Plankton
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The 2016 season was a season of revelation, resurgence, and most of all, redemption for the Dallas Cowboys.
After an incredibly disappointing 2015 season where the Cowboys imploded under a wave of injury, locker room disharmony, controversy over player signings, and generally inept play, the Cowboys entered 2016 with a number of question marks around them. Could Tony Romo stay healthy? Could they purge the locker room of malcontent players and distractions? Could they make player acquisitions that contributed more to the team fabric, and less to media scrutiny?
And, perhaps most importantly, could the coaching staff do what they couldn’t do in 2015 – inspire performance, and create the environment where players both young and old could perform and thrive?
Consider the last question answered with authority.
For all of the things discussed this season in terms of the resurgence of the Dallas Cowboys – the week to week excellence of Dak Prescott, the relentless energy of Ezekiel Elliott, the precision of Cole Beasley, the dominance of the offensive line, the stinginess of the defense – the least spoken about and most critical part of all of this is the contribution of the coaching staff.
Led by a much debated, much criticized head coach in Jason Garrett.
Garrett was faced with a number of issues coming into the 2016 season. The lingering stench of the Greg Hardy signing. A draft where the Cowboys seemingly ignored their pressing needs on defense to select a running back at number four overall. A free agency period where they added another running back, and a defensive end who had shown more promise than production in his career, and nothing else of note. Even more glaring, resigning only Kellen Moore and adding what was largely considered a fourth-round project in Prescott to back up the injury prone veteran Romo at quarterback. And, as training camp began, he was faced with substance abuse suspensions of three critical pieces to the defensive front – DE DeMarcus Lawrence, he already dealing with recovery from back surgery, MLB Rolando McClain and DE Randy Gregory.
As if it couldn’t get any worse, the top two quarterbacks on his depth chart, Romo and Moore, went down with injuries that would keep each of them out of the lineup for a significant period of time.
This left them with Prescott.
And, it ended up with a 13-3 record, and the top seed in the NFC playoffs.
It would be simplistic to say that it was strictly the talent and will of players such as Prescott, Elliott, Jason Witten and the offensive line that carried the team through the season.
Someone had to create the environment and planning by which this seemingly out of nowhere season came from.
That would be the coaching staff, and most of all, Garrett.
Forget the record. If you look strictly at the team statistically, you would be hard pressed to find an area where they didn’t show improvement this season:
Players contribute heavily to these numbers, and they deserve plenty of kudos for this outstanding season. But, it’s important not to overlook the contributions of the coaching staff. Frank Pollack coaches the best overall unit in football, the bulldozing offensive line. Joe Baker and Greg Jackson have done perhaps the best coaching job on the team, with the secondary doing an impressive job in tackling, and preventing big plays in the passing game. Gary Brown has done a terrific job in preaching patience with Elliott. Wade Wilson and Scott Linehan have done yeoman’s work in putting Prescott in good position to succeed, and game planning effectively each week. Leon Lett, Ben Bloom and Rod Marinelli have done a terrific job mixing and matching along the defensive line to maximize the contributions of that unit.
And Jason Garrett, dealing with a challenging owner, constant media focus, and some difficulties with personnel going into the season, persevered and created an environment where players are accountable, play for each other, and are supportive of the man next to them.
Look no further than the work done collaboratively by coaches and players alike to develop Prescott. Moore, Mark Sanchez and Romo, along with Wilson and Linehan, coalesced around the rookie signal caller, and did everything in their power to put him in the best position each week. Prescott did the rest.
On a Sunday where a new year beckons, the old year ended on a very good note. The Cowboys, on top in the NFC, and poised for some special moments in the playoffs.
This time, they have the environment in place to see this through to the big game.
Other notes on today’s game:
After an incredibly disappointing 2015 season where the Cowboys imploded under a wave of injury, locker room disharmony, controversy over player signings, and generally inept play, the Cowboys entered 2016 with a number of question marks around them. Could Tony Romo stay healthy? Could they purge the locker room of malcontent players and distractions? Could they make player acquisitions that contributed more to the team fabric, and less to media scrutiny?
And, perhaps most importantly, could the coaching staff do what they couldn’t do in 2015 – inspire performance, and create the environment where players both young and old could perform and thrive?
Consider the last question answered with authority.
For all of the things discussed this season in terms of the resurgence of the Dallas Cowboys – the week to week excellence of Dak Prescott, the relentless energy of Ezekiel Elliott, the precision of Cole Beasley, the dominance of the offensive line, the stinginess of the defense – the least spoken about and most critical part of all of this is the contribution of the coaching staff.
Led by a much debated, much criticized head coach in Jason Garrett.
Garrett was faced with a number of issues coming into the 2016 season. The lingering stench of the Greg Hardy signing. A draft where the Cowboys seemingly ignored their pressing needs on defense to select a running back at number four overall. A free agency period where they added another running back, and a defensive end who had shown more promise than production in his career, and nothing else of note. Even more glaring, resigning only Kellen Moore and adding what was largely considered a fourth-round project in Prescott to back up the injury prone veteran Romo at quarterback. And, as training camp began, he was faced with substance abuse suspensions of three critical pieces to the defensive front – DE DeMarcus Lawrence, he already dealing with recovery from back surgery, MLB Rolando McClain and DE Randy Gregory.
As if it couldn’t get any worse, the top two quarterbacks on his depth chart, Romo and Moore, went down with injuries that would keep each of them out of the lineup for a significant period of time.
This left them with Prescott.
And, it ended up with a 13-3 record, and the top seed in the NFC playoffs.
It would be simplistic to say that it was strictly the talent and will of players such as Prescott, Elliott, Jason Witten and the offensive line that carried the team through the season.
Someone had to create the environment and planning by which this seemingly out of nowhere season came from.
That would be the coaching staff, and most of all, Garrett.
Forget the record. If you look strictly at the team statistically, you would be hard pressed to find an area where they didn’t show improvement this season:
- Offensive yards per play improved by 0.6 yards (6.1 vs. 5.5)
- Defensive yards per play improved by 0.1 yards (5.5 vs. 5.6)
- Offensive turnovers reduced by 20 (13 vs. 33)
- Defensive turnovers caused increased by 9 (20 vs. 11)
- Offensive first downs increased by 36 (343 vs. 307)
- Defensive first downs reduced by 11 (306 vs. 317)
- Offensive passing net yards per attempt increased by 1.1 yards (7.3 vs. 6.2)
- Offensive adjusted net yards per attempt increased by 2.95 yards (7.94 vs. 4.99)
- Defensive passing net yards per attempt reduced by 0.5 yards (6.3 vs. 6.8)
- Defensive adjusted net yards per attempt reduced by 0.4 yards (6.4 vs. 6.8)
- Offensive sacks allowed decreased by 5 (28 vs. 33)
- Defensive sacks generated increased by 5 (36 vs. 31)
- Offensive rushing yards per attempt increased by 0.3 yards (4.9 vs. 4.6)
- NOTE: this is on 70 additional attempts.
- Defensive rushing yards per attempt reduced by 0.3 yards (3.9 vs. 4.2)
- NOTE: this is on 150 fewer attempts.
- Offensive touchdown passes increased by 8 (24 vs. 16)
- Offensive rushing touchdowns increased by 16 (24 vs. 8)
- Defensive rushing touchdowns allowed reduced by 8 (8 vs. 16)
- Offensive average points per drive increased by 1.05 points (2.55 vs. 1.50)
- Defensive points per drive decreased by 0.07 points (1.82 vs. 1.89)
Players contribute heavily to these numbers, and they deserve plenty of kudos for this outstanding season. But, it’s important not to overlook the contributions of the coaching staff. Frank Pollack coaches the best overall unit in football, the bulldozing offensive line. Joe Baker and Greg Jackson have done perhaps the best coaching job on the team, with the secondary doing an impressive job in tackling, and preventing big plays in the passing game. Gary Brown has done a terrific job in preaching patience with Elliott. Wade Wilson and Scott Linehan have done yeoman’s work in putting Prescott in good position to succeed, and game planning effectively each week. Leon Lett, Ben Bloom and Rod Marinelli have done a terrific job mixing and matching along the defensive line to maximize the contributions of that unit.
And Jason Garrett, dealing with a challenging owner, constant media focus, and some difficulties with personnel going into the season, persevered and created an environment where players are accountable, play for each other, and are supportive of the man next to them.
Look no further than the work done collaboratively by coaches and players alike to develop Prescott. Moore, Mark Sanchez and Romo, along with Wilson and Linehan, coalesced around the rookie signal caller, and did everything in their power to put him in the best position each week. Prescott did the rest.
On a Sunday where a new year beckons, the old year ended on a very good note. The Cowboys, on top in the NFC, and poised for some special moments in the playoffs.
This time, they have the environment in place to see this through to the big game.
Other notes on today’s game:
- The Cowboys clearly came into this one more interested in emerging physically whole rather than setting a franchise mark for wins in the regular season. That being said, they remained competitive anyway.
- Tony Romo showed the difference in his approach versus Prescott’s. Romo immediately looked to attack deep down the field, and put pressure on the Eagle secondary. The protection held up well enough for him to probe the Eagle defense, and his sight adjustment to Terrance Williams for the touchdown was well executed.
- If that’s the last that we see of Romo on the field in a Cowboy uniform, his exit is a lot better than it looked in Seattle or against Carolina a season ago.
- The offensive line had a middling performance, and struggled with some twists by the Eagle defensive line. Emmett Cleary had a couple of misses on twists. But, and this is scarier, Cleary was not the worst looking Cowboy OL today. That would be Doug Free. Free was handled by Brandon Graham throughout the contest.
- David Irving continued his strong play. He got the best of a good RT in Lane Johnson throughout the game. Pencil him in as your starting LDE next year.
- Gavin Escobar had another poor game, and does not inspire confidence when he is on the field. We already know his limitations as a blocker, but his route on the second interception by Mark Sanchez did his quarterback no favors.
- Kavon Frazier showed in the fourth quarter that he could lay the wood on a hit. His hit on Terrell Watson (and Leon McFadden) was reminiscent of Roy Williams.
- It will be interesting to see who the Cowboys get in the Divisional Round game in two weeks. Many different styles to prepare for, and three of the potential teams that the Cowboys can play they already have seen this year.
- Happy New Year to all!
