The Myth of the Bell Cow

[blindzebra]

You do know Newhouse was the FB and Dorsett the TB? Dallas did run the FB more so back then than we see now days.

It is about splitting carries, not changes in the game regarding how FBs are used.

 

[Doomsday101]

It is about splitting carries, not changes in the game regarding how FBs are used.

TD got a lot of touches he ranked high in yearly stats on avg runs per game. Guys like Earl Campbell was ahead him but in some season TD was 3rd and 4th in rushing attempts. It is not like he was splitting carries he got the bulk of it. Newhouse as a FB got some carries, when Walt Garrison was here and it was Thomas Walt got carries as well. It was Landry offense. If you want to call them feature backs instead of bell cow fine, that would be a good description but there is no doubt these guys like TD and Thomas were the primary RB they were the real weapons and they played a lot of min, they ran it and caught the ball they were not sitting on the sidelines or sitting out series.

 

[blindzebra]

TD got a lot of touches he ranked high in yearly stats on avg runs per game. Guys like Earl Campbell was ahead him but in some season TD was 3rd and 4th in rushing attempts. It is not like he was splitting carries he got the bulk of it. Newhouse as a FB got some carries, when Walt Garrison was here and it was Thomas Walt got carries as well. It was Landry offense. If you want to call them feature backs instead of bell cow fine, that would be a good description but there is no doubt these guys like TD and Thomas were the primary RB they were the real weapons and they played a lot of min, they ran it and caught the ball they were not sitting on the sidelines or sitting out series.

Once again we are talking symantics over a term, what is the issue at hand is does Dallas need a single back touching the ball as much as Murray did last year and that answer is a resounding no.

 

[Doomsday101]

Once again we are talking symantics over a term, what is the issue at hand is does Dallas need a single back touching the ball as much as Murray did last year and that answer is a resounding no.

No not a back who touches it more than Murray did last year a RB who can be counted on YES. I'm sorry I hate to see us go back to the BS committee crap we ran with Barber, Choice and Jones. I hope to see someone emerge as a legit RB who we can count on to get the job done.

 

[percyhoward]

I always enjoy your posts and even asked you to comment so perhaps I shouldn't be annoyed at all by your input. If not then accept my apology

We've all posted bad information before, and we've all been corrected before, so nobody needs an apology. Thanks for being interested in my opinion.

 

[jobberone]

We've all posted bad information before, and we've all been corrected before, so nobody needs an apology. Thanks for being interested in my opinion.

Fine, I accept your apology.

 

[Beast_from_East]

Wow, this thread is still going at 19 pages!!!

With AP reporting for workouts it looks like we are going to have to go with what we got and hope that our running attack will still be effective enough to force teams to put 8 in the box which will allow single coverage on Dez and the other wrs.is

I personally think it is a huge blunder going into the season with unproven backs, but it is what it is................................all we can do as fans is just sit back, root for the team, and hope for the best.

 

[rpntex]

Then again, Dorsett was a rookie still earning the trust of the coaching staff. His carries rose as the season progressed and by season's end, I would have considered him to be the team's bell cow.

What are your personal qualifiers for that 'bell cow' title?

In my mind, a "bell cow" is the single biggest focus of the offense. He gets the vast majority of the carries in the offense, and is capable of putting the offense on his back. In addition, when the team is in the lead, the "bell cow" is your clock killer (al a Emmitt Smith and - last season - Demarco Murray). In 1977, Robert Newhouse averaged 12.9 carries per game, and Dorsett averaged 14.7 carries. To his credit, his average number of carries over the last half of the season (7 games) went up to 17.1, but it was still a "committee" approach with him and Newhouse.

As to the clock-killing factor, when that 90's Cowboy team got the ball with a lead and 4 minutes to go in the game, it was game over. Everyone in the stadium - and those watching on TV - knew what was coming. It was Emmitt, off LT, Emmitt off RT, etc. The same thing can be said for Earl Campbell's Oiler teams, or Eric Dickerson's Rams & Colts teams, and even for last year's Cowboys. In 1977, however, it was never a case of "here comes Tony" during similar situations. Landry still spread the ball around.

Finally, the only player capable of carrying that 1977 team on his back was #12. Like I said, Dorsett was definitely the "lead back", and I get where you're coming from. It's really a matter iof semantics and how each of us defines "bell cow".

 

[rpntex]

TD got a lot of touches he ranked high in yearly stats on avg runs per game. Guys like Earl Campbell was ahead him but in some season TD was 3rd and 4th in rushing attempts. It is not like he was splitting carries he got the bulk of it. Newhouse as a FB got some carries, when Walt Garrison was here and it was Thomas Walt got carries as well. It was Landry offense. If you want to call them feature backs instead of bell cow fine, that would be a good description but there is no doubt these guys like TD and Thomas were the primary RB they were the real weapons and they played a lot of min, they ran it and caught the ball they were not sitting on the sidelines or sitting out series.

I thought we were only referring to the 1977 team. GB's OP stated that every Cowboy Super Bowl winner had a "bell cow" back, and in 1977, Dorsett was nowhere near the top 10 in rushing attempts . His 208 carries was less than 2.0 carries per game more than Robert Newhouse. 12.9 carries per game (Newhous) is more than just "some carries".

You are absolutely correct that it was a product of the Landry offense. Landry rarely ran out of an I-formation during Dorsett's early years. Therefore, Newhouse didn't see a lot of action at fullback during those years. Landry ran a split-back fpormation most of the time, so what you had was really two halfbacks, rather than a TB and FB. This changed, of course, by Dorsett's 4th year in the league, and I'm perfectly willing to characterize Dorsett as a "bell cow" after the first three years. I was simply taking issue with the notion that "every Super Bowl winner in Dallas' history" had a bell cow type of back.

 

[Doomsday101]

I thought we were only referring to the 1977 team. GB's OP stated that every Cowboy Super Bowl winner had a "bell cow" back, and in 1977, Dorsett was nowhere near the top 10 in rushing attempts . His 208 carries was less than 2.0 carries per game more than Robert Newhouse. 12.9 carries per game (Newhous) is more than just "some carries".

You are absolutely correct that it was a product of the Landry offense. Landry rarely ran out of an I-formation during Dorsett's early years. Therefore, Newhouse didn't see a lot of action at fullback during those years. Landry ran a split-back fpormation most of the time, so what you had was really two halfbacks, rather than a TB and FB. This changed, of course, by Dorsett's 4th year in the league, and I'm perfectly willing to characterize Dorsett as a "bell cow" after the first three years. I was simply taking issue with the notion that "every Super Bowl winner in Dallas' history" had a bell cow type of back.

In TD rookie year yes it was low it did not remain there. Look plain and simple bell cow, featured back Dallas will need the RB to step up and take over a portion of the offense that Murray alone accounted 40% of. Vs weak teams we can likely get by with a passing game as we have done before but you start playing top contending teams that running game better be there or we will lose. Dallas ability to run vs the top teams to be able to run a balanced attack allowed them to win games where we had lost before. If people do not get that fine, each to their own but I firmly believe is we are weak in our rushing we will not make it.

 

[jnday]

Once again we are talking symantics over a term, what is the issue at hand is does Dallas need a single back touching the ball as much as Murray did last year and that answer is a resounding no.

I don't think anybody should have the amount of carries that Murray had last year. Nobody is wanting that. I think that a feature back that gets a majority of the carries is needed though. Most of the better RBs have made comments over the years about getting into the flow of the game and how beneficial it is to get the carries to be at there best. It is much like a chess match. I think comparing this offense to the Pats, Colts and other teams is a total waste of time until they start running the ball more in their offense. Dallas is one of a very few teams that uses the running game to this extent . RB by committee is fine for these passing teams, but Dallas needs a solid , healthy RB capable of carrying the ball the majority of the time. If Dallas would have acquired a good RB in the offseason, this topic wouldn't be debated. It didn't work out that way in the offseason ,so RBBC has become popular here due to fans defending their team's decisions, nothing more. If Gurley or Gordon would have been the draft pick, RBBC would not be mentioned.

 

[jnday]

In TD rookie year yes it was low it did not remain there. Look plain and simple bell cow, featured back Dallas will need the RB to step up and take over a portion of the offense that Murray alone accounted 40% of. Vs weak teams we can likely get by with a passing game as we have done before but you start playing top contending teams that running game better be there or we will lose. Dallas ability to run vs the top teams to be able to run a balanced attack allowed them to win games where we had lost before. If people do not get that fine, each to their own but I firmly believe is we are weak in our rushing we will not make it.

You are 100% correct on your take of the situation. Would anybody on this board want RBBC if the team had Gurley, Gordon or even AP. If Murray was resigned, do you think fans would want him to split carries with two other RBs ? RBBC is just used by teams when they don't have a quality RB on the roster. In some cases, it is due to the offense being a passing offense. Without the running game last season, this would have been a 8-8 team. Passing 50 times a game and putting the workload on Romo has been tried and failed.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

Maybe we should define what a running back by committee is? LOL!

I see a RBBC as being where you have two backs who have a similar number of carries. For example Chris Ivory had 198 carries for the Jets while Chris Johnson had 155.

I don't see that happening for the Cowboys this season. I think one guy is going to be in the 250 range (at least). The second guy will be half that amount. Dunbar or whomever the 3rd back is should be 50 carries.

 

[Broges74]

Maybe we should define what a running back by committee is? LOL!

I see a RBBC as being where you have two backs who have a similar number of carries. For example Chris Ivory had 198 carries for the Jets while Chris Johnson had 155.

I don't see that happening for the Cowboys this season. I think one guy is going to be in the 250 range (at least). The second guy will be half that amount. Dunbar or whomever the 3rd back is should be 50 carries.

Interesting. I think the opposite. I see JG trying to let Randle be lead back but no one really separates themselves by mid season. Injuries and guys falling in and out of favor will ultimately make the number of carries more even.

Still see us having a good season. Just more on Romo.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

Interesting. I think the opposite. I see JG trying to let Randle be lead back but no one really separates themselves by mid season. Injuries and guys falling in and out of favor will ultimately make the number of carries more even.

Still see us having a good season. Just more on Romo.

Certainly injuries can play a factor... they would if Murray was still here.

 

[Broges74]

http://www.***BANNED-URL***/sports/...fseason-sealed-with-peterson-in-minnesota.ece

Is this offensive line truly so special that the team can low-ball Murray and be happy to work with his former backup Joseph Randle and former Raider Darren McFadden?

For now, we get nothing but praise from coaches about the backfield situation, even if head coach Jason Garrett acknowledged he wasn't a fan of Randle's "left some meat on the bone'' comment regarding Murray.

Peterson would have supplied a lot more meat for this offense. Barring a miracle, he'll make his only Arlington appearance during exhibition play. Would the Cowboys have made a stronger bid for Murray had they known Peterson was off the table?

If the answer is yes, then this ranks as a failed bid to land a game-breaker.

If the answer is no, then their belief that last year's running game success was all about the line will be severely tested.

 

[Doomsday101]

http://www.***BANNED-URL***/sports/...fseason-sealed-with-peterson-in-minnesota.ece

Is this offensive line truly so special that the team can low-ball Murray and be happy to work with his former backup Joseph Randle and former Raider Darren McFadden?

For now, we get nothing but praise from coaches about the backfield situation, even if head coach Jason Garrett acknowledged he wasn't a fan of Randle's "left some meat on the bone'' comment regarding Murray.

Peterson would have supplied a lot more meat for this offense. Barring a miracle, he'll make his only Arlington appearance during exhibition play. Would the Cowboys have made a stronger bid for Murray had they known Peterson was off the table?

If the answer is yes, then this ranks as a failed bid to land a game-breaker.

If the answer is no, then their belief that last year's running game success was all about the line will be severely tested.

I think it was pretty much about the money, Dallas was not going to overpay right or wrong. I don't think AP played a part in what Dallas was going to do or not. All the talk was coming from media and fans not the Cowboys when it came to AP. As far as I know Dallas never even attempted to make an offer for AP.

 

[jnday]

Interesting. I think the opposite. I see JG trying to let Randle be lead back but no one really separates themselves by mid season. Injuries and guys falling in and out of favor will ultimately make the number of carries more even.

Still see us having a good season. Just more on Romo.

I wouldn't be surprised to see the team come to a point where they won't know from week to week about the RB that will get the most carries. Between injuries, lack of top talent and off field issues, there are plenty of things to make the position very unstable.

 

[Doomsday101]

I wouldn't be surprised to see the team come to a point where they won't know from week to week about the RB that will get the most carries. Between injuries, lack of top talent and off field issues, there are plenty of things to make the position very unstable.

I think that could be true, I also think they will continue to evaluate the guys here and would not be surprised to see them bring back some of the RB they have already worked out.

 

[jnday]

I think that could be true, I also think they will continue to evaluate the guys here and would not be surprised to see them bring back some of the RB they have already worked out.

I don't think they planned on the draft falling the way it did and I don't think are happy with any of the current RBs on the roster.