The Myth of the Bell Cow

[jobberone]

No one needs a bell cow. You don't win with a rushing attack that is dominant. You win passing the ball better than your opponent and defending it better. You just need an effective running game to get short yardage and keep the defense at least balanced if not off balance. Both set the other up but the passing game is more important.

Then you need STs to not give up big plays and give you short fields on occasion. Then don't turn the ball over which negates a lot of the above.

Expect 25+ running plays from this team with this OL and passing attack.

 

[Prossman]

Murray would not survive physically the number of touches he had a year ago. It would be even fair to ask him to. So one of these "cast offs" would be taking carries from Murray anyway. Last year Murray was the hot hand with a shot at 2000 so you let him run for it. I'm not trying to discredit Murray or what he meant to the cowboys, but I'm not trying and convicting DMAC for his horrible circumstances either. Before last year Murray had the exact same durability concerns that DMAC does now. The cowboys are still looking at backs just in case. If DMAC and company don't work out there is still time to make another move.

 

[Bleu Star]

The problem is that McFadden has had over 1000 yards once in his entire career...................it apparently is not as easy as you are suggesting if 6 out of 7 times he never reached it.....................or he just flat out sucks.

Randle has looked good in limited carries, but Troy Hambrick averaged over 5 yards per carry as the backup also.............when he was made the starter in 2003, his averaged dropped to 3.5...........that is why backups don't automatically make good starters. Interestingly enough, when Hambrick went back to being a backup in 2004 his averaged shot back up to 4.5 and the one season he was a starter in 2003 ended up being the only season of his career with a YPC below 4.0.

That is why people need to tap the breaks with Randle, just because he has a good YPC as a backup does not mean he can maintain that as the starter. When teams start game planning specifically for you, it makes a difference...........ask Hambrick.

What do voluntary mean?

 

[Bleu Star]

Hope? Great plan going into a SB year. Let's "hope" one of these cast offs can be a lead back.

This has been my point of contention since parting with DeMarco and alleging to the public that this three headed cow bell would be a worthy substitute. What an enormous chance to take when you are so close to tasting a Super Bowl appearance. What an incredibly risky strategic change when we got closer last year than we ever have by controlling the ball and not forcing Romo to go win games...

 

[Sarge]

Breaking 1000 yards per game is averaging 62.5 yards per game. Don't know if I would label that bell cow.

.02

 

[cheftjpeck]

The question is will they stay committed to the run ? I do feel the current backs can make up the yards but will the game plan continue with a focus towards running ... I do get hesitant if we struggle in a game or 2 will Garrett and Linehan (heck Romo too) stay committed to the run.. You would hope so but the difference between having one back getting majority of the carries and rb by committee.. Single back tends to gain more trust and has a bigger voice .. Committee not so much ... But hopefully a lead RB will emerge from the lot and do the same ... I'm not too worried about it... I just hope the team keeps its focus

 

[Broges74]

Breaking 1000 yards per game is averaging 62.5 yards per game. Don't know if I would label that bell cow.

.02

True but McFadden topped that number only one time last season. Randle only once too and Williams may have never broke it.

 

[Stash]

No one needs a bell cow. You don't win with a rushing attack that is dominant. You win passing the ball better than your opponent and defending it better. You just need an effective running game to get short yardage and keep the defense at least balanced if not off balance. Both set the other up but the passing game is more important.

Then you need STs to not give up big plays and give you short fields on occasion. Then don't turn the ball over which negates a lot of the above.

Expect 25+ running plays from this team with this OL and passing attack.

We sure did last year. Pass happy got us 8-8 for three consecutive years. It wasn't until that dynamic changed that this team broke out of the rut. We protected an undermanned defense and a vulnerable quarterback with the running game.

This team's most obvious strength lies in its' offensive line, and letting than line dish it out in the running game rather than taking it in pass protection is the team's best course of action. Play to your strengths.

I won't argue about needing to be better defending the pass, but this team is what it is. The formula is clear and worked to the tune of 12-4 last year. I sure hope some genius doesn't try to fix what isn't broken.

 

[Stash]

Top 10 offenses in the NFL (PPG)
Green Bay
Denver
Philadelphia
New England
Dallas
Indianapolis
Pittsburgh
Baltimore
New Orleans
Seattle

Teams in bold had a running back with over 1000 yards rushing

I don't think anyone will say that having a bell cow doesn't help your offense, but I think it should be pointed out that you can do things without having one (which isn't even to say that a runner on our team can't be that guy).

Denver had one of the best offenses in the league and their top running back had 849 yards.

The Patriots didn't have a single player break 500 yards.

I think the real question isn't whether or not the team can replicate last year's successful formula, but what the team can do with this years roster to be just as successful if not more so.

I definitely think the Cowboys are looking at the Patriots formula from last year, but thinking they can be more successful running the ball with the offensive line and running backs we have.

I think you look at our offensive weapons and the compare pretty well compared to the Patriots.

Is Gronkowski a better target than Witten? Absolutely he is, but I think Bryant cancels him out.

I think Witten is as good if not better than Edelman as a target.

The question is can Williams be as effective and as consistent as LaFell became. Comparing their career trajectory you would think Williams has the potential to become a better player.

I think Beasley gives us a lot of what Edelman gives us. I expect/hope to see him play a larger role in the offense this year, and I think part of that may have been why we didn't want to pay Murray. Cowboys made a hefty investment in him not to use him more.

I think Dunbar can be every bit as good as Vereen in the passing game.

Escobar is better than Tim Wright as well.

The biggest question is can this offensive line pass protect well enough to allow us to take our passing game to another level? And can our defense become the force it needs to be to change the tone of our games. I think it can.

I think this is a poor example to try to prove this point.

7 out of the Top 10 undermine the point your attempting to make, and two more do as well. Ingram came within about 50 yards of 1,000 and CJ Anderson didn't become Demver's bell cow until half way through the season, at which point he was easily on pace for well over 1,000 yards.

The Colts tried and failed to land a bell cow in Trent Richardson and then quickly made a move for Frank Gore, who has been a bell cow running back for years.

Even the Patriots quickly pounced on LeGarrette Blount when Pittsburgh released him to help strengthen their running back group. And the Saints big free agent expenditure went toward strengthening their running back group.

To mention these teams does far more to hurt your case than to support it.

 

[visionary]

It is not about whether or not we have a bell cow running back, it is about how effective our running game is

Most teams that don't have 1 dominant RB are not effective at doing it

 

[Bleu Star]

It is not about whether or not we have a bell cow running back, it is about how effective our running game is

Most teams that don't have 1 dominant RB are not effective at doing it

As inadvertently proven by the OP...

 

[VACowboy]

Make no mistake, if NE and Indy had a stud back, they wouldn't use RB by Committee. They are just playing the hand they are dealt. Well Indy TRIED to trade for a stud back but he was a bust.

I think this says it all. You play whoever gives ya the best chance to win. Teams don't use one back to carry the load because one back is better than three. They use one back because he's the best player at the position.

 

[jobberone]

We sure did last year. Pass happy got us 8-8 for three consecutive years. It wasn't until that dynamic changed that this team broke out of the rut. We protected an undermanned defense and a vulnerable quarterback with the running game.

This team's most obvious strength lies in its' offensive line, and letting than line dish it out in the running game rather than taking it in pass protection is the team's best course of action. Play to your strengths.

I won't argue about needing to be better defending the pass, but this team is what it is. The formula is clear and worked to the tune of 12-4 last year. I sure hope some genius doesn't try to fix what isn't broken.

That may be the appearance but the formula for winning in this league is to pass better than your opponent and defend it better. You need an effective running game to make the defense play you honestly, set up more successful rates for 2nd and 3rd down conversions and hence higher Sc%, better RZ% and short yardage situations.

Last year the difference in the years previously was the ability of the running game to do the above. This took the load off the passing game and Tony. It allowed the run to set up the pass and vice versa. It was this balance that led to our success and an improved passing game as well as running game. You cannot be successful in this league with a one sided offense nor a poor passing offense. Throw in a poor pass defense and you have a losing record.

You only get so many offensive possessions a game on average. The more quickly you score and the higher the Sc% the more likely you are to outscore your opponent and change the balance of possessions in your favor. This is done via a good or better passing offense complemented by an effective running attack.

You can go back a pretty long way and see this. Look at the SB winners.

 

[jobberone]

BTW, the strength of the OL lies more in its ability to pass protect than the running attack. I'm not trying to diminish the running attack. The better it is the better the club is. But it only has to be so good. Keeping your elite QB on his feet and playing effectively in all your games just trumps the running attack even if the latter is important.

 

[perrykemp]

BTW, the strength of the OL lies more in its ability to pass protect than the running attack. I'm not trying to diminish the running attack. The better it is the better the club is. But it only has to be so good. Keeping your elite QB on his feet and playing effectively in all your games just trumps the running attack even if the latter is important.

In today's NFL with the rules changes that heavily favor the passing game I wholeheartedly agree with you that pass blocking is significantly more important that run blocking when it comes to an OL.

 

[Galian Beast]

I think this is a poor example to try to prove this point.

7 out of the Top 10 undermine the point your attempting to make, and two more do as well. Ingram came within about 50 yards of 1,000 and CJ Anderson didn't become Demver's bell cow until half way through the season, at which point he was easily on pace for well over 1,000 yards.

The Colts tried and failed to land a bell cow in Trent Richardson and then quickly made a move for Frank Gore, who has been a bell cow running back for years.

Even the Patriots quickly pounced on LeGarrette Blount when Pittsburgh released him to help strengthen their running back group. And the Saints big free agent expenditure went toward strengthening their running back group.

To mention these teams does far more to hurt your case than to support it.

Quite the contrary, first it was 6/10 not 7 out of 10.

And 1000 is an arbitrary goal line in the first place. I don't think anyone considers a runner necessarily elite just because they get 1000 yards.

The point is that at least 4 teams in the top 10 didn't have someone who even reached that level, and yet they were still clearly productive. You shift the goal to 1100 or 1200, and the numbers drop off significantly...

 

[perrykemp]

In my mind, the ideal offense fits into a template that looks something like this:

• 4000+ yard, 30+ TD passer
• 2 1000+ yard WRs (or a 1000 yard WR and a nice mix of WR2, WR3, and TE1)
• 1200 yard rusher who rushes for at least 4.5ypc

An offense like that means you have balance, that you can hurt teams any number of ways on any given down, etc

 

[jobberone]

In my mind, the ideal offense fits into a template that looks something like this:

• 4000+ yard, 30+ TD passer
• 2 1000+ yard WRs (or a 1000 yard WR and a nice mix of WR2, WR3, and TE1)
• 1200 yard rusher who rushes for at least 4.5ypc

An offense like that means you have balance, that you can hurt teams any number of ways on any given down, etc

Add in a INT% of less than 1.5 and a few more TDs and yds and you are truly elite. The WR mix is variable but you want a YPC 8.5+.

 

[xwalker]

What do voluntary mean?

"What do voluntary mean?"

That was a quote by LB Darren Hambrick, not RB Troy Hambrick.

 

[jobberone]

The question is will they stay committed to the run ? I do feel the current backs can make up the yards but will the game plan continue with a focus towards running ... I do get hesitant if we struggle in a game or 2 will Garrett and Linehan (heck Romo too) stay committed to the run.. You would hope so but the difference between having one back getting majority of the carries and rb by committee.. Single back tends to gain more trust and has a bigger voice .. Committee not so much ... But hopefully a lead RB will emerge from the lot and do the same ... I'm not too worried about it... I just hope the team keeps its focus

A fair concern. We were forced to pass before and having to do so again might not be such a good thing.