they didn't seem to do in the 1st half. The result is a 43 yard gain by Dez. Notice all the receivers within 10 yards.

Here they revert back to no short options in the middle or far side of the field and Romo gets sacked. Yes the RB is coming out, but he was delayed too much. They had better success when the RB ran an immediate pass pattern.

Multiple options with 10 yards. There were not doing this in the 1st half.

A quick throw to Beasley behind the line eliminates the pass rush issue.

 

[Don Corleone]

Thanks for sharing. I noticed the adjustment, but wished they made it sooner!

 

[reddyuta]

good write up,this is in direct contrast to packers who throw a ton of passes down the middle to negate the pass rush

 

[xwalker]

good write up,this is in direct contrast to packers who throw a ton of passes down the middle to negate the pass rush

Yes, this is the reason the Cowboys had problems with the blitz more than any issue with the OL.

 

[percyhoward]

Beasley on NFL Radio said they hadn't prepared for blitzes during the week, because they didn't expect the Lions to do it.

 

[TonyRomo17]

Cant really blame them for not expecting the blitz if the 1Q, they Lions barely blitzed their last games this season

 

[BotchedLobotomy]

Beasley on NFL Radio said they hadn't prepared for blitzes during the week, because they didn't expect the Lions to do it.

This concerns me

 

[gimmesix]

Beasley on NFL Radio said they hadn't prepared for blitzes during the week, because they didn't expect the Lions to do it.

That's what I was going to say. It doesn't look like the game plan was designed for the blitz. It was designed to try to win the line of scrimmage to run the ball and get it downfield. When we couldn't get the run going or stop Detroit's blitzing and front four, we switched designs.

 

[CyberB0b]

It seems like the gameplan almost never includes hot reads on blitzes. I don't get it.

 

[visionary]

Beasley on NFL Radio said they hadn't prepared for blitzes during the week, because they didn't expect the Lions to do it.

Wow, that is crazy
Same issues as in the skins game
How can you not prepare for blitzes in the NFL ?
It is the responsibility OC the cb to anticipate and have the team ready

It was pretty obvious in the first half that the team was unprepared, the victory caused this to be brushed under the rug

 

[Aven8]

Cant really blame them for not expecting the blitz if the 1Q, they Lions barely blitzed their last games this season

IMO they probably thought Romo would have all day if they just rushed 4, even with the studs they have. Plus the book is out thanks to Washington, at least teams think this.

 

[jobberone]

Yes, this is the reason the Cowboys had problems with the blitz more than any issue with the OL.

Great stuff as usual.

The route problems were mentioned by some during and after the game. I completely agree they didn't compensate early with shorter and quicker hitting routes, slants, bubbles etc. I'm not certain why it took so long to adjust. But I don't agree completely the routes were the problem not the OL. All season they've had problems with games, stacks and loops. There were times blitzers came in untouched. They have to clean that stuff up as well as run the tree better.

 

[arglebargle]

Wow, that is crazy
Same issues as in the skins game
How can you not prepare for blitzes in the NFL ?
It is the responsibility OC the cb to anticipate and have the team ready

It was pretty obvious in the first half that the team was unprepared, the victory caused this to be brushed under the rug

Yes! Because if a team resolutely plays a standard 3-4 defense, you should spend a lot of valuable time preparing for their surprise deployment of a dime package! :-(

They did adapt to it, eventually.

 

[jobberone]

Wow, that is crazy
Same issues as in the skins game
How can you not prepare for blitzes in the NFL ?
It is the responsibility OC the cb to anticipate and have the team ready

It was pretty obvious in the first half that the team was unprepared, the victory caused this to be brushed under the rug

It was incredibly obvious they weren't prepared and that is on one Jason Garrett although that entire team needs to be scorched for that crap. I normally brush aside most things as part of football. This is unconscionable not to be prepared.

GB has already talked about sending players thru the A gaps amongst other blitz packages.

 

[jobberone]

Yes! Because if a team resolutely plays a standard 3-4 defense, you should spend a lot of valuable time preparing for their surprise deployment of a dime package! :-(

They did adapt to it, eventually.

We got our butts handed to us by Washington and it is common knowledge that getting Romo rattled is a key albeit a dangerous game. AZ did it. Wash did it and cost us the #1 seed. Philly did it some. Not being prepared for something that has been a persistent weakness just boggles my mind. This is playoff inexperience as teams are going to throw different wrinkles at you in the playoffs. Everyone's game gets elevated and at times different.

 

[WPBCowboysFan]

This concerns me

Agreed

 

[TonyRomo17]

It was incredibly obvious they weren't prepared and that is on one Jason Garrett although that entire team needs to be scorched for that crap. I normally brush aside most things as part of football. This is unconscionable not to be prepared.

GB has already talked about sending players thru the A gaps amongst other blitz packages.

I dont think its that serious, the Lions had shown all year that they were fine sending 4, just be glad they adjusted

 

[wconn1979]

In reviewing the game, I noticed that they often didn't have much if any options for Romo in the short middle of the field and he had nowhere to go with the ball when they blitzed.

I didn't show the running game in the images, but in general they often had 2 TEs blocking in the 1st half. In the 2nd half they ran more from 3 WR sets. Many of the 1st half failed runs were due to failed blocks by the TEs. Hanna and Witten both had some failed blocks. By running from a 3 WR set it took carried the extra defender away from the line and/or replaced a LB with a DB.

Here are some images of the passing issues:

1st half often looked like this with nobody in the short middle area for an easy, quick throw. Here Witten and Beasley were short, but it's a longer, more difficult throw to the sidelines than directly over the middle.

In the 2nd half they changed things up a little. Here is a quick slant to Beasley. Beasley ran a slant in the 1st half but Romo held the ball 3+ seconds before the throw; whereas, herer it is out in 2 seconds.

Here they run crossing routes which they didn't seem to do in the 1st half. The result is a 43 yard gain by Dez. Notice all the receivers within 10 yards.


Here they revert back to no short options in the middle or far side of the field and Romo gets sacked. Yes the RB is coming out, but he was delayed too much. They had better success when the RB ran an immediate pass pattern.


Multiple options with 10 yards. There were not doing this in the 1st half.


A quick throw to Beasley behind the line eliminates the pass rush issue.

Nice write up. I still think Parnell played badly.

 

[jobberone]

I dont think its that serious, the Lions had shown all year that they were fine sending 4, just be glad they adjusted

Well, the proof is in the pudding. There is no tomorrow mulligans in the playoffs. IF I can think about it being problematic and creating a loss for us then surely somebody there should have. My questions to my staff would be how do we win this game and how can we lose it outside the usual turnovers etc. With an offense like ours and an offense like the Lions our biggest problems should have been self inflicted ie INTs and fumbles along with drive killing penalties. Otherwise we should have scored 25+ points including scoring early on. What we did is get way behind and without one play likely would have lost that game in the first half.

We start out slowly against GB, like this team has done too many times in the past, and we may not come back from it. In fact we probably won't. I'll be very pleased if we hold GB to less than 25 points.

I can tell you some of us were talking about this before the game and in fact before the first Wash game. Go look at the AZ game as well. This isn't a new development.

 

[visionary]

It was incredibly obvious they weren't prepared and that is on one Jason Garrett although that entire team needs to be scorched for that crap. I normally brush aside most things as part of football. This is unconscionable not to be prepared.

GB has already talked about sending players thru the A gaps amongst other blitz packages.

Esp when it happened in the skins game
But, water under the bridge
Need to get ready for GB and you can bet they will try to blitz initially to see how we respond