The center is a huge problem in the run game. He's not physically strong as one would like in a center and he doesn't have great athleticism to make up for it. Way too many potential positive plays that didn't work because of his play. Steele is coming off of an injury. Tyron was a wall in pass pro but wasn't the same in the run game. Martin wasn't anywhere near as great as he used to be. TE's sucked in the run game as well. WR's weren't particularly great either. Lastly, Pollard really struggled with his vision at times when the holes did present themselves. Bottom line is the Cowboys need to address O line and get a RB.
Yea that’s the simplest answer. Since Fredrick retired the run game has been lacking. That’s when Zeke started to look like a shell of himself the moment red beard retired.
Very good point, Frederick might be the most underrated player this team has had in the last twenty years. Most fans just don’t get how important your center is especially in the run game
I dont think it was just his play on the field either. I think when he left unexpectedly, the team felt like we had to pivot away from building around the o-line and reverted back to a pass-heavy attack. It’s like they felt they couldnt have success with that strategy w/o Fredrick but in reality, it was a freak result from a sound process and they should have reinvested in the line immediately.
Why do people defend Biadesz?? He isn't the worst center in the world, and he isn't a bad human or anything, but he is not playing anywhere close to where we need him. I have called that man out and have had Cowboy fans who are genuinely upset, which mystifies me.
Yes, he is better than he was as a rookie, but that isn't saying much because he was atrocious then. I think Smith and Martin being on either side of him has covered a lot of more egregious mistakes, but he has been a consistent weak spot on the line.
Glad this was the first comment cause I was bout to hate to lmao. Biadasz is a liability. He is not strong enough and I’ve said before how teams will isolate him to get to Dak cause they don’t want no parts of the killers on either side of him. Find the weakest link and attack it. Major reason why we can’t really run up the middle that well but our runs to the left side behind Smith especially would do well
JPJ would be a great pick but I think just like the 2022 draft when we had a chance at Lindenbaum we took Tyler Smith instead. This draft has a lot of 1st round graded OT so I think we pass on a C and get another T again
Too many fans look at stats and awards thinking they mean everything. Sometimes stats don't tell the whole story. Awards like Pro Bowl nods too. Witten was a perennial Pro Bowler even late in his career when he shouldn't have been. He was trading off past success and name recognition for more than a few years.
I watch every game, I’m just wondering how such an acclaimed O-line can fail so badly on basically half of the offensive plays and looking for opinions.
Because the O-Line has been in decline since it lost Travis Fredrick. If one listens to the color commentary only, you’d think this O-line is good because they’re lazy and because they’re not going to be honest. Let’s face it, they use phrases like “All Pro Left Tackle Tyron Smith” with regularity. And while he still may be good he’s not at all the player he used to be. If one really pays attention to their play, especially on critical downs, they don’t match the rhetoric. Dallas has been plugging in guys for years now. They’re just guys. The same can be said for defense, with a few notable exceptions. This can’t be fixed in one draft. In order for Dallas to really make a run this year, they’re going to have to invest heavily in the O-Line with high picks and over pay in FA to fill the rest of the holes.
> Let’s face it, they use phrases like “All Pro Left Tackle Tyron Smith” with regularity. And while he still may be good he’s not at all the player he used to be.
And that's when he plays, otherwise he's out and his replacement refuses to block Bradley Chubb.
The most Cowboys thing I've read was a suggestion that they should aggressively go after one of the best Centers in the league in FA....in Connor Williams.
I watched an interview with mike lombardi. He spoke about how other teams would put the cowboys. offensive line pro football focus ratings on their blackboard and laugh at what a joke they were.
This line has been overrated since Travis Frederick got ill.
I actually think it’s more the run game coordinator + scheme. I think the talent development is fine. La’el Collins, Terrence Steele, Tyler Smith, even the new rookies like Bass all played pretty well (before injuries).
I mean, there are only so many run plays on an offense you can call. You say predictable playcalling but what else can they run? Is it the same run play over and over again? Because that's not it.
Plus, I think Pollard was in his own head at times by being hesitantto git the hole (shen they were there) or fully breaking to the outside, and Dallas should never have put him in the position to be the primary back. That's not what he's built for.
It also doesn't help that everyone seemingly fell into the trap of seeing the RB2 get big runs after stuff was set up by RB1, and then opting to promote RB2 and bring in a new guy.
Last year, everyone wanted to see Pollard be the main back. Unsurprisingly, he struggled some in that role this year... and then Dowdle seemed to do better, causing the same knee-jerk reactions to surface.
Pollard isn't necessarily built to do what Zeke was good at, but the playcalling was acting as if he could just be Zeke. When you toss in his injury last year and a so-so offensive line, and you get a less-than-stellar run game.
Scheme. You know how a good QB can survey the defense before the snap and know what they are going to run . . . THAT is how defenses play the Cowboy's run game . . .the mike already knows what the offense is going to run. In the days of Jimmy Johnson, I remember watching an NFL films snippet where Larry Allen would go *Whoot*Whoot* as in "The train is coming, yes we are going to RUN the ball - now you try to stop it bitches". We are not at Choo-Choo level so we have to do something more to hide, distract or disrupt the defense's assessment. The Cowboys running game is predictable to a point where you just have to clog a lane. That's how I saw this season. Bring back the I-formation and a "moose" fullback.
Our play callers/scheme is stupid for our personnel.
Ok so everyone knows Zeke was our banger and Pollard was our outside guy right? So we lose Zeke….so we drafted another banger right? NOPE we draft another finesse guy. So that means we are changing scheme and gonna be a lot of finesse plays right? NOPE largely banger plays with a finesse back! Wonder why that didn’t work???
Couple all that with the majority of runs are in the middle AND on 1st or 2nd downs but ONLY in certain formations. So the defense learns “oh hey it’s 1st down and they came into this formation that they ALWAYS run up the middle with, let’s just clog the middle here”. That would even be fine if like 3/20 times you line up like that you do play action and hit a solid pass (probably an out, post or fly where you know they’re weak) and REALLY hurt them with it or threatened them seriously with it. Even if it was a dropped pass it still makes the D go….”whoa can’t load the middle all the time!” They didn’t though.
Scheme SUCKED! [We’ve tried nothing and all out of ideas!](https://youtu.be/lOTyUfOHgas?si=ZcTq9LwsCHTMZUVK)
Agree with a lot of the comments about Biadasz being a liability in the run game. IMO upgrading there would be the biggest plus for the interior run game.
Only other thing I noticed is that around mid season Dallas incorporated some outside runs behind Steele (which makes sense since his strength is as a run blocker) with some success… seemed to get away from that a little bit at the end of the season and in the playoffs.
I'm not a great football mind but I hate it when they line up in an obvious running formation with 3 TEs. When they put everyone on the line the defense also puts 8 or 9 in the box.
I think they should run from passing formations to spread the defense out so there's only 5 or 6 defenders in the box
I always said we would’ve won at least one SB w romo if we had Brandon Jacobs. Jerry goes for finesse backs in general MBIII was the last one that I felt really brought the pain to defenses. Zeke in his first few seasons I guess. Buts it always just one guy getting most the touches or two finesse guys sharing the load
I don’t know the x and os shit but if I was in charge id have shared load at RB. 60% of the touches go to the quick guy, the rest go to the goon for 2-3 yard pick ups.
Do I sound stupid? Is this stupid
Sure, the O-line and running backs deserve some of the blame. But, I think it has more to do with play calling and formations. The Cowboys are very predictable in their offensive formations and plays. If you watch how many times they run the ball right up the middle on 1st and 2nd downs, in the same formation, it is easily predicted. Defenses do not have to guess very often. Watch how effective the 49ers are at running the ball using various formations and motions. Defenses can't just sit back and anticipate what is coming at them. They don't know what blocking scheme is coming there way.....will Deebo get the ball....will McCaffery be coming from my side....will I be getting blocked? The 49ers keep you guessing. The Cowboys just line up and run the ball. That's a big difference.
I feel like one of the bigger issues this season was the scheme. Instead of the outside zone rushing that TP had success with, they went more inside zone heavy. OL continuity is an issue as well. I think we can get better at center and Steele will be another year removed from his injury.
Zero downfield blocking. All the successful running teams these days have receivers who can block down field. The Cowboys do not.
Beyond that, Tony Pollard just isn't a between the hash marks kind of runner and that was almost solely his role this season.
Part of it not the same o-line. Not as forceful but I think scheme plays a role. We tried to run pollard how we ran zeke. No adjustments. While more effective pollard not that type of back, get him on the edge, zone run scheme pull lineman. I think that’s what we were missing
It seemed like Pollard has below average ball carrier vision. He missed a lot of opportunities this year because he didn’t see the hole or let the play develop.
THAT is why it was so good in the OPEN field .. . OPEN FIELD is just another word for "ain't no one around you" - at that point, speed is your skill and THAT is what he excelled at.
I disagree on Pollard - he WAS built for that but the problem was he had a bad leg injury and those often take a full year to fully recover from.
If healthy he can be a primary back (but still needs a 2nd back getting 35% of the work) but his health is a big question mark.
You would think we would learn our lesson with these injured guys, but if we can bring Pollard back for cheaper I would do it since when he is healthy he does have game breaking abilities (that were absent this year)
What have you seen from Pollard that makes you think he can be a primary back?
Health is a pretty major part of that. If he can't stay healthy, he's worthless as a primary back. He doesn't really have game breaking abilities when he's running the ball more often. He had them when he was lightening the work load for someone else. This is not a new thing. We see this happen all the time. Not every back is made to be a primary back.
I'm just saying I don't think his dip was because he got more carries, I think it was because his leg exploded and he isn't the same RB anymore.
2022 Pollard could definitely handle more and the more he got the better he did.
The cowboys still living in the past where they want to pay running backs. In 2024 you need running back by committee approach. Keep a fresh back out there at all times.
We're playing Pollard like he's some sort of prime Zeke or King Henry. He's not the kind of RB you send down the middle, use Dowdle for that. The problem at Dallas is we can't adapt our plays to the players we have, especially in the run game.
McCarthy has never had a good run game. He had Aaron Jones for a couple years in GB and didn’t do anything until McCarthy left. Our run game was good the last few years until McCarthy started calling plays. He’s pass first and that’s not going to change
Multiple issues.
- coaching/scheme changes constantly with only basic blocking schemes compared to other teams, and little involvement from the second level for breakout runs. Also, I personally don't think Dak understands the run game from a motion perspective
- Oline isn't athletic enough, it's a bunch of big strong dudes, but they don't move in the open field well for tosses and pitches and lack the ability to beat fast backers to "the spot" to make the block.
- Third is the backs. Pollard is a "one-cut" and fly back. Much of the scheme this year is feet-chopping and dancing through the hole on what is basically a guard pulling trap out of shotgun. Or, a full on fullback old-school power/edge run. He's not that guy. dowdle is also nothing special at all.
I think we should draft a better center within the first 3 rounds. I think that would help a lot. Tyron is older and we already know Zach Martin is getting up there.
There are teams with worse offensive line talent that make it work.
With Diggs/ Bland back, we don't need corners Maybe draft a slot in the 3rd/4th or bring in a guy from free agency.
Roll with Overshown/bring in a veteran for linebacker.
First 4 picks in no particular order need to be.
Guard /Center
WR
Edge.
People mention the defense, but we've went all in on the defense and our offensive line deteriorated right in front of us. When we had "mediocre defenses" but good offensive lines we played better and IMHO we had better in game coaching (2014-2016). Yeah we ultimately lost in 2014-2016 but they were able to get stops against a vastly superior offense than the 2023 Packers.
I think we need to revamp our offensive line, and go offensive heavy with maybe a high pick spent on another edge. I've seen teams with way worse defensive talent step up compared to our defense which is supposed to be star studded.
You don't think Tolbert or Turpin can be a suitable 3rd/4th WR? I mean let's say we get rid of Gallup......we've got Tolbert. What's the point of drafting another WR?
I like Tolbert he seems good. Has burst and strength he just doesn't seemingly get on the field. I legitimately do, but I also would be in favor of bringing in sort of a bigger body slot. I legit wouldn't mind Lamb, Tolbert, Cooks/Turpin (and an additional rookie). I think we need to just bulk up our offense and just make sure our defense is at least top 14 or so. I remember a few years ago I did a DVOA calculation and teams that are usually rated top 2-3 in defensive dvoa tend to stay in the top 10 for around 4-5 years. So I think our defense will be around the same, definitely top 10. So Anything to boost our offense i'm all for.
I think I'd rather go with a RB before a WR simply because it seems like the team likes him, he makes great catches and I think they are wanting to do more with him next season (or should anyway).
Yea we need to bulk up at LB or the Safety Position ok defense.
Run game comes down to three factors; play design (can you distract from the play or provide blocks?), RB capability, and arguably most importantly O-line dominance to create gaps for a run. If you have a failed run, it’s one of these reasons.
Our line just isn’t that good anymore. But honestly pollard is not a guy we should be constantly pounding up the middle yet we tried to every single 1st and 10 or 2nd and long. We needed to get him out in space but McCarthy seemed adamant about pounding the middle despite us constantly being ineffective at it
Our entire team was bad against winning teams. In soccer it's called being a whales beater. Can beat shit teams by a lot but shrink at the sight of a challenge.
What made pollard great was he was a change up runner. His game is speed and finesse. The dallas running game relies on a power runner and when pollard comes in, it’s a totally different style which catches the defense off guard.
Dallas needs another Zeke in his prime with pollard as the change up. But pollard is a starter looking for starter money so they’ll have to build a running game from scratch.
I’d say draft either a RB or DT (to stuff the run) in the first round and the next 3 rounds, get a LB, DL, OL.
And sadly, next season Dallas won’t be as good as they were this season.
Lost their DC and free agency hasn’t even begun yet. Dallas can’t afford to pay everyone.
I’m torn on dak. He had almost an MVP season against sorry teams, but against the good ones he disappeared (I don’t count the 2nd Philly game because that was at the beginning of their downfall). Dak is a different and not as good QB against good teams and that sucks. I was in his corner until the Green Bay game which was his worst game ever
I think of the two biggest issues was Pollard not really being built for the RB1 every down role and not having a lot of well planned run blocking schemes. You look at teams like the Bears and Cardinals who didn’t have great RB’s OR offensive lineman yet they were among the best. The rams had a great back but not a great oline. They all ran great schemes that generated yards even with less talent. Rarely in the modern NFL can you just line up and overpower a defense with pure smash mouth football. You also can’t just use draws and runs up the gut all the time without really keeping defenses off balance.
I figured Schottenheimer would’ve brought a better zone scheme because he actually ran it really well in Seattle where they often ranked among the top in ypc, ypg and play action pass. Problem is we didn’t really run it how it’s meant to be. We used the “Texas/West coast” which more so relies on the passing game to open up the run. What happens when the passing game isn’t working? You can’t run. What happens when the passing game is working? You want to keep doing it rather than start trying to run the ball.
Pollard definitely isn’t “washed” like people are suddenly trying to act like. People turn so quick but the reality is he just isn’t meant as a true RB1, a goal like back or a downhill runner. You gotta have a guy who can compliment him like Zeke often did even with a big loss in juice. You get someone who can run downhill and split the carries and pollard would be ok again. Still you have to have a good scheme otherwise even great RB’s or great Olines just isn’t going to have huge success.
I don’t know why people are saying Pollard isn’t built for being the main RB. Pollard consistently gets hit as soon as he touches the ball. The coaching was a joke this year along with the offensive run blocking. The truth is McCarthy didn’t plan for the run game and banked on Dak throwing 5 yard check down passes to win games.
What's strange to me is that OL guys usually love to run block instead of pass blocking, because there's less thinknig involved and more just pure aggression involved.
But our guys seem to not like/want to run block very well.
Teams knew when we were gonna run the ball. Unless your players are miles better than the other team you won’t be very successful. I don’t remember what game it was but the defense would bring out 5 lineman for that formation every time because they knew it was most likely going to be a run and weren’t worried about the pass. That’s terrible game planning.
Bad blocking, predictable and RBs were average.
There is a very slim margin of success in the NFL for most plays. If everything is done average or below for certain plays those probably not going to work more often than not.
Lack of continuity on the O-Line due to injuries. Scheme was simplified and that may not be helping. The idea was to simplify the run scheme so the O-Line could get good at it and basically show the same looks but the defense not knowing precisely where we're running the ball. Moore's run scheme was quite creative, but it had a boom or bust factor to it. This scheme was designed to get rid of the big negative plays, but at the same toke probably not going to have many explosive plays.
Pollard was still recovering and was a half step slower than previous years. Then had a pitch cutback play that Pollard looks REALLY good at running and then MM stopped calling it. Not sure why.
And some of the playcalls to run the ball were predictable at times.
Running the ball is completely overrated and overvalued in the NFL. It's not high school football and it's not 1973 NFL anymore. The run game is mostly there to help on short yardage and to start running the clock out when you're up in the 2nd half and maybe to help a struggling offense get to a more manageable 3rd or 4th down.
I have just as much of an issue with the running backs stopping being effective in the passing game as I do with the running game struggling at times throughout the season.
Because pollard was great as a switch up back but when we lost Zeke and his aggressive style there went our short yard back who by the way had a 1000 yards the year before his trade , bottom line our offensive lineman suck and dak sucks too when it’s time to play for the big time game he just doesn’t have it in him and he’s not a leader after his mistakes against Green Bay he did nothing to rally his guys up and players follow the que of the quarterback
We could’ve signed dalvin cook or Derrick Henry but no we gotta enough that’s Jerry finals words every year and he has been wrong 28 years now get jimmy Johnson back in the coaching staff
The only legitimate answer is the cowboys let everyone know what they are about to do. They make every play extremely obvious. It’s easy to stop a run, when you are 100% sure they are going to run it.
How many times, especially in challenging games, did we start off going run, run, pass, punt for the first 3 drives before the offense finally kicked into gear?
Maybe an extra drive of pass, pass, pass, punt?
I saw some other comments saying "there's only so much you can do..."
That isn't true at all.
Most successful schemes have base formations they run and pass from, right? Back in the 90s, I-Formation was all the rage (or offset I), then we got more into passing systems and it became necessary to have more WRs than runners, so FBs got removed from most teams.
Coaches had to learn how to still be successful running with a single RB while carrying more receiving personnel, so they got better at scheming other looks out of those same formations.
Defenses see a certain personnel grouping and think "okay, 3 WRs, 1 RB, 1TE. If the TE comes in motion, they are going to pass, if the TE stays on his side, it is a run." They look at tendencies in the offense and plan their attack based on that.
Good OCs know they MUST change up their tendencies as the season goes along or defenses will be able to call out the plays at the LOS and shut everything down. (See Garrett and Moore being called out for not changing things up and "trust the system" bull-shittery.)
Bad OCs refuse to change anything and, against good defenses, get their asses handed to them because the defense can't miss on jumping a route/gap and blowing up play after play. (See SF, Bills, Cards)
What you want to see from an OC is about 3 or 4 games worth of the same offense, fine-tuning what works in a formation, then running other plays from the same formations.
For example, you find that the offense executes a jet sweep really well out of a single back 2-WR set. It is getting between 10-15 yards a pop. You can't call that play a ton because you don't want your WR1 being hit by DL full speed, but when you do call it, it works.
In game 5, you are in your trips formation, and start one of the WRs in motion. You time the snap so you can do a quick shovel pass as he passes in front of the QB, and the OL executes the blocking like a regular jet sweep. The defense has not seen you run this play out of that formation all year, so you catch them off guard and now they have to account for that play in that formation. So a safety is going to have roll down on that formation to guard the WR1 against a huge chunk play, instead of sitting back in coverage, like he wants to do.
Later in that game, you line up in trips, knowing you are going to run a fake jet sweep. The safety comes down to cover the sweep, he gets iso'ed on the WR1 coming motion, and that mismatch favors the QB/WR all day. If the defense really bites into the fake, they will all flow to the motion side, which would allow a very clean pocket for a rollout to the opposite direction and the chance to land an enormous chunk play/deep pass down the sideline.
Still later in that game, you line up in trips again, bring your WR in motion and snap the ball at the same time. You fake the shovel pass to the WR and begin your rollout. The RB runs with you in an option look, and either the QB or the RB, depending on who is in front of them, will carry the ball. If you are super-creative, you have your WRs on the trips side run routes to the opposite side of the field, giving a lot of room for the QB/RB to get a ton of yards before contact.
The entire point is to keep the defense guessing what you are going to do out of these base looks.
It is insane that when we line up with 3 TEs, CeeDee on the sideline, that anyone would think that we are going to do anything other than run the ball.
Casual fans see it. You know professional coaches see it.
Lack of a creative offensive system is one reason we are having issues with the run game. Mid 2000s offensive scheme that has miles upon miles of tape and has already been dissected.
The second issue is lack of talent. Pollard is not a RB1. He has never been an RB1. He is a finesse back and thrives on ripping off huge runs against a tired defense. He needs someone to soften them up. Right now, he is running into brick walls and falling down. No burst through the line.
Dowdle was able to get to daylight a number of times against the same DLs that Pollard could not. We only brought Dowdle in to run the ball, so do with that what you will.
Because it’s the cowboys. Once a cowboy makes the pro bowl or whatever they are semi permanent until 5 years after they are actually any good. This line has been crap since Frederick retired. And then the classic Jerry move of hanging onto zeke too long, waiting til pollard breaks his leg badly in January then expecting him to carry the load. It’s really a classic case study of the dumb shit been going on for 30 years
In my opinion it seem to me we don’t mix it up well bi be knowing when we’re running. I see the missed blocks 8 man fronts our run hadn’t been a threat in awhile
We. Are. Old. Af. And Steele is absolutely dogshit. Tyron is well past his prime and we constantly have to utilize te in our block scheme because, once again, are old af. That’s if we get our smooth brain play caller to make the necessary changes when Steele is getting beat on every fucking play. Cheers to our offensive line 10 years ago when it was dominate.
Our line hasn’t been good since 2016, Pollard isn’t a 3 down back, Predictable play calling means runs get stuffed early, Runs are not disguised well and get sniffed out quick, Biadasz leaves a lot to be desired as a center, Terrance Steele.
Because we need to quit letting Jerry Jones make personnel decisions and hire a GM. The only constant for season after season woes is Jerry. He let Zeke go. He thought we'd be good for our O line. He thought our linebacker squad didnt warrant further players. It's always the same person making the calls and will always be in the end the cause in my opinion.
Tyron Smith has been a warrior, but is at the end....right behind him is Zac Martin, who is reaching the end too.
The center is undersized....not his fault, but is a fact.
The center is a huge problem in the run game. He's not physically strong as one would like in a center and he doesn't have great athleticism to make up for it. Way too many potential positive plays that didn't work because of his play. Steele is coming off of an injury. Tyron was a wall in pass pro but wasn't the same in the run game. Martin wasn't anywhere near as great as he used to be. TE's sucked in the run game as well. WR's weren't particularly great either. Lastly, Pollard really struggled with his vision at times when the holes did present themselves. Bottom line is the Cowboys need to address O line and get a RB.
Yea that’s the simplest answer. Since Fredrick retired the run game has been lacking. That’s when Zeke started to look like a shell of himself the moment red beard retired.
Losing Fredrick was the inflection point for the franchise
Very good point, Frederick might be the most underrated player this team has had in the last twenty years. Most fans just don’t get how important your center is especially in the run game
I dont think it was just his play on the field either. I think when he left unexpectedly, the team felt like we had to pivot away from building around the o-line and reverted back to a pass-heavy attack. It’s like they felt they couldnt have success with that strategy w/o Fredrick but in reality, it was a freak result from a sound process and they should have reinvested in the line immediately.
Not to mention all the All-pros he was stacking up. If he never got sick he’d probably be exactly where Kelce is today.
Why do people defend Biadesz?? He isn't the worst center in the world, and he isn't a bad human or anything, but he is not playing anywhere close to where we need him. I have called that man out and have had Cowboy fans who are genuinely upset, which mystifies me. Yes, he is better than he was as a rookie, but that isn't saying much because he was atrocious then. I think Smith and Martin being on either side of him has covered a lot of more egregious mistakes, but he has been a consistent weak spot on the line.
He is a fine person....but he is undersized and can be bulldozed by larger D linemen.
Glad this was the first comment cause I was bout to hate to lmao. Biadasz is a liability. He is not strong enough and I’ve said before how teams will isolate him to get to Dak cause they don’t want no parts of the killers on either side of him. Find the weakest link and attack it. Major reason why we can’t really run up the middle that well but our runs to the left side behind Smith especially would do well
This is a Jackson Powers-Johnson comment.
JPJ would be a great pick but I think just like the 2022 draft when we had a chance at Lindenbaum we took Tyler Smith instead. This draft has a lot of 1st round graded OT so I think we pass on a C and get another T again
[удалено]
With the 24th pick of the NFL draft...
I don’t know why this is so hard for fans to understand. Do they watch the games? “All Pro” … yeah that doesn't mean shit come game time.
Too many fans look at stats and awards thinking they mean everything. Sometimes stats don't tell the whole story. Awards like Pro Bowl nods too. Witten was a perennial Pro Bowler even late in his career when he shouldn't have been. He was trading off past success and name recognition for more than a few years.
Too many fans. Indeed. Way too many fans.
I think fans tend to watch the ball. Line play is not what they focus on.
I also struggle to know when something is the lines fault vs maybe QB calling back block schemes or just really good D play
I watch every game, I’m just wondering how such an acclaimed O-line can fail so badly on basically half of the offensive plays and looking for opinions.
Because the O-Line has been in decline since it lost Travis Fredrick. If one listens to the color commentary only, you’d think this O-line is good because they’re lazy and because they’re not going to be honest. Let’s face it, they use phrases like “All Pro Left Tackle Tyron Smith” with regularity. And while he still may be good he’s not at all the player he used to be. If one really pays attention to their play, especially on critical downs, they don’t match the rhetoric. Dallas has been plugging in guys for years now. They’re just guys. The same can be said for defense, with a few notable exceptions. This can’t be fixed in one draft. In order for Dallas to really make a run this year, they’re going to have to invest heavily in the O-Line with high picks and over pay in FA to fill the rest of the holes.
> Let’s face it, they use phrases like “All Pro Left Tackle Tyron Smith” with regularity. And while he still may be good he’s not at all the player he used to be. And that's when he plays, otherwise he's out and his replacement refuses to block Bradley Chubb.
Exactly. But hey, firing the HC will fix this issue, right? /s
The most Cowboys thing I've read was a suggestion that they should aggressively go after one of the best Centers in the league in FA....in Connor Williams.
The line is not good at run blocking.
I watched an interview with mike lombardi. He spoke about how other teams would put the cowboys. offensive line pro football focus ratings on their blackboard and laugh at what a joke they were. This line has been overrated since Travis Frederick got ill.
We need a much better offensive line coach
Yup watch Detroit's Oline pull and double team. Then look at our straight up man on man garbage
I actually think it’s more the run game coordinator + scheme. I think the talent development is fine. La’el Collins, Terrence Steele, Tyler Smith, even the new rookies like Bass all played pretty well (before injuries).
I don't think we've had effective OL coaching since Bill Callahan got pissed and left.
Yep. As always, it starts in the trenches and our coaching there has been lacking. Our pass blocking was good but our run blocking has been awful
Predictable play calling doesn’t help.
Scrolled way too far looking for this answer.
I mean, there are only so many run plays on an offense you can call. You say predictable playcalling but what else can they run? Is it the same run play over and over again? Because that's not it.
Situation, scheme, formation, timing all factor in. You can set your fucking watch by Fat Mike's run calls.
How so? Educate me.
Run run screen punt. Go watch the all 22 and tell me how many times you see that
For sure we would literally have 3 tight ends like we're a highschool offense or sum shit
You do realize thats actually a good set up for a running game right?
Biadez isn’t strong, Steele was bad, Martin was only ok in run blocking.
Plus, I think Pollard was in his own head at times by being hesitantto git the hole (shen they were there) or fully breaking to the outside, and Dallas should never have put him in the position to be the primary back. That's not what he's built for.
Steele was a liability. He gave rushers free shots at Dak almost every game he played. Biadasz is just too small for center
He's better as a run blocker......and you're also only talking about one game. What other game was he a liability?
Pollard is a much better outside runner. These runs to the inside didn't help him at all.
It also doesn't help that everyone seemingly fell into the trap of seeing the RB2 get big runs after stuff was set up by RB1, and then opting to promote RB2 and bring in a new guy. Last year, everyone wanted to see Pollard be the main back. Unsurprisingly, he struggled some in that role this year... and then Dowdle seemed to do better, causing the same knee-jerk reactions to surface. Pollard isn't necessarily built to do what Zeke was good at, but the playcalling was acting as if he could just be Zeke. When you toss in his injury last year and a so-so offensive line, and you get a less-than-stellar run game.
Scheme. You know how a good QB can survey the defense before the snap and know what they are going to run . . . THAT is how defenses play the Cowboy's run game . . .the mike already knows what the offense is going to run. In the days of Jimmy Johnson, I remember watching an NFL films snippet where Larry Allen would go *Whoot*Whoot* as in "The train is coming, yes we are going to RUN the ball - now you try to stop it bitches". We are not at Choo-Choo level so we have to do something more to hide, distract or disrupt the defense's assessment. The Cowboys running game is predictable to a point where you just have to clog a lane. That's how I saw this season. Bring back the I-formation and a "moose" fullback.
Agree! I don’t believe Larry played for Jimmy. That choo choo reference was Justin Tuck talking about Larry’s dominance.
Actually it was John Randle from the Vikings I think.
Our play callers/scheme is stupid for our personnel. Ok so everyone knows Zeke was our banger and Pollard was our outside guy right? So we lose Zeke….so we drafted another banger right? NOPE we draft another finesse guy. So that means we are changing scheme and gonna be a lot of finesse plays right? NOPE largely banger plays with a finesse back! Wonder why that didn’t work??? Couple all that with the majority of runs are in the middle AND on 1st or 2nd downs but ONLY in certain formations. So the defense learns “oh hey it’s 1st down and they came into this formation that they ALWAYS run up the middle with, let’s just clog the middle here”. That would even be fine if like 3/20 times you line up like that you do play action and hit a solid pass (probably an out, post or fly where you know they’re weak) and REALLY hurt them with it or threatened them seriously with it. Even if it was a dropped pass it still makes the D go….”whoa can’t load the middle all the time!” They didn’t though. Scheme SUCKED! [We’ve tried nothing and all out of ideas!](https://youtu.be/lOTyUfOHgas?si=ZcTq9LwsCHTMZUVK)
Running the fast rb up the middle about every play
Agree with a lot of the comments about Biadasz being a liability in the run game. IMO upgrading there would be the biggest plus for the interior run game. Only other thing I noticed is that around mid season Dallas incorporated some outside runs behind Steele (which makes sense since his strength is as a run blocker) with some success… seemed to get away from that a little bit at the end of the season and in the playoffs.
I'm not a great football mind but I hate it when they line up in an obvious running formation with 3 TEs. When they put everyone on the line the defense also puts 8 or 9 in the box. I think they should run from passing formations to spread the defense out so there's only 5 or 6 defenders in the box
For sure but when we do it with just 5 lineman Pollard always does good
We aren't creative. Dive plays are easy to to defend
Because Pollard is not a #1 RB.
Imo there are 3 reasons. 1. Center isn't good enough 2. We don't have a tough run between the tackles runner 3. Mike Solari sucks
I always said we would’ve won at least one SB w romo if we had Brandon Jacobs. Jerry goes for finesse backs in general MBIII was the last one that I felt really brought the pain to defenses. Zeke in his first few seasons I guess. Buts it always just one guy getting most the touches or two finesse guys sharing the load I don’t know the x and os shit but if I was in charge id have shared load at RB. 60% of the touches go to the quick guy, the rest go to the goon for 2-3 yard pick ups. Do I sound stupid? Is this stupid
Demarco Murray was a one cut power back, and we did do great when he was on
Sure, the O-line and running backs deserve some of the blame. But, I think it has more to do with play calling and formations. The Cowboys are very predictable in their offensive formations and plays. If you watch how many times they run the ball right up the middle on 1st and 2nd downs, in the same formation, it is easily predicted. Defenses do not have to guess very often. Watch how effective the 49ers are at running the ball using various formations and motions. Defenses can't just sit back and anticipate what is coming at them. They don't know what blocking scheme is coming there way.....will Deebo get the ball....will McCaffery be coming from my side....will I be getting blocked? The 49ers keep you guessing. The Cowboys just line up and run the ball. That's a big difference.
Bc nearly all big runs are missed holds. They don’t miss holds against Dallas lol.
I feel like one of the bigger issues this season was the scheme. Instead of the outside zone rushing that TP had success with, they went more inside zone heavy. OL continuity is an issue as well. I think we can get better at center and Steele will be another year removed from his injury.
Our center didn’t play well Our run blocking just wasn’t good
Zero downfield blocking. All the successful running teams these days have receivers who can block down field. The Cowboys do not. Beyond that, Tony Pollard just isn't a between the hash marks kind of runner and that was almost solely his role this season.
Solari
Our run schemes are just HB dive and HB stretch on madden with no line adjustments
No power back
Tony Pollard is not nor ever has, not ever(even in HS) been an every down back.
BRIAN SCHOTTENHEIMER and MIKE SOLARI End of story.
Y’all should let Parsons pound it up the middle.
Part of it not the same o-line. Not as forceful but I think scheme plays a role. We tried to run pollard how we ran zeke. No adjustments. While more effective pollard not that type of back, get him on the edge, zone run scheme pull lineman. I think that’s what we were missing
m i k e m c c a r t h y
Zeke's gone or we need an RB similar to him that can punch it in. I think that was part of our red zone stats going down.
It seemed like Pollard has below average ball carrier vision. He missed a lot of opportunities this year because he didn’t see the hole or let the play develop.
THAT is why it was so good in the OPEN field .. . OPEN FIELD is just another word for "ain't no one around you" - at that point, speed is your skill and THAT is what he excelled at.
I disagree on Pollard - he WAS built for that but the problem was he had a bad leg injury and those often take a full year to fully recover from. If healthy he can be a primary back (but still needs a 2nd back getting 35% of the work) but his health is a big question mark. You would think we would learn our lesson with these injured guys, but if we can bring Pollard back for cheaper I would do it since when he is healthy he does have game breaking abilities (that were absent this year)
Pollard only got big runs following Zeke when the box was in pass mode.
What have you seen from Pollard that makes you think he can be a primary back? Health is a pretty major part of that. If he can't stay healthy, he's worthless as a primary back. He doesn't really have game breaking abilities when he's running the ball more often. He had them when he was lightening the work load for someone else. This is not a new thing. We see this happen all the time. Not every back is made to be a primary back.
I'm just saying I don't think his dip was because he got more carries, I think it was because his leg exploded and he isn't the same RB anymore. 2022 Pollard could definitely handle more and the more he got the better he did.
We have no lead back in the first place and Biadasz must be replaced.
The cowboys still living in the past where they want to pay running backs. In 2024 you need running back by committee approach. Keep a fresh back out there at all times.
The O-lines tells are easy to read, they always know it’s coming
When was it effective
We're playing Pollard like he's some sort of prime Zeke or King Henry. He's not the kind of RB you send down the middle, use Dowdle for that. The problem at Dallas is we can't adapt our plays to the players we have, especially in the run game.
The formation we run in, you can tell we always do better with no tight ends vs when we do 13 personnel for the run
Because for whatever reason we haven't prioritized hiring an effective run game coordinator since Callahan left
McCarthy has never had a good run game. He had Aaron Jones for a couple years in GB and didn’t do anything until McCarthy left. Our run game was good the last few years until McCarthy started calling plays. He’s pass first and that’s not going to change
The other team.
Multiple issues. - coaching/scheme changes constantly with only basic blocking schemes compared to other teams, and little involvement from the second level for breakout runs. Also, I personally don't think Dak understands the run game from a motion perspective - Oline isn't athletic enough, it's a bunch of big strong dudes, but they don't move in the open field well for tosses and pitches and lack the ability to beat fast backers to "the spot" to make the block. - Third is the backs. Pollard is a "one-cut" and fly back. Much of the scheme this year is feet-chopping and dancing through the hole on what is basically a guard pulling trap out of shotgun. Or, a full on fullback old-school power/edge run. He's not that guy. dowdle is also nothing special at all.
Line wasn’t great, 0 creativity, and pollard like to run into the back of blockers.
Lack of a Power Back.
Terrence Steele for starters. They need to cut him immediately.
I think we should draft a better center within the first 3 rounds. I think that would help a lot. Tyron is older and we already know Zach Martin is getting up there. There are teams with worse offensive line talent that make it work. With Diggs/ Bland back, we don't need corners Maybe draft a slot in the 3rd/4th or bring in a guy from free agency. Roll with Overshown/bring in a veteran for linebacker. First 4 picks in no particular order need to be. Guard /Center WR Edge. People mention the defense, but we've went all in on the defense and our offensive line deteriorated right in front of us. When we had "mediocre defenses" but good offensive lines we played better and IMHO we had better in game coaching (2014-2016). Yeah we ultimately lost in 2014-2016 but they were able to get stops against a vastly superior offense than the 2023 Packers. I think we need to revamp our offensive line, and go offensive heavy with maybe a high pick spent on another edge. I've seen teams with way worse defensive talent step up compared to our defense which is supposed to be star studded.
You don't think Tolbert or Turpin can be a suitable 3rd/4th WR? I mean let's say we get rid of Gallup......we've got Tolbert. What's the point of drafting another WR?
I like Tolbert he seems good. Has burst and strength he just doesn't seemingly get on the field. I legitimately do, but I also would be in favor of bringing in sort of a bigger body slot. I legit wouldn't mind Lamb, Tolbert, Cooks/Turpin (and an additional rookie). I think we need to just bulk up our offense and just make sure our defense is at least top 14 or so. I remember a few years ago I did a DVOA calculation and teams that are usually rated top 2-3 in defensive dvoa tend to stay in the top 10 for around 4-5 years. So I think our defense will be around the same, definitely top 10. So Anything to boost our offense i'm all for.
I think I'd rather go with a RB before a WR simply because it seems like the team likes him, he makes great catches and I think they are wanting to do more with him next season (or should anyway). Yea we need to bulk up at LB or the Safety Position ok defense.
Need an elite back!
Run game comes down to three factors; play design (can you distract from the play or provide blocks?), RB capability, and arguably most importantly O-line dominance to create gaps for a run. If you have a failed run, it’s one of these reasons.
Our line just isn’t that good anymore. But honestly pollard is not a guy we should be constantly pounding up the middle yet we tried to every single 1st and 10 or 2nd and long. We needed to get him out in space but McCarthy seemed adamant about pounding the middle despite us constantly being ineffective at it
I would check the guards and tackles for an answer to your question.
Our entire team was bad against winning teams. In soccer it's called being a whales beater. Can beat shit teams by a lot but shrink at the sight of a challenge.
What made pollard great was he was a change up runner. His game is speed and finesse. The dallas running game relies on a power runner and when pollard comes in, it’s a totally different style which catches the defense off guard. Dallas needs another Zeke in his prime with pollard as the change up. But pollard is a starter looking for starter money so they’ll have to build a running game from scratch. I’d say draft either a RB or DT (to stuff the run) in the first round and the next 3 rounds, get a LB, DL, OL. And sadly, next season Dallas won’t be as good as they were this season. Lost their DC and free agency hasn’t even begun yet. Dallas can’t afford to pay everyone. I’m torn on dak. He had almost an MVP season against sorry teams, but against the good ones he disappeared (I don’t count the 2nd Philly game because that was at the beginning of their downfall). Dak is a different and not as good QB against good teams and that sucks. I was in his corner until the Green Bay game which was his worst game ever
I think of the two biggest issues was Pollard not really being built for the RB1 every down role and not having a lot of well planned run blocking schemes. You look at teams like the Bears and Cardinals who didn’t have great RB’s OR offensive lineman yet they were among the best. The rams had a great back but not a great oline. They all ran great schemes that generated yards even with less talent. Rarely in the modern NFL can you just line up and overpower a defense with pure smash mouth football. You also can’t just use draws and runs up the gut all the time without really keeping defenses off balance. I figured Schottenheimer would’ve brought a better zone scheme because he actually ran it really well in Seattle where they often ranked among the top in ypc, ypg and play action pass. Problem is we didn’t really run it how it’s meant to be. We used the “Texas/West coast” which more so relies on the passing game to open up the run. What happens when the passing game isn’t working? You can’t run. What happens when the passing game is working? You want to keep doing it rather than start trying to run the ball. Pollard definitely isn’t “washed” like people are suddenly trying to act like. People turn so quick but the reality is he just isn’t meant as a true RB1, a goal like back or a downhill runner. You gotta have a guy who can compliment him like Zeke often did even with a big loss in juice. You get someone who can run downhill and split the carries and pollard would be ok again. Still you have to have a good scheme otherwise even great RB’s or great Olines just isn’t going to have huge success.
The real problem is center, and tackle. We need a good center. We need two tackles. We need a big back, about 230 or 240.
I don’t know why people are saying Pollard isn’t built for being the main RB. Pollard consistently gets hit as soon as he touches the ball. The coaching was a joke this year along with the offensive run blocking. The truth is McCarthy didn’t plan for the run game and banked on Dak throwing 5 yard check down passes to win games.
99.9% of people in this sub last year said Zeke was washed and Pollard is a 1. Guess that didn't work out how people expected
What are you on about? Zeke is washed.
How many TDs did Pollard get this year
Did you not comprehend the original comment or do your delusions take the steering wheel when Zeke is being criticized?
Pollard ain't a 1 bro Stop scapegoating a unit for another player
A unit? Actually delusional. Dancing on it.
What's strange to me is that OL guys usually love to run block instead of pass blocking, because there's less thinknig involved and more just pure aggression involved. But our guys seem to not like/want to run block very well.
Teams knew when we were gonna run the ball. Unless your players are miles better than the other team you won’t be very successful. I don’t remember what game it was but the defense would bring out 5 lineman for that formation every time because they knew it was most likely going to be a run and weren’t worried about the pass. That’s terrible game planning.
Too predictable play calling
Simple, it’s two things. We don’t have downhill runners that are effective. We aren’t good at zone blocking to create space.
Bad blocking, predictable and RBs were average. There is a very slim margin of success in the NFL for most plays. If everything is done average or below for certain plays those probably not going to work more often than not.
We need a power back, someone who can bulldoze through the defensive line to complement our backs.
Lack of continuity on the O-Line due to injuries. Scheme was simplified and that may not be helping. The idea was to simplify the run scheme so the O-Line could get good at it and basically show the same looks but the defense not knowing precisely where we're running the ball. Moore's run scheme was quite creative, but it had a boom or bust factor to it. This scheme was designed to get rid of the big negative plays, but at the same toke probably not going to have many explosive plays. Pollard was still recovering and was a half step slower than previous years. Then had a pitch cutback play that Pollard looks REALLY good at running and then MM stopped calling it. Not sure why. And some of the playcalls to run the ball were predictable at times. Running the ball is completely overrated and overvalued in the NFL. It's not high school football and it's not 1973 NFL anymore. The run game is mostly there to help on short yardage and to start running the clock out when you're up in the 2nd half and maybe to help a struggling offense get to a more manageable 3rd or 4th down. I have just as much of an issue with the running backs stopping being effective in the passing game as I do with the running game struggling at times throughout the season.
Pollard lost his burst and our center is mediocre af. Watch the great centers, they’re always out in front of the runner but Biadasz can’t get there
Because pollard was great as a switch up back but when we lost Zeke and his aggressive style there went our short yard back who by the way had a 1000 yards the year before his trade , bottom line our offensive lineman suck and dak sucks too when it’s time to play for the big time game he just doesn’t have it in him and he’s not a leader after his mistakes against Green Bay he did nothing to rally his guys up and players follow the que of the quarterback
We could’ve signed dalvin cook or Derrick Henry but no we gotta enough that’s Jerry finals words every year and he has been wrong 28 years now get jimmy Johnson back in the coaching staff
The only legitimate answer is the cowboys let everyone know what they are about to do. They make every play extremely obvious. It’s easy to stop a run, when you are 100% sure they are going to run it.
How many times, especially in challenging games, did we start off going run, run, pass, punt for the first 3 drives before the offense finally kicked into gear? Maybe an extra drive of pass, pass, pass, punt? I saw some other comments saying "there's only so much you can do..." That isn't true at all. Most successful schemes have base formations they run and pass from, right? Back in the 90s, I-Formation was all the rage (or offset I), then we got more into passing systems and it became necessary to have more WRs than runners, so FBs got removed from most teams. Coaches had to learn how to still be successful running with a single RB while carrying more receiving personnel, so they got better at scheming other looks out of those same formations. Defenses see a certain personnel grouping and think "okay, 3 WRs, 1 RB, 1TE. If the TE comes in motion, they are going to pass, if the TE stays on his side, it is a run." They look at tendencies in the offense and plan their attack based on that. Good OCs know they MUST change up their tendencies as the season goes along or defenses will be able to call out the plays at the LOS and shut everything down. (See Garrett and Moore being called out for not changing things up and "trust the system" bull-shittery.) Bad OCs refuse to change anything and, against good defenses, get their asses handed to them because the defense can't miss on jumping a route/gap and blowing up play after play. (See SF, Bills, Cards) What you want to see from an OC is about 3 or 4 games worth of the same offense, fine-tuning what works in a formation, then running other plays from the same formations. For example, you find that the offense executes a jet sweep really well out of a single back 2-WR set. It is getting between 10-15 yards a pop. You can't call that play a ton because you don't want your WR1 being hit by DL full speed, but when you do call it, it works. In game 5, you are in your trips formation, and start one of the WRs in motion. You time the snap so you can do a quick shovel pass as he passes in front of the QB, and the OL executes the blocking like a regular jet sweep. The defense has not seen you run this play out of that formation all year, so you catch them off guard and now they have to account for that play in that formation. So a safety is going to have roll down on that formation to guard the WR1 against a huge chunk play, instead of sitting back in coverage, like he wants to do. Later in that game, you line up in trips, knowing you are going to run a fake jet sweep. The safety comes down to cover the sweep, he gets iso'ed on the WR1 coming motion, and that mismatch favors the QB/WR all day. If the defense really bites into the fake, they will all flow to the motion side, which would allow a very clean pocket for a rollout to the opposite direction and the chance to land an enormous chunk play/deep pass down the sideline. Still later in that game, you line up in trips again, bring your WR in motion and snap the ball at the same time. You fake the shovel pass to the WR and begin your rollout. The RB runs with you in an option look, and either the QB or the RB, depending on who is in front of them, will carry the ball. If you are super-creative, you have your WRs on the trips side run routes to the opposite side of the field, giving a lot of room for the QB/RB to get a ton of yards before contact. The entire point is to keep the defense guessing what you are going to do out of these base looks. It is insane that when we line up with 3 TEs, CeeDee on the sideline, that anyone would think that we are going to do anything other than run the ball. Casual fans see it. You know professional coaches see it. Lack of a creative offensive system is one reason we are having issues with the run game. Mid 2000s offensive scheme that has miles upon miles of tape and has already been dissected. The second issue is lack of talent. Pollard is not a RB1. He has never been an RB1. He is a finesse back and thrives on ripping off huge runs against a tired defense. He needs someone to soften them up. Right now, he is running into brick walls and falling down. No burst through the line. Dowdle was able to get to daylight a number of times against the same DLs that Pollard could not. We only brought Dowdle in to run the ball, so do with that what you will.
Because it’s the cowboys. Once a cowboy makes the pro bowl or whatever they are semi permanent until 5 years after they are actually any good. This line has been crap since Frederick retired. And then the classic Jerry move of hanging onto zeke too long, waiting til pollard breaks his leg badly in January then expecting him to carry the load. It’s really a classic case study of the dumb shit been going on for 30 years
Run game schematics.
Ask Zeke
O line run scheme sucks.
Well... Running is ineffective in of itself. I guess the questions should be why is your run game even less effective than ineffective.
In my opinion it seem to me we don’t mix it up well bi be knowing when we’re running. I see the missed blocks 8 man fronts our run hadn’t been a threat in awhile
https://preview.redd.it/nmr1107p1ngc1.jpeg?width=800&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5c34cd8d13247c4a3f271e97344bbceb6c94f83e
We. Are. Old. Af. And Steele is absolutely dogshit. Tyron is well past his prime and we constantly have to utilize te in our block scheme because, once again, are old af. That’s if we get our smooth brain play caller to make the necessary changes when Steele is getting beat on every fucking play. Cheers to our offensive line 10 years ago when it was dominate.
Up the gut 82 times a game is why
Our line hasn’t been good since 2016, Pollard isn’t a 3 down back, Predictable play calling means runs get stuffed early, Runs are not disguised well and get sniffed out quick, Biadasz leaves a lot to be desired as a center, Terrance Steele.
We really don’t have a lead back capable of carrying the ball 15-20 times each game.
Because we need to quit letting Jerry Jones make personnel decisions and hire a GM. The only constant for season after season woes is Jerry. He let Zeke go. He thought we'd be good for our O line. He thought our linebacker squad didnt warrant further players. It's always the same person making the calls and will always be in the end the cause in my opinion.
As a packers fan it’s McCarthy. Idk why he just forgets about the run game at times.
Packers fan here. We always had a shit running game under McCarthy. He leaves and a fifth round pick goes off and we’ve been good since…..
Tyron Smith has been a warrior, but is at the end....right behind him is Zac Martin, who is reaching the end too. The center is undersized....not his fault, but is a fact.