This is not a dominant run blocking line

[InmanRoshi]

Just ignore the fact that Marion Barber is leading the NFL in yards per carry for runningbacks who have over 50 carries on the season behind that same OL. MB3 has 6.0 ypc on 56 carries, next in line is Brian Westbrook averaging 5.7 on 51 carries ... a full .3 ypc behind in second place, and I think we can all agree that Brian Westbrook is pretty good company.

So is Marion Barber the second coming of Gayle Sayers or Barry Sanders, doing it all on his own behind a sorry OL with his once in a generation talent, or do you think the OL might have something to do with it? I don't think that MB3 is that great, although I admire him greatly for getting the most out of his god given talent with pure determination and heart. Ask yourself this ... if a 4th round talent like MB3 can average 6 yards per carry behind this OL imagine what a real gamebreaking, franchise back could do. There's no doubt in my mind that if we would have some how landed Adrian Peterson he could have challenged the 2,000 marker behind this OL. There's a reason why the first thing opposing coaches say they notice when they pop in our tape is how big, physical and overpowering our OL is. And there's a reason why a long time NFL Personnel Man told Brad Shamm that Sporano is the best assistant coach we've had since Landry.


Did anyone actually expect the two biggest Julius apologists to just come right out and say Julius sucks? They spent the entire offseason blaming Parcells for Julius' mediocrity, and now that they can't use Parcells as the scapegoat of course it's got to be Sporano's fault. They have absolutely no credibility on the issue. These are people who actually believe Parcells told Julius to run into blockers. :laugh2: Just another year, another scapegoat for the Julius apologists.


I'll be so happy when he's gone at the end of the year and we can stop settling and making excuses for mediocrity at perhaps the 2nd most important position on the team.

 

[ThreeSportStar80]

You can't compare this offensive line to the one of the 90's because they did an outstanding job of blocking for the run or the pass, this team is good in pass protecting but can't open in good holes for the running game in the first half of games.

 

[Jimz31]

For those of you that think this o-line is very good at run-blocking early in the game or for the entire first half, just watch the game....specifically watch how many guys are in the backfield on a running play.

Shoot, all that you really had to do was watch the first 5 games of this season to figure it out.

We tire them out by pass-blocking....by the 4th qtr., of course we can run on them.

Look at how it has played out week by week

Week #1: First half rushes - 14
Second half rushes - 13

Week #2: First half rushes - 13
Second half rushes - 17

Week #3: First half rushes - 7
Second half rushes - 16

Week #4: First half rushes - 10
Second half rushes - 18

We HAVE to have TOP in order to get the running game going. The o-line is NOT going to help a RB early in the game. The only time that they have helped is late in the 4th qtr.

Just watch the games....go back and watch them if you have them...it's not hard to figure out.

 

[InmanRoshi]

I love how its a startling red flag that we run better in the 2nd half after we've run the defense down than the first half . Wow, talk about a lack of basic understanding of football.

So, do you think the Steelers had a pretty good run blocking OL in 2005, the year they they won the Superbowl with the most lopsided runass ratio in NFL history? Because they're lead runner that year, Willie Parker, averaged 3.6 ypc in the first half and 5.6 ypc in the 2nd half. I guess their OL couldn't have been that great as run blockers. I don't care what the Lombardi Trophy says.

 

[Bob Sacamano]

why is everyone focusing on the 1st half of games on this issue?

a good running game is one that get stronger as the game progresses

 

[ScipioCowboy]

This thread is baffling.

Not dominant compared to whom?

Dallas' rushing attack ranks 7th best in the league; ergo, the Cowboys run the ball better than 25 other teams. And they do so without an all pro-caliber back.

And why would you criticize them for running the ball better in the second half? That's the goal. Those annoying one or two yard runs between tackles in the first half become seven or eight yard runs in the second half. The epitome of Jimmy Johnson football.

 

[CaptainQuint]

One thing we should have figured out by now is that Julius Jones is not our best option at RB when we've got the ball on our own 1-yard line.

That may be true, but no NFL back would have run through the humanity on either of those first two plays from the 1.

 

[RomoMan]

That may be true, but no NFL back would have run through the humanity on either of those first two plays from the 1.

With that hostile crowd in the endzone, I'm just happy we didn't get a safety.

 

[CaptainQuint]

This thread is baffling.

Not dominant compared to whom?

Dallas' rushing attack ranks 7th best in the league; ergo, the Cowboys run the ball better than 25 other teams. And they do so without an all pro-caliber back.

And why would you criticize them for running the ball better in the second half? That's the goal. Those annoying one or two yard runs between tackles in the first half become seven or eight yard runs in the second half. The epitome of Jimmy Johnson football.

Giants for one, seem to run block better, even Tiki-less. Ward and Jacobs seem to have blocking. Last night, neither MBIII nor Julius had much room, from my perception.
And Romo ALWAYS looks pressured in the first half....
But I think our line is better than New Orleans' O line, and the Eagles' ohhhh line.

 

[CaptainQuint]

And Green Bay came out and knocked down some Bears in the opening drive.
We ran in Chicago, finally, but not in the 1st half.

 

[ScipioCowboy]

Giants for one, seem to run block better, even Tiki-less. Ward and Jacobs seem to have blocking. Last night, neither MBIII nor Julius had much room, from my perception.
And Romo ALWAYS looks pressured in the first half....
But I think our line is better than New Orleans' O line, and the Eagles' ohhhh line.

The Giants' rushing offense ranks 13th in the league. They average fewer yards per carry than Dallas (4.7 to 4.4) on fewer attempts (146 to 134). The Giants also have fewer rushing TDs.

Of course, I'm not dismissing your assessment. It depends entirely on the criteria you're using.

 

[ScipioCowboy]

And Green Bay came out and knocked down some Bears in the opening drive.
We ran in Chicago, finally, but not in the 1st half.

The Packers average less than 68 yards per game rushing. The Cowboys more than double Green Bay's output with 137.2 rushing yards per game.

 

[Jimz31]

This thread is baffling.

Not dominant compared to whom?

Dallas' rushing attack ranks 7th best in the league; ergo, the Cowboys run the ball better than 25 other teams. And they do so without an all pro-caliber back.

And why would you criticize them for running the ball better in the second half? That's the goal. Those annoying one or two yard runs between tackles in the first half become seven or eight yard runs in the second half. The epitome of Jimmy Johnson football.

I think that the main point.....at least for me, is that this line rarely opens a hole period in the first half of games....it's a running play, we know where it is going, they don't, but instead, we consistently have pressure IN the backfield. All of this talk about how big we are is bunk....ok, great, we are big and slow, is that it?

We cannot run to set up the pass and we can't pass to set-up the run.

That is the problem with how our o-line is playing and NO I am NOT impressed with our running #'s...not when we already have a big lead and the running yards we get do get in the last couple of minutes are just stat-padding.

However, I am not complaining that we are winning, but I am one of those that believes it all begins and ends on the line. If this line doesn't get it straight sometime this season, then we can have an exit from the playoffs sooner than I'd like.

We can't keep putting every single game on Tony Romo, and that is what it has been so far. So far so good. I'm thrilled with the way that he has performed outside of last night.

I'd just like to see this team become more than one-dimensional as we are right now. 3.5 quarters of the game we are passing, .5 of a quarter we are running.

Bottom line is that we need to be able to run the ball sometime this season in the first half, so far, we haven't been able to do that.

 

[ScipioCowboy]

I think that the main point.....at least for me, is that this line rarely opens a hole period in the first half of games....it's a running play, we know where it is going, they don't, but instead, we consistently have pressure IN the backfield. All of this talk about how big we are is bunk....ok, great, we are big and slow, is that it?

That is the problem with how our o-line is playing and NO I am NOT impressed with our running #'s...not when we already have a big lead and the running yards we get do get in the last couple of minutes are just stat-padding.

However, I am not complaining that we are winning, but I am one of those that believes it all begins and ends on the line. If this line doesn't get it straight sometime this season, then we can have an exit from the playoffs sooner than I'd like.

We can't keep putting every single game on Tony Romo, and that is what it has been so far. So far so good. I'm thrilled with the way that he has performed outside of last night.

I'd just like to see this team become more than one-dimensional as we are right now. 3.5 quarters of the game we are passing, .5 of a quarter we are running.

Bottom line is that we need to be able to run the ball sometime this season in the first half, so far, we haven't been able to do that.

Only seven teams have averaged more rushes per game than Dallas (29.2 attempts), and Dallas averages more yards per carry that all but two of those teams. Consequently, it's difficult to believe that the Cowboys could average so many carries if they were running only over the last 7 minutes and 30 seconds of the game.

And running games are supposed to shine when the team has a lead in the fourth quarter. That's how lead are preserved and victories are garnered.

In my opinion, the problem with your position is this: A lack of any qualitative or quantitative criteria. You state that the line isn't consistently opening up any holes, but you haven't provided any substantive evidence.

We cannot run to set up the pass and we can't pass to set up the run.

Interesting theory, considering Dallas ranks 1st in total offense and 2nd in scoring offense. They're obviously doing something right.

 

[InmanRoshi]

Anyone ever thought of the possibility of using the run to set up the run? Running attempts have an accumulative effect, like body punches in a boxing match. You don't throw body punches in the first round because you're expecting a knockout. You throw body punches in the first round because it softens up your opponent for later in the fight. Defenses have fresh legs earlier in the game, and it's harder to run against them. Generally all teams have a lower ypc in the first half than the 2nd half, unless they have a RB capable of turning a 5 yard play into a 60 yard play to skew the average. We don't have one of those.

 

[Garland powerplay]

Julius is overdue for a long TD. Watch for that. The new offense is very pass heavy compared to the year prior with Mr . Parcells who deserves alot of credit for putting this team together. Mr . Jones would benefit from hiring him as a GM.

 

[Rack]

what are you watching then? do I need to go get the numbers for you?

David

It's not a matter of whether or not our OL is good or bad, it's your constant extremist attitude that makes people ignore you.

"so and so is the worst _____ in the NFL"

"We have the absolute worst _____ in the entire league"

Those aren't exact quotes, just examples. Try toning down the extremist talk and people will pay more attention to you.

Just ignore the fact that Marion Barber is leading the NFL in yards per carry for runningbacks who have over 50 carries on the season behind that same OL. MB3 has 6.0 ypc on 56 carries, next in line is Brian Westbrook averaging 5.7 on 51 carries ... a full .3 ypc behind in second place, and I think we can all agree that Brian Westbrook is pretty good company.

So is Marion Barber the second coming of Gayle Sayers or Barry Sanders, doing it all on his own behind a sorry OL with his once in a generation talent, or do you think the OL might have something to do with it? I don't think that MB3 is that great, although I admire him greatly for getting the most out of his god given talent with pure determination and heart. Ask yourself this ... if a 4th round talent like MB3 can average 6 yards per carry behind this OL imagine what a real gamebreaking, franchise back could do. There's no doubt in my mind that if we would have some how landed Adrian Peterson he could have challenged the 2,000 marker behind this OL. There's a reason why the first thing opposing coaches say they notice when they pop in our tape is how big, physical and overpowering our OL is. And there's a reason why a long time NFL Personnel Man told Brad Shamm that Sporano is the best assistant coach we've had since Landry.


Did anyone actually expect the two biggest Julius apologists to just come right out and say Julius sucks? They spent the entire offseason blaming Parcells for Julius' mediocrity, and now that they can't use Parcells as the scapegoat of course it's got to be Sporano's fault. They have absolutely no credibility on the issue. These are people who actually believe Parcells told Julius to run into blockers. :laugh2: Just another year, another scapegoat for the Julius apologists.


I'll be so happy when he's gone at the end of the year and we can stop settling and making excuses for mediocrity at perhaps the 2nd most important position on the team.

For so many years the focus has been on finding our next great QB. Now we have him. But during that time people seem to have forgotten that the cowboys are a franchise that also has a great history of RBs. All that focus on the QB, these people seem to have forgotten the difference between a "Solid" RB and an "Elite" RB.

The run blocking is solid. Maybe not the best, but certainly NO WHERE NEAR THE WORST. The difference is we don't have that elite RB that could take the first quarter 1 yard gains and stretch them into 3 or 4 yard gains.

I guarantee you if we had Emmitt in his prime running behind this OL, he'd find a way to get yards in the first quarter, despite the FACT that teams have been loading up on the run against us.

People, it's not just a matter of the OL opening the hole. You have to have the RB who can get through that hole cuz in the NFL, it's not always gonna be big enough to drive a truck through. Elite RBs can get through those small creases and get positive yards.

I remember my senior year in high school. The year before we had some really great RBs on the team. I was replacing a 3 year starter at FB and the TB (who was also the starting FS) was as replacing a 3 year starter at Tailback. I over heard the lineman telling someone "last year all you had to do was create a small hole and those RBs would get through them. This year you have to open a gaping hole or they don't get yards".

Of course I disagreed with him cuz I was averaging just as many yards per carry as the FB the year before me (around 8). He said I didn't count cuz I didn't get the ball enough (No argument from me on that one).

Point is the RB also factors in to the Running game, not just the OL. And we don't have any elite RBs on the team.

I love how its a startling red flag that we run better in the 2nd half after we've run the defense down than the first half . Wow, talk about a lack of basic understanding of football.

So, do you think the Steelers had a pretty good run blocking OL in 2005, the year they they won the Superbowl with the most lopsided runass ratio in NFL history? Because they're lead runner that year, Willie Parker, averaged 3.6 ypc in the first half and 5.6 ypc in the 2nd half. I guess their OL couldn't have been that great as run blockers. I don't care what the Lombardi Trophy says.

This thread is baffling.

Not dominant compared to whom?

Dallas' rushing attack ranks 7th best in the league; ergo, the Cowboys run the ball better than 25 other teams. And they do so without an all pro-caliber back.

And why would you criticize them for running the ball better in the second half? That's the goal. Those annoying one or two yard runs between tackles in the first half become seven or eight yard runs in the second half. The epitome of Jimmy Johnson football.

Giants for one, seem to run block better, even Tiki-less. Ward and Jacobs seem to have blocking. Last night, neither MBIII nor Julius had much room, from my perception.
And Romo ALWAYS looks pressured in the first half....
But I think our line is better than New Orleans' O line, and the Eagles' ohhhh line.

More extremist attitude.

No way in HELL does Romo "Always look pressured in the first half"

Go to your bathroom and look in your toilet. In there you will see your credibility. Go ahead and flush.

Anyone ever thought of the possibility of using the run to set up the run? Running attempts have an accumulative effect, like body punches in a boxing match. You don't throw body punches in the first round because you're expecting a knockout. You throw body punches in the first round because it softens up your opponent for later in the fight. Defenses have fresh legs earlier in the game, and it's harder to run against them. Generally all teams have a lower ypc in the first half than the 2nd half, unless they have a RB capable of turning a 5 yard play into a 60 yard play to skew the average. We don't have one of those.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

And Green Bay came out and knocked down some Bears in the opening drive.
We ran in Chicago, finally, but not in the 1st half.

A lot of that is because Chicago didn't expect Green Bay to come out running the football.

A lot of this is scheme related. A capable defense can and does do things to limit one part of an opposing offensive. Buffalo was focused on stopping the Cowboy running game-- And consequently Dallas had a tough time. Chicago was focused on stopping the Green Bay passing game-- And consequently Green Bay was able to run pretty well in the first quarter.

Really no suprises here.

 

[burmafrd]

We do not dominate on the run untill the opposing D is worn down. For all those claiming we are doing well running the ball- look at the first half stats.
It is going to come back and haunt us- especially in the bad weather games that we will have sooner or later. Bottom line is that we are not able to impose our will running the ball untill the second half IF WE HAVE been able to wear them down. Certain people here can bleat and cry and whatever about the whole game stats- it does not explain the first half lack of a running game.

 

[fanfromvirginia]

I expect the truth, as usual, is somewhere in between. I'm a little concerned about our run blocking/running game but it is nowhere near the catastrophe that some here are making it out to be. I'm also concerned about our special teams coverage and our various injuries and...well that's about it. I'm definitely not concerned about our QB.

So for those of you who need something to worry about to make you happy, the OL run blocking is as good as anything I suppose.