CFZ The Cowboys on-going struggle on grass fields

[stiletto]

And there ya go, chaps, another excuse for 28 years of futility.
Another excuse is the refs hate us and are mean to us.

It's always something...

 

[Reality]

Agree on all points.

Honestly, because the Cowboys play more than half their games on turf (home and some road games) it would certainly make sense for our scouts to target players who play best on turf. Assuming there is a tangible difference in how certain players perform on different surfaces.

True, but I think that teams that are good or great on grass improve as well when they play on turf.

I think the drop-off from turf to grass for the Cowboys the last couple of seasons has been greater than the advantage they have when playing good grass teams at home on turf.

The one thing I am hoping to see this season is more consistency on defense.

That unfortunately means it will be less exciting than it was under Quinn, but I am hoping that slow-and-steady wins the games for the Cowboys.

 

[HungryLion]

Lol, that's really funny. Let's get some more deep thoughts on how the Cowboys could struggle. The Browns have absolutely no answer for Michael Parsons. They are going to have their hands full the Cowboys.

This post isn’t just about the Browns game. It’s about a trend that’s been happening for years.

Your first intuition is to get defensive and start fluffing the cowboys roster and matchup vs the browns.

 

[HungryLion]

How ironic.

I thought I would try the crying route, the one you’ve perfected.

 

[HungryLion]

The NFLPA has adamantly advocated for years to have grass fields for all NFL games. I saw a survey of NFL players this year that said over 90% preferred playing on grass because turf tends to cause more non-contact injuries to knees and ankles because of cleats getting stuck in the turf.

Supposedly the more modern turf is better than it used to be. Some of those old turf fields like at NY and in the old Philly stadium were like playing on green asphalt.

I’m an advocate for it. The NFL and the teams certainly can afford to use grass fields everywhere even for dome stadiums.

Getting them to pony up the dough to do it, is another question altogether. I’m not sure what other barrier there would be other than the costs of installation, maintenance, etc.

 

[stiletto]

True, but I think that teams that are good or great on grass improve as well when they play on turf.

I think the drop-off from turf to grass for the Cowboys the last couple of seasons has been greater than the advantage they have when playing good grass teams at home on turf.

The one thing I am hoping to see this season is more consistency on defense.

That unfortunately means it will be less exciting than it was under Quinn, but I am hoping that slow-and-steady wins the games for the Cowboys.

I fundamentally agree with this. It is better to be 100% acclimated to the lowest standard or whatever. If you are used to grass/natural and have no issues, going to faster turf would be like adding a twin-turbo to your engine. At least that logic seems sound.

 

[HungryLion]

True, but I think that teams that are good or great on grass improve as well when they play on turf.

I think the drop-off from turf to grass for the Cowboys the last couple of seasons has been greater than the advantage they have when playing good grass teams at home on turf.

The one thing I am hoping to see this season is more consistency on defense.

That unfortunately means it will be less exciting than it was under Quinn, but I am hoping that slow-and-steady wins the games for the Cowboys.

This is one of the big questions for the season Reality.

If Zimmer is a bit more conservative in his approach than Quinn. There is likely to be less turnovers. For this to pay off, the defense is going to need to more consistently keep the score low by the opposing offense.

It could be a good thing but will any improvement in points allowed per game or defensive 3rd down % and factors like that, make up for a suspected reduction in turnovers?

Should be interesting.

 

[Ranching]

Here‘s an interesting trend with the Cowboys the last 5 years: We are 6-16 playing on grass fields (including 2 playoff games) One reason I mention it is we open the season next Sunday in Cleveland on a grass field.

In the last 5 seasons, for whatever reason the Cowboys have played their worst games on grass fields. Obviously all those games are on the road where winning is inherently harder, but the Cowboys road record is way better on turf. Sometimes it may be we are just playing way better opponents. At any rate, here is our record playing on grass fields the last 5 seasons:

• 2019: 1-2
  • Win at Wash
  • Losses at Philly, at Chi
• 2020: 0-3
  • Losses at Wash, at Philly, at Balt
• 2021: 2-2
  • Wins: at Wash and at Philly
  • Losses: at Tampa Bay, at KC
• 2022: 2-5
  • Wins at Tenn and in Wild Card win at Tampa Bay
  • Losses: at Philly, at GB, at Jax, at Wash, at SF in Divisional playoff game
• 2023: 1-5
  • Win at Carolina
  • Losses at Ariz, SF, Philly, Mia

So we have won 6 of our last 22 games on grass. Explanations? We play the egirls at their grass field every year which is tough. But we also have a game at Wash each year. Losing to below average grass field teams in the last 5 years on the road like Ariz, Chicago, and Wash stand out. But we have also played some really good opponents on grass like SF twice, GB twice, Philly 5 times, Balt and at KC. So all those have been tough road matchups anyway.

Any other ideas why we are 6-16 on grass the last 5 seasons?

What is our road record on turf?

 

[Rockport]

What is our road record on turf?

That doesn’t fit the overwhelming agenda here.

 

[HungryLion]

What is our road record on turf?

It’s better than the road record on grass.

Which is what makes it a fair question.

It could just be a statistical anomaly. The sample size isn’t that great and there’s outlier factors considering the differences in opponent. So that’s a possible explanation.

Or it could be something the players or coaches could improve with different preparation. That’s a possibility also.

Hard to know for sure but an interesting topic.

 

[Ranching]

It’s better than the road record on grass.

Which is what makes it a fair question.

It could just be a statistical anomaly. The sample size isn’t that great and there’s outlier factors considering the differences in opponent. So that’s a possible explanation.

Or it could be something the players or coaches could improve with different preparation. That’s a possibility also.

Hard to know for sure but an interesting topic.

I'm just curious...turf or grass never made a difference when I was coaching...

 

[HungryLion]

I'm just curious...turf or grass never made a difference when I was coaching...

I don’t have prior seasons. But last season the cowboys were 3-1 on the road with turf.

1-4 on the road with grass.

2 of those road grass games were SF and Philly. For context. That’s tough.

 

[HungryLion]

I'm just curious...turf or grass never made a difference when I was coaching...

Personally I would think grass/turf would be less of a factor than things like weather or climate. But idk.

Cold teams vs warm
Weather teams, etc

 

[Ranching]

Personally I would think grass/turf would be less of a factor than things like weather or climate. But idk.

Cold teams vs warm
Weather teams, etc

Also domed or open stadium

 

[HungryLion]

Also domed or open stadium

For sure. One example. Some QB’s are just better able to adjust and pass in windy conditions than other QB’s might be able to.

Same with receivers adjusting to the ball in the air, etc.

 

[Havic]

Randy was all about the grass but couldn’t get the rest of the team on board

 

[FVSTONE]

Here‘s an interesting trend with the Cowboys the last 5 years: We are 6-16 playing on grass fields (including 2 playoff games) One reason I mention it is we open the season next Sunday in Cleveland on a grass field.

In the last 5 seasons, for whatever reason the Cowboys have played their worst games on grass fields. Obviously all those games are on the road where winning is inherently harder, but the Cowboys road record is way better on turf. Sometimes it may be we are just playing way better opponents. At any rate, here is our record playing on grass fields the last 5 seasons:

• 2019: 1-2
  • Win at Wash
  • Losses at Philly, at Chi
• 2020: 0-3
  • Losses at Wash, at Philly, at Balt
• 2021: 2-2
  • Wins: at Wash and at Philly
  • Losses: at Tampa Bay, at KC
• 2022: 2-5
  • Wins at Tenn and in Wild Card win at Tampa Bay
  • Losses: at Philly, at GB, at Jax, at Wash, at SF in Divisional playoff game
• 2023: 1-5
  • Win at Carolina
  • Losses at Ariz, SF, Philly, Mia

So we have won 6 of our last 22 games on grass. Explanations? We play the egirls at their grass field every year which is tough. But we also have a game at Wash each year. Losing to below average grass field teams in the last 5 years on the road like Ariz, Chicago, and Wash stand out. But we have also played some really good opponents on grass like SF twice, GB twice, Philly 5 times, Balt and at KC. So all those have been tough road matchups anyway.

Any other ideas why we are 6-16 on grass the last 5 seasons?

Bobby, why did you have to remind of their past failures on the real grass stuff………LOL!

 

[vlad]

Here‘s an interesting trend with the Cowboys the last 5 years: We are 6-16 playing on grass fields (including 2 playoff games) One reason I mention it is we open the season next Sunday in Cleveland on a grass field.

In the last 5 seasons, for whatever reason the Cowboys have played their worst games on grass fields. Obviously all those games are on the road where winning is inherently harder, but the Cowboys road record is way better on turf. Sometimes it may be we are just playing way better opponents. At any rate, here is our record playing on grass fields the last 5 seasons:

• 2019: 1-2
  • Win at Wash
  • Losses at Philly, at Chi
• 2020: 0-3
  • Losses at Wash, at Philly, at Balt
• 2021: 2-2
  • Wins: at Wash and at Philly
  • Losses: at Tampa Bay, at KC
• 2022: 2-5
  • Wins at Tenn and in Wild Card win at Tampa Bay
  • Losses: at Philly, at GB, at Jax, at Wash, at SF in Divisional playoff game
• 2023: 1-5
  • Win at Carolina
  • Losses at Ariz, SF, Philly, Mia

So we have won 6 of our last 22 games on grass. Explanations? We play the egirls at their grass field every year which is tough. But we also have a game at Wash each year. Losing to below average grass field teams in the last 5 years on the road like Ariz, Chicago, and Wash stand out. But we have also played some really good opponents on grass like SF twice, GB twice, Philly 5 times, Balt and at KC. So all those have been tough road matchups anyway.

Any other ideas why we are 6-16 on grass the last 5 seasons?

Thank you for another post about something else...this is great.

It seems too correlated and enough volume not to be a trend. I wonder if one were to break it down, is it a total failure, is it the offense or defense that plays so differently.
No ideas on my end, its not like we're a speed demon team...good question.

 

[khiladi]

Here‘s an interesting trend with the Cowboys the last 5 years: We are 6-16 playing on grass fields (including 2 playoff games) One reason I mention it is we open the season next Sunday in Cleveland on a grass field.

In the last 5 seasons, for whatever reason the Cowboys have played their worst games on grass fields. Obviously all those games are on the road where winning is inherently harder, but the Cowboys road record is way better on turf. Sometimes it may be we are just playing way better opponents. At any rate, here is our record playing on grass fields the last 5 seasons:

• 2019: 1-2
  • Win at Wash
  • Losses at Philly, at Chi
• 2020: 0-3
  • Losses at Wash, at Philly, at Balt
• 2021: 2-2
  • Wins: at Wash and at Philly
  • Losses: at Tampa Bay, at KC
• 2022: 2-5
  • Wins at Tenn and in Wild Card win at Tampa Bay
  • Losses: at Philly, at GB, at Jax, at Wash, at SF in Divisional playoff game
• 2023: 1-5
  • Win at Carolina
  • Losses at Ariz, SF, Philly, Mia

So we have won 6 of our last 22 games on grass. Explanations? We play the egirls at their grass field every year which is tough. But we also have a game at Wash each year. Losing to below average grass field teams in the last 5 years on the road like Ariz, Chicago, and Wash stand out. But we have also played some really good opponents on grass like SF twice, GB twice, Philly 5 times, Balt and at KC. So all those have been tough road matchups anyway.

Any other ideas why we are 6-16 on grass the last 5 seasons?

Dak Prescott sucks on grass when his WRs can’t get 5 feet of separation. The up tempo on turf allows them to play faster…. Now imagine all those folks saying Dak can go play in open field stadiums, on grass and in the cold…

 

[ArtClink]

Cleveland loves their grass.