Random ruminations on the 2009 season...

[silverbear]

I've been sitting here tonight, reading this board and thinking, and I have a few things to comment on, in no particular order...

COACH CUPCAKE

Ol' Wade has caught a lot of hell, in the media and on the message boards, about "coddling" his players, being too "soft", especially when preparing them in the preseason... well, I have to note that on the eve of the playoffs, he has his team remarkably HEALTHY, and arguably hotter than any other NFC team in the playoffs right now... which is, I believe, the whole point-- to be playing your best ball at the end of the season...

So perhaps there is some method to his madness after all... now, he has to beat down that image of a coach who can't win in the playoffs, which to date is a legitimate knock on him... happily for him, and for us, I honestly believe that he's bringing his most talented team ever to the dance... I'm not ready to predict a Super Bowl yet, but I think this team can make some noise in the playoffs this time around...

GET RID OF RED

We heard a lot of that during the season, didn't we?? Yet now, I look at the stats, and I see that the Boys rank 2nd in the NFL in total offense, a fraction of a yard under 400 yards per game (which I believe is the most yards the Boys have ever put up in a single season in team history)... I see where Romo has put up almost 4500 yards passing, a Cowboys team record...

And I say to anybody who's not satisfied with that, your standards are so high as to be ridiculous... I won't call anybody out here, I'll just say that Jason Garrett has done a TERRIFIC job coordinating this offense this year...

I do have two small quibbles with him, two complaints that I'll acknowledge as legitimate, and to me they're connected-- the Boys haven't scored as many points as they should have, given the yardage they've racked up, and they haven't been real good in goal line and short yardage situations...

I believe the goal line/short yardage problems go all the way back to that Denver game, where Garrett called back to back passing plays down on the goal line on that final drive... he got roasted for that, both in the media and on the message boards, and I think that made him ultraconservative, predictable, in those situations from then on... I hope he recognizes that, and gets a bit more aggressive and creative in those situations... if he does, the points will come...

ADDITION BY SUBTRACTION

Lots of folks ridiculed the Cowboys' insinuation that their passing game would be better as a result of parting ways with TO, that his departure would be addition by subtraction... they said the Boys would find it difficult to replace Owens' production... well, let's look at the numbers:

267.9 yards per game in 2009, 236.8 yards per game in 2008... that's 31.1 more yards per game in 09...

63.1 completion percentage in 2009, 60.0 completion percentage in 2008... advantage, 09...

26 TD passes in 2009, 26 TD passes in 2008... advantage, 08...

9 interceptions in 2009, 20 interceptions in 2008... hmmm, maybe those who said that Romo was forcing the ball to TO had a point... BIG advantage, 2009...

97.6 quarterback rating in 2009, 84.9 quarterback rating in 2008...

Conclusion-- the Cowboys' passing game was considerably more effective this year than last year, and the biggest difference was the absence of TO... looks like addition by subtraction to me...

THE COWBOYS FOLD AFTER DECEMBER 1ST

Not any more, they don't... not this year's team... yeah, they lost a close game to the Giants up in the Meadowlands, and they lost a close game at home to the Chargers, the hottest team in the league (11 wins in a row)... and the Cowboys haters were out in full force... but then they went to New Orleans and beat an undefeated team rather solidly, they went to Washington and shut out the struggling Skins, then they came back home and shut out a potent Iggles offense... that's back to back shutouts, which as we all now know is the first time the Boys have ever had back to back shutouts-- and against NFC East opponents...

This team is just SMOKIN' hot right now... three solid, convincing wins, two of them on the road, two of them against good teams...

PENALTIES

Going into this season (as I noted earlier in another thread), we were all talking about how the Boys had to cut down on the penalties if they wanted to be successful... well, they didn't, but it didn't derail their season... indeed, it turns out that of the ten teams with the most penalties this season, seven of them are in the playoffs...

I don't know what to make of that...

TURNOVERS

Another common theme in the preseason was that the Boys-- particularly Romo-- had to cut down on the turnovers if they hoped the be successful this year... this mission was accomplished... where Tony had thrown an int in every 18.1 attempts going into this season, and committed 58 turnovers in his first 39 starts (1.48 per game), this year he cut that number significantly-- one int in every 61.1 attempts, 13 total turnovers in 16 games (.81 per game)...

That's a quantum leap forward, rendered even more impressive by the fact that he was sacked more frequently this year than ever before in his career-- once in every 17.2 attempts, compared to once in every 21.1 attempts going into this season... hey, perhaps the reason he was sacked more often was that this year, he took sacks rather than forcing passes... if so, I can live with it...

LOOKING AHEAD

No, I'm not going to predict the outcome of the playoffs, other than to say that I feel real good about our chances of beating the Iggles Saturday night... what I want to point out is that weather won't play a factor in any game the Boys might play in up to the Super Bowl...

The first game is at home in Cowboys Stadium... if the Boys win that one, they go to Minnesota, again an indoor game... and if they get past that one, they'll either play the Saints down in New Orleans again, or if the winner of the Packers/Cards game should then upset the Saints, the NFC championship game will be played back at Cowboys Stadium...

THE BOYS HAVEN'T WON A PLAYOFF GAME SINCE 1996

C'mon, Boys, put an end to THAT BS Saturday night... you're the better team, go prove it...

And what WILL the media have to talk about next December, if the Boys whip the Iggles on Saturday??

 

[Future]

the Boys haven't scored as many points as they should have, given the yardage they've racked up, and they haven't been real good in goal line and short yardage situations...

Good post...but that is a MAJOR concern for this offense. I only think Garret is about 60% to blame (incessant shotgun inside the 10 ) but that could kill us in the playoffs.

 

[silverbear]

Good post...but that is a MAJOR concern for this offense.

It is, but it's correctable...

 

[casmith07]

Well I think that your 26 to 26 in TD passes is more of a push than it is advantage to 2008, but a well-written post overall!

 

[dbair1967]

Good post...but that is a MAJOR concern for this offense. I only think Garret is about 60% to blame (incessant shotgun inside the 10 ) but that could kill us in the playoffs.

Yeah, just like that SD game.

Oh wait.

 

[casmith07]

Yeah, just like that SD game.

Oh wait.

Against San Diego we should have used the Shotgun Draw to Felix/Choice down there since they're quicker to make cuts and to hit the hole.

Then the next time down there, do the shotgun draw playaction slant pass that worked to RW against NY.

 

[Hostile]

Great post Bear. Garrett's and Romo's detractors need to saddle up to the bar next to TO's shills and order the crow. The funny thing is, most of them are the exact same guys for all three situations.

 

[Beast_from_East]

Good post SilverBear, I agree with everything you said.


Win or lose Saturday, I bring both Wade and Garrett back for 2010. I dont want us to become the Skins and hire a new coach every other year.

 

[JBond]

Great post Bear. Garrett's and Romo's detractors need to saddle up to the bar next to TO's shills and order the crow. The funny thing is, most of them are the exact same guys for all three situations.

Funny how that works.

 

[THUMPER]

Great post Bear. Garrett's and Romo's detractors need to saddle up to the bar next to TO's shills and order the crow. The funny thing is, most of them are the exact same guys for all three situations.

Yep, and almost all of them are on my ignore list.

 

[Hostile]

Yep, and almost all of them are on my ignore list.

I am jealous of that.

 

[poost]

I think if we ever get a 3rd and short we should just let flozell false start. That way he gets it out of his system for the game and we have a distance that we are more successful at converting. I'm just saying. /sarcasm

Seriously though, colombo's return should help in the short yardage situation and the emergence on Phillips as a fullback, while still too early to tell, may help in that department too. When it gets down to short yardage it's all about what line gets the bigger push off the snap.

 

[kmd24]

I've been sitting here tonight, reading this board and thinking, and I have a few things to comment on, in no particular order...

COACH CUPCAKE

Ol' Wade has caught a lot of hell, in the media and on the message boards, about "coddling" his players, being too "soft", especially when preparing them in the preseason... well, I have to note that on the eve of the playoffs, he has his team remarkably HEALTHY, and arguably hotter than any other NFC team in the playoffs right now... which is, I believe, the whole point-- to be playing your best ball at the end of the season...

It's really ridiculous. This characterization is based off his demeanor in press conferences and the fact that he has given his players a few days off in the past, and the training camps without tackling.

Meanwhile, as you said, Dallas has been one of the most injury-free (knock on wood) teams in the league, and they're one of the most physical teams in the playoffs. Nothing soft about these Cowboys.

 

[jobberone]

I'm off the fence with Garrett but we're still not scoring enough points compared to how many yards we're putting up. That still needs to get better.

 

[Idgit]

Can I just co-sign all of this? Great OP and right on the money.

 

[THUMPER]

I am jealous of that.

Yet one more reason to be thankful to you and the other admins for what you have to put up with to help keep this a great forum. :grouphug: :beer2: :toast2: :gent:

 

[big dog cowboy]

Random ruminations on the 2009 season...

Very good post Silverbear. I enjoyed reading that.

 

[Doomsay]

The offensive performance is more impressive if you consider how little the assumed #1 receiver contributed. Tony weathered the storm of being too cautious and stuck to a more controlled style of play, both in terms of pass selection and pocket presence.

The run game certainly helped Tony's play action with an additional 25 yds per contest. And for all of the criticism of the draw formation, it seems to be pretty effective outside of short yardage situations.

I do think that it is hard to compare the year-over-year passing stats on an apple to apple basis given Tony's absence from 3 games.

 

[TheGoat73]

RE: Coach Cupcake...

What stands out is the injury report. Brewster on IR, Watkins on his way back and Choice w/ a short term (I hope) injury. I may be missing someone.
The Cowboys have had an exceptional season, I mean a REALLY uncommon one, when it comes to injuries. Wade and the training staff must be doing something right.

Is Coach Cupcake on to something w/ Victory Mondays? If athletes keep their bodies in shape during the off season, is the additional rest actually beneficial for their performance over a punishing 4-month season?

That said, we should run deep into the playoffs w/ nearly all of our players on the field. If we can't do that this year, how will we do it next year w/ a VERY tough schedule and the inevitibly of injuries.

 

[Eskimo]

Well I think that your 26 to 26 in TD passes is more of a push than it is advantage to 2008, but a well-written post overall!

He did it in less games in 2008.