CCBoy
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Issues in Oxnard: 3rd Down Problems Must Be Solved
http://sturminator.blogspot.com/
As we spend days at camp pondering how the Dallas Cowboys can be a better football team, I wanted to make sure I tackle the bigger issues and take a deeper look. I think the team thinks this way, and certainly a proper coach thinks this way, so why shouldn't we?
Now, we can debate how much each problem contributes to keeping a team out of the playoffs or the Super Bowl, but there are certain way to identify each season by what they couldn't do very well. And in the case of the 2013 Dallas Cowboys, one of the more frustrating identifiers of that team from an offensive standpoint was that they had a heck of a time converting on 3rd Downs.
3rd Downs are the money down in the sport, and where games are won or lost. What is interesting is that the 3rd Down conversion game is similar to the Red Zone conversion game. In 2012, the Cowboys were much better on 3rd Downs, but much worse in converting Red Zone possessions into Touchdowns. In 2013, the script flipped and they drastically improved their Red Zone TD percentage, but the 3rd Downs fell back down the ladder.
Season3rd Down % and RankRed Zone TD % and Rank
201293-212, 44%, 5th25-49, 51%, 20th
201363-180, 35%, 25th 35-51, 69%, 3rd
So, last training camp, we sat right here and talked about how the Cowboys should be a better Red Zone team and used their 3rd Down ability as a reason. If they can convert on 3rd Downs this well, shouldn't they be able to get more done in the red zone?
And, throughout the season, the answer seemed to be a resounding yes. In 2013, with nearly the same exact number of red zone drives as they had in 2012, they punched it into the end zone 10 more times! That is an absurd jump in productivity. Only 2 teams had a better efficiency in the red zone (Denver and Cincinnati) and only 1 team had more touchdowns than the Cowboys from red zone drives (Denver).
But, what happened to the 3rd Downs?...
http://sturminator.blogspot.com/
As we spend days at camp pondering how the Dallas Cowboys can be a better football team, I wanted to make sure I tackle the bigger issues and take a deeper look. I think the team thinks this way, and certainly a proper coach thinks this way, so why shouldn't we?
Now, we can debate how much each problem contributes to keeping a team out of the playoffs or the Super Bowl, but there are certain way to identify each season by what they couldn't do very well. And in the case of the 2013 Dallas Cowboys, one of the more frustrating identifiers of that team from an offensive standpoint was that they had a heck of a time converting on 3rd Downs.
3rd Downs are the money down in the sport, and where games are won or lost. What is interesting is that the 3rd Down conversion game is similar to the Red Zone conversion game. In 2012, the Cowboys were much better on 3rd Downs, but much worse in converting Red Zone possessions into Touchdowns. In 2013, the script flipped and they drastically improved their Red Zone TD percentage, but the 3rd Downs fell back down the ladder.
Season3rd Down % and RankRed Zone TD % and Rank
201293-212, 44%, 5th25-49, 51%, 20th
201363-180, 35%, 25th 35-51, 69%, 3rd
So, last training camp, we sat right here and talked about how the Cowboys should be a better Red Zone team and used their 3rd Down ability as a reason. If they can convert on 3rd Downs this well, shouldn't they be able to get more done in the red zone?
And, throughout the season, the answer seemed to be a resounding yes. In 2013, with nearly the same exact number of red zone drives as they had in 2012, they punched it into the end zone 10 more times! That is an absurd jump in productivity. Only 2 teams had a better efficiency in the red zone (Denver and Cincinnati) and only 1 team had more touchdowns than the Cowboys from red zone drives (Denver).
But, what happened to the 3rd Downs?...
