What are we elite at? Argument for a top flight RB

[KJJ]

There isn't anything "elite" about a team that just went 4-12. Romo had one real good game in the 4 games he played. Dez never looked "elite" in any of the games he played including the opener when he was healthy. The OL is the strongest area of the team but that unit didn't keep Romo from being injured twice costing him 12 games and it didn't turn any of the average backs we had into anything special. No team in the league was worse on 3rd and one than the Cowboys.

 

[ConceptCoop]

There isn't anything "elite" about a team that just went 4-12. Romo had one real good game in the 4 games he played. Dez never looked "elite" in any of the games he played including the opener when he was healthy. The OL is the strongest area of the team but that unit didn't keep Romo from being injured twice costing him 12 games and it didn't turn any of the average backs we had into anything special. No team in the league was worse on 3rd and one than the Cowboys.

The offensive line is clearly elite. Elite doesn't mean perfect. 28 YO Darren McFadden averaged 4.6 yards a carry with no air support. They were top 10 in time of possession, despite being dead last in turnover margin.

I just don't see a unit that you can reasonably expect to do any better than ours did last year.

 

[robjay04]

There isn't anything "elite" about a team that just went 4-12. Romo had one real good game in the 4 games he played. Dez never looked "elite" in any of the games he played including the opener when he was healthy. The OL is the strongest area of the team but that unit didn't keep Romo from being injured twice costing him 12 games and it didn't turn any of the average backs we had into anything special. No team in the league was worse on 3rd and one than the Cowboys.

Romo got himself hurt from holding the ball too long, especially against the Panthers. The OL did their job on that play. This OL is one of the top ranked statistically in both pass protection and run blocking, they are elite.

The Vikings have had plenty of down years with AD, does that mean he is not elite? Texans went 2-14 a couple years ago with JJ Watt...is he not elite? Is Odell Beckham not elite because the Giants can't win even with him? Taking a record and trying to discredit a player or position unit(outside of QB) is not fair. A good offensive line alone will not determine games if you have the worst passing game in the NFL, receivers that can't get open and a DL that can't consistently rush the passer.

As for Romo, he was darn good in 3 games, sure the stats may not say it but all you had to do is watch the games.

 

[KJJ]

The offensive line is clearly elite. Elite doesn't mean perfect. 28 YO Darren McFadden averaged 4.6 yards a carry with no air support. They were top 10 in time of possession, despite being dead last in turnover margin.

I just don't see a unit that you can reasonably expect to do any better than ours did last year.

After the 2014 season the OL was "elite" but in 2015 the OL wasn't as good and even some of the FANS were saying the same thing. There was a lot of hype with the OL heading into 2015 based on Murray leading the league in rushing in 2014 en route to breaking Emmitt's franchise rushing record. Many on this board claimed Murray was average and if he could rush for over 1800 yards just about any back could produce at least 1500 behind our OL. The OL got most of the credit for Murray's great season which made Jerry comment that even Randle could have produced big behind our OL. It was the performance of our OL that made many feel that we didn't need a top back to have a prolific rushing attack and that turned out to be wrong. As for McFadden it was the last 4 games of the season when the Cowboys were DONE that gave him a 4.6 rushing average. He averaged 12.3, 6.6, 5.2 and 7.7 a carry in games we lost that didn't matter anyway.

When the Cowboys still had a chance McFadden did virtually nothing averaging 3.1 vs NO in week 4. With our season hanging by a thread he averaged 1.9 against Tampa on 17 carries. Against Carolina he averaged 1.1 due to 3 negative runs on his first 7 carries which led to Romo pressing and being injured again. He had 8 games where he averaged under 4.0 a carry and only produced 3 rushing TD's. The OL is very solid no argument there but the back does matter and that unit clearly didn't look as dominating in 2015 with an average group of backs running behind them. The OL has to take some of the blame for the Cowboys being the worst team in the league on 3rd and one.

 

[ConceptCoop]

After the 2014 season the OL was "elite" but in 2015 the OL wasn't as good and even some of the FANS were saying the same thing. There was a lot of hype with the OL heading into 2015 based on Murray leading the league in rushing in 2014 en route to breaking Emmitt's franchise rushing record. Many on this board claimed Murray was average and if he could rush for over 1800 yards just about any back could produce at least 1500 behind our OL. The OL got most of the credit for Murray's great season which made Jerry comment that even Randle could have produced big behind our OL. It was the performance of our OL that made many feel that we didn't need a top back to have a prolific rushing attack and that turned out to be wrong. As for McFadden it was the last 4 games of the season when the Cowboys were DONE that gave him a 4.6 rushing average. He averaged 12.3, 6.6, 5.2 and 7.7 a carry in games we lost that didn't matter anyway.

When the Cowboys still had a chance McFadden did virtually nothing averaging 3.1 vs NO in week 4. With our season hanging by a thread he averaged 1.9 against Tampa on 17 carries. Against Carolina he averaged 1.1 due to 3 negative runs on his first 7 carries which led to Romo pressing and being injured again. He had 8 games where he averaged under 4.0 a carry and only produced 3 rushing TD's. The OL is very solid no argument there but the back does matter and that unit clearly didn't look as dominating in 2015 with an average group of backs running behind them. The OL has to take some of the blame for the Cowboys being the worst team in the league on 3rd and one.

Who does better in the same situation?

I don't think you realize how bad the situation was for them. Our best offensive weapons were Darren McFadden, Terrance Williams, and 33 YO Jason Witten; nevermind the awful QB play. Our offensive unit wasn't capable of keeping defenses honest. Even elite units will struggle running the ball with an extra guy in the box.

Our record was awful, but we were in most of those games. That wouldn't be the case if our offensive line wasn't elite.

Think about this: (Again) We were top 10 in TOP, despite being dead last in turnover margin. We had the worst collection of skill players in the league for a span, our defense didn't create turnovers, and we were still top 10 in TOP.

 

[DoomsDayD]

Conserving money....being cap wise!!!!

 

[KJJ]

Romo got himself hurt from holding the ball too long, especially against the Panthers. The OL did their job on that play. This OL is one of the top ranked statistically in both pass protection and run blocking, they are elite.

The Vikings have had plenty of down years with AD, does that mean he is not elite? Texans went 2-14 a couple years ago with JJ Watt...is he not elite? Is Odell Beckham not elite because the Giants can't win even with him? Taking a record and trying to discredit a player or position unit(outside of QB) is not fair. A good offensive line alone will not determine games if you have the worst passing game in the NFL, receivers that can't get open and a DL that can't consistently rush the passer.

As for Romo, he was darn good in 3 games, sure the stats may not say it but all you had to do is watch the games.

Go back and watch the video of both hits Romo had very little time on both. It wasn't like he was Houdini spinning his way out of trouble trying to extend those plays he had very little time. It was up the middle pressure vs Carolina and no QB can avoid up the middle pressure. He had already thrown 2 pick-sixes which made him apprehensive to unload the ball and he had virtually no time. He did the right thing by taking the sack instead of forcing another throw leading to yet another pick. AD is elite and rushed for over 2000 yards despite a poor QB situation. Go look at the passing numbers of his QBs during his 2000 yard season and he didn't have the OL to run behind that the Cowboys have. AD was a diamond amongst trash those down years in Minn he carried those teams due to their poor QB situation. AD proved just like a lot of great backs such as Barry Sanders that they can run wild despite a poor passing game.

If you put a great back behind even a decent OL they'll produce regardless who they have at QB. Eric Dickerson never had a great QB but that didn't stop him and neither did it stop Earl Campbell in Houston. After the opener Romo never had a passer rating higher than 87.7. He had 5 picks in his last 2 starts. He played well against Philly in week 2 but he wasn't getting the ball down the field and that turned out to be an issue all season with our backups. Our WR's weren't getting it done in 2015 even when Romo was on the field. It forced him to use Dunbar as a receiver who was the teams leading receiver until he got injured.

 

[KJJ]

Who does better in the same situation

I don't think you realize how bad the situation was for them. Our best offensive weapons were Darren McFadden, Terrance Williams, and 33 YO Jason Witten; nevermind the awful QB play. Our offensive unit wasn't capable of keeping defenses honest. Even elite units will struggle running the ball with an extra guy in the box.

Our record was awful, but we were in most of those games. That wouldn't be the case if our offensive line wasn't elite.

Think about this: (Again) We were top 10 in TOP, despite being dead last in turnover margin. We had the worst collection of skill players in the league for a span, our defense didn't create turnovers, and we were still top 10 in TOP.

There were issues in the opener with Romo and Dez on the field. Randle and McFadden combined for 3.5 a carry despite Romo putting up 356 yards and 3 TDs. Despite that passing attack we still couldn't run the ball efficiently. It was our lack of a running game that forced Romo to have to put the ball up 45 times which was more passing attempts than he had in any game in 2014. With Romo on the field in week 2 for just over a half we still couldn't run the ball. Randle averaged a miserable 2.8 a carry on 18 carries while McFadden only averaged 3.1. Yes we were in most of the games and found an assortment of ways to lose most of them which is exactly what bad teams do. I didn't see anything "elite" about the team in 2015 and that includes the OL.

 

[percyhoward]

Think about this: (Again) We were top 10 in TOP, despite being dead last in turnover margin. We had the worst collection of skill players in the league for a span, our defense didn't create turnovers, and we were still top 10 in TOP.

You're right that the only reason we didn't rank even higher in TOP is because the defense couldn't get off the field. The offense had no problem controlling the clock and moving the ball into FG range on a consistent basis. It just couldn't score touchdowns.

A way to distinguish the offense's role from the defense's role in TOP is by looking at the average duration of each drive. Offensively, we ranked 3rd in TOP per drive, defensively 20th.

 

[ConceptCoop]

There were issues in the opener with Romo and Dez on the field. Randle and McFadden combined for 3.5 a carry despite Romo putting up 356 yards and 3 TDs. Despite that passing attack we still couldn't run the ball efficiently. It was our lack of a running game that forced Romo to have to put the ball up 45 times which was more passing attempts than he had in any game in 2014. With Romo on the field in week 2 for just over a half we still couldn't run the ball. Randle averaged a miserable 2.8 a carry on 18 carries while McFadden only averaged 3.1. Yes we were in most of the games and found an assortment of ways to lose most of them which is exactly what bad teams do. I didn't see anything "elite" about the team in 2015 and that includes the OL.

You've yet to answer my question. Who does better in a similar situation?

Leary got hurt week one and Bernadau was garbage. Collins was a clear upgrade once inserted.

 

[KJJ]

You've yet to answer my question. Who does better in a similar situation?

Leary got hurt week one and Bernadau was garbage. Collins was a clear upgrade once inserted.

Be specific what do you mean who does better in a similar situation? Who are you talking about?

 

[ConceptCoop]

Be specific what do you mean who does better in a similar situation? Who are you talking about?

If they're not elite, who is (unit)?

 

[cowboyblue22]

I don't think the cowboys are elite. An elite team is one that consistently year after year is in deep playoff runs they aren't 8 and 8 for three years then 12 and 4 then 4 and 12 they are consistent. like the pats the broncos the packers the cardinals and seahawks.

 

[percyhoward]

There isn't anything "elite" about a team that just went 4-12.

Jason Taylor was DPOY on a 6-win team. Jones-Drew won a rushing title on a 5-win team. They weren't elite?

 

[KJJ]

If they're not elite, who is (unit)?

The point I'm making is the OL wasn't elite last season. Most considered Dez an elite receiver until last season now his name isn't being brought up as much amongst the top receivers. He's going to have to come out next season and reestablish himself and prove he still has it.

 

[KJJ]

Jason Taylor was DPOY on a 6-win team. Jones-Drew won a rushing title on a 5-win team. They weren't elite?

Those particular seasons their "performances" were elite but no one on the Cowboys had an "elite" season in 2015.