This may have quietly been the best game the OL has played all season. Steele FINALLY started to look like his old self, which is critical because we need Martin to combo block with Biadasz.
Curious what you think the reason is for not being to run out of heavy sets is, though. By all accounts the left side of the OL is playing great. The TEs are two of the best blocking TEs we've had since Witten and Bennett. Martin is showing his age and may not be an all pro any longer but he still gets it done. Pollard was great at dirty yards before this year. Something just doesn't seem to be in sync when we call a heavy play that you expect at least 3 yards out of in the hopes of getting more. I'm all for playing to your identity, but my Old School Football Maxims state you have to be able to run in between the tackles in December and January. Can this get sorted?
Bob’s reasoning is that 11 personnel spread the defense more and leaves more space to operate.
But like you, I wonder why the heavy packages aren’t working. The 22 set only gained three yards on five attempts. I can remember last year using alignments with four tight ends and being very effective.
Bob, what’s changed? Is it the way defenses are playing the heavy packages or is the team just not as capable as they were in the past?
There are a number of reasons that heavier personnel brings worse results. For one, a defense will deploy all run-only lineman to muck things up. Also, more Linebackers and safeties creeping up when you declare you are planning to run, they listen. And yes, it puts more on "other" blockers like TE, FB, WR to get it done, too, which is not easy.
But, the lighter you make your personnel, the lighter the defense gets, too. Sometimes, you can even boil it down to your 5 OL vs their 5 up front in a much more winnable fight.
Agree and understand the tactics here. Challenge is good teams know to deploy these tactic well. Great teams impose their will. I guess with the $$ invested in the OL, I'd expect them to overcome mucking it up and get yardage anyway.
I don't think our TE's have blocked that great over the course of the year. I think that's a part of why we've gotten out of the bigger packages. Fergie has been pretty good, but the rest have been lacking, I think.
Cowboys will need to finish 13-4 to have a chance at catching the eagles. And that is a slim chance. Also, I saw something I dont believe I have witnessed before. Zach Martin getting absolutely man handled by Brown. Age catches up to all of us I guess. Final note, please never runt the wildcat again.
From ESPN stats: Dallas has played: .364 Strength of Schedule (weakest in NFL). .286 Strength of Victory (Second lowest). Dallas has lost to both teams it played with a winning record.
It’s a weird year. I know you can only play who’s on your schedule. And blowouts do mean something, mediocre NFL teams just don’t win by double digits very often and margin of victory is telling, in football and in other sports. But man, the Dallas schedule has been astonishingly weak this season. I’m curious if the 68 and 93 Cowboys, and some of the other teams referenced here, played schedules this weak. If I get some time later today, maybe I’ll look it up.
Dont fret too much. After the commanders (never an easy win for the Cowboys) the strength of schedule flips in a serious way. By the end, we will have a good read on what the team is all about.
I’m not entirely disagreeing, but you know how teams on your schedule get better records? By losing to them. It’s not college football. Literally nothing matters except what the score is at the end of the game. Not what kind of team it was. Not how the game was won. More points than the other guy. And when you do that, their record looks worse. “Better” teams lose to “inferior” teams all the time because of matchups, schemes, injuries, luck, etc.
Oddly enough, I was poking around with the 99 Rams within the last month and was astonished to see none of their regular season wins came vs. teams above .500. Given what the franchise had been at the time, and that I was 11 that season, I can't really remember the discourse around them, but I have to imagine there was a strong "who have they beaten" vibe as their Super Bowl run began.
That said, I'm with Peter below. If you're worried about the schedule being too easy, Seahawks, Eagles, Bills, Dolphins, and Lions will show what this team is made of.
"Almost everyone of these have been at the 20-yard line or right inside it. You can almost feel their eagerness to run this exact concept when they cross into the high red zone. Bread and butter stuff. Dak throws this ball consistently well after he looks off coverage and holds the safety." Bob, is there a way you think the Cowboys work off this type of play later in the season, to try to do something different? It's had so much success so far, so I'm wondering what happens when the defense keys in on it differently.
If you watch that video again, notice Tolbert in the slot on the left working against the DB. If that single high safety commits early to the TE side (assuming the slot WR can beat his man), he has an open slant throw for a TD as well.
Also notice that Ferguson likely scores - or very nearly - along the right sideline. Admittedly, 24 for the Panthers is completely lost as he drops Ferguson (I guess because he sees Pollard cutting toward the middle), but there are a variety of options out of this play. Truthfully, I'll always take the 1x1 option with 88 if nothing else is juicy.
It looked pretty obvious in real time and now watching the replay in Slowmo, TP got away with a real bad hold on that 3rd down throw to Ferguson. Cowboys are owed some favorable calls, but that was a bad miss by the refs lol.
This is all great and all they can do, but I think we’re all just waiting to see how they do in that stretch v Seattle, Philly, Miami and Buffalo. Hate to say it but anything short of winning out will probably be disappointing. It’s just the way it is.
Side note, if we can’t leapfrog Philly, I’d like them or Detroit to grab the 1 seed rather than SF please.
I cannot imagine going 4-1 in that stretch of 5 games and being disappointed...especially if Philly is not the one loss. After last night's results, it's tough to see a very likely path to winning the East, though in the NFL, some very strange things can happen. If the Cowboys go into the playoffs as a Wild Card...so be it. As we see year after year, in all the professional sports, strange things can, and often do, happen in the playoffs. Winning at either Philly or San Francisco will be tough, but regardless of what has happened in the past, every game is its own entity, and I will be watching without a sense of impending doom.
4-1 without the 1 being against Philly would be tough to ignore. I’ll take it, but you know many Cowboys fans would still be leery.
I think it’s as simple as championship game or but at this point, fair or not. We’ve had enough regular season success that it just doesn’t matter any more.
If seriously doing more of what works -- and less of what doesn't -- Dallas should RUN right more and always help Steele on PASSING plays. The degree to which defenses figure that out between now and the playoffs can then be used to their advantage.
There were a lot of fun blocks to watch on those long TP runs, always love you and Greg Olsen highlighting those types of plays because I used to never pay attention to the big boys up front. Also, is it bad to say I was happy when those Wildcat plays failed so miserably? I don’t ever wanna see that package again haha
Great article Bob. I liked what they did on offense once they got it going but do have one concern. That seam route that Schoonmaker ran for the TD has been used before with success at least a couple of times this year. What stops defenses from starting to sit on it with the result being an interception?
I'll chime in - that play is very difficult to defend with single high coverage. If the safety cheats over to the TE seam side, then the other 2 WRs - including Lamb - are now 1x1 against their DBs. On this particular play, both Tolbert and Schoon were breaking open, and Dak looked the safety over to Tolbert before going back to Schoon.
The easy way to stop that particular play at that particular time is to play 2 safeties over the top, but I'm sure we audible into or out of that play based on the safety look we get, so we would just change the call to something else. The other way to stop is to do a better job at hiding the coverage. The Giants did fool Dak last week once, but overall he's really good at deciphering coverages (which he should be at this point his career!).
The blowouts are fine and dandy, but I refuse to buy into a team that can only get wins against teams that will be drafting in the top 15 or so next year.
The team last year was 6-3 against teams that finished the season with a winning record, and I'd say it's a little premature to pass that judgement on this year's team. I would hazard a guess that most of these readers usually look at the schedule before the season starts and pick the games, just for fun if nothing else. If one does it realistically, I believe that many of us had both the Eagles game and the Niners game in the loss column. Why is it a surprise that they lost those two games? I think the jury is definitely still out on this team for 2023, but we will find out rather quickly how the team stacks up against better competition.
It can't be stated enough how important that drive late 3rd/early 4th was. This allowed the defense to go into feeding frenzy mode as Carolina now had to be one dimensional.
Really enjoy your work bob + Good use of the Rick Dalton meme. Appreciate you 🫡🤝
This may have quietly been the best game the OL has played all season. Steele FINALLY started to look like his old self, which is critical because we need Martin to combo block with Biadasz.
Curious what you think the reason is for not being to run out of heavy sets is, though. By all accounts the left side of the OL is playing great. The TEs are two of the best blocking TEs we've had since Witten and Bennett. Martin is showing his age and may not be an all pro any longer but he still gets it done. Pollard was great at dirty yards before this year. Something just doesn't seem to be in sync when we call a heavy play that you expect at least 3 yards out of in the hopes of getting more. I'm all for playing to your identity, but my Old School Football Maxims state you have to be able to run in between the tackles in December and January. Can this get sorted?
Bob’s reasoning is that 11 personnel spread the defense more and leaves more space to operate.
But like you, I wonder why the heavy packages aren’t working. The 22 set only gained three yards on five attempts. I can remember last year using alignments with four tight ends and being very effective.
Bob, what’s changed? Is it the way defenses are playing the heavy packages or is the team just not as capable as they were in the past?
There are a number of reasons that heavier personnel brings worse results. For one, a defense will deploy all run-only lineman to muck things up. Also, more Linebackers and safeties creeping up when you declare you are planning to run, they listen. And yes, it puts more on "other" blockers like TE, FB, WR to get it done, too, which is not easy.
But, the lighter you make your personnel, the lighter the defense gets, too. Sometimes, you can even boil it down to your 5 OL vs their 5 up front in a much more winnable fight.
Agree and understand the tactics here. Challenge is good teams know to deploy these tactic well. Great teams impose their will. I guess with the $$ invested in the OL, I'd expect them to overcome mucking it up and get yardage anyway.
I don't think our TE's have blocked that great over the course of the year. I think that's a part of why we've gotten out of the bigger packages. Fergie has been pretty good, but the rest have been lacking, I think.
Cowboys will need to finish 13-4 to have a chance at catching the eagles. And that is a slim chance. Also, I saw something I dont believe I have witnessed before. Zach Martin getting absolutely man handled by Brown. Age catches up to all of us I guess. Final note, please never runt the wildcat again.
From ESPN stats: Dallas has played: .364 Strength of Schedule (weakest in NFL). .286 Strength of Victory (Second lowest). Dallas has lost to both teams it played with a winning record.
It’s a weird year. I know you can only play who’s on your schedule. And blowouts do mean something, mediocre NFL teams just don’t win by double digits very often and margin of victory is telling, in football and in other sports. But man, the Dallas schedule has been astonishingly weak this season. I’m curious if the 68 and 93 Cowboys, and some of the other teams referenced here, played schedules this weak. If I get some time later today, maybe I’ll look it up.
Dont fret too much. After the commanders (never an easy win for the Cowboys) the strength of schedule flips in a serious way. By the end, we will have a good read on what the team is all about.
I’m not entirely disagreeing, but you know how teams on your schedule get better records? By losing to them. It’s not college football. Literally nothing matters except what the score is at the end of the game. Not what kind of team it was. Not how the game was won. More points than the other guy. And when you do that, their record looks worse. “Better” teams lose to “inferior” teams all the time because of matchups, schemes, injuries, luck, etc.
Oddly enough, I was poking around with the 99 Rams within the last month and was astonished to see none of their regular season wins came vs. teams above .500. Given what the franchise had been at the time, and that I was 11 that season, I can't really remember the discourse around them, but I have to imagine there was a strong "who have they beaten" vibe as their Super Bowl run began.
That said, I'm with Peter below. If you're worried about the schedule being too easy, Seahawks, Eagles, Bills, Dolphins, and Lions will show what this team is made of.
"Almost everyone of these have been at the 20-yard line or right inside it. You can almost feel their eagerness to run this exact concept when they cross into the high red zone. Bread and butter stuff. Dak throws this ball consistently well after he looks off coverage and holds the safety." Bob, is there a way you think the Cowboys work off this type of play later in the season, to try to do something different? It's had so much success so far, so I'm wondering what happens when the defense keys in on it differently.
If you watch that video again, notice Tolbert in the slot on the left working against the DB. If that single high safety commits early to the TE side (assuming the slot WR can beat his man), he has an open slant throw for a TD as well.
Also notice that Ferguson likely scores - or very nearly - along the right sideline. Admittedly, 24 for the Panthers is completely lost as he drops Ferguson (I guess because he sees Pollard cutting toward the middle), but there are a variety of options out of this play. Truthfully, I'll always take the 1x1 option with 88 if nothing else is juicy.
It looked pretty obvious in real time and now watching the replay in Slowmo, TP got away with a real bad hold on that 3rd down throw to Ferguson. Cowboys are owed some favorable calls, but that was a bad miss by the refs lol.
Thanks for taking my question Bob! 60% of teams with 7 or more 20+ point wins making the Super Bowl is astounding.
This is all great and all they can do, but I think we’re all just waiting to see how they do in that stretch v Seattle, Philly, Miami and Buffalo. Hate to say it but anything short of winning out will probably be disappointing. It’s just the way it is.
Side note, if we can’t leapfrog Philly, I’d like them or Detroit to grab the 1 seed rather than SF please.
Forgot to add Detroit game as another measuring stick affair.
I cannot imagine going 4-1 in that stretch of 5 games and being disappointed...especially if Philly is not the one loss. After last night's results, it's tough to see a very likely path to winning the East, though in the NFL, some very strange things can happen. If the Cowboys go into the playoffs as a Wild Card...so be it. As we see year after year, in all the professional sports, strange things can, and often do, happen in the playoffs. Winning at either Philly or San Francisco will be tough, but regardless of what has happened in the past, every game is its own entity, and I will be watching without a sense of impending doom.
4-1 without the 1 being against Philly would be tough to ignore. I’ll take it, but you know many Cowboys fans would still be leery.
I think it’s as simple as championship game or but at this point, fair or not. We’ve had enough regular season success that it just doesn’t matter any more.
If seriously doing more of what works -- and less of what doesn't -- Dallas should RUN right more and always help Steele on PASSING plays. The degree to which defenses figure that out between now and the playoffs can then be used to their advantage.
There were a lot of fun blocks to watch on those long TP runs, always love you and Greg Olsen highlighting those types of plays because I used to never pay attention to the big boys up front. Also, is it bad to say I was happy when those Wildcat plays failed so miserably? I don’t ever wanna see that package again haha
Great article Bob. I liked what they did on offense once they got it going but do have one concern. That seam route that Schoonmaker ran for the TD has been used before with success at least a couple of times this year. What stops defenses from starting to sit on it with the result being an interception?
I'll chime in - that play is very difficult to defend with single high coverage. If the safety cheats over to the TE seam side, then the other 2 WRs - including Lamb - are now 1x1 against their DBs. On this particular play, both Tolbert and Schoon were breaking open, and Dak looked the safety over to Tolbert before going back to Schoon.
The easy way to stop that particular play at that particular time is to play 2 safeties over the top, but I'm sure we audible into or out of that play based on the safety look we get, so we would just change the call to something else. The other way to stop is to do a better job at hiding the coverage. The Giants did fool Dak last week once, but overall he's really good at deciphering coverages (which he should be at this point his career!).
The blowouts are fine and dandy, but I refuse to buy into a team that can only get wins against teams that will be drafting in the top 15 or so next year.
I am not trying to change your mind, Jarrod. I promise.
It's not you, Bob. It's me. And the 36 years of rooting for a team where this has been the MO. But mostly me.
The team last year was 6-3 against teams that finished the season with a winning record, and I'd say it's a little premature to pass that judgement on this year's team. I would hazard a guess that most of these readers usually look at the schedule before the season starts and pick the games, just for fun if nothing else. If one does it realistically, I believe that many of us had both the Eagles game and the Niners game in the loss column. Why is it a surprise that they lost those two games? I think the jury is definitely still out on this team for 2023, but we will find out rather quickly how the team stacks up against better competition.
I believe that says the 1988 Vikings, not the 98 Vikings with a rookie Randy Moss.
both are on the list!
This is why you’re a professional writer and I’m an amateur moron 🤣 great work today!
Give yourself some credit -- you could easily be a professional moron! ☺️
It can't be stated enough how important that drive late 3rd/early 4th was. This allowed the defense to go into feeding frenzy mode as Carolina now had to be one dimensional.