NFL Week 14: Dallas Cowboys vs. Chicago Bears

[dbair1967]

Hard to feed Zeke when you have so many 3 and outs. This article is written by a homer who has no clue. You can keep feeding Zeke when you can't get a first down and you fall behind and and have to play catch up in the 4th quarter.

That's somewhat fair, but a number of those 3 and outs were 3 passes and out though, so yeah there is some reason to complain.

 

[dbair1967]

but but...he won super bowls!

 

[dbair1967]

Hard to feed Zeke when you have so many 3 and outs. T

2019 NFL Offensive Drive Stats | Football Outsiders

www.footballoutsiders.com

This is through 12/3 so the Bears game info I assume is not included. But for the season before that game, we were 3rd (fewest) in the league in 3 and outs per drive. We also rank 2nd in "drive success rate" which per the site is "

measures the percentage of down series that result in a first down or touchdown. Take-a-knee drives at the end of a half are discarded."​

 

[Doomsday]

We also rank 2nd in "drive success rate"

We're actually 13th rank, in that category.

EDIT:
My mistake - we're 13th in ToP (Time of Possession.)

According to the linked chart.

 

[Doomsday]

That's somewhat fair, but a number of those 3 and outs were 3 passes and out though, so yeah there is some reason to complain.

And most of our 3 and outs start with Zeke up the gut on 1st and 10, into the teeth of the 8-man box. Gotta run there, can't do play-action there or ever. Can't do anything they're not expecting, wouldn't be fair.

 

[Doomsday]

And most of our 3 and outs start with Zeke up the gut on 1st and 10, into the teeth of the 8-man box. Gotta run there, can't do play-action there or ever. Can't do anything they're not expecting, wouldn't be fair.

And which, I'll expand on this because it's a recurring theme and the same problem Romo was saddled with throughout his career. (Even though he was all for it and didn't know how limiting it was for him, longevity-wise). Ginger really does not want to run the ball. He knows there will be howls of criticism if he doesn't at least pay it homage, so we pay lip service to it basically, run the ball up the gut against loaded boxes on 1st and 10, saddling the offense with a 2nd and 8 at best, 2nd and 13 or more at worst, so now we have to pass. "See? Running the ball doesn't work" is what he's trying to get across. "We tried to run but shucky-dern, we fell behind way too early."

We don't carry a true fullback on the roster for this very reason. Running the ball just ain't sexy. We're not serious about it. It's not nearly as entertaining. It doesn't show off our fancy-pants genius in the passing game!

Look at the last two games - first possession we come out, running the ball. Obstinately. Determinedly. And put together long TD scoring marches to "set the tone." But then we just from that point on, move on to other things - like passing the ball after the obligatory run up the middle on 1st and 10! No "tone" gets set if you abandon the very thing that was supposed to "set the tone!"

So the typical 2nd drive is:
Zeke up the middle for no gain.
Pass in the flat to a TE for 3. (If not a sack on 2nd down)
Pass on a wheel route to a WR incomplete. (If not a sack or a throwaway on 3rd down)
Punt.

Soooo predictable you can set your watch by it - or if you're opposing defensive coordinators, plan accordingly! Load the box on 1st and 10 because you know the A-gap run from Zeke is coming, play 2-deep and send 4 on 2nd, play a split man/zone on 3rd and only rush 3!

And that's it! Over and over, every time we have the ball. Because opposing defenses know that, no matter who's calling the plays:

1.) We're not going to stick with the run game no matter how well it goes
2.) We're not going to vary our pitch count on 1st down, it's gonna be an A-gap run by Zeke
3.) We're not going to throw any change-ups like play-action on 1st and 10 occasionally
4.) There will be no draw plays or screen passes in obvious passing downs
5.) We're not going to use read-option and let our QB take off with the ball now and then, we'd rather have him eat sacks while trying to find somebody open against an 8-man secondary

Dak's limited repertoire of pass plays the first couple of years forced them to lean on Zeke and Dak's legs more, but now that they've got Dak "trained" they've gone back to the old formula of play calling and strategy that wasted careers.

It's exactly as I predicted after the 2016 season and it is exactly what Ginger meant when after the playoff loss that year when he told the team some shit like, "forget this year, what we did this year isn't what we have planned going forward."

It's a sickness, it's a disease, and it might come from the very top - Jerry's on record saying he wants to win, but wants to win in flashy style. Or some shit like that.

/soapbox rant

 

[spiderfan_MJ]

And which, I'll expand on this because it's a recurring theme and the same problem Romo was saddled with throughout his career. (Even though he was all for it and didn't know how limiting it was for him, longevity-wise). Ginger really does not want to run the ball. He knows there will be howls of criticism if he doesn't at least pay it homage, so we pay lip service to it basically, run the ball up the gut against loaded boxes on 1st and 10, saddling the offense with a 2nd and 8 at best, 2nd and 13 or more at worst, so now we have to pass. "See? Running the ball doesn't work" is what he's trying to get across. "We tried to run but shucky-dern, we fell behind way too early."

We don't carry a true fullback on the roster for this very reason. Running the ball just ain't sexy. We're not serious about it. It's not nearly as entertaining. It doesn't show off our fancy-pants genius in the passing game!

Look at the last two games - first possession we come out, running the ball. Obstinately. Determinedly. And put together long TD scoring marches to "set the tone." But then we just from that point on, move on to other things - like passing the ball after the obligatory run up the middle on 1st and 10! No "tone" gets set if you abandon the very thing that was supposed to "set the tone!"

So the typical 2nd drive is:
Zeke up the middle for no gain.
Pass in the flat to a TE for 3. (If not a sack on 2nd down)
Pass on a wheel route to a WR incomplete. (If not a sack or a throwaway on 3rd down)
Punt.

Soooo predictable you can set your watch by it - or if you're opposing defensive coordinators, plan accordingly! Load the box on 1st and 10 because you know the A-gap run from Zeke is coming, play 2-deep and send 4 on 2nd, play a split man/zone on 3rd and only rush 3!

And that's it! Over and over, every time we have the ball. Because opposing defenses know that, no matter who's calling the plays:

1.) We're not going to stick with the run game no matter how well it goes
2.) We're not going to vary our pitch count on 1st down, it's gonna be an A-gap run by Zeke
3.) We're not going to throw any change-ups like play-action on 1st and 10 occasionally
4.) There will be no draw plays or screen passes in obvious passing downs
5.) We're not going to use read-option and let our QB take off with the ball now and then, we'd rather have him eat sacks while trying to find somebody open against an 8-man secondary

Dak's limited repertoire of pass plays the first couple of years forced them to lean on Zeke and Dak's legs more, but now that they've got Dak "trained" they've gone back to the old formula of play calling and strategy that wasted careers.

It's exactly as I predicted after the 2016 season and it is exactly what Ginger meant when after the playoff loss that year when he told the team some shit like, "forget this year, what we did this year isn't what we have planned going forward."

It's a sickness, it's a disease, and it might come from the very top - Jerry's on record saying he wants to win, but wants to win in flashy style. Or some shit like that.

/soapbox rant

This is the reason I don't want/am skeptical of Lincoln Riley. Are we REALLY going to change the scheme that much? Is Lincoln REALLY going to use Zeke like he should be used? Or is Lincoln just a more accomplished version of Kellen Moore?

To me if Urban isn't the next HC, the next HC should be someone like Ravens OC Greg Roman.

Watch the Ravens and tell me with a straight face that the Cowboys personnel isn't almost perfect for that style of offense.

 

[Doomsday]

Watch the Ravens and tell me with a straight face that the Cowboys personnel isn't almost perfect for that style of offense.

More importantly, it's also flashy! Entertaining. Jerry loves to appeal to the WWE-type, video game-type idiot fandom we have. But the point you're making is valid - we are NOT putting our players in the best situations for them to do well. For me, I'm all for any sound offensive strategy that works and fits your personnel. And that's sustainable for your QB.

Romo didn't get hurt running the ball, he got hurt from having to eat it way too much, unnecessarily. The time he missed due to injury and the abrupt end of his career are directly attributable to the shit offensive strategy and predictable play calling I went over before. Same thing will happen to Dak.

 

[Dodger12]

That's somewhat fair, but a number of those 3 and outs were 3 passes and out though, so yeah there is some reason to complain.

That damn Prescott....I didn't know that dbair but, if true, it certainly wouldn't surprise me.

 

[Scot]

 

[Dustdevil]

To me if Urban isn't the next HC, the next HC should be someone like Ravens OC Greg Roman.

Two words.....

Brett Maher.

 

[Maveric]

but but...he won super bowls!

Nick Foles is also undefeated against Brady in the Super Bowl, and like Eli, he also sucks.

 

[yimyammer]

One of the best posts ever on any site. Great job Yimmy and thanks for the time you took to put it together.

The reason I went to the trouble of writing that diatribe is because I feel people are letting jeri off the hook by propagating the myth that Jimmy just up and quit so I wanted to have a volume of evidence, not mere conjecture on my part, to at least counter what I believe serves to cover for one of the many mistakes by Jerry as a GM of football operations.

Remarkably people are still saying Jimmy quit and even double down on this view after being presented with the info in my post as well as a video where jeri straight-up clarifies the issue of what happened, right after it occurred:



there's a jackass at CZ tonight straight up ignoring all the testimony of the people involved who are on the record as well as people who witnessed the events and just hand waives it all off, tripling down on stupid in the process

I know better than trying to reason with stupid but I keep posting this as a counter to the idiots in the hope uninformed fans may walk away angry at jeri (as they should be) and maybe, just maybe that anger can finally reach a tipping point where we as fans (& ex players like Troy) never stop letting jeri have it, making him at least miserable or perhaps miraculously cause him to make a change that is actually effective

pipe dream I know, but thats about all thats left of my fandom

 

[InternetKing]

Two words.....

Brett Maher.

Welcome back to

 

[icup]

 

[Dodger12]

The reason I went to the trouble of writing that diatribe is because I feel people are letting jeri off the hook by propagating the myth that Jimmy just up and quit so I wanted to have a volume of evidence, not mere conjecture on my part, to at least counter what I believe serves to cover for one of the many mistakes by Jerry as a GM of football operations.

Remarkably people are still saying Jimmy quit and even double down on this view after being presented with the info in my post as well as a video where jeri straight-up clarifies the issue of what happened, right after it occurred:



there's a jackass at CZ tonight straight up ignoring all the testimony of the people involved who are on the record as well as people who witnessed the events and just hand waives it all off, tripling down on stupid in the process

I know better than trying to reason with stupid but I keep posting this as a counter to the idiots in the hope uninformed fans may walk away angry at jeri (as they should be) and maybe, just maybe that anger can finally reach a tipping point where we as fans (& ex players like Troy) never stop letting jeri have it, making him at least miserable or perhaps miraculously cause him to make a change that is actually effective

pipe dream I know, but thats about all thats left of my fandom

I despise when people want to change the real narrative and rewrite the history of this team. Jerry Jones himself is guilty of this with all his talk of him being the final decision maker, he negotiated the Walker trade, he did this and he did that. Any fan who was around back then and old enough to understand the game knows that Jimmy was driving force to acquiring the talent that built a dynasty. The rest of Jerry's bullshit is just wordsmithing. But some fans just pick up on Jerry's bullshit and just repeat it because they need to believe it's true. They need to believe that Jerry had a huge hand in 3 SB's. The alternative is just unacceptable and unimaginable to them because it removes all hope as a fan.

I know better. You know better. Most old-timers know better (except for dbair). Even now dbair tries to rewrite the narrative that Maher somehow beat out Bailey when the word back then was that Jerry and company outsmarted everyone and got a kicker on the cheap, thus freeing up cap space. Bailey's release was a shock and for good reason. Jerry stuck with Maher for so long because he desperately needed to be right about releasing Bailey. Jerry has traditionally been been cheap. This idea that he's somehow about paying and doing what it takes to be a winner is bullshit.

He tried to be cheap with Emmitt, he tried to be cheap with Irvin, he wouldn't pay a HC until he needed his stadium built and he need to bring in Parcells for the instant credibility he brought with him after being embarrassed by Dave Campo for 3 years. It's the reason he hired Gailey who didn't command top dollar.

I appreciate your posts but it's no surprise that, when faced with the facts including interviews and Jerry's own words, that some dolts still can't accept the truth. It's too unimaginable to them and would drain them of all hope which is where most of us are at now. Because we know the truth and accept it. Great work Yimmy......

.

 

[Scot]

The cliffs version is that jeri is an insecure idiot that is intimidated by coaches that cut into the limelight he covets

more detail than you probably care to read is in the above post I made here a while back

~Bon Appetit~

that this was exactly the straw that broke Jeruh’s fragile ego and caused Jimmy’s exit

My friend knew the old seamstress for the Cowboys who used to do all the work on a the uniforms for the team. She confirms this exact story and says that everyone knew it when it happened.

 

[kwcoolk619]

The cliffs version is that jeri is an insecure idiot that is intimidated by coaches that cut into the limelight he covets

more detail than you probably care to read is in the above post I made here a while back

~Bon Appetit~

Awesome post. I watched "First Take" (or was it "Get Up") on ESPN this morning. They actually had a segment, "Is Jerry The Problem?" Talk about late to the party. I did not watch that segment because almost everyone knows he is the problem. Where have these analysts and experts been for 20 plus years?

 

[dbair1967]

I despise when people want to change the real narrative and rewrite the history of this team. Jerry Jones himself is guilty of this with all his talk of him being the final decision maker, he negotiated the Walker trade, he did this and he did that. Any fan who was around back then and old enough to understand the game knows that Jimmy was driving force to acquiring the talent that built a dynasty. The rest of Jerry's bullshit is just wordsmithing. But some fans just pick up on Jerry's bullshit and just repeat it because they need to believe it's true. They need to believe that Jerry had a huge hand in 3 SB's. The alternative is just unacceptable and unimaginable to them because it removes all hope as a fan.

I know better. You know better. Most old-timers know better (except for dbair). Even now dbair tries to rewrite the narrative that Maher somehow beat out Bailey when the word back then was that Jerry and company outsmarted everyone and got a kicker on the cheap, thus freeing up cap space. Bailey's release was a shock and for good reason. Jerry stuck with Maher for so long because he desperately needed to be right about releasing Bailey. Jerry has traditionally been been cheap. This idea that he's somehow about paying and doing what it takes to be a winner is bullshit.

He tried to be cheap with Emmitt, he tried to be cheap with Irvin, he wouldn't pay a HC until he needed his stadium built and he need to bring in Parcells for the instant credibility he brought with him after being embarrassed by Dave Campo for 3 years. It's the reason he hired Gailey who didn't command top dollar.

I appreciate your posts but it's no surprise that, when faced with the facts including interviews and Jerry's own words, that some dolts still can't accept the truth. It's too unimaginable to them and would drain them of all hope which is where most of us are at now. Because we know the truth and accept it. Great work Yimmy......

.

Good God what a load of shit Dodger. First off where did I ever claim money had nothing to do with Bailey getting cut for Maher? Of course it had a part in it, Bailey was being paid a lot of money and was coming off a very bad end to the prior season. Those watching him in camp last year didn't notice any significant improvement. So Maher rightfully won the job. Cap considerations go into all 32 teams thinking when deciding who to keep or who to cut.

Never mind the fact that Maher was actually better than Bailey last year (he was) or that Minnesota was so concerned that they actually traded a 5th rd pick in training camp this year for a kicker they thought would replace Bailey. Bailey has bounced back nicely this year, but don't act like there were not issues with why Bailey was replaced here. It had nothing to do with being "cheap" They had no problem making Bailey one of the highest paid kickers in the league in 2014, because at the time he was arguably the league's best kicker and was incredibly consistent.

You have a fair point about what happened with Gailey, he did hire Gailey after blowing contract talks with UCLA Head Coach Terry Donahue (Donahue even admitted publicly he was surprised at how little Jones wanted to pay him, but also complained some about not being able to pick his assistant staff). That said, both Jimmy Johnson and Barry Switzer had contracts that paid them (at that time) pretty large amounts compared to others. He signed Johnson to a 10 yr deal in 1989 and paid him one million per yr, at a time when not many NFL head coaches were making that much. Switzer got a 5yr deal worth one million per year as well. He reportedly offered Donahue half of that. Campo I think was hired more because he would do exactly what Jones wanted, but even Campo got paid more than what Jones offered Donahue.

In regards to players, there's no question they tried to lowball Emmitt and they ended up suffering for it. But Jones has shown over the years he is willing to pay huge contracts (do I really need to name them all, or are you going to be an idiot and insist otherwise?) and we have never been one of the teams that year after year spent well under the cap. In fact our cap has been a mess since the onset of the salary cap era in 1994, at the time due to having such a young, talented team with many players needing market setting or near top of the market deals. Over the years the cap remained a mess in large part due to the Cowboys giving out large contracts to too many players, some who they probably should have made tough decisions on (like Dan Bailey above)

Jones is a loser, but it isn't because he is cheap and fails to pay people. He's a loser because he thinks he is a true "football man" and he really isn't. He's made a number of really poor head coach hires, poor personnel decisions (esp from 94-02) and created a culture where nobody was ever accountable for anything.

 

[bbgun]

The whole Donahue thing smelled like a ploy to placate Troy. Was he the best man for the team or just the best man for his old college QB? At the time, I wanted George Seifert more.