Your 2014 Dallas Cowboys fan obituaries....

Clay_Allison said:
We haven't been good at letting the passing game actually feed off the running game. We don't go play action, we go empty backfield when we're trying to pass. I'd say that passing game design is seriously flawed.
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I couldn't agree more.

What I cannot understand for the life of me is why we use so much shotgun and empty backfield when the running game going. One of the advantages to having a strong running game is that you keep the defense guessing. You dictate to them how the game is going to go.

Yet with us, we'll follow up a 7 yard run on 1st down with an empty backfield call on 2nd and 3, or we'll do something like we did yesterday at the end of the half and go shotgun pass on 3rd and 1 after we had been gashing them on the ground the entire half.

Why the hell do we purposely make the oppositions job easier? Why are we so often letting a struggling defense off the hook by removing that pick your poison aspect for no reason at all? Instead of keeping a defense on their heels, we act like we feel sorry for them and cut them a break by eliminating any chance of running the ball thereby putting them in a position where all they have to do is concentrate on the pass.

This is beyond stupid.

When we're running the ball well, we should be lined up under center the majority of the the time giving the defense both a pass and run look, and force then to have to commit resources to stopping both. This idiocy of going to passing formations for no real reason at all has to stop.
 
I'm still too sick about yesterday to think much about the off-season.

I hope we beef up the D-line and I hope someone tells Murray fumbling arse to take a long walk off a short bluff.
 
Texas Ace said:
I couldn't agree more.

What I cannot understand for the life of me is why we use so much shotgun and empty backfield when the running game going. One of the advantages to having a strong running game is that you keep the defense guessing. You dictate to them how the game is going to go.

Yet with us, we'll follow up a 7 yard run on 1st down with an empty backfield call on 2nd and 3, or we'll do something like we did yesterday at the end of the half and go shotgun pass on 3rd and 1 after we had been gashing them on the ground the entire half.

Why the hell do we purposely make the oppositions job easier? Why are we so often letting a struggling defense off the hook by removing that pick your poison aspect for no reason at all? Instead of keeping a defense on their heels, we act like we feel sorry for them and cut them a break by eliminating any chance of running the ball thereby putting them in a position where all they have to do is concentrate on the pass.

This is beyond stupid.

When we're running the ball well, we should be lined up under center the majority of the the time giving the defense both a pass and run look, and force then to have to commit resources to stopping both. This idiocy of going to passing formations for no real reason at all has to stop.
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Agreed. I scream at the tv every flipping time they line up with that empty backfield: "YOU'RE NOT EVEN GONNA PRETEND TO RUN IT?!?"
 
I don't understand why play action didn't work better. We used it so little... Maybe from not practicing it enough? Maybe cause Romo doesn't throw a great deep ball.
 
mschmidt64 said:
I don't understand why play action didn't work better. We used it so little... Maybe from not practicing it enough? Maybe cause Romo doesn't throw a great deep ball.
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I don't get it either, and it's been that way all season long.

We'd get a few plays up the seams in the playaction this year, but outside of the Dez TD in week 3, there was not another instance of hitting a deep ball down the field as a result of playaction.

It's very strange because great running games usually leave playaction opportunities all over the place, but that wasn't the case for us. Maybe it's the design of our plays? Either way, it just doesn't make a lot of sense as to why we couldn't make teams play via playaction.
 
Even without play action, Murray is still a dangerous runner from a one back set. You can go with 3 wide "11" personnel and at least the defense has to honor the run and read run vs. pass before blitzing or dropping into coverage.
 
Murray had dead legs at the end. I love what he did this year, but it was almost as if they knew that was it for him and to just ride the tires off of him. That is the life of a RB though.

Looking forward to our 1-2 punch of Peterson and Rice next year.
 
Carp said:
Murray had dead legs at the end. I love what he did this year, but it was almost as if they knew that was it for him and to just ride the tires off of him. That is the life of a RB though.

Looking forward to our 1-2 punch of Peterson and Rice next year.
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I see what you did there.....
 
This team played well above its' head. With Marinelli leaving I think the defense will regress us back to 8-8 with a healthy Romo or a complete disintegration if he's knocked out for extended time.
 
Carp said:
Murray had dead legs at the end. I love what he did this year, but it was almost as if they knew that was it for him and to just ride the tires off of him. That is the life of a RB though.

Looking forward to our 1-2 punch of Peterson and Rice next year.
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I've thought for a while they were planning to use him up and send him on his way. There's just too much data out there about the near-400 carry threshold, and we put him well over that.

Sucks for him if true, and I normally don't feel sorry for players.
 
Clay_Allison said:
This team played well above its' head. With Marinelli leaving I think the defense will regress us back to 8-8 with a healthy Romo or a complete disintegration if he's knocked out for extended time.
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I don't agree the defense is going to get worse. If we get Eberflus, I think you will see the same scheme with better players. Clearly the DL will be addressed and I think S as well.
 
Carp said:
I don't agree the defense is going to get worse. If we get Eberflus, I think you will see the same scheme with better players. Clearly the DL will be addressed and I think S as well.
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Even if we have better players, the coaching will go downhill unless Eberflus turns out to secretly be a genius. We've not only lost a DC with a great track record, we lost the best DL coach in the league.
 
Clay_Allison said:
Even if we have better players, the coaching will go downhill unless Eberflus turns out to secretly be a genius. We've not only lost a DC with a great track record, we lost the best DL coach in the league.
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Marinelli did not invent defense. More than anything he got effort, which Eberflus did as well from the LB corps.

Marinelli is the same coach that coached the DL when we set the NFL record for defensive futility...so we can't just be shortsighted and only see this year.
 
Carp said:
Marinelli did not invent defense. More than anything he got effort, which Eberflus did as well from the LB corps.

Marinelli is the same coach that coached the DL when we set the NFL record for defensive futility...so we can't just be shortsighted and only see this year.
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Perhaps but when we set the NFL record for defensive futility, the d-line was the only bright spot on that defense. I remember many wanting Marinelli to take over as DC because of that.
 
Carp said:
Marinelli did not invent defense. More than anything he got effort, which Eberflus did as well from the LB corps.

Marinelli is the same coach that coached the DL when we set the NFL record for defensive futility...so we can't just be shortsighted and only see this year.
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If we were getting Dennis Allen like you wanted I'd feel a lot better. Promoting one of Ryan's retread assistants and filling the LB and DL spots with crap (when the secondary coach really hasn't gotten production out of his unit either) feels like letting all of the air out of this D.

Maybe if we retool the staff behind Eberflus with some coaches with strong resumes it'll make the difference.
 
Deuce said:
Lee is injury prone and now McClain ending the season with 2 straight games with a concussion. Not inspiring.
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I doubt he was actually recovered from the concussion last week. He rushed back and aggravated it. Hopefully with a full offseason he will be ok
 
Well, here's my outlook on the offseason:

If Romo is healthy and can still play at a high level next year, then there's no reason to believe that we won't have one of the best offenses in the league again. What we did this year was no fluke, and a line like our allows us to give even the best defenses fits with our ability to hurt them both in the air and on the ground. This is something I expect to continue if Romo is ok.

We all know this team desperately needs to improve the defense. On that note, I think you have to get a starter at both DT and DE. Those 2 positions should be the top priority, followed by S, then a solid nickel corner type. Church and Wilcox aren't awful, but they aren't ever going to do anything to help you win games either. We've had average safeties for far too long, and it's time to finally get one capable of making plays. We could also use a corner. Moore was a microcosm of this entire a defense - a guy who gave you everything he had but just wasn't good enough because the talent just isn't there. Carr needs to restructure or hit the road altogether, and we need to bring in a decent replacement.

I think our LB's are pretty good and they should be even better next year if Lee doesn't miss the entire year. Hitchens was very impressive as a rookie and I expect him to get better. I would not give much money to McClain. I know he's all the rage here, and I too appreciate the toughness he brought, but his impact steadily decreased as the season went on and he missed a lot of snaps. We already have one LB who we can't rely on, so we don't need to have two guys like that.

I would bring back Carter before McClain. He showed me enough to bring him back on a decent deal. If he's willing to take 2 to 3 million a season for 3 or 4 years, then good. If he wants more, than see ya later and go find some LB depth in the draft.

As for RB, I think I'm letting Murray walk. I was not in favor of going after Peterson to replace Murray, but I am now. I was a big fan of Murray and I think he'll continue to be a good back, but I don't know if he'll continue to be great. More importantly, he lost me yesterday with that fumble. I was willing to overlook the ones from earlier in the year, but for him to lose that ball on such a huge play in such a big game.....well, that's just one too many for me. I'd rather commit a 2 year deal to AP than a 4 or 5 year deal to Murray. We can use his funds to get some quality defensive FA's going forward as opposed to soaking up more cap on top of what is certain to be a huge deal for Dez.

And finally, for as much as it sucked to lose a close game yesterday, we still have to view this season as a big time success. Not only did we win 13 games and a division title, but it was how we got there that made it that much more enjoyable. The team that always found ways to lose became the team that always found ways to win. The team that was usually the one that folded now was punching their foes in the mouth and making them quit. This season could have a very profound effect going forward, especially for so many young players we have on this team. What happened this year is something they are going to come to expect, and a winning mentality could be the norm. We have a chance to really do something special going forward so long as the front office and Garrett understand what it is that got them to this point, and continue to build the team's foundation and set aside their egos.

I don't know if we're going to be good again or if this was a lightning in a bottle year, but for the first time in a very long time, we can actually go into an offseason with hope and optimism. We just have to hope that the team makes the right decisions in the coming months.
 
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Carp said:
I don't agree the defense is going to get worse. If we get Eberflus, I think you will see the same scheme with better players. Clearly the DL will be addressed and I think S as well.
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I bet the Bears thought this also when he left Chicago.
 
Most enjoyable season since the 90s teams. That win in Seattle, destroying Philly, NFC East title, beating Detroit. Great, great stuff.

Murray should be gone. Draft is loaded at RB and there is the AP factor as well.

From Stephen's radio interview today, sounds like the team is ready to focus its efforts on the d-line, which is sorely needed. Crawford is a great piece, and D-Law showed a flash or two in the last couple of games. Need to really go heavy on the front 7 in the draft and free agency.
 
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