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George: Cowboys haven't executed inside the red zone (13 drives, 5 TDs),
Cowboys haven't executed inside the red zone (13 drives, 5 TDs), haven't rushed for a first down inside the 20
by Brandon George Oct 14 2011
IRVING - If you're looking for a positive, the Cowboys have certainly found out a lot about their rookie kicker the first four games. Dan Bailey has made 12-of-13 field goal attempts.
But the Cowboys know that settling for field goals isn't usually a winning formula. Instead, coach Jason Garrett said the team has to start closing out more drives with touchdowns.
That means the Cowboys must improve their play in the red zone. Through four games, the Cowboys have driven inside the 20-yard line 13 times and come away with five touchdowns and five field goals. Twice they turned over the ball (once on downs) and also missed a 21-yard field goal.
A closer look at the team's red zone failures shines light on a broader issue: The Cowboys can't run the football when they need to the most.
Garrett wants a balanced offense, and the numbers inside the red zone show that. Of the Cowboys' 41 red zone plays this season, they have passed 21 times and run 20 times.
The Cowboys have not rushed for a first down, however, inside the red zone all season. They have passed for a first down inside the 20 three times.
Their 20 runs inside the red zone have gone for 43 yards. But nine of those runs - almost half - have gone for one yard or less.
"That's an area of the field that the game obviously changes a little bit," Cowboys running backs coach Skip Peete said. "Some of the runs that you're going to run are a little different than what you're going to run in the true open field. You get in that area, a 3-yard run is a pretty good run whereas backed up to our own 20 you'd probably want a 5- or 6-yard run."
The Cowboys have been handicapped by a young offensive line that's quicker but smaller, play-making wide receivers Miles Austin and Dez Bryant limited with injuries and have faced several defenses that stack the line of scrimmage against the run.
The Cowboys rank sixth in the NFL in offense at 417.8 yards per game but only 12th in the league in scoring at 24.8 points per game. Yards gained haven't translated into more points simply because they haven't finished drives in the red zone with touchdowns.
The Cowboys have settled for 12 field goals, an NFL-high three per game.
This isn't exactly a new issue. The Cowboys' discrepancy between yards per game and scoring per game was wide in 2009, when Dallas ranked second in the NFL in offense (399.4 ypg) but only 14th in the league in scoring (22.6 ppg).
"When you run the ball better what happens is all of your statistics probably get a little bit better," Garrett said. "You're better on first down and consequently you become better on third down. You're in a better situation when you get down into the red zone to have some run-pass opportunities. The better you run the ball typically the better the offensive line plays, the better you throw it and it all kind of works hand in hand. We want to run the ball better and it's important for us to stay persistent with that."
CODE RED
The Cowboys haven't rushed for a first down inside the red zone all season and have only one rushing touchdown, settling for an NFL-high three field goals made per game. Here's a look at the Cowboys' red zone offense among its 41 plays on 13 drives inside the 20 this season:
QB Tony Romo: 9-of-18 passing for 41 yards, 3 TDs; 2 runs for 2 yards
QB Jon Kitna: 2-of-3 passing for 13 yards, TD
RB Felix Jones: 11 runs for 33 yards, TD
RB Tashard Choice: 4 runs for 4 yards; 1 catch for 3 yards
RB DeMarco Murray: 2 runs for 4 yards
FB Tony Fiammetta: 1 run for 0 yards
TE Jason Witten: 2 catches, 1 yard, TD
TE John Phillips: 2 catches, 10 yards
WR Dez Bryant: 2 catches, 9 yards, 2 TDs
WR Miles Austin: 2 catches, 13 yards, TD
WR Kevin Ogletree: 2 catches, 18 yards
Cowboys haven't executed inside the red zone (13 drives, 5 TDs), haven't rushed for a first down inside the 20
by Brandon George Oct 14 2011
IRVING - If you're looking for a positive, the Cowboys have certainly found out a lot about their rookie kicker the first four games. Dan Bailey has made 12-of-13 field goal attempts.
But the Cowboys know that settling for field goals isn't usually a winning formula. Instead, coach Jason Garrett said the team has to start closing out more drives with touchdowns.
That means the Cowboys must improve their play in the red zone. Through four games, the Cowboys have driven inside the 20-yard line 13 times and come away with five touchdowns and five field goals. Twice they turned over the ball (once on downs) and also missed a 21-yard field goal.
A closer look at the team's red zone failures shines light on a broader issue: The Cowboys can't run the football when they need to the most.
Garrett wants a balanced offense, and the numbers inside the red zone show that. Of the Cowboys' 41 red zone plays this season, they have passed 21 times and run 20 times.
The Cowboys have not rushed for a first down, however, inside the red zone all season. They have passed for a first down inside the 20 three times.
Their 20 runs inside the red zone have gone for 43 yards. But nine of those runs - almost half - have gone for one yard or less.
"That's an area of the field that the game obviously changes a little bit," Cowboys running backs coach Skip Peete said. "Some of the runs that you're going to run are a little different than what you're going to run in the true open field. You get in that area, a 3-yard run is a pretty good run whereas backed up to our own 20 you'd probably want a 5- or 6-yard run."
The Cowboys have been handicapped by a young offensive line that's quicker but smaller, play-making wide receivers Miles Austin and Dez Bryant limited with injuries and have faced several defenses that stack the line of scrimmage against the run.
The Cowboys rank sixth in the NFL in offense at 417.8 yards per game but only 12th in the league in scoring at 24.8 points per game. Yards gained haven't translated into more points simply because they haven't finished drives in the red zone with touchdowns.
The Cowboys have settled for 12 field goals, an NFL-high three per game.
This isn't exactly a new issue. The Cowboys' discrepancy between yards per game and scoring per game was wide in 2009, when Dallas ranked second in the NFL in offense (399.4 ypg) but only 14th in the league in scoring (22.6 ppg).
"When you run the ball better what happens is all of your statistics probably get a little bit better," Garrett said. "You're better on first down and consequently you become better on third down. You're in a better situation when you get down into the red zone to have some run-pass opportunities. The better you run the ball typically the better the offensive line plays, the better you throw it and it all kind of works hand in hand. We want to run the ball better and it's important for us to stay persistent with that."
CODE RED
The Cowboys haven't rushed for a first down inside the red zone all season and have only one rushing touchdown, settling for an NFL-high three field goals made per game. Here's a look at the Cowboys' red zone offense among its 41 plays on 13 drives inside the 20 this season:
QB Tony Romo: 9-of-18 passing for 41 yards, 3 TDs; 2 runs for 2 yards
QB Jon Kitna: 2-of-3 passing for 13 yards, TD
RB Felix Jones: 11 runs for 33 yards, TD
RB Tashard Choice: 4 runs for 4 yards; 1 catch for 3 yards
RB DeMarco Murray: 2 runs for 4 yards
FB Tony Fiammetta: 1 run for 0 yards
TE Jason Witten: 2 catches, 1 yard, TD
TE John Phillips: 2 catches, 10 yards
WR Dez Bryant: 2 catches, 9 yards, 2 TDs
WR Miles Austin: 2 catches, 13 yards, TD
WR Kevin Ogletree: 2 catches, 18 yards
