Too many cooks in Garrett's head

[gimmesix]

Back in the 1990s when Dallas was so efficient on offense, a lot of credit was given to the system brought in by Norv Turner. Players praised Turner for how simple it was to understand what they were asked to do, making it easier to execute plays. The receivers knew where they were going each play and Troy Aikman knew where to find them, often throwing the ball before they made their cuts and hitting them right out of their breaks.

Jason Garrett is a Norv disciple, yet he also has said his offense is influenced by other systems he has played and coached in since leaving Dallas. To me, this is where Garrett's system suffers. What he expects the quarterback and receivers to do in the passing game is very easy to understand in his Ivy League brain, but it hasn't translated over to the field.

For years, we've seen communication problems between Tony Romo and his receivers, and at this point, I can't say all of the problems lie with them. A very smart man simply needs to simplify for players who are not as smart as he is. He needs to realize that what he is coaching isn't getting executed consistently and cut back on the options.

Make it simple, if a go is called in the huddle, then the receiver runs a go. He doesn't need to decide whether the defender is playing off coverage or going to come up and press. He just needs to try to beat the coverage. If Dez Bryant is running a slant no matter what, then Romo can throw the slant or if the defense is playing to take that away, he can look to another receiver. If the defensive scheme is perfect for taking away the routes (no options) his receivers are running on a play call, he can look to the tight end, check down to the back or audible to a run. Let the receiver be where Romo expects him to be, and allow Romo to read based on that whom he needs to throw to.

I know that's overly simplistic, but at this point, it's what Dallas needs to avoid miscommunications and turnovers. Get back to a system where the receiver has one route on his mind and the quarterback can have the peace of mind that the receiver is going to run the right route.

 

[rickjameschinaclub]

Myths...

 

[rickjameschinaclub]

How is Garrett a Norv disciple when he played under him for 1 freaking year?

How about his father's coaching methods, where Jason transferred to play under him into a 0-10 season at Columbia:

http://www.nytimes.com/1985/11/27/sports/garrett-incidents-described.html

 

[gimmesix]

How is Garrett a Norv disciple when he played under him for 1 freaking year?

Because he has said he was:

"He taught me how to play quarterback in this league and in a lot of ways his influence on me and others as a coach has influenced me as I’ve coached, so he’s been a big part of my life.”

That's just one quote from Garrett about Turner I found with a quick search. I've read others where he's talked about Turner's influence and using principles of his system.

 

[gimmesix]

How is Garrett a Norv disciple when he played under him for 1 freaking year?

Here's a more extensive version of my last post, from ESPN Dallas:

Garrett uses the same system as Turner, who is entering his fifth season as San Diego’s head coach, although he acknowledges both have added to and evolved some of the scheme over the years.

“It goes back to Sid Gilman and those guys with the Chargers way back in the 1960s and then [Don] Coryell and [Ernie] Zampese and Norv,” Garrett said. “A number of teams are using it now and you can make a compelling argument that Norv’s run it as well as anybody ever. He’s certainly been a big influence on me that way but it goes beyond that. He taught me how to play quarterback in this league and in a lot of ways his influence on me and other as a coach has influenced me as I’ve coached, so he’s been a big part of my life.”

 

[brymatt94]

How is Garrett a Norv disciple when he played under him for 1 freaking year?

How about his father's coaching methods, where Jason transferred to play under him into a 0-10 season at Columbia:

http://www.nytimes.com/1985/11/27/sports/garrett-incidents-described.html

Garrett is an "Air Coryell" disciple. He learned the system under Turner for a year but then Ernie Zampese replaced him and used essentially the same system.

 

[rickjameschinaclub]

I understand Garrett claims to be influenced by him, but that has absolutely nothing to do with him being a disciple, nor does it mean he picked up so much from him that Norv's coaching has more of an impact than say Cad Cameron or the countless other coaches that he played under with the Dallas Cowboys. Play-action is almost non existent from Garrett's play-calling, while it was a staple of our passing game with Zampese. Garrett is more akin to Mike Martz, who also runs an Air Coryell type system.

And for those who mention Zampese, he was absolutely horrid with us as an OC with his throw the ball on an out pattern 2 yards away from the first down marker at the sideline. With the departure of Norv Turner, the offense started to feel the impacts of deteriorating offensive production.

You can suck at being a coach of a particular system while another coach may be great at it. Norv served 5 years as an assistant coach under the Rams in an Air Coryell system, while Garrett never coached the system until he came here. He was only a QB coach for the Maimi Dolphins under Cameron.

 

[gimmesix]

I understand Garrett claims to be influenced by him, but that has absolutely nothing to do with him being a disciple, nor does it mean he picked up so much from him that Norv's coaching has more of an impact than say Cad Cameron or the countless other coaches that he played under with the Dallas Cowboys.

You seem to mainly have a problem with the word "disciple."

Garrett has said he runs a system based on the one he learned under Turner, but that he has added principles from other coaches he's learned from. (Cam Cameron also ran a variation of that system.) Garrett's seems to be a hybrid of what he learned from them and what he learned in New York, which is what I think is part of the problem.

As ESPN Dallas says, he's evolved the scheme and I think that evolution has caused setbacks with those learning it, particularly the receivers.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

I think there's a lot of truth in the OP. I've always suspected Garrett has somehow added more wrinkles, probably more reads on the fly, to the system and that's why the QBs and WRs are so often not on the same page.

I suspect that's why our O has been so boom or bust the last several years -- when it works, it works great. But more moving parts mean more things to go wrong, so when it's bad it can be really bad with lots of miscommunication and other mistakes.

 

[AZBOYZFAN]

This is where a football IQ comes in which seems a few WR and a RB in the system doesnt have

 

[gimmesix]

This is where a football IQ comes in which seems a few WR and a RB in the system doesnt have

Yes, but I think the system bears some blame for that.

If it was just one receiver making mistakes, I'd think it's just a stupid player, but over the past few years, several receivers have zigged when they were supposed to zag.

Now, I do think a couple of our receivers aren't very smart on the field, but it's up to the offensive coordinator to realize that and make the system fit their level of understanding.

I think this is where Garrett's intelligence level might be a hindrance. He doesn't seem to be able to comprehend why there is so much miscommunication between his quarterback and receivers. If he did, I think we'd see some results of it, instead of the same mistakes happening over and over.

 

[Zman5]

I think there's a lot of truth in the OP. I've always suspected Garrett has somehow added more wrinkles, probably more reads on the fly, to the system and that's why the QBs and WRs are so often not on the same page.

I suspect that's why our O has been so boom or bust the last several years -- when it works, it works great. But more moving parts mean more things to go wrong, so when it's bad it can be really bad with lots of miscommunication and other mistakes.

^^^This. JG's system doesn't fit the players we have. Especially the WRs.

Dez is a physical beast but not so bright. So instead of taking advantage of his physical skill, JG wants him to be cerebral.

Don't make him run routes based on reading defenses. Make him run routes where he can take advantage of his physical skill. There are almost no DBs that can out play Dez physically. Unfortunately, there are many DBs that can out smart Dez.