CFZ The Cowboys and Complimentary Football

[Bobhaze]

Apparently there are multiple definitions of the term “complimentary football”. For purposes of this discussion, I’m going to define CF as the ability of the three phases of the team - offense, defense and STs - to help each other to do whatever it takes to win football games.

Here are some examples of what I mean:

• If your offense is stalled early in the game and cannot move the ball, the defense must step up their game to keep the the opposing offense from scoring, getting a turnover or at least holding them to FGs.
• If the defense is playing well early, it should inspire the other two phases to play well.
• If the offense takes the opening kickoff and scores a TD, the defense can compliment that by forcing a punt from the opponent.
• If the offense is struggling, STs can step up and make plays on punt coverage, cause a TO or even make a long FG to give the team momentum when most needed.

A great example of complimentary football was provided in last year’s SB:

• The chiefs 5 possessions in the first half were - punt, punt, punt, fumble then a FG at end of the half.
• The chiefs defense stepped up. Despite getting gashed early by the niners offense, the chiefs D kept them in the game by forcing an early fumble and holding the niners to only 10 points, giving Mahomes and the chiefs offense time to get it together.
• In the second half the chiefs offense outscored the niners 22-12.
• Without that defensive performance, the chiefs don’t win the SB.

The Cowboys had 6 losses last season including the playoff embarrassment to the pack, and in 4 of those losses, the games got out of hand early because none of the three phases could help the other to get out of their funk. In the packer game, GB took the opening KO and drove 75 yards in 12 plays. The Cowboys offense responded with a three and out. Then after forcing a packers punt, Dak threw a pick, and it’s 14-0. The offense HAD to respond. They punted.

In the second half, the Cowboys first possession resulted in a FG making it 27-10. The pack then went 75 yards in 5 plays to make it 34-10. That was a classic case of all phases of a team failing. Dak was awful. The defense was awful. STs did nothing special. No complimentary football.

The screams for a new HC, a new QB, upgrades at certain other positions won’t matter if this team cannot get better at complimentary football.

 

[kskboys]

Well done.

Chris Jones was the MVP of that super bowl.

And to get stops in the playoffs, you absolutely must have big hawgs up front. Ballet dancers ain't gettin' it done.

 

[blueblood70]

Apparently there are multiple definitions of the term “complimentary football”. For purposes of this discussion, I’m going to define CF as the ability of the three phases of the team - offense, defense and STs - to help each other to do whatever it takes to win football games.

Here are some examples of what I mean:

• If your offense is stalled early in the game and cannot move the ball, the defense must step up their game to keep the the opposing offense from scoring, getting a turnover or at least holding them to FGs.
• If the defense is playing well early, it should inspire the other two phases to play well.
• If the offense takes the opening kickoff and scores a TD, the defense can compliment that by forcing a punt from the opponent.
• If the offense is struggling, STs can step up and make plays on punt coverage, cause a TO or even make a long FG to give the team momentum when most needed.

A great example of complimentary football was provided in last year’s SB:

• The chiefs 5 possessions in the first half were - punt, punt, punt, fumble then a FG at end of the half.
• The chiefs defense stepped up. Despite getting gashed early by the niners offense, the chiefs D kept them in the game by forcing an early fumble and holding the niners to only 10 points, giving Mahomes and the chiefs offense time to get it together.
• In the second half the chiefs offense outscored the niners 22-12.
• Without that defensive performance, the chiefs don’t win the SB.

The Cowboys had 6 losses last season including the playoff embarrassment to the pack, and in 4 of those losses, the games got out of hand early because none of the three phases could help the other to get out of their funk. In the packer game, GB took the opening KO and drove 75 yards in 12 plays. The Cowboys offense responded with a three and out. Then after forcing a packers punt, Dak threw a pick, and it’s 14-0. The offense HAD to respond. They punted.

In the second half, the Cowboys first possession resulted in a FG making it 27-10. The pack then went 75 yards in 5 plays to make it 34-10. That was a classic case of all phases of a team failing. Dak was awful. The defense was awful. STs did nothing special. No complimentary football.

The screams for a new HC, a new QB, upgrades at certain other positions won’t matter if this team cannot get better at complimentary football.

That's a good comparison and also go back to both Super Bowls the Super bowl the year before the chiefs were also struggling in the first half doing their normal thing with Patrick mahomes and being like overly creative with Reed and what they do in the second-half defense special teams and the run game from a seventh round pick and a bunch of running back and wide receiver by committee just absolutely dismantled the Eagles defense... It's funny they became the run team they forced the Eagles to become a passing team and that's what won the game sound familiar the Cowboys always being forced into the past because they just shut the rundown they put a lot of pressure on the quarterback with just four guys a lot I mean we're getting beat in the trenches and because we're one-dimensional on the wrong side we're literally being forced into a passing game into a zone and which they over cover everyone they eat up the lanes and it's so easy for defenses to take care of our offense and then our defense doesn't contribute anything either..

So, yes complementary means all the above like you can't be one dimension on either side of the football and all three phases need to contribute that's what playoff football is the teams that can do enough in all three phases have the coaches be able to adjust those are the ones that are gonna be successful those adjustments at halftime were epic it didn't seem like much but Andy Reed was willing to come out and do something different in both those big games and it worked literally just flipped the script.. No hero ball no one was needing the big sack no one was being forced to make the big long run back nobody was forced in a leaning on the run versus the pass they literally just came together as a team as they should and just chipped away a little at a time just like the 90s Cowboys did everybody thinks the 90s Cowboys were like blowing people out in regular season games or in the playoffs and we saw the Super bowls we've seen Troy throw interceptions have us down by 10 and yes special teams and defense helped us get back in the game...

But what I like to bring up and people kind of gloss over it because I'm usually long winded and ramble on the best thing we could have ever seen is last year the lions versus the Niners and the Cowboys versus the Packers both had bad first halves for one team one of our teams had the defense give up three straight touchdowns out of halftime and have our fan base complained it was the offense that made them tired really they were just tired time of possession it had nothing to do with that that came out from the first snap to the last and played terribly but the other side somehow the 49ers were down the same at half they found a way to come together as a team in the second-half they were in the exact same position as we were they didn't make excuses they went out and won the game..​

​

There was no pointing fingers, just like we seen the year before that we saw Trevor Lawrence have 4 turnovers in that game and somehow they came away with a win in a playoff game ,

same thing in the same playoff run we saw Allen and his normal self, have nearly four turnovers, he had three official turnovers the other when he kicked out of bounds or it would have been another fumble and they won that game.. they didn't say oh look the quarterback made too many mistakes in the first half and we're just going to give up!!!???

no, those teams came together as a team the team concept will always come into play here you can call it complementing football, I just call it the team as a whole coming together from top to bottom not giving up not laying down and not making excuses!!

The finger pointing around here both by the fan base blaming both sides of the football everyone's like has their own version of what really happened coach is making excuses the players saying they're tired and they had no chance that's just the star on their helmet somehow they're always looking at somebody else to go make a play instead of them themselves just doing their damn job!!

 

[Bobhaze]

Well done.

Chris Jones was the MVP of that super bowl.

And to get stops in the playoffs, you absolutely must have big hawgs up front. Ballet dancers ain't gettin' it done.

That chiefs defense last year held the AFCs 3rd best offense - the ravens - to 10 points and on the road to boot. Pat Mahomes is great for sure. But they don’t win that SB last year without that great defense.

 

[kskboys]

Our season might depend on whether Carl Davis can play. Put that in your Hookah pipe and smoke it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[kskboys]

That chiefs defense last year held the AFCs 3rd best offense - the ravens - to 10 points and on the road to boot. Pat Mahomes is great for sure. But they don’t win that SB last year without that great defense.

Chiefs have the best QB in the game w/ no close 2nd. And they are now showing everyone unequivocally that D wins championships.

Did anyone even notice that Mahomes only put up 17 vs the Ravens? That loses most games.

 

[Bobhaze]

Chiefs have the best QB in the game w/ no close 2nd. And they are now showing everyone unequivocally that D wins championships.

Did anyone even notice that Mahomes only put up 17 vs the Ravens? That loses most games.

Agree 100%!

Yes you must have a good QB to win playoff games. But if that’s all you need why did Aaron Rodgers only win one SB? Why did Dan Marino never win one? Dan Fouts never made a SB. Why did it take John Elway 15 years to win a SB? Because none of those guys had a consistently good defense.

 

[blueblood70]

That chiefs defense last year held the AFCs 3rd best offense - the ravens - to 10 points and on the road to boot. Pat Mahomes is great for sure. But they don’t win that SB last year without that great defense.

But you already stated facts it was also the special teams making some plays the coaches adjusting in the second-half and both those Super Bowls by the way and using the running back by committee and wide receiver by committee efficiently they didn't need to go out and blow the doors off anyone they kept the game close made the adjustments and at the end they won the game...

 

[SlammedZero]

That chiefs defense last year held the AFCs 3rd best offense - the ravens - to 10 points and on the road to boot. Pat Mahomes is great for sure. But they don’t win that SB last year without that great defense.

This isn't to say that the Chiefs lacked defensive talent on the field, but man, Steve Spagnuolo is an outstanding defensive coordinator.

 

[thunderpimp91]

I think the Cowboys were legitimately shocked at how bad they were at running the football a season ago. You go back to last offseason and McCarthy really went into camp talking up the defense, how it was the strength of the team and how they wanted to put them in the best position to bring havoc to opposing offenses. Early in the season it was pretty clear that the Cowboys wanted to establish the run, dominate TOP and keep the defense fresh to attack whenever they were on the field.

I think they had every intention of playing complementary football in 2023 and they racked up a lot of early wins, but we could all see the vulnerabilities in this team. Ultimately thought complementary football starts to go out the window when your team is one dimensional on both side of the football.

 

[jazzcat22]

This is where coaching will mean so much more than ever for Dallas.

With the lack of moves to improve this year. And Dallas relying upon the draft more than ever. And for the young players, not only for this years draft, but for the past past 3 years now. And some of their own FA's.

The the coaches need to make this happen more than ever now. If they want rehired for another 3 to 5 years, they will need to step up as well. Make the team more disciplined and eliminate the league high numbers in penalties.

 

[Bobhaze]

I think the Cowboys were legitimately shocked at how bad they were at running the football a season ago. You go back to last offseason and McCarthy really went into camp talking up the defense, how it was the strength of the team and how they wanted to put them in the best position to bring havoc to opposing offenses. Early in the season it was pretty clear that the Cowboys wanted to establish the run, dominate TOP and keep the defense fresh to attack whenever they were on the field.

I think they had every intention of playing complementary football in 2023 and they racked up a lot of early wins, but we could all see the vulnerabilities in this team. Ultimately thought complementary football starts to go out the window when your team is one dimensional on both side of the football.

Great post.

One if the best ways an offense can help a defense is to have a running game. The two best teams we’ve had in the last decade - 2014 and 2016 - both had outstanding running games. The 2014 team’s running game is what kept an average defense off the field. This front office never seems to learn this.

 

[maryquality]

This is where coaching will mean so much more than ever for Dallas.

With the lack of moves to improve this year. And Dallas relying upon the draft more than ever. And for the young players, not only for this years draft, but for the past past 3 years now. And some of their own FA's.

The the coaches need to make this happen more than ever now. If they want rehired for another 3 to 5 years, they will need to step up as well. Make the team more disciplined and eliminate the league high numbers in penalties.

Yeah, McCarthy said a couple of seasons ago that his goal was to cut down on the penalties. Well, obviously, that did not happen.

 

[Bobhaze]

This is where coaching will mean so much more than ever for Dallas.

With the lack of moves to improve this year. And Dallas relying upon the draft more than ever. And for the young players, not only for this years draft, but for the past past 3 years now. And some of their own FA's.

The the coaches need to make this happen more than ever now. If they want rehired for another 3 to 5 years, they will need to step up as well. Make the team more disciplined and eliminate the league high numbers in penalties.

Jazzy, I agree that our HC needs to up his game on the penalty problems and make this team more focused and disciplined. But he’s been saying that since he got here. We can always hope. But what evidence do we have at this point that he’s capable of doing that?

 

[jazzcat22]

Jazzy, I agree that our HC needs to up his game on the penalty problems and make this team more focused and disciplined. But he’s been saying that since he got here. We can always hope. But what evidence do we have at this point that he’s capable of doing that?

We don't, it seems they get worse each year.

 

[Rockport]

Apparently there are multiple definitions of the term “complimentary football”. For purposes of this discussion, I’m going to define CF as the ability of the three phases of the team - offense, defense and STs - to help each other to do whatever it takes to win football games.

Here are some examples of what I mean:

• If your offense is stalled early in the game and cannot move the ball, the defense must step up their game to keep the the opposing offense from scoring, getting a turnover or at least holding them to FGs.
• If the defense is playing well early, it should inspire the other two phases to play well.
• If the offense takes the opening kickoff and scores a TD, the defense can compliment that by forcing a punt from the opponent.
• If the offense is struggling, STs can step up and make plays on punt coverage, cause a TO or even make a long FG to give the team momentum when most needed.

A great example of complimentary football was provided in last year’s SB:

• The chiefs 5 possessions in the first half were - punt, punt, punt, fumble then a FG at end of the half.
• The chiefs defense stepped up. Despite getting gashed early by the niners offense, the chiefs D kept them in the game by forcing an early fumble and holding the niners to only 10 points, giving Mahomes and the chiefs offense time to get it together.
• In the second half the chiefs offense outscored the niners 22-12.
• Without that defensive performance, the chiefs don’t win the SB.

The Cowboys had 6 losses last season including the playoff embarrassment to the pack, and in 4 of those losses, the games got out of hand early because none of the three phases could help the other to get out of their funk. In the packer game, GB took the opening KO and drove 75 yards in 12 plays. The Cowboys offense responded with a three and out. Then after forcing a packers punt, Dak threw a pick, and it’s 14-0. The offense HAD to respond. They punted.

In the second half, the Cowboys first possession resulted in a FG making it 27-10. The pack then went 75 yards in 5 plays to make it 34-10. That was a classic case of all phases of a team failing. Dak was awful. The defense was awful. STs did nothing special. No complimentary football.

The screams for a new HC, a new QB, upgrades at certain other positions won’t matter if this team cannot get better at complimentary football.

You would think this is common knowledge as it’s basic football. But then you come to CZ and realize how many here have no clue.

 

[nyc-cowboy]

Apparently there are multiple definitions of the term “complimentary football”. For purposes of this discussion, I’m going to define CF as the ability of the three phases of the team - offense, defense and STs - to help each other to do whatever it takes to win football games.

Here are some examples of what I mean:

• If your offense is stalled early in the game and cannot move the ball, the defense must step up their game to keep the the opposing offense from scoring, getting a turnover or at least holding them to FGs.
• If the defense is playing well early, it should inspire the other two phases to play well.
• If the offense takes the opening kickoff and scores a TD, the defense can compliment that by forcing a punt from the opponent.
• If the offense is struggling, STs can step up and make plays on punt coverage, cause a TO or even make a long FG to give the team momentum when most needed.

A great example of complimentary football was provided in last year’s SB:

• The chiefs 5 possessions in the first half were - punt, punt, punt, fumble then a FG at end of the half.
• The chiefs defense stepped up. Despite getting gashed early by the niners offense, the chiefs D kept them in the game by forcing an early fumble and holding the niners to only 10 points, giving Mahomes and the chiefs offense time to get it together.
• In the second half the chiefs offense outscored the niners 22-12.
• Without that defensive performance, the chiefs don’t win the SB.

The Cowboys had 6 losses last season including the playoff embarrassment to the pack, and in 4 of those losses, the games got out of hand early because none of the three phases could help the other to get out of their funk. In the packer game, GB took the opening KO and drove 75 yards in 12 plays. The Cowboys offense responded with a three and out. Then after forcing a packers punt, Dak threw a pick, and it’s 14-0. The offense HAD to respond. They punted.

In the second half, the Cowboys first possession resulted in a FG making it 27-10. The pack then went 75 yards in 5 plays to make it 34-10. That was a classic case of all phases of a team failing. Dak was awful. The defense was awful. STs did nothing special. No complimentary football.

The screams for a new HC, a new QB, upgrades at certain other positions won’t matter if this team cannot get better at complimentary football.

Agree but this D isn't built that way - they are built to play downhill - the O gets a big lead and they can pin their ears back and attack the QB. Cant expect them to stop the run with jag DTs and no LBs to speak of.

And they haven't gotten that much better this year...

 

[75boyz]

I think the Cowboys were legitimately shocked at how bad they were at running the football a season ago. You go back to last offseason and McCarthy really went into camp talking up the defense, how it was the strength of the team and how they wanted to put them in the best position to bring havoc to opposing offenses. Early in the season it was pretty clear that the Cowboys wanted to establish the run, dominate TOP and keep the defense fresh to attack whenever they were on the field.

I think they had every intention of playing complementary football in 2023 and they racked up a lot of early wins, but we could all see the vulnerabilities in this team. Ultimately thought complementary football starts to go out the window when your team is one dimensional on both side of the football.

This.
Times 100.
If we are not gonna get back to effective running on offense in order to rest a defense that lacks physicality, then we will continue to lose the way we always have when facing above .500/playoff level teams.
The team's history of statistical numbers reflect how when we are able to run effectively directly influences wins.

If we can run the ball and sustain TOP and thus therefore keep it out of strong opponent offenses, we can win with a just "good enough" defense.

The primary reason we can't do this is the coaching/run blocking of this o-line. All the while telling us the lie of Run the damn ball and rest the defense.

To me, too much emphasis of this OP's complimentary term is ignoring how much better an average defense like ours would look so much h better if the offense complimented the defense with effective running.

If we can't stop the run BUT can still be effective running ourselves, it changes the whole dynamic of not stopping the run AND not being able to run.
That's my definition of complimentary football for this team especially.

This coach already preached on this aforementioned blueprint to complimentary team success.
Him and his assistants just don't know how to coach it, ie proper run game.

jmo
 

 

[Bobhaze]

Glad to see you acknowledging for the first time ever it’s not just a 1 man game. Kudo’s.

Rock that’s inaccurate, @kskboys has been saying for years we desperately need some hogs on the DL. He’s been calling for that going all the way back to the old Cowboys forum.

 

[Coogiguy03]

I pray daily that we can see this from this team