Significance of the running game in today's NFL

[xwalker]

I really don't think Adam's ever said that the running game was of minimal importance. He's always granted that obvious rushing situations exist. And that short yardage effectiveness also does have a relevant correlation to winning, for that matter.

He said in a reply to me in the past couple of days that defenses should always play with maximum effort to defend the pass regardless of what is going on with the offense's running game.

The importance of the running game is not just short yardage or situational. If defenses do anything to defend the run that makes their pass defense more vulnerable then the running game is having a positive impact. We don't have the ability to measure that impact with the available statistics. If you want to show something mathematically (statistically) then you can't just make assumptions. Once you know that the running game has any amount of impact on making the defense more vulnerable to the pass, then saying that it is a small impact is an assumption. Any theory that involves assumption is not proof, it's just theory.

 

[Doomsday101]

He said in a reply to me in the past couple of days that defenses should always play with maximum effort to defend the pass regardless of what is going on with the offense's running game.

The importance of the running game is not just short yardage or situational. If defenses do anything to defend the run that makes their pass defense more vulnerable then the running game is having a positive impact. We don't have the ability to measure that impact with the available statistics. If you want to show something mathematically (statistically) then you can't just make assumptions. Once you know that the running game has any amount of impact on making the defense more vulnerable to the pass, then saying that it is a small impact is an assumption. Any theory that involves assumption is not proof, it's just theory.

I agree, I can promise you GB this week heading into Seattle knows they must stop the run, if they fail to the Seahawks are not afraid to give you a steady diet of Lynch and will not stop unless you change up to stop him. On the other side Seahawks know they must get to Rodgers to me this is where I think Lacy has to have a good game, if GB can run the ball it will slow up the Seahawks pass defense.

 

[Brooksey]

He said in a reply to me in the past couple of days that defenses should always play with maximum effort to defend the pass regardless of what is going on with the offense's running game.

The importance of the running game is not just short yardage or situational. If defenses do anything to defend the run that makes their pass defense more vulnerable then the running game is having a positive impact. We don't have the ability to measure that impact with the available statistics. If you want to show something mathematically (statistically) then you can't just make assumptions. Once you know that the running game has any amount of impact on making the defense more vulnerable to the pass, then saying that it is a small impact is an assumption. Any theory that involves assumption is not proof, it's just theory.

Nicely said and very true.

 

[Zimmy Lives]

I've said it before and I'll say it again: The Cowboys' success rises or falls with the arm of Tony Romo. Until Dallas builds a solid defense, Tony is still the focal point of the offense. Sorry Demarco.

 

[TwoDeep3]

I've said it before and I'll say it again: The Cowboys' success rises or falls with the arm of Tony Romo. Until Dallas builds a solid defense, Tony is still the focal point of the offense. Sorry Demarco.

That theory has been disputed and proven somewhat inaccurate this season. With a defense made up of people standing at the nearest bus stop, and to get so far, something had to cvhange from the Romo throwing 40 passes a game and taking all the team on his shoulders.

That is not to diminish Romo's contribution. But balance is what made 2014 a banner year. Protecting Romo from being forced into performing heroics week after week until the odds caught up with him and he tosses a pick. Defenses sitting back waiting for him like am ambush.

I agree Romo makes the rest of the offense better. But that better makes him better, as well as keeping the defense off the field.

So your premise about Sorry DeMarco is incorrect and actually in the reverse. What protects the defense is a running game that chews clock and is productive.

 

[Doomsday101]

That theory has been disputed and proven somewhat inaccurate this season. With a defense made up of people standing at the nearest bus stop, and to get so far, something had to cvhange from the Romo throwing 40 passes a game and taking all the team on his shoulders.

That is not to diminish Romo's contribution. But balance is what made 2014 a banner year. Protecting Romo from being forced into performing heroics week after week until the odds caught up with him and he tosses a pick. Defenses sitting back waiting for him like am ambush.

I agree Romo makes the rest of the offense better. But that better makes him better, as well as keeping the defense off the field.

So your premise about Sorry DeMarco is incorrect and actually in the reverse. What protects the defense is a running game that chews clock and is productive.

I agree and still am fascinated that through out the season most would say the only way Dallas can win this game is by running it 20 to 30 times, season is over an now it is like the running game meant nothing.

 

[TwoDeep3]

I agree and still am fascinated that through out the season most would say the only way Dallas can win this game is by running it 20 to 30 times, season is over an now it is like the running game meant nothing.

I'm sure there is some interesting psychological term for the manifestation that has occurred with the crowd here who ignores what transpired and what they even clamored about just a short six months ago.

One might suspect the cure would be a straight jacket, electro shock treatment, and a Thorzine drip.

 

[Zimmy Lives]

I'm sure there is some interesting psychological term for the manifestation that has occurred with the crowd here who ignores what transpired and what they even clamored about just a short six months ago.

One might suspect the cure would be a straight jacket, electro shock treatment, and a Thorzine drip.

With all due respect to you and Dooms, you guys are so far out in left field you're missing the basic premise of the argument against keeping Murray. Rather than insult your intelligence, I'll just agree that Murray is a very good back, he was a highly integral part of the Dallas offense, and he was a main contributor to the success of the Cowboys as a team. I'll leave it at that.

 

[Idgit]

I agree, I can promise you GB this week heading into Seattle knows they must stop the run, if they fail to the Seahawks are not afraid to give you a steady diet of Lynch and will not stop unless you change up to stop him. On the other side Seahawks know they must get to Rodgers to me this is where I think Lacy has to have a good game, if GB can run the ball it will slow up the Seahawks pass defense.

Meh. GB is going to be worried about their ability to pass effectively against that defense. If they can do that, they'll trade blows against that rushing offense all day.

 

[Idgit]

I agree and still am fascinated that through out the season most would say the only way Dallas can win this game is by running it 20 to 30 times, season is over an now it is like the running game meant nothing.

This is nothing I've ever said. I've consistently been of the opinion that it's been the improvement on defense that was the difference maker this season. Even with Demarco Murray, I've consistently said that we'll miss his pass protection more than what he gave us in the running game. It's other posters who were excited about handing the ball off more. But if you look at our points/offensive series it's really not dramatically better than it was last year relative to the rest of the league.

I can't speak for Adam, but I also can't recall him going gaga for running the ball more this season.

 

[jobberone]

I think both the defense and the offense are responsible for the turnaround. Defensively our Sc% went from roughly 40 to a little over 31. Too many were TDs but that's a big swing. We had the same number of drives as our opponent but scored almost 0.7 pts per drive more. Last year we had a bit fewer drives and scored less per drive than our opponent. We passed for less yardage this year compared to last. So the offensive improvement didn't come there although we were more efficient.

We improved 3 ppg on offense and 5 ppg on defense.

 

[Brooksey]

Meh. GB is going to be worried about their ability to pass effectively against that defense. If they can do that, they'll trade blows against that rushing offense all day.

They will be worried about their ability to run as well. If they can establish the run and have Seattle commit an extra guy to stop Lacy, Rodgers will do some carving. If those two safeties have to keep coming up to stop Lacy, Jordy's gonna break a big one.

 

[Idgit]

They will be worried about their ability to run as well. If they can establish the run and have Seattle commit an extra guy to stop Lacy, Rodgers will do some carving. If those two safeties have to keep coming up to stop Lacy, Jordy's gonna break a big one.

Maybe. I don't think they're capable of making SEA bring up the S. I bet it's more likely you see them putting Cobb in the backfield again and spreading that coverage out so they can throw against it.

Either way, that come comes down to their ability to pass effectively v. SEA's ability to keep them from doing so. It's not going to be decided by either team's running game.

 

[Brooksey]

Maybe. I don't think they're capable of making SEA bring up the S. I bet it's more likely you see them putting Cobb in the backfield again and spreading that coverage out so they can throw against it.

Either way, that come comes down to their ability to pass effectively v. SEA's ability to keep them from doing so. It's not going to be decided by either team's running game.

Don't get caught up on your pass happy ideas again. We already went through this, let's see what happens.

 

[Idgit]

I think both the defense and the offense are responsible for the turnaround. Defensively our Sc% went from roughly 40 to a little over 31. Too many were TDs but that's a big swing. We had the same number of drives as our opponent but scored almost 0.7 pts per drive more. Last year we had a bit fewer drives and scored less per drive than our opponent. We passed for less yardage this year compared to last. So the offensive improvement didn't come there although we were more efficient.

We improved 3 ppg on offense and 5 ppg on defense.

I haven't checked the final numbers, but iirc, our offensive rank relative to the rest of the league improved a spot or two through the regular season, but scoring was up, as a whole, right? And that's on a points/offensive series basis and not a total scoring basis, as that nets out defensive and ST scores from the equation. And defensive points/series were up almost a half-point/series, iirc, which was significant for a team that lost 5 games by a total of 8 points the season before. The jump from league-worst to middling was significant in that regard.

 

[Idgit]

Don't get caught up on your pass happy ideas again. We already went through this, let's see what happens.

Unfortunately, my ideas are pretty tightly wedded to what actually happens in the games. If I could not get caught up in those realities, I would. I just want to see us do what's most likely to be effective.

I know I'm in the vast minority when it comes to not really caring particularly about balance (within reason) or about who's running the ball. I'm ok with that.

I would be interesting in knowing how time of possession on offense benefits a defense. Just guessing blindly, I'd assume the impact is measurable, but not all that significant. But I'm all for whatever's going to let us defend the pass better next season. Whether that's scheme or personnel or coaching, whatever it is, I'm in.

 

[jobberone]

I haven't checked the final numbers, but iirc, our offensive rank relative to the rest of the league improved a spot or two through the regular season, but scoring was up, as a whole, right? And that's on a points/offensive series basis and not a total scoring basis, as that nets out defensive and ST scores from the equation. And defensive points/series were up almost a half-point/series, iirc, which was significant for a team that lost 5 games by a total of 8 points the season before. The jump from league-worst to middling was significant in that regard.

I'm not certain about the specifics of your comments but we scored about 0.7 points more per drive than our opponents. That's up from last year but I don't know if you can get into a lot of specifics about the differences but certainly the generalities of an increased Sc% offensively and a much improved Sc% defensively. My point is neither can be looked at in a vacuum but they are synergistic.

The bottom line is we improved significantly on both sides of the ball. If one wants to argue we improved more on defense I'll defer but only 2 ppg difference. Taken together the swing was 8ppg which is huge.

 

[Idgit]

I'm not certain about the specifics of your comments but we scored about 0.7 points more per drive than our opponents. That's up from last year but I don't know if you can get into a lot of specifics about the differences but certainly the generalities of an increased Sc% offensively and a much improved Sc% defensively. My point is neither can be looked at in a vacuum but they are synergistic.

The bottom line is we improved significantly on both sides of the ball. If one wants to argue we improved more on defense I'll defer but only 2 ppg difference. Taken together the swing was 8ppg which is huge.

I usually look at points/series for this comparison. Offensively, we went from 4th (2.25) in the league last year to 2nd (2.62) this year. And from 30th (2.31) on defense to 16th (1.89). So, yeah, I guess you're right. It's about even the improvement between the offense and the defense over last season.

 

[ElGatoGrande]

well they're playing a first place schedule next year instead of the third easiest, if this defense doesn't improve they will be lit up like a Christmas tree. Where's the chart that says how often you lose when you can't stop a one-legged quarterback from putting up 28 points on you? Better to shift the focus to the defense rather than some scattered stats about running the ball. I suspect Romo and Linehan would feel a lot more comfortable airing it out if they knew they didn't have to protect the defense the entire game.

 

[Idgit]

well they're playing a first place schedule next year instead of the third easiest, if this defense doesn't improve they will be lit up like a Christmas tree. Where's the chart that says how often you lose when you can't stop a one-legged quarterback from putting up 28 points on you? Better to shift the focus to the defense rather than some scattered stats about running the ball. I suspect Romo and Linehan would feel a lot more comfortable airing it out if they knew they didn't have to protect the defense the entire game.

This much is true. Though you should probably refer to him as a one-legged MVP. And he really wasn't one-legged, he just wasn't running out of the pocket. He was a heck of a QB that day. But we have to have to have to improve this pass defense, no doubt. And by 'pass defense' I mostly mean pass rush in this case.