Update on our rushing game compared to rest of league

[Doomsday101]

Randle consistently got those "dirty" yards this game the problem was we kept getting penalized.

This was one game you cannot complain about him not getting those type of yards.

I agree that the penalties were the big problem in this past game. I also know all the talk of the 6.7 per carry was a load of BS, once a back has to carry a bigger load than the 3 per game the YPC suffer. Hambrick did great as a backup and put up very good YPC but when given more of a load he failed. My hope is this running game gets going, I can't say I have been overly pleased with our run game it is way down from last season and I hope we can figure this out and start producing better in the run game. If that means giving McFadden or Michaels more opportunities then great or if Randle just picks up the pace. Outside of 1 15 yard run he has not much in the run game. Last year he would rip off a big run there have been none thus far.

 

[Stash]

It's totally knee jerk.

No it isn't. It's a two-game sampling of what the 2015 Cowboys are and aren't doing.

The first game the Cowboys were playing from behind and the 2nd game there were 33 rush attempts and 34 pass attempts so they did not resort to a pass over running as you stated.

And these are the same excuses that staunch defenders used when this team refused to run in the past as well. They were never the 'pass happy' bunch that everyone else saw, it was always somehow 'dictated' to them that they somehow just couldn't run the ball.

There were plenty of times last year when this team was well behind, much more than they have ever been so far this year, and they stayed with the run. And everyone knows it. For whatever reason, this team isn't running often enough or well enough.

 

[50cent]

This is true but don't look past the facts that we are choosing NOT to run the ball on short yardage, in the red zone or with much consistency at all. We came from behind on several games last year by running the ball.
I think you will see more running now that Romo is out but before the injury it sure looked like a team that was pass first, substituting short passes to backs instead of runs. Against NY it worked pretty well.

I don't see how some cant see that this is why we are ranked so low. The lack of attempts may have alot to do with it!! We had a 15 play drive that started with 5+ minutes vs Philly and 14 were passes. 15 plays and only 1 run and people can't see we've abandoned the run in the gamelan for short passes and routes. It's not rocket science to know if you don't call run plays or always audible out that it's hard to rake up yards to rank high.

I know, I know, the situation of only having 3 points with 5 minutes left in the half dictated we pass 14 times on the drive. I just want someone to explain to me how? It's hard for me to judge run blocking or the backs when your head coach, QB, owner, QB coach and now Linehan view handing the ball off as a necessary evil.

15 plays people and 1 run and its the line and RB fault that they rank so low?! This team has no doubt abandoned the run again with the 2010-13 philosophy of pass first, dink and dunk second and run when its convenient, but see if we can audible to a passpass third.

If the running game improves it won't be because of some magic formula, it'll be because Linehan has called more THROUGHOUT the game instead of waiting until the 4th (not really, 0 runs in 4th vs Giants) or his QB gets hurt to start balancing out a 15 play drive in the first half that started with 5 minutes. Thus making it appear we were balanced in playcalling and the line/rb in 33 attempts just isn't producing like our 30+ passes do.

 

[Beast_from_East]

Way too early to come to any kind of a conclusion on the running game. Factors in both games so far have negatively impacted production. Let's wait until at least mid season before reaching any knee jerk conclusions.

I guess you missed the part where I said it's too early to tell and that it will be interesting to see how the numbers change when we start playing teams outside the division

 

[Rockport]

No it isn't. It's a two-game sampling of what the 2015 Cowboys are and aren't doing.



And these are the same excuses that staunch defenders used when this team refused to run in the past as well. They were never the 'pass happy' bunch that everyone else saw, it was always somehow 'dictated' to them that they somehow just couldn't run the ball.

There were plenty of times last year when this team was well behind, much more than they have ever been so far this year, and they stayed with the run. And everyone knows it. For whatever reason, this team isn't running often enough or well enough.

Making a judgement after 2 games is knee jerk for the reasons I've already stated. We can just agree to disagree.

 

[JIGGYFLY]

I don't see how some cant see that this is why we are ranked so low. The lack of attempts may have alot to do with it!! We had a 15 play drive that started with 5+ minutes vs Philly and 14 were passes. 15 plays and only 1 run and people can't see we've abandoned the run in the gamelan for short passes and routes. It's not rocket science to know if you don't call run plays or always audible out that it's hard to rake up yards to rank high.

I know, I know, the situation of only having 3 points with 5 minutes left in the half dictated we pass 14 times on the drive. I just want someone to explain to me how? It's hard for me to judge run blocking or the backs when your head coach, QB, owner, QB coach and now Linehan view handing the ball off as a necessary evil.

15 plays people and 1 run and its the line and RB fault that they rank so low?! This team has no doubt abandoned the run again with the 2010-13 philosophy of pass first, dink and dunk second and run when its convenient, but see if we can audible to a passpass third.

If the running game improves it won't be because of some magic formula, it'll be because Linehan has called more THROUGHOUT the game instead of waiting until the 4th (not really, 0 runs in 4th vs Giants) or his QB gets hurt to start balancing out a 15 play drive in the first half that started with 5 minutes. Thus making it appear we were balanced in playcalling and the line/rb in 33 attempts just isn't producing like our 30+ passes do.

I don't remember this drive.

How many penalties were there and how many runs were wiped out by penalties?

They had 34 passes to 33 rushes that's a better ratio than we had last year, how is that abandoning the run?

 

[CATCH17]

Now that week 2 is in the books, we have a little bit bigger sample size since 12.5% of the season has been played. I thought it would be interesting to track how our running game is going in comparison to the rest of the league each week with this being the first entry.

We are currently 20th in rushing offense at 94.5 yards per game.

Last season we averaged 147.1 yards rushing per game, which was 2nd in the NFL behind only Seattle.

So using my UT education I calculate that to be a difference of 52.6 yards less per game we are currently rushing for. Too early to tell exactly why we are struggling running the ball (dropping from #2 to #20), could be injuries affecting how teams play us, could be teams better game planning for us now that they have a year's worth of tape on our line and their tendencies, or it could be that we lost our bellcow and have replaced him with 2nd tier running backs rotating on a committee basis. Time will obviously tell.

We really need to start running the ball a lot better now that Romo is out. We don't have to be #2 in the league again, but we need to be better than #20 considering how many high draft picks were spent on this line.

What are we in time of possession and what were we last year.

This is the key stat... Not run yards.

 

[Doomsday101]

What are we in time of possession and what were we last year.

This is the key stat... Not run yards.

I agree TOP is important but imposing your will on the defense in my view is also important. Being down at the 1 and being able to slam the ball in is important. I don't think the run game is a complete failure I will say I would like to see a lot more production than I have seen thus far.

 

[JoeBoBBY]

I agree TOP is important but imposing your will on the defense in my view is also important. Being down at the 1 and being able to slam the ball in is important. I don't think the run game is a complete failure I will say I would like to see a lot more production than I have seen thus far.

We have some serious red-zone issues. They are kicking field goals way to often!

 

[BAT]

What are we in time of possession and what were we last year.

This is the key stat... Not run yards.

Touchdowns is an even more important stat than TOP. Holding the ball forever is good, but the goal is still to score at the end of drives.

 

[CowboyRoy]

I think the answer is pretty simple. It is multiple factors.

1. A lot of our rushing yards came in the 2nd half of games in 2014 as defenses wore down. In the Giants game we had to pass the ball because we were behind the entire 2nd half. In the Eagles game we had to pass the ball more because of down and distance resulting from a Franchise all-time high 18 penalties.

2. Half of our current season so far was played against the Eagles. We averaged around 75 yards and 3.0 yards per carry against the Eagles in 2014.

3. More passes to RBs. We are scheming to feature Dunbar more in the first two games. Linehan seems to be running a west coast scheme that includes more passes and a few fewer runs for RBs.

Its actually more basic then that.

-Our current stable of RB's is below dominant running game standards.

Linehan is passing to his backs because we are in 2nd and long and 3rd and long too often. In short, the run game isnt working well enough.

 

[50cent]

I don't remember this drive.

How many penalties were there and how many runs were wiped out by penalties?

They had 34 passes to 33 rushes that's a better ratio than we had last year, how is that abandoning the run?

About 8 penalties total (5 on Eagles) and 95% of the plays were in shotgun. The ratio of pass to throw didn't even out until Romo got hurt and Weeden was inserted. When Romo got hurt, we had called 29 passes of the 44 plays run. Thats 66% passes with a drive that 14 passes to 1 run. It's the same statistical resemblance of 2010-13 play calls.

Had Romo not been injured, I have no doubt the same playcalling trend would have continued and the 33 rushing attempts wouldn't have been as high with Romo finishing. For the first 2 weeks, we have seen a similar Romo-led plan/trend to the 8-8 seasons when some said we didn't abandon the run either.

 

[Doomsday101]

About 8 penalties total (5 on Eagles) and 95% of the plays were in shotgun. The ratio of pass to throw didn't even out until Romo got hurt and Weeden was inserted. When Romo got hurt, we had called 29 passes of the 44 plays run. Thats 66% passes with a drive that 14 passes to 1 run. It's the same statistical resemblance of 2010-13 play calls.

Had Romo not been injured, I have no doubt the same playcalling trend would have continued and the 33 rushing attempts wouldn't have been as high with Romo finishing. For the first 2 weeks, we have seen a similar Romo-led plan/trend to the 8-8 seasons when some said we didn't abandon the run either.

Part of staying with the run is being successful when you run. Running for the sake of running only keeps us in poor down and distance, we have to show better success running the ball. If they do that I think you will see a heavier dose of running.

 

[50cent]

I don't remember this drive.

How many penalties were there and how many runs were wiped out by penalties?

They had 34 passes to 33 rushes that's a better ratio than we had last year, how is that abandoning the run?

Another statistical trend from 2010-13 (8-8 seasons) that is rearing its ugly head is that Witten is the leader in targets and receptions. Historically, teams don't win a SB with the TE leading the team in targets or receptions. If I'm not mistaken, the last to do so was the Ravens with Sharpe.

 

[HellCrowe]

When you have a top 5 QB to pull you out of situations it's OK to have a mediocore RB. Because just like running opens up the passing game so can be said vise versa. However, we have a mediocore QB and a mediocore RB (atm). That doesn't sound good. I hope our OL blocks like we know they can so we know what we have in our running game. This time I'm thinking our passing won't open the running game so the running game needs to step up.

Whole different ball game without romo.

 

[Doomsday101]

When you have a top 5 QB to pull you out of situations it's OK to have a mediocore RB. Because just like running opens up the passing game so can be said vise versa. However, we have a mediocore QB and a mediocore RB (atm). That doesn't sound good. I hope our OL blocks like we know they can so we know what we have in our running game. This time I'm thinking our passing won't open the running game so the running game needs to step up.

Whole different ball game without romo.

We have had a top QB for a while last season we had a running game and it showed. Somehow be it changing the RB rotation or whatever it takes this team needs to show better production in their rushing attack.

 

[50cent]

Part of staying with the run is being successful when you run. Running for the sake of running only keeps us in poor down and distance, we have to show better success running the ball. If they do that I think you will see a heavier dose of running.

I have also heard this before and have shown where "its just a theory" that the run game has put us in poor down and distance. I haven't done the research for this year but did for others and its hard to blame down and distance on the run, when we rarely call consecutive run plays. I know for sure Week one we, passed on 1st and 10, twelve out of 15 times. Thats not the run putting us in bad positions completely.

Last year, we didn't start every game with big chunk after big chunk and the last Philly game was a good example. Murray had no success but finished with 31 carries. It's the commitment that must be made before we assume the run game is broken.

 

[Doomsday101]

I have also heard this before and have shown where "its just a theory" that the run game has put us in poor down and distance. I haven't done the research for this year but did for others and its hard to blame down and distance on the run, when we rarely call consecutive run plays. I know for sure Week one we, passed on 1st and 10, twelve out of 15 times. Thats not the run putting us in bad positions completely.

Last year, we didn't start every game with big chunk after big chunk and the last Philly game was a good example. Murray had no success but finished with 31 carries. It's the commitment that must be made before we assume the run game is broken.

No we did not start every game with big chucks but we were getting better than we have thus far. I do agree penalties will effect how much you can run. We had 18 most on offense, it is hard to run on a 1st and 20 or 2nd and 15. However Randle is the lead RB at a 3.4 avg that is not going to cut it. He needs to pick it up and start producing, if he does Dallas will run the ball.

 

[Stash]

Making a judgement after 2 games is knee jerk for the reasons I've already stated. We can just agree to disagree.

Ok. Let's do that.

 

[Doomsday101]

Making a judgement after 2 games is knee jerk for the reasons I've already stated. We can just agree to disagree.

I will say I am still concerned with the running game. We say 2 games but that is 34 carries by Randle he had 51 all of last year but right now his YPC are way down, he needs to pick it up.