Rushing to help the Defense

[FuzzyLumpkins]

I love stats and analytics but percy throws up a wall of numbers like kjj throws up a wall of words

they lose their meaning and obscures the debate thru sheer volume and repetition

like your use of 5 dollar words and phrases when the rest of us are playing penny ante

No he doesn't. Youre just characterizing to dismiss which is actually what KJJ does.

BTW, I find the complaint about my diction on an online forum, where by definition you have access to search any term you don't know, to be laughable. It's not like I'm looking up the words I use. Ever heard the term small-minded?

 

[Alexander]

All I can say is that the Cowboys are making another run with the same formula that brought them their best level of success since Jimmy Johnson left the building.

Yet the geniuses here at this message board have counted the beans and crunched all numbers to realize they are just doing it wrong.

Should be fun to see the reactions as the season unfolds.

 

[CalPolyTechnique]

A healthy Romo helps the running game which in turn helps the defense.

A healthy Romo is the common denominator.

 

[Nightman]

No he doesn't. Youre just characterizing to dismiss which is actually what KJJ does.

BTW, I find the complaint about my diction on an online forum, where by definition you have access to search any term you don't know, to be laughable. It's not like I'm looking up the words I use. Ever heard the term small-minded?

Not trying to start a big thing but people don't talk the way post....it is your thing like Gimme's....we get it and I'm not intimidated or sweating it, just acknowledging the elephant in the room

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

Not trying to start a big thing but people don't talk the way post....it is your thing like Gimme's....we get it and I'm not intimidated or sweating it, just acknowledging the elephant in the room

Sorry but I normally post stream of consciousness. Your assumption about how all people behave the same way is false.

 

[percyhoward]

All I can say is that the Cowboys are making another run with the same formula that brought them their best level of success since Jimmy Johnson left the building.

You can't compare the defenses with a straight face.

 

[percyhoward]

I can pull out a million examples similar to what I just posted but I'm sure you would ignore those also.

We can both provide mountains of anecdotal evidence, but to what end? It doesn't make a lot of sense to go back and forth citing smaller pieces of the picture when we already have the whole picture.

 

[percyhoward]

I love stats and analytics but percy throws up a wall of numbers like kjj throws up a wall of words.

Skip the numbers and just remember the fact that teams that control the ball for long periods of time generally aren't much more successful than teams that don't.

 

[Nightman]

Skip the numbers and just remember the fact that teams that control the ball for long periods of time generally aren't much more successful than teams that don't.

I appreciate that, but I am talking about imposing your will on the other team....running when they know it, in the fourth when a first down wins the game......wearing them down mentally and physically with the Stampede of OLmen.....safties and corners not wanting to stick their shoulders in there any more...snatching back the momentum after an opponent scores

Tony is not Tom Brady and we aren't made to convert a ton of third downs.....we don't have the discipline to consistently run a hurry up, no huddle offense....Tony got hurt last year on a play that had 0 protection but he didn't immediately throw the ball...Brady has no OL but throws the ball < 2secs....even Costa could protect that long

Like I said....nothing bad comes from having a dominating running game...only good

 

[AdamJT13]

Tony is not Tom Brady and we aren't made to convert a ton of third downs

We were second in the NFL in third-down conversion rate in 2014, and Romo was the second-highest-rated passer on third downs (116.2).

 

[Idgit]

You can't compare the defenses with a straight face.

And that's the problem with the current incarnation. And has been for, what, 5 seasons now?

Those old Cowboys teams had the luxury of extra picks and were before the advent of free agency for a bit. That makes it a lot easier to outpace your competition. This incarnation did a nice job emulating the offense. But we've been throwing haymakers on defense and not really landing many of them. That's going to end up costing us a window of opportunity if we're not careful. Wildcatting only looks like a good strategy when you're lucky enough to hit a gusher. In which case it's not strategy, it's luck.

 

[Nightman]

We were second in the NFL in third-down conversion rate in 2014, and Romo was the second-highest-rated passer on third downs (116.2).

I'd bet there were a lot more 3rd and shorts and play actions because of the stellar running game....you skipped the next line when I point it in context......2014 was head and shoulders Tony's best year when he only threw it 435 times compared to a high of 648 in 2012

 

[JBS]

Lies, damned lies and statistics

You just produce volumes of numerical diarrhea and expect us to un-learn all the basic footballs truths we have lived our whole lives.....times may be a changin' but there is nothing bad that comes from a dominating rushing attack....

Or maybe you aren't as smart as you think you are and you have been wrong this whole time and you never really did have the right understanding of what winning football is? Why isn't that an option?

 

[Nightman]

Or maybe you aren't as smart as you think you are and you have been wrong this whole time and you never really did have the right understanding of what winning football is? Why isn't that an option?

Child please.......guess you weren't around for the Glory Days like your handle suggests or you wouldn't even think something so silly

 

[JBS]

Child please.......guess you weren't around for the Glory Days like your handle suggests or you wouldn't even think something so silly

It's not easy living life w a closed brain

 

[Kaiser]

We can both provide mountains of anecdotal evidence, but to what end? It doesn't make a lot of sense to go back and forth citing smaller pieces of the picture when we already have the whole picture.

Not much point to it and you are one of my favorite posters here. I don't think we will convince each other, but I'll never be convinced that season averages tell the story.

 

[Nightman]

It's not easy living life w a closed brain

I feel your pain

 

[AdamJT13]

I'd bet there were a lot more 3rd and shorts and play actions because of the stellar running game

Nope. Romo had fewer attempts on third-and-short in 2014 than he did in 2013 despite having the exact same number of third-down attempts overall. And contrary to popular belief, strong running games don't "set up third and short" any better than strong passing games. As far as play-action passes, we had one of the lowest play-action rates in the NFL in 2014 -- as we always do (we've been 28th or lower in each of the past five seasons). Garrett is notoriously inept at using play-action passes as part of the offense. And the success of play-action passes also has almost nothing to do with how well or how poorly you run the ball. We were actually worse using play-action in 2014 than we were in any of the previous three seasons.

you skipped the next line when I point it in context......2014 was head and shoulders Tony's best year when he only threw it 435 times compared to a high of 648 in 2012

He threw it only 435 times in 15 games because we almost never had to play catch-up in the second half, mostly because we usually passed better than our opponents. He threw just as many passes early in games that season as he did in the previous seasons. But instead of needing to pass late in games, we had the luxury of running the ball instead.

 

[Idgit]

Nope. Romo had fewer attempts on third-and-short in 2014 than he did in 2013 despite having the exact same number of third-down attempts overall. And contrary to popular belief, strong running games don't "set up third and short" any better than strong passing games. As far as play-action passes, we had one of the lowest play-action rates in the NFL in 2014 -- as we always do (we've been 28th or lower in each of the past five seasons). Garrett is notoriously inept at using play-action passes as part of the offense. And the success of play-action passes also has almost nothing to do with how well or how poorly you run the ball. We were actually worse using play-action in 2014 than we were in any of the previous three seasons.

He threw it only 435 times in 15 games because we almost never had to play catch-up in the second half, mostly because we usually passed better than our opponents. He threw just as many passes early in games that season as he did in the previous seasons. But instead of needing to pass late in games, we had the luxury of running the ball instead.

How do you stay so patient with typing the same stuff up every offseason? I'd go crazy.

I don't even think bkight was here previously, but these arguments can be cut and pasted after every season.

 

[percyhoward]

Not much point to it and you are one of my favorite posters here. I don't think we will convince each other, but I'll never be convinced that season averages tell the story.

I appreciate the kind words. There must be some reason you like my posts.

These were the best teams at controlling the clock in 2015, along with the duration of their average offensive possession over 16 games:

1. Atlanta 3:05
2. Seattle 3:01
3. Dallas 3:00
4. Minnesota 2:54
5. San Diego 2:54

The combined W-L of these teams is 37-43.

What specifically do you think is skewing this set of numbers? If you wanted to find out which team was the best at controlling the clock without counting the total time and dividing that by their number of possessions, then how would you do it? Which teams, in your opinion, were the best at controlling the clock in 2015, if not these teams, and why?