Using a ‘93 game plan in 2019

[G2]

I think his main point was this: The Rams didn’t have a talent advantage, just a coaching one.

I don't see how this can be 100% true.

 

[glimmerman]

One of the after shocks of the rams loss for me was what I saw when I went back and watched the game again. I usually record all the Cowboys games so I can go back and look at the game when I’m not just into the moment live.

My impression after watching that game again after a couple of weeks of letting it stew, was how badly our team got outcoached. The effort was there. Our guys played hard for a full 60 minutes. Effort wasn’t the problem at all.

DEFENSE
Here’s the obvious kicker- on defense everyone was constantly out of position. They simply used our aggression from our front 7 against us. They DID NOT physically whip us. They just hatched a game plan that took advantage of our tendencies on defense. They came up with a great game plan that didn’t require physical dominance. Let’s call it a “modern” game plan. A 2019 game plan. Lots of deception and finesse.

OFFENSE
Us on offense, it was the exact opposite. Garrett and Linehan offer no wrinkles other than an occasional three TE formation or using Noah Brown as a blocker in short yardage situations. Our offensive game plan was simple- run the ball, physically dominate them. Pass when you’re behind the chains.

Problem is what are you gonna do when Connor Williams and Joe Looney can’t block Aaron Donald? Garret’s Answer: Keep doing it anyway. In fact our game plan looked it was devised for a game in ‘93 when our Cowboys could physically dominate anyone. But it’s 2019 and no team in this league can physically dominate anyone else.

CONCLUSION
We have a lot of talent now on this roster. We aren’t that far away from anyone in this league in the talent dept. But we are way behind in the coaching dept but Jerry apparently isn’t bothered enough by that. We got beat in the film room and rams coaches offices- not on the turf. We rolled out a ‘93 game plan against the best game planner in 2019.

And If we’re ever going to compete for a championship in my lifetime again our 76 year old owner has to understand that Garrett isn’t going to get us to the promised land without a major offensive philosophy change. I’m not holding my breath. His only coaching move appears to hinge on our ability to physically dominate everyone.

SMDH.

Bob, I deleted it right after the game was over. I was so disgusted I just couldn’t rewatch that game.

Defense - I don’t know if the Defensive game plan was made and called by Marinelli because Richard was off running around doing job interviews (totally peed me off to do that during the playoffs, he could have waited). But to me it looked like we played the whole game in prevent mode. Afraid goff was gonna pass on us. Our LBs filled no gaps and didn’t even try to stop the run. I heard earlier in the week that teams that had success against the rams let gurley get his yards and made goff try to beat them. That’s not how we play Defense. We prided ourselves on stopping the run game and make teams pass and get after qbs. If you notice every time we hit remotely close to goff he threw it away or a really bad pass.

I kept waiting for them to adjust and take the run game away. They never did even try. I know Woods tore his labrum in the first quarter and kept playing. And LVE was sick, but come on. It was not our normal game plan and if it was then we would have had a shot. At one point I saw Richard on the sidelines yelling at LVE. I stood up and yelled at Richard,Lol, WHERE WERE YOU ALL WEEK WHEN WE WERE GAME PLANNING.. Lol, I don’t think he heard me. Simply put .OUT COACHED.

Offense - Pretty much what I expected except no adjustment in the run game. You have 2 monsters in the middle and little old Williams trying to block one of them and Looney on the other. Once your getting nothing between the tackles your OC needs to run off tackle or swing or toss or dump off right over the lines head. Bypass these guys but Linehan kept pounding into the brick wall. We had the same thing where we drive and move the ball and then have drives killed by penalties or a off pass or drop. Dak played pretty good. The 4th and 1 we missed should have been a QB keeper right off Tyron side or the handoff should have went that way. Again a stupid all by Linehan. OUT COACHED.

JJ still don’t realize that JG can handle regular season but he and his staff can’t coach at the level needed for the playoffs. And JJ is so worried about not being wrong in his decision to keep JG that he won’t change it. Disfunction from the top cost us 2014 season and 2016 season and maybe this one. A better staff is needed. Watching JG out there smiling at the pro bowl knowing his job is safe.

Wondering what Moore is gonna bring to the table if he can call plays. Everyone in media already saying he is a young brilliant football mind. We will see shortly. Maybe just another scapegoat.

 

[Diehardblues]

One of the after shocks of the rams loss for me was what I saw when I went back and watched the game again. I usually record all the Cowboys games so I can go back and look at the game when I’m not just into the moment live.

My impression after watching that game again after a couple of weeks of letting it stew, was how badly our team got outcoached. The effort was there. Our guys played hard for a full 60 minutes. Effort wasn’t the problem at all.

DEFENSE
Here’s the obvious kicker- on defense everyone was constantly out of position. They simply used our aggression from our front 7 against us. They DID NOT physically whip us. They just hatched a game plan that took advantage of our tendencies on defense. They came up with a great game plan that didn’t require physical dominance. Let’s call it a “modern” game plan. A 2019 game plan. Lots of deception and finesse.

OFFENSE
Us on offense, it was the exact opposite. Garrett and Linehan offer no wrinkles other than an occasional three TE formation or using Noah Brown as a blocker in short yardage situations. Our offensive game plan was simple- run the ball, physically dominate them. Pass when you’re behind the chains.

Problem is what are you gonna do when Connor Williams and Joe Looney can’t block Aaron Donald? Garret’s Answer: Keep doing it anyway. In fact our game plan looked it was devised for a game in ‘93 when our Cowboys could physically dominate anyone. But it’s 2019 and no team in this league can physically dominate anyone else.

CONCLUSION
We have a lot of talent now on this roster. We aren’t that far away from anyone in this league in the talent dept. But we are way behind in the coaching dept but Jerry apparently isn’t bothered enough by that. We got beat in the film room and rams coaches offices- not on the turf. We rolled out a ‘93 game plan against the best game planner in 2019.

And If we’re ever going to compete for a championship in my lifetime again our 76 year old owner has to understand that Garrett isn’t going to get us to the promised land without a major offensive philosophy change. I’m not holding my breath. His only coaching move appears to hinge on our ability to physically dominate everyone.

SMDH.

Unfortunately elite coaching isn’t an asset that fits into Jerry’s personal agenda. Remember he tried that winning back to back championships but didn’t like it.

And why I’d like our chances with a more elite QB who can overcome these weaknesses with a better supporting cast.

We’ve seen what a more elite passing QB can do with this Offense &coaching staff . He just needed more supporting cast.

Does anyone not believe if we had one of these prolific passing QB’s it would enhance our possibilities instead of hoping our coaching is going to make the difference?

This isn’t a bash on our QB. It’s simply recognizing our weaknesses and addressing them within the parameters allowed. Problem is our core handicap also has an agenda in proving this QB is enough which in a more normal situation he might could be.

But in a dysfunctional organization we have had a team which is talent dependent and we’ve seen how more talent has uplifted us to a threshold that makes us more competitive despite these other weaknesses.

Imagine if at the most critical position we had one of our most talented players. Just saying because normal solutions don’t apply here my friend.

 

[mahoneybill]

The measure of intelligence is the ability to change...

Victory comes from finding opportunity in problems...

All war is deception...

Be water my friends...

The ability to adapt is crucial to success.

Well stated. Looks and sounds like McVays game plan...

 

[mahoneybill]

Bob, I deleted it right after the game was over. I was so disgusted I just couldn’t rewatch that game.

Defense - I don’t know if the Defensive game plan was made and called by Marinelli because Richard was off running around doing job interviews (totally peed me off to do that during the playoffs, he could have waited). But to me it looked like we played the whole game in prevent mode. Afraid goff was gonna pass on us. Our LBs filled no gaps and didn’t even try to stop the run. I heard earlier in the week that teams that had success against the rams let gurley get his yards and made goff try to beat them. That’s not how we play Defense. We prided ourselves on stopping the run game and make teams pass and get after qbs. If you notice every time we hit remotely close to goff he threw it away or a really bad pass.

I kept waiting for them to adjust and take the run game away. They never did even try. I know Woods tore his labrum in the first quarter and kept playing. And LVE was sick, but come on. It was not our normal game plan and if it was then we would have had a shot. At one point I saw Richard on the sidelines yelling at LVE. I stood up and yelled at Richard,Lol, WHERE WERE YOU ALL WEEK WHEN WE WERE GAME PLANNING.. Lol, I don’t think he heard me. Simply put .OUT COACHED.

Offense - Pretty much what I expected except no adjustment in the run game. You have 2 monsters in the middle and little old Williams trying to block one of them and Looney on the other. Once your getting nothing between the tackles your OC needs to run off tackle or swing or toss or dump off right over the lines head. Bypass these guys but Linehan kept pounding into the brick wall. We had the same thing where we drive and move the ball and then have drives killed by penalties or a off pass or drop. Dak played pretty good. The 4th and 1 we missed should have been a QB keeper right off Tyron side or the handoff should have went that way. Again a stupid all by Linehan. OUT COACHED.

JJ still don’t realize that JG can handle regular season but he and his staff can’t coach at the level needed for the playoffs. And JJ is so worried about not being wrong in his decision to keep JG that he won’t change it. Disfunction from the top cost us 2014 season and 2016 season and maybe this one. A better staff is needed. Watching JG out there smiling at the pro bowl knowing his job is safe.

Wondering what Moore is gonna bring to the table if he can call plays. Everyone in media already saying he is a young brilliant football mind. We will see shortly. Maybe just another scapegoat.

Nice post. This coming season will tell us a lot. Especially if we don't see the rumored extension of Garrett.

JJ thinks this is Landry reincarnated as we have sniffed the playoffs several times and won the Division. Difference is the Landry was getting to the the deep end of the pool not just dipping his toe in the water......

 

[ondaedg]

One of the after shocks of the rams loss for me was what I saw when I went back and watched the game again. I usually record all the Cowboys games so I can go back and look at the game when I’m not just into the moment live.

My impression after watching that game again after a couple of weeks of letting it stew, was how badly our team got outcoached. The effort was there. Our guys played hard for a full 60 minutes. Effort wasn’t the problem at all.

DEFENSE
Here’s the obvious kicker- on defense everyone was constantly out of position. They simply used our aggression from our front 7 against us. They DID NOT physically whip us. They just hatched a game plan that took advantage of our tendencies on defense. They came up with a great game plan that didn’t require physical dominance. Let’s call it a “modern” game plan. A 2019 game plan. Lots of deception and finesse.

OFFENSE
Us on offense, it was the exact opposite. Garrett and Linehan offer no wrinkles other than an occasional three TE formation or using Noah Brown as a blocker in short yardage situations. Our offensive game plan was simple- run the ball, physically dominate them. Pass when you’re behind the chains.

Problem is what are you gonna do when Connor Williams and Joe Looney can’t block Aaron Donald? Garret’s Answer: Keep doing it anyway. In fact our game plan looked it was devised for a game in ‘93 when our Cowboys could physically dominate anyone. But it’s 2019 and no team in this league can physically dominate anyone else.

CONCLUSION
We have a lot of talent now on this roster. We aren’t that far away from anyone in this league in the talent dept. But we are way behind in the coaching dept but Jerry apparently isn’t bothered enough by that. We got beat in the film room and rams coaches offices- not on the turf. We rolled out a ‘93 game plan against the best game planner in 2019.

And If we’re ever going to compete for a championship in my lifetime again our 76 year old owner has to understand that Garrett isn’t going to get us to the promised land without a major offensive philosophy change. I’m not holding my breath. His only coaching move appears to hinge on our ability to physically dominate everyone.

SMDH.

I swore I wrote this so I went back into my post history and nope it wasn't me. Agree 1000% on the Rams formula for success. They got us moving in the wrong direction on about every snap and used our pursuit aggression against us.

And our offense is predicated on the theory that winning the OLINE battle is all you really need to be successful on offense. What JG failed to realize or doesn't care is that the '95 Cowboys changed defenses forever. 335lb DTs and 325lb DEs quickly became the norm to counter teams built like ours. The rest of the league started focusing on offensive systems that were more difficult to scheme and predict while Garrett went back to the ole' caveman style.

 

[kskboys]

I thought we WERE physically out played, and badly in the Rams game. I saw many missed tackles etc. I came away feeling we were tired. That having to dig out of a 3 and 5 hole meant every game from there, was virtually a must win. And at the end, we really could have benefited from a bye. We were gassed. Having Cooper the whole year would have likely meant 3 or 4 more wins and a bye. That said, I would love better less predictable coaching, of course. The thing about the 90's team is, it was a simple game plan, but it was not predictable. We threw the other team off balance and them punched them in the mouth. Over and over and over again.

I do not believe we were gassed.

 

[Sarge]

This is a recording - "coaching will be our downfall come playoff time............"l

 

[glimmerman]

Nice post. This coming season will tell us a lot. Especially if we don't see the rumored extension of Garrett.

JJ thinks this is Landry reincarnated as we have sniffed the playoffs several times and won the Division. Difference is the Landry was getting to the the deep end of the pool not just dipping his toe in the water......

Exactly right. And JJ seems ok with just winning the division. Blaming the cleats for losing. No JJ it wasn’t the cleats it’s your staff. Starts with him and then JG. He has no real power, he didn’t even know that Linehan was gonna be fired. Doubt he has a say in the Moore promotion.

 

[Mr_437]

"We do what we do"
"Next man up"

Our coaching philosophy is that our coaching philosophy is perfect, and it's up to the players to play their parts in that perfection.

I agree and actually this is a low IQ (fixed) approach to a fluid game.

 

[CowboyFanInLexKy]

Not sure why our coaching staff is so deeply stupid, thank god all three of the stooges got fired. Oh, wait.

I'd put the breaks on that too... It looks like one of the stooges may just be promoted.... LOL

 

[ESisback]

Kris was running the defense all season and has said this as recently as last week. Kris's defense was historically bad against the run with nearly 300 yards given up and 2 100 yards rushers. Offensively Zeke was held to 47 yards and we still got 22 points. The hate is real if you blame anyone but Kris IMO.

The hate is real?!? What the hell do you mean? Hate for who? By who? You can’t tell me Richard wasn’t preoccupied with HC interviews, and IMO, Marinelli had more control than previous games. He’s a great DL Coach, but his schemes are outdated. Plus, I think we were worn out.

Listen, we ran into a buzz saw—a well rested, well coached, 13-3 Super Bowl contender at home. We lost by 8, not 38. We were picked to lose by most pundits. While we DID get gouged in the running game, I believe, as usual, that we died the death of 1,000 cuts (a combination of dozens of factors). Barring major injury, if we have a productive offseason we’ll be a playoff team next year too.

 

[ESisback]

I don't see how this can be 100% true.

Well, NOTHING is 100% except death and taxes!

 

[Dre11]

One of the after shocks of the rams loss for me was what I saw when I went back and watched the game again. I usually record all the Cowboys games so I can go back and look at the game when I’m not just into the moment live.

My impression after watching that game again after a couple of weeks of letting it stew, was how badly our team got outcoached. The effort was there. Our guys played hard for a full 60 minutes. Effort wasn’t the problem at all.

DEFENSE
Here’s the obvious kicker- on defense everyone was constantly out of position. They simply used our aggression from our front 7 against us. They DID NOT physically whip us. They just hatched a game plan that took advantage of our tendencies on defense. They came up with a great game plan that didn’t require physical dominance. Let’s call it a “modern” game plan. A 2019 game plan. Lots of deception and finesse.

OFFENSE
Us on offense, it was the exact opposite. Garrett and Linehan offer no wrinkles other than an occasional three TE formation or using Noah Brown as a blocker in short yardage situations. Our offensive game plan was simple- run the ball, physically dominate them. Pass when you’re behind the chains.

Problem is what are you gonna do when Connor Williams and Joe Looney can’t block Aaron Donald? Garret’s Answer: Keep doing it anyway. In fact our game plan looked it was devised for a game in ‘93 when our Cowboys could physically dominate anyone. But it’s 2019 and no team in this league can physically dominate anyone else.

CONCLUSION
We have a lot of talent now on this roster. We aren’t that far away from anyone in this league in the talent dept. But we are way behind in the coaching dept but Jerry apparently isn’t bothered enough by that. We got beat in the film room and rams coaches offices- not on the turf. We rolled out a ‘93 game plan against the best game planner in 2019.

And If we’re ever going to compete for a championship in my lifetime again our 76 year old owner has to understand that Garrett isn’t going to get us to the promised land without a major offensive philosophy change. I’m not holding my breath. His only coaching move appears to hinge on our ability to physically dominate everyone.

SMDH.

You couldn't be more off about the offense, Donald did nothing in that game, it was Suh. Conner actually held his own...lol
What the Rams did on offense was no more 2019 than what we did, they ran the football down our throats, that more 93 than 2019. They Physically beat us by getting linemen on our linebackers,


I wish people would stop making ish up to try and fit their narrative. The Rams were the better team, get over it,

 

[Dre11]

I think his main point was this: The Rams didn’t have a talent advantage, just a coaching one.

That's his narrative, never mind the fact the Rams did have better talent, in the trenches and secondary, the only place we may have had better talent was at Linebacker and they neutralized them.

 

[Bobhaze]

You couldn't be more off about the offense, Donald did nothing in that game, it was Suh. Conner actually held his own...lol
What the Rams did on offense was no more 2019 than what we did, they ran the football down our throats, that more 93 than 2019. They Physically beat us by getting linemen on our linebackers,


I wish people would stop making ish up to try and fit their narrative. The Rams were the better team, get over it,

Ok...Aaron Donald had two solo tackles and one Tackle for loss. He also had at least 2 pressures and the one sack we gave up, he forced Dak into the sack from the other direction. If you want say “statistically” Donald “did nothing” in that game, you’re drinking the blue kool aid. He was double teamed at least half the game and had a big influence on the outcome. You can certainly disagree, just make sure you’re not wearing the Mickey Spagnola glasses where “never is heard a discouraging word.”

Suh had 4 tackles, 1 TFL and also was a force but he was mostly singled up by Zack Martin.

Dre you don’t have to agree with me. I can respect your opinion but as far as saying I’m “making ish up” I would tap the brakes. Saying my opinion is just wrong, I’m cool with that.

 

[ESisback]

That's his narrative, never mind the fact the Rams did have better talent, in the trenches and secondary, the only place we may have had better talent was at Linebacker and they neutralized them.

They have a better OC and HC. Goff is a better passer.

 

[skinsscalper]

I thought we WERE physically out played, and badly in the Rams game. I saw many missed tackles etc. I came away feeling we were tired. That having to dig out of a 3 and 5 hole meant every game from there, was virtually a must win. And at the end, we really could have benefited from a bye. We were gassed. Having Cooper the whole year would have likely meant 3 or 4 more wins and a bye. That said, I would love better less predictable coaching, of course. The thing about the 90's team is, it was a simple game plan, but it was not predictable. We threw the other team off balance and them punched them in the mouth. Over and over and over again.

This actually incorrect. That 90s offense was one of the most predictable offenses in the entire league. I read a quote from Belicheck recently about those 90s team offenses. In his tape breakdown he gathered that the Dallas Cowboys ran, as a base offense roughly 9 plays. They had more in the arsenal and they would throw it at you once in a while but the base of that offense was 9 plays. Everyone knew what was coming. They simply couldn't stop it. Larry Allen used to joke that he'd actually TELL the opposing lineman "we're coming right at you". Sure enough they did and sure enough they succeeded. In contrast today's offensive playbook has upwards of 400 plays+.

That's the problem with Garrett. He's playing a 2019 game with a 1993 mentality (as the OP states). He's hoping our guys will dominate their guys and doing little from scheme standpoint to help his players when they aren't. Like many (including myself) have said. Garrett's simplistic approach to the game does half of the defenses work for them. He's not making them guess or adjust at all. They can just line up, play, and actually compete because, unlike the 90s, we aren't as physically dominant. We're doing the same as the 90s teams. The difference is, they actually CAN stop us now. FA has made certain of it.

 

[GenoT]

One of the after shocks of the rams loss for me was what I saw when I went back and watched the game again. I usually record all the Cowboys games so I can go back and look at the game when I’m not just into the moment live.

My impression after watching that game again after a couple of weeks of letting it stew, was how badly our team got outcoached. The effort was there. Our guys played hard for a full 60 minutes. Effort wasn’t the problem at all.

DEFENSE
Here’s the obvious kicker- on defense everyone was constantly out of position. They simply used our aggression from our front 7 against us. They DID NOT physically whip us. They just hatched a game plan that took advantage of our tendencies on defense. They came up with a great game plan that didn’t require physical dominance. Let’s call it a “modern” game plan. A 2019 game plan. Lots of deception and finesse.

OFFENSE
Us on offense, it was the exact opposite. Garrett and Linehan offer no wrinkles other than an occasional three TE formation or using Noah Brown as a blocker in short yardage situations. Our offensive game plan was simple- run the ball, physically dominate them. Pass when you’re behind the chains.

Problem is what are you gonna do when Connor Williams and Joe Looney can’t block Aaron Donald? Garret’s Answer: Keep doing it anyway. In fact our game plan looked it was devised for a game in ‘93 when our Cowboys could physically dominate anyone. But it’s 2019 and no team in this league can physically dominate anyone else.

CONCLUSION
We have a lot of talent now on this roster. We aren’t that far away from anyone in this league in the talent dept. But we are way behind in the coaching dept but Jerry apparently isn’t bothered enough by that. We got beat in the film room and rams coaches offices- not on the turf. We rolled out a ‘93 game plan against the best game planner in 2019.

And If we’re ever going to compete for a championship in my lifetime again our 76 year old owner has to understand that Garrett isn’t going to get us to the promised land without a major offensive philosophy change. I’m not holding my breath. His only coaching move appears to hinge on our ability to physically dominate everyone.

SMDH.

Good analysis, Bob, as it underlines what a Jerry GM’d team is likely to always be...

Barring something cataclysmic, we’ll never have a coach who will demand and receive enough autonomy over his own staff and/or players to get past the divisional round of the postseason.

0-6 in div-rnd games over 23 seasons, with one common denominator (Jerry) doesn’t lie.

 

[Dre11]

Ok...Aaron Donald had two solo tackles and one Tackle for loss. He also had at least 2 pressures and the one sack we gave up, he forced Dak into the sack from the other direction. If you want say “statistically” Donald “did nothing” in that game, you’re drinking the blue kool aid. He was double teamed at least half the game and had a big influence on the outcome. You can certainly disagree, just make sure you’re not wearing the Mickey Spagnola glasses where “never is heard a discouraging word.”

Suh had 4 tackles, 1 TFL and also was a force but he was mostly singled up by Zack Martin.

Dre you don’t have to agree with me. I can respect your opinion but as far as saying I’m “making ish up” I would tap the brakes. Saying my opinion is just wrong, I’m cool with that.

I watched the game, Donald wasn't a factor, in fact I listened to Broaddus praise the job Donald did. You said we used a 93 gameplan, when in fact it was the Rams who used a 93 gameplan of running the ball almost exclusively and using playaction. On defense they whip us in the trenches. what you said happened in the game wasn't true except at times using our aggression against us, thats making ish up, It's no secret you hate Garrett and take every opportunity to hammer your narrative .