The defense will be better with Zeke

[KJJ]

No, it doesn't mean you don't draft that position. What it means is that it might be wise to not invest a lot in that position because you could get a limited return on that investment given the highest level of injury risk, especially when evidence shows that teams get great running games without investing top picks in the position.

If Elliott gets beat up and craps out, that's a big blow. If the Cowboys took Dixon in the 4th and he gets beat up and craps out, the loss is far easier to swallow.

It depends on the back the return you're going to get no one knows the return they're going to get. The Vikings never knew the return they would get with AP. The Cowboys had no idea the return they would get with Emmitt. You could get a limited return on any position you draft because wear and tear and injuries are part of the game. The Cowboys didn't have a great running game last season because they invested more in their OL than the backs they had running behind it.

Some here think a 1000 yard season is great but any back could have produced what McFadden did. Murray produced more yards and TD's in 2013 in only 14 games played than McFadden did last season and the OL was still in transition. If any player you draft craps out in the first round it's a big blow. Claiborne crapped out and he was a top 10 pick. No one knows who's going to crap out and who won't every position you draft is a risk.

 

[bsheeern]

And two were on the same team. So now almost half the TBs didn't make the playoffs. Further, as shown by you own stat, in 2014, of the 7 TBs in the Top Ten who made the playoffs............ only one was a first round pick. Which actually supports the case that the Cowboys didn't need to invest a Top 5 pick in a TB.

Thanks for helping us with that.

So you never argued that we needed to take Elliott at 4? You wanted Ramsey or someone else, instead?

NOPE, I never argued either way. I wanted Dallas to take Who they thought was the best player available. If that was Elliott or Ramsey or Bosa or Tunsil, especially since the QB's were gone, I was ok with that.
My preference would have been since the qb's were taken
Elliott then Ramsey then Tunsil then Bosa.

 

[KJJ]

Again, it's funny that in trying to prove why a Top 10 TB is worth the selection, you use a guy who we already have that you want to replace.

I think you are missing the clear hilariousness in your position.

If anyone is missing anything it's you. The elevator you and some others are riding couldn't be more stuck between floors. The guy we already have was drafted in the top 10 EIGHT years ago. What's so funny about wanting to replace a soon to be 29 year old back who's slowing down and never lived up to their potential? Are you one of those who's still living in the past with McFadden watching him run at Arkansas? When you have a need at a position and have the opportunity to draft a player who could be special that plays that position you have to take the shot.

 

[Sydla]

If anyone is missing anything it's you. The elevator you and some others are riding couldn't be more stuck between floors. The guy we already have was drafted in the top 10 EIGHT years ago. What's so funny about wanting to replace a soon to be 29 year old back who's slowing down and never lived up to their potential? Are you one of those who's still living in the past with McFadden watching him run at Arkansas? When you have a need at a position and have the opportunity to draft a player who could be special that plays that position you have to take the shot.

No. I am getting it. You just aren't finding the humor in your comparison.

 

[KJJ]

No. I am getting it. You just aren't finding the humor in your comparison.

I find the humor in a lot of things but some of you are laughing trying to hid your tears. lol The only comparison is they're both RBs taken with the 4th overall pick. McFadden had an injury plagued career which is the risk with any player regardless the position you draft. So you expect the same injury plagued career with Zeke? What player should the Cowboys have drafted in your mind?

 

[percyhoward]

There's nothing there that equates to how well you ran the ball.

Show me where I said there was.

Which in turn led people like @percyhoward to say that running the ball WELL or Being Good at it, Had little to no affect on winning in the NFL.

Show me where I said that.

 

[Toruk_Makto]

So that means you don't draft the position? You don't think about shelf life you have to play for now because regardless what position a player plays an injury can end their career at any moment. For the Cowboys to be successful and keep Tony Romo on the field they need a great runner he can lean on.

You don't think about shelf life is a thing that was said....

 

[BAT]

That point was quickly refuted though one post later. LOL.

And then another point you tried to float got refuted about a minute after that.

I guess we know how you feel now. Seriously, I know I am not perfect and just trying to add to the conversation. If I am wrong I freely admit it instead of holding on to my agenda points with a death grip.

 

[KJJ]

You don't think about shelf life is a thing that was said....

I don't think about shelf life Sydia does.

 

[Vinnie2u]

The whole country will be better with Zeke.. Think about it. If Zeke leads this team to the Super Bowl. Our fans will be happy... Dallas is Americas Team.. Hence the whole country will be better.

 

[Rogerthat12]

I no longer have the time nor desire to bicker over the interpretation of numbers or tease out the mechanics of what impacts offenses to actually score more points and win with reference to various varieties of approach.

Opinions are varied and ultimately the arguments lead to nothing helpful.

This article was interesting concerning the 2013 winning offenses and how they went about business! I can not post all of it and certainly the 2014 Cowboys utilized a similar successful approach.

Football guys like Brooks and Jason Garrett certainly view the workings of the impact of power sets and the running game (as a threat and in actual attempts and/or production) as significant contributors to offensive production and winning, there is certainly a disagreement with their perspectives and theoretical stat guys and bean counters on the subject.

Jason said the 2014 approach to running took pressure off Romo, provided favorable looks because of the defensive responses to the running game and impacted the entire teams success in 2014 including the defense. Adding more time of possession generally speaking, more offensive plays and less defensive plays and it obviously worked.

Passing league? Top NFL teams utilize power-running schemes

• 
• By Bucky Brooks
• NFL Media analyst

The NFL has taken to the air in recent years, with offensive coordinators exploiting favorable rules restricting defensive contact with receivers downfield. Although the risk of turning the ball over or having a negative play increases the more a quarterback drops back, the presence of a potent passing game has helped several teams become competitive in a shootout-heavy league. This pass-first approach coincided with the explosion of fantasy football in such a way that many observers have come to view the quarterback and passing game as the most important elements of a championship offense.

​

Now, I certainly believe having a big-time quarterback makes it easier to win games in the NFL, but a championship offense must be able to run the football -- and run it with force. This has been a winning formula throughout the years, and it remains part of the blueprint elite teams will use to chase the Lombardi Trophy in 2014.

Poring over statistics from the 2013 campaign, I found this interesting nugget: Nine of the top 12 teams in terms of rushing attempts made the postseason. That's telling, as proponents of old-school football have always preached attempts over yardage when it comes to the running game. Teams committed to the run will persistently pound the ball between the tackles in an effort to control the tempo of the game, wearing down the opposing defense with punishing attempts. Additionally, effective utilization of the ground attack can keep an offense out of long-yardage situations, reducing the risk of turnovers and negative plays through the air.

As I delved deeper into the All-22 Coaches Film of numerous games from the 2013 season, I discovered that championship-caliber teams not only pounded the rock with great regularity, they ran out of power-based sets to increase their chances of consistently winning games. Here's why:

1) Running from power sets establishes a physical offensive identity.


For all the talk about the NFL becoming a passing league, the game boils down to physicality and toughness. The team that out-hits its opponent routinely wins, particularly when imposing its will at the line of scrimmage. Looking at the increased utilization of "22" personnel packages (2 RB, 2 TE, 1 WR) and jumbo sets, I believe more coaches are scheming to make the game a street fight at the line. By putting big bodies in tight formations with minimal splits, the offense neutralizes the effectiveness of gap-control defenses, giving blockers better angles at the point of attack. Additionally, offensive coordinators can implement wedge-like blocking schemes to create a push at the line of scrimmage. With a physical back to carry the ball, such a power-based running scheme can wear out a defense over the course of a game.


That's why the playoffs provided a hint at a trend that's emerging in the NFL. Teams like the Patriots, Seahawks, Saints and 49ers used a variety of power-based formations to effectively move the ball. Most importantly, this approach allowed the respective coaches to control the tempo via complementary football strategies while keeping the defense rested and away from adverse situations. Given how these tactics significantly impacted postseason games, a return to power football makes sense for teams with strong defenses.

Studying tactics and schemes used by last season's top contenders, I couldn't help but notice the prevalence of power packages with "22" or jumbo personnel. While most squads jump into those groupings/formations in short-yardage and goal-line situations, a handful of teams now use power packages to change the tempo of the game. Offensive coordinators are looking to make the game a matter of toughness and physicality. The schemes certainly aren't revolutionary, but they put the onus on defenders to step up, take on blocks and make solid tackles against hard-nosed running backs.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap20...ue-top-nfl-teams-utilize-powerrunning-schemes

Interesting read as we know the Hawks won the SB in 2014, Lynch and the defense were a major factor!

 

[Toruk_Makto]

I don't think about shelf life Sydia does.

Oh i'm aware. Sydia is thinking critically about team building. You are....not?

 

[Rogerthat12]

This was interesting by Sturm on the Seattle game in 2014:

Tuesday, October 14, 2014
Decoding Linehan - Week 6 - Seattle


To continue on yesterday's theme, it should be stated how uncommon it really is for a team or an offense to change its identity with merely an offseason where the only personnel change was the drafting of a right guard. Zack Martin's upgrade over Bernadeau is clear, but we won't suggest that Martin was the tipping point at all.
We continue to feel, as we wrote back in August, that the identity actually changed during last season's bye week (after the debacle in New Orleans). In that piece we previously linked, you can see all of the many theories, including the most obvious one - that they simply have to do a better job protecting their defense with common sense play-calling from the offense - but they changed their ways before Week 11 against the Giants. Since then, the Cowboys have played 12 games which is 75% of a full season and the confirmation that the Cowboys transitioned from the worst rushing team in the NFL to the best - almost overnight - is flat out stunning.

Over those 12 games, they have run for 1,696 yards (1st in the NFL) at 5.03 yards per carry (1st) and 141.3 yards per game (2nd) for 91 1st Downs (1st) and 49 10-yard runs (3rd).
What makes those numbers absurd is the fact that the 26 games previous to that from Week 1 of 2012 through Week 10 2013, Dallas ran for 2,035 yards (31st), at 3.67 yards per carry (29th), 78.3 yards per game (31st), for 115 1st Downs (29th), and 45 10-yard runs (31st). That is right, if it wasn't for Jacksonville being worse, the Cowboys flipped a switch and went from worst to nearly first in pretty much every category.

And keep in mind that the personnel is largely the same (but we must account for the time invested for maturity and continuity), when we ponder philosophical changes having the most likely affect on the proceedings. If you think about it from the standpoint of last year's bye week, Scott Linehan is no longer the Albert Einstein of this operation, but rather the specialist who helped further implement the existing idea. If the final 6 weeks of last season are not that dissimilar in the ground game to the first 6 games of this season, then we are wondering if it was more a conscious (and obvious) decision rather than an accident.

So what happened? As I wrote in the piece back during training camp, there are several things: 1) a clear controversy in the play-calling department as many speculated that Jason Garrett and Bill Callahan were at odds and that Garrett took the play-calling duty from Callahan. 2) DeMarco Murray returned to full health during the bye of 2013. 3) the Cowboys had a new Right Guard after they lost Brian Waters in Detroit and Mackenzy Bernadeau took over. 4) Tony Romo's health concerns and the Cowboys Run/Pass versus Minnesota (9 runs/51passes) were real issues and 5) on December 3, the Cowboys signed their first fullback of the entire year, Tyler Clutts.

Surely a few of those have nothing to do with the big decision, but to go from league-worst to league-best overnight without any other significant developments is difficult to fully understand. Is it possible they had the pieces for a running game before this and just never "committed" to it?

Which brings us to the latest test, a mauling of the most difficult opponent to run against in football in their stadium where teams don't run. 37 carries for 162 yards was a thing of beauty. There were several runs that went nowhere, but as a whole, the Cowboys marched the ball right down the throat of the Seahawks with enough ease to make you think that if this is the supposed toughest test for this offensive line, Dallas is going to win a lot of games.

They ran the ball primarily from power groupings, but did get 8 carries for 58 yards from 11 personnel (under center) which was aided by Joseph Randle's big 38 yard run early. 11 Personnel (1RB, 1TE, 3WR) is something that Dallas has almost never done from under center before 2014, but has already run 43 times this season for 219 yards out of this set. This is a major improvement over their productivity in previous seasons and is now a weapon that teams are taking seriously. 11 Personnel forces a defense into nickel and generally keeps the safeties back, so the run can really put an opponent in a bind.

But, now for the power. One of my favorite personnel groupings over the years has been "22" personnel. 22 personnel is the essence of the ground and pound and it declares to the entire stadium that with 2 RB and 2 TE on the field, the plan is to run the ball down your throat. The defense will usually take off a corner and put on another LB to deal with all of the muscle in the offensive huddle and then they will often counter with 9 men in the box. This is power on power.

In 2013, the Cowboys didn't even employ a FB for 12 weeks, and ran only 5 plays all year out of this set for 26 yards. All year! Well, Sunday, against the big, bad Seahawks, they ran it 11 times for 62 yards. All 11 times this personnel was on the field, they ran the ball. They declared run, then they did run. And Seattle did not come close to stopping it. If you love power football, it almost brought a tear to your eye. The Power Cowboys may exist again.

Behold - the final 3 plays of the game winning drive: NOTE THE SCORE, DALLAS IS BEHIND!

http://i1133.***BLOCKED***/albums/m600/DWAREZIZ/22-a.gif

http://i1133.***BLOCKED***/albums/m600/DWAREZIZ/22-a.gif



http://i1133.***BLOCKED***/albums/m600/DWAREZIZ/22-d.gif

Above is the recipe for winning in Dallas!

STATS FOR WEEK 6 AGAINST SEATTLE : These are telling!

http://i1133.***BLOCKED***/albums/m600/DWAREZIZ/Screen-Shot-2014-10-13-at-7.45.48-PM.png


http://sturminator.blogspot.com/sea...0-05:00&max-results=10&start=11&by-date=false

 

[KJJ]

Oh i'm aware. Sydia is thinking critically about team building. You are....not?

Thinking critically about team building is adding solid talent at the skill positions. The quickest way to get better is adding players who can put points on the board. You don't draft a player based on how long their shelf might be. Every championship team the Cowboys have had were led by a great back drafted in the first round Duane Thomas, Tony Dorsett and Emmitt Smith. The best team the Cowboys had under Romo was led by the leagues leading rusher. So you think the Cowboys were wrong by drafting a potentially great back with their first pick?

Can you point to a Cowboys team in the entire history of the franchise that wasn't competing for championships most years that had a great back? Most who were covering the draft thought Zeke was a great pick. I'll ask you the same question I asked Sydia who should the Cowboys have drafted with their top pick?

 

[KJJ]

No. I am getting it. You just aren't finding the humor in your comparison.

Where's the humor in my comparison? You're the only one who's laughing. lol Again who would you have picked with the Cowboys first choice?

 

[jnday]

Not likely. You can get a good back from the 2nd round on. Henry would have been fine. You keep whiffing over the Henry comments. Whats the matter you got nothing?

Henry is s good RB,vans I would have liked to see him in Dallas, especially if Dallas had drafted a QB or a pass rusher . He is not a complete RB and will not have a long career in the pros. You keep throwing his name around and he is s prime example of all the reasons you are stating that a RB shouldn't be drafted early. Zeke is s better runner, a better blocker, a great receiver out of the backfield , and Zeke stays healthy. If Zeke wins a couple rushing titles and helps the Cowboys reach the playoffs , you will see the value. There are certain Arabs that come along that are worth top five picks. From all indications, Zeke is one. I don't see any debate about his ability from any of the other teams. He seems to be the the one player that has no concerns that may cause him to bust.

 

[Rogerthat12]

This was interesting by Sturm on the Seattle game in 2014:

Tuesday, October 14, 2014
Decoding Linehan - Week 6 - Seattle


To continue on yesterday's theme, it should be stated how uncommon it really is for a team or an offense to change its identity with merely an offseason where the only personnel change was the drafting of a right guard. Zack Martin's upgrade over Bernadeau is clear, but we won't suggest that Martin was the tipping point at all.
We continue to feel, as we wrote back in August, that the identity actually changed during last season's bye week (after the debacle in New Orleans). In that piece we previously linked, you can see all of the many theories, including the most obvious one - that they simply have to do a better job protecting their defense with common sense play-calling from the offense - but they changed their ways before Week 11 against the Giants. Since then, the Cowboys have played 12 games which is 75% of a full season and the confirmation that the Cowboys transitioned from the worst rushing team in the NFL to the best - almost overnight - is flat out stunning.

Over those 12 games, they have run for 1,696 yards (1st in the NFL) at 5.03 yards per carry (1st) and 141.3 yards per game (2nd) for 91 1st Downs (1st) and 49 10-yard runs (3rd).
What makes those numbers absurd is the fact that the 26 games previous to that from Week 1 of 2012 through Week 10 2013, Dallas ran for 2,035 yards (31st), at 3.67 yards per carry (29th), 78.3 yards per game (31st), for 115 1st Downs (29th), and 45 10-yard runs (31st). That is right, if it wasn't for Jacksonville being worse, the Cowboys flipped a switch and went from worst to nearly first in pretty much every category.

And keep in mind that the personnel is largely the same (but we must account for the time invested for maturity and continuity), when we ponder philosophical changes having the most likely affect on the proceedings. If you think about it from the standpoint of last year's bye week, Scott Linehan is no longer the Albert Einstein of this operation, but rather the specialist who helped further implement the existing idea. If the final 6 weeks of last season are not that dissimilar in the ground game to the first 6 games of this season, then we are wondering if it was more a conscious (and obvious) decision rather than an accident.

So what happened? As I wrote in the piece back during training camp, there are several things: 1) a clear controversy in the play-calling department as many speculated that Jason Garrett and Bill Callahan were at odds and that Garrett took the play-calling duty from Callahan. 2) DeMarco Murray returned to full health during the bye of 2013. 3) the Cowboys had a new Right Guard after they lost Brian Waters in Detroit and Mackenzy Bernadeau took over. 4) Tony Romo's health concerns and the Cowboys Run/Pass versus Minnesota (9 runs/51passes) were real issues and 5) on December 3, the Cowboys signed their first fullback of the entire year, Tyler Clutts.

Surely a few of those have nothing to do with the big decision, but to go from league-worst to league-best overnight without any other significant developments is difficult to fully understand. Is it possible they had the pieces for a running game before this and just never "committed" to it?

Which brings us to the latest test, a mauling of the most difficult opponent to run against in football in their stadium where teams don't run. 37 carries for 162 yards was a thing of beauty. There were several runs that went nowhere, but as a whole, the Cowboys marched the ball right down the throat of the Seahawks with enough ease to make you think that if this is the supposed toughest test for this offensive line, Dallas is going to win a lot of games.

They ran the ball primarily from power groupings, but did get 8 carries for 58 yards from 11 personnel (under center) which was aided by Joseph Randle's big 38 yard run early. 11 Personnel (1RB, 1TE, 3WR) is something that Dallas has almost never done from under center before 2014, but has already run 43 times this season for 219 yards out of this set. This is a major improvement over their productivity in previous seasons and is now a weapon that teams are taking seriously. 11 Personnel forces a defense into nickel and generally keeps the safeties back, so the run can really put an opponent in a bind.

But, now for the power. One of my favorite personnel groupings over the years has been "22" personnel. 22 personnel is the essence of the ground and pound and it declares to the entire stadium that with 2 RB and 2 TE on the field, the plan is to run the ball down your throat. The defense will usually take off a corner and put on another LB to deal with all of the muscle in the offensive huddle and then they will often counter with 9 men in the box. This is power on power.

In 2013, the Cowboys didn't even employ a FB for 12 weeks, and ran only 5 plays all year out of this set for 26 yards. All year! Well, Sunday, against the big, bad Seahawks, they ran it 11 times for 62 yards. All 11 times this personnel was on the field, they ran the ball. They declared run, then they did run. And Seattle did not come close to stopping it. If you love power football, it almost brought a tear to your eye. The Power Cowboys may exist again.

Behold - the final 3 plays of the game winning drive: NOTE THE SCORE, DALLAS IS BEHIND!

http://i1133.***BLOCKED***/albums/m600/DWAREZIZ/22-a.gif

http://i1133.***BLOCKED***/albums/m600/DWAREZIZ/22-a.gif



http://i1133.***BLOCKED***/albums/m600/DWAREZIZ/22-d.gif

Above is the recipe for winning in Dallas!

STATS FOR WEEK 6 AGAINST SEATTLE : These are telling!

http://i1133.***BLOCKED***/albums/m600/DWAREZIZ/Screen-Shot-2014-10-13-at-7.45.48-PM.png


http://sturminator.blogspot.com/sea...0-05:00&max-results=10&start=11&by-date=false

whoops here is the second one...http://i1133.***BLOCKED***/albums/m600/DWAREZIZ/22-b.gif

 

[erod]

Not likely. You can get a good back from the 2nd round on. Henry would have been fine. You keep whiffing over the Henry comments. Whats the matter you got nothing?

Henry is a big back who runs straight ahead fast.

That's it. Nothing else to him.

No thanks.

 

[Toruk_Makto]

Henry is s good RB,vans I would have liked to see him in Dallas, especially if Dallas had drafted a QB or a pass rusher . He is not a complete RB and will not have a long career in the pros. You keep throwing his name around and he is s prime example of all the reasons you are stating that a RB shouldn't be drafted early. Zeke is s better runner, a better blocker, a great receiver out of the backfield , and Zeke stays healthy. If Zeke wins a couple rushing titles and helps the Cowboys reach the playoffs , you will see the value. There are certain Arabs that come along that are worth top five picks. From all indications, Zeke is one. I don't see any debate about his ability from any of the other teams. He seems to be the the one player that has no concerns that may cause him to bust.

This conversation needed some humor.

 

[rpntex]

There are just about as many "exceptions" and "opposites" as there are not. That's why the correlation is so low -- running well doesn't lead to passing well, and vice versa.




Again, "the passing game opens up the run game" isn't exactly true, either. It's a theoretical statement that just doesn't hold true on the field.

If either one was true, a significant correlation would show up on the field, but it doesn't.




We were fifth in the NFL in YPC and ninth in the NFL in rushing DVOA -- despite being 30th in passer rating and 32nd in passing DVOA.

In my opinion, 2014 was truly a "chicken-egg" season. Did the running game blossom because of the passing game, or vice-versa? I don't know, and honestky, I don't care. Whatever it was, it worked.