The Myth of the “Dak Blueprint”

[Cowboyny]

Last season we saw Vic Fangio use a deep safety Cover 2 look to stymie the offense. This forces the offense to march up the field with long multi-play drives emphasizing short passing and running the ball. It zaps the QB of all aggressiveness and forces them to be surgical.

This quickly gained popularity and was also used to slow down Mahomes last year during his 6 or so game slump. Mahomes was forced to stop trying to take aggressive throws downfield and basically do the exact opposite of what he likes to do.

This scheme became so popular that it’s been a staple of defenses this season. Scoring, yards, and offensive proficiency as a whole has been down this season and this deep safety scheme has a lot to do with it. Here’s an excerpt of a very interesting and information-filled article by Yahoo on why offenses have been down as a whole this year;

“Good luck passing as defenses drop deeper
While rushing attacks have largely chugged on, passing efficiency has plunged. Lopez broke down net points by added play type, discovering that through Week 7 of last season, passing plays were worth about plus-325 net points. In comparison, this year, they have netted about minus-50. The 375-point swing, divided by 108 games, represents a loss of 3.47 points per game (close to the 3.8-point overall scoring dip). Passing completion percentage across the league is at a five-year low (62.6%) as is completion of deep throws (25+ yards), generating only a 27.7% success rate.

An increase in zone coverage and deep safety usage has emerged.”

https://sports.yahoo.com/nfl-scoring-is-down-in-2022-what-are-the-causes-013232184.html

In reality, this was not a Dak-beater scheme that only he’s had trouble with. It’s the general scheme that has been giving almost all of the leagues QB’s fits. Defense gets paid too and this season they have earned their keep throughout the league. Fangio is a beast as well lol.

Here are more articles about this scheme shift:

https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-galina-why-two-high-defenses-are-set-to-take-over-the-nfl

https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2022/...nsive-decline-superstar-quarterbacks-run-game

https://www.footballoutsiders.com/stat-analysis/2022/nfls-scoring-drought-worrisome-or-passing-issue

This was the reason why fixing their run game was the priority in the offseason. If they can run the football, teams no longer can stay in those deep cover 2 shells. Now they have to respect the run and playaction becomes more effective.

 

[Jarntt]

Yay, another “Dak is the greatest QB in the world” vs “Dak is the worst QB in the world thread”

 

[CowboyoWales]

There is something else to consider as well. Dak has had to deal with this, just like Romo did. When our defense can't make stops, it causes the quarterback to take more chances. This year, hopefully Dak can be more relaxed.

Yep, if we go behind by two scores we appear to throw away the running game, where Dak appears more comfortable moving the chains, taking short yardage from his opt-out receiver.

Last season we saw Vic Fangio use a deep safety Cover 2 look to stymie the offense. This forces the offense to march up the field with long multi-play drives emphasizing short passing and running the ball. It zaps the QB of all aggressiveness and forces them to be surgical.

There was a blueprint. With injuries to Zeke/Tony/Dak's calf (and banged up, penalty giving O-Line) and a team taking a lead even my 87 year old mother (who's never seen a game of football) would of devised a Cover 2 Defense and put the onus on Dak out of his comfort zone and into a mode where he has to push throws into many heavy zonal coverage situations.

This year our run heavy (even 22 personnel) line-up will keep the secondary honest. ATM we are looking good, I wonder as teams need to stop the run, Washington's talents may be utilized going deep.....however i'd prefer we stick to the Dak orchestrating an incremental game, everyone seems more content playing this rather than hero ball.

 

[acr731]

Yay, another “Dak is the greatest QB in the world” vs “Dak is the worst QB in the world thread”

I look at this thread as more Dak excuses. This game came just before the halfway point of the season and before the running game disappeared, so the lack of a running game excuse shouldn't apply. They were there just the week before when Dallas beat the Giants 44-21. So we're giving Dak the excuse that the entire running game went away from 1 week to the next? Dallas was unable to score a single point until the 4th quarter against Denver and we're going to blame this solely on the lack of a running game? Dallas only scored 16 in the 4th quarter because the Denver D backed off.

It's also more proof that everything has to be perfect around Dak for him to have success. The defense has to do their part. The running game has to be there. Etc, etc. Take 1 of them away like Denver did and that is the result. 2022 is successful so far not because of Dak, the running game, or the defense, it looks good so far because everything is working together for once. The TEAM is playing better.

Call it a blueprint if you want, don't call it one - it doesn't really matter. I think what the team really lacks is a better OC who can adjust to what a defense is doing. Some QB's also have the ability read defenses better and adjust on their own. I don't think Dak has developed that ability yet. He might be relying on an inexperienced OC to lead him and that is a huge problem.

 

[CowboysFaninHouston]

Last season we saw Vic Fangio use a deep safety Cover 2 look to stymie the offense. This forces the offense to march up the field with long multi-play drives emphasizing short passing and running the ball. It zaps the QB of all aggressiveness and forces them to be surgical.

This quickly gained popularity and was also used to slow down Mahomes last year during his 6 or so game slump. Mahomes was forced to stop trying to take aggressive throws downfield and basically do the exact opposite of what he likes to do.

This scheme became so popular that it’s been a staple of defenses this season. Scoring, yards, and offensive proficiency as a whole has been down this season and this deep safety scheme has a lot to do with it. Here’s an excerpt of a very interesting and information-filled article by Yahoo on why offenses have been down as a whole this year;

“Good luck passing as defenses drop deeper
While rushing attacks have largely chugged on, passing efficiency has plunged. Lopez broke down net points by added play type, discovering that through Week 7 of last season, passing plays were worth about plus-325 net points. In comparison, this year, they have netted about minus-50. The 375-point swing, divided by 108 games, represents a loss of 3.47 points per game (close to the 3.8-point overall scoring dip). Passing completion percentage across the league is at a five-year low (62.6%) as is completion of deep throws (25+ yards), generating only a 27.7% success rate.

An increase in zone coverage and deep safety usage has emerged.”

https://sports.yahoo.com/nfl-scoring-is-down-in-2022-what-are-the-causes-013232184.html

In reality, this was not a Dak-beater scheme that only he’s had trouble with. It’s the general scheme that has been giving almost all of the leagues QB’s fits. Defense gets paid too and this season they have earned their keep throughout the league. Fangio is a beast as well lol.

Here are more articles about this scheme shift:

https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-galina-why-two-high-defenses-are-set-to-take-over-the-nfl

https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2022/...nsive-decline-superstar-quarterbacks-run-game

https://www.footballoutsiders.com/stat-analysis/2022/nfls-scoring-drought-worrisome-or-passing-issue

This was Bilicheck response to this scheme with welker and then amendila and his two TE formations to take advantage of quick slants and aWRs with run after catch ability. West coast offense like old SF also are a good counter against this type defense. Variations of this defense have been around for a while