The problem with Execution vs Strategy

[doomsday9084]

In countless post games, Garrett talks about problems as being "execution". The players have bought into this hook, line and sinker as has Jerry. They parrot the same thing.

A friend of mine recently said something that really struck home. In any competition, if one guy knows what the other guy is going to do, that guy will win 80% of the time. Week after week, we hear how other teams know that Dallas "just does what it is going to do". Buffalo knew yesterday that if they read the strong safety, they could get the slot receiver open virtually every play. That wasn't Beasley being a stud. It was him knowing ahead of time where the open field would be. We hear over and over that you can read Dallas' play on offense by the formation. I suspect that after a few weeks of watching Kellen's new plays, good teams have it scouted just as much as the old offense.

So far, you are all with me but I'm just saying what has already been said a thousand times.

Dallas' problem is the Jimmy Johnson 90's Cowboys.

That team was among the 20% that could win even if the other team knew what they were going to do. On both sides of the ball. As a result, they just had to worry about "execution". Side note: Even with that, Wannstedt would run zone blitzes and the offense was unreadable because virtually everything was run out of the I. Garrett forgot about that but its a side point.

Regardless, it was easy to sell Jerry on this "Execution" focused coaching because he won 3 super bowls doing it that way. He can even be part of the planning. The week to week gameplan is for individuals on defense to defeat every block and stop every pass. On offense, its to win every block, catch every ball, etc. When the game is played out and you lose, you can just point to all the times where defenders got blocked or beat, offensive players missed blocks, etc. In the post game discussion with Jerry, Jason Garrett is proven right EVERY WEEK as it being poor "execution".

What isn't discussed is that those players failed to execute frequently because the other team had a leg up on them. They knew which way they were going to stunt. They knew where the coverage would be. They knew the route. They knew the run hole (anyone getting tired of Zeke running into a hole with seemingly 6 defenders in it every time? Ever think its because the defense knew ahead of time where he was going?)

I would love to sit down with Jerry. Ask him: If during draft day, you knew everyone else's draft board and what they wanted in trade but they didn't know yours, how would it go? You would probably own that draft. If during a business deal, you knew what everyone was going to bid and how much they were willing to spend or how low they would go, you would "win" every negotiation, right? Why do you think its any different with football?

There are multiple flaws with Garrett. His lack of discipline is maddening. That said, this whole "execution" thing needs to die a fiery death. Even once Garrett is gone, I suspect Jerry will be susceptible to it because he has won that way in the past.

Sorry for the long rant. Just really frustrated after getting embarrassed on Thanksgiving yet again.

 

[Bullflop]

There's no denying that Dallas players are being blamed for Garrett's many miscues of his strategy.

I believe their performance or the awful lack thereof, demonstrates they're wise to JG's phony ways.

If there's anything Garrett has proven, it's that arrogance invites a disintegration of effort in due time.

 

[CWR]

The 90s Cowboys were possibly the worst coaching influence JG could have had. He's proven incapable of realizing they out executed because of dominant talent. He's done his best to emulate that model and he cant, but he so convinced hes right that hes never been willing to change his philosophy.

 

[JMPearson]

Great post

 

[doomsday9084]

The 90s Cowboys were possibly the worst coaching influence JG could have had. He's proven incapable of realizing they out executed because of dominant talent. He's done his best to emulate that model and he cant, but he so convinced hes right that hes never been willing to change his philosophy.

That's a good summary of what I am trying to say.

We could go into a sidebar that between free agency and the series of flukes that went into that Cowboys team, its impossible to copy them.

Winning nowadays isn't just about talent because the talent is pretty evenly distributed. Its about the strategy and tactics. Garrett has effectively surrendered on this front every week and Jerry is cheerleading him in doing so because that's what worked in the good old days.

 

[mahoneybill]

In countless post games, Garrett talks about problems as being "execution". The players have bought into this hook, line and sinker as has Jerry. They parrot the same thing.

A friend of mine recently said something that really struck home. In any competition, if one guy knows what the other guy is going to do, that guy will win 80% of the time. Week after week, we hear how other teams know that Dallas "just does what it is going to do". Buffalo knew yesterday that if they read the strong safety, they could get the slot receiver open virtually every play. That wasn't Beasley being a stud. It was him knowing ahead of time where the open field would be. We hear over and over that you can read Dallas' play on offense by the formation. I suspect that after a few weeks of watching Kellen's new plays, good teams have it scouted just as much as the old offense.

So far, you are all with me but I'm just saying what has already been said a thousand times.

Dallas' problem is the Jimmy Johnson 90's Cowboys.

That team was among the 20% that could win even if the other team knew what they were going to do. On both sides of the ball. As a result, they just had to worry about "execution". Side note: Even with that, Wannstedt would run zone blitzes and the offense was unreadable because virtually everything was run out of the I. Garrett forgot about that but its a side point.

Regardless, it was easy to sell Jerry on this "Execution" focused coaching because he won 3 super bowls doing it that way. He can even be part of the planning. The week to week gameplan is for individuals on defense to defeat every block and stop every pass. On offense, its to win every block, catch every ball, etc. When the game is played out and you lose, you can just point to all the times where defenders got blocked or beat, offensive players missed blocks, etc. In the post game discussion with Jerry, Jason Garrett is proven right EVERY WEEK as it being poor "execution".

What isn't discussed is that those players failed to execute frequently because the other team had a leg up on them. They knew which way they were going to stunt. They knew where the coverage would be. They knew the route. They knew the run hole (anyone getting tired of Zeke running into a hole with seemingly 6 defenders in it every time? Ever think its because the defense knew ahead of time where he was going?)

I would love to sit down with Jerry. Ask him: If during draft day, you knew everyone else's draft board and what they wanted in trade but they didn't know yours, how would it go? You would probably own that draft. If during a business deal, you knew what everyone was going to bid and how much they were willing to spend or how low they would go, you would "win" every negotiation, right? Why do you think its any different with football?

There are multiple flaws with Garrett. His lack of discipline is maddening. That said, this whole "execution" thing needs to die a fiery death. Even once Garrett is gone, I suspect Jerry will be susceptible to it because he has won that way in the past.

Sorry for the long rant. Just really frustrated after getting embarrassed on Thanksgiving yet again.

Excellent summary of the ills that frustrate us as fans.

Was thinking before the game, I'm sure Beasley has told the Buffalo coach here's what these guys do on D. Just keep it close and we'll get them.

Agree that the " multi millionaires" who play this game, don't factor in how we the fans feel about something that should be enjoyable. They will parrot the " its on us"
instead of the often time repeated " they know what we are doing" that occasionally finds its way into the quotes...

I'll take an L if I see progress, but when the same tired excuses are used, and new coaches are progressing their teams in the same time span, its time for a change.

The D in particular gives me no confidence on 3rd down, needing a stop that we will get it. Think about the number of 3rd and 20's that are converted. Unbelievable.

Play the run on the way to the QB opens great opportunities for a quick RB , or even as we often see open field for a QB to run for the first down.

 

[mahoneybill]

That's a good summary of what I am trying to say.

We could go into a sidebar that between free agency and the series of flukes that went into that Cowboys team, its impossible to copy them.

Winning nowadays isn't just about talent because the talent is pretty evenly distributed. Its about the strategy and tactics. Garrett has effectively surrendered on this front every week and Jerry is cheerleading him in doing so because that's what worked in the good old days.

Jerry trying to prove that he made the wiser decision by blocking Garrett from going to Atlanta or Ravens in the past....

Ego over reality is what we are dealing with.. Hey Jerry he's like the guy who is in the stands, can diagnose what he sees after the fact, but in game is statue like as
the reality of the game passing him is too much to deal with.

Take a look at the Saints. They get behind, and need 2 scores, they still run the ball. We get behind and its bombs away. With a guy like McDermott, who learned under
the Eagles Johnson, he knows that pressure will break us when we revert to the Garrett Playbook....

 

[408Cowboy]

In countless post games, Garrett talks about problems as being "execution". The players have bought into this hook, line and sinker as has Jerry. They parrot the same thing.

A friend of mine recently said something that really struck home. In any competition, if one guy knows what the other guy is going to do, that guy will win 80% of the time. Week after week, we hear how other teams know that Dallas "just does what it is going to do". Buffalo knew yesterday that if they read the strong safety, they could get the slot receiver open virtually every play. That wasn't Beasley being a stud. It was him knowing ahead of time where the open field would be. We hear over and over that you can read Dallas' play on offense by the formation. I suspect that after a few weeks of watching Kellen's new plays, good teams have it scouted just as much as the old offense.

So far, you are all with me but I'm just saying what has already been said a thousand times.

Dallas' problem is the Jimmy Johnson 90's Cowboys.

That team was among the 20% that could win even if the other team knew what they were going to do. On both sides of the ball. As a result, they just had to worry about "execution". Side note: Even with that, Wannstedt would run zone blitzes and the offense was unreadable because virtually everything was run out of the I. Garrett forgot about that but its a side point.

Regardless, it was easy to sell Jerry on this "Execution" focused coaching because he won 3 super bowls doing it that way. He can even be part of the planning. The week to week gameplan is for individuals on defense to defeat every block and stop every pass. On offense, its to win every block, catch every ball, etc. When the game is played out and you lose, you can just point to all the times where defenders got blocked or beat, offensive players missed blocks, etc. In the post game discussion with Jerry, Jason Garrett is proven right EVERY WEEK as it being poor "execution".

What isn't discussed is that those players failed to execute frequently because the other team had a leg up on them. They knew which way they were going to stunt. They knew where the coverage would be. They knew the route. They knew the run hole (anyone getting tired of Zeke running into a hole with seemingly 6 defenders in it every time? Ever think its because the defense knew ahead of time where he was going?)

I would love to sit down with Jerry. Ask him: If during draft day, you knew everyone else's draft board and what they wanted in trade but they didn't know yours, how would it go? You would probably own that draft. If during a business deal, you knew what everyone was going to bid and how much they were willing to spend or how low they would go, you would "win" every negotiation, right? Why do you think its any different with football?

There are multiple flaws with Garrett. His lack of discipline is maddening. That said, this whole "execution" thing needs to die a fiery death. Even once Garrett is gone, I suspect Jerry will be susceptible to it because he has won that way in the past.

Sorry for the long rant. Just really frustrated after getting embarrassed on Thanksgiving yet again.

Garrett's troglodytes will be here to tell you you're wrong.

 

[Creeper]

Strategy is used to put your players in the best position to win their individual battles but execution is absolutely a must or no strategy will be successful. The Lombardi Packers won championships by running one play really well. Every team in the league knew it was coming, the power sweep, but they could not stop it because the Packers ran it so well every blocker could carry out his assignment in his sleep. That may have been a different era, but its still true.

All this talk about the Cowboys giving away their plays in advance is probably true. Their defense looks pretty ordinary and they rarely deviate from it. When they do, they have some success, like the play where the had Lewis blitzing and he sacked Allen. Allen had no idea that was coming because the Cowboys never run that kind of play on defense. Allen was very comfortable that the Cowboys would rush 4 and maybe 5 with a blitzing LBs who seems to rush the same way every time they call that play. The Cowboys strategy is not to give up the big plays by not being too aggressive. When the Bills were at their 2 with a 3rd and 10, I would have rushed 7 guys hoping to get the QB to throw short and early. The Cowboys ran their usual 5 man rush with the LB running into an OG and the Bills picked it up easily. Result: game changing 1st down on a 30 yard pass to Beasley. Why the Cowboys don't run more blitzes against young QB is a mystery to me.

The Cowboys have a tendency to stick with stuff that rarely works because maybe it worked once 5 games ago. That LBs blitz they run is old and ineffective now. None of the Cowboys LBs is very good at getting off blocks, which leads to strategy. Don't ask them to do something they are not good at hoping that if they do it often enough they will get better at it. That's what you do in practice, not in games.

 

[kskboys]

Execution is pointless if the strategy is flawed. And the strategy is flawed.

 

[cern]

1. garrett is a lousy coach.
2. the defense is soft. they're good for one quarter then gas out.
3. the o-line can't run block anymore. columbo isn't anywhere nearly as good as frank pollack. big void.

 

[Doomsday]

Execution clearly matters, but so does Xs and Os. Jimmy always surrounded himself with good coaches like Norv and Dave Wannstedt who knew how to game plan for opponents.

Jason Garrett has a first-year coordinator who is pass-happy and has little to no feel for the flow of the game and a dinosaur of a defensive coordinator who never caught up with modern offenses.

It is a lot easier to execute when you put your players in situations that maximize their strengths, which rarely seems to happen with this team.

A good example of that is asking Lee to cover a speedy RB out of the backfield on third down. Setting him up to look bad.

 

[LarryCanadian]

The execution thing is getting old. EVERY team is trying to execute and perform to best of ability. Isn't it the same for the coaches - or shouldn't it be. Their job is to put players in the best position to win, strategically with respect to scheme, and then tactically with respect to play calling and adjustments. I think the personnel department has brought in top tier, super bowl level player talent. We move the ball. The rest of it is suspect, lol - defense has regressed. The team is worse this season despite Dak (take the full season) and L Collins playing better on offense. Some basics are failing. I think the most glaring LACK OF EXECUTION seems to be on the coaching side. To think you are going to out execute the other guy consistently and by a significant margin is a pipe dream. All teams have good players. You need it all working together. It is obvious to fans, players, other teams, other coaches, media, "experts" - what the problems are. There has been a decade of evidence, and this from a guy that actually "likes" JG the person - but feels his coaching style isn't working. Not just him though - Marinelli hasn't performed either. With the limited/regulated amount of practice and study/meeting time for players - coaching has become more and more important in this league.

 

[conner01]

I think execution is king
I think good coaching creates good execution