Mailbag: Cowboys Offense To Use More Motion?
DallasCowboys.com Report
October 7, 2008 1:14 PM
(Editor's Note: Each day we will take the 2 best questions for our staff writers to answer from the Mailbag. "Click here" to email questions now.)
CHRIS KING, CALLAWAY, MD: With Arizona passing the ball 40 to 50 times a game and Kurt Warner protecting the ball very well, what do you all think the Cowboys will do different to slow down their air assault and create some chances with getting some turnovers?
Nick: You'll probably see more pressure this week than any other game this season. My reason for that is Warner has seen everything in the book. So disguising defenses and playing different zones won't help too much. You give Warner all day to throw and he'll find the right guy. So blitzing him not only speeds up his decision making, but you know he's not going to escape a lot of pressure with his feet. I think blitzing him a lot this week would be a good idea, considering the Cardinals don't have a lot of speedy receivers that can hurt you after the catch, if Warner decides to get rid of the ball early.
Mickey: The Cowboys must get consistent pressure on the veteran Kurt Warner, who doesn't like to move much out of the pocket and certainly at his age doesn't like getting hit anymore. Plus, he's averaging 31 passes a game, not 40 to 50. A good pass rush is the great equalizer. Right now the Cowboys have 14 sacks after five games, putting them on a 45-sack pace for the season, one short of last year's total. They need to pick up the pace just a tad.
Josh: I think they can probably play their regular defensive plan of soft coverages. The Cardinals try to get the ball downfield more than a lot of teams, so that means more five and seven step drops and a greater chance the Cowboys pass rush can get there. It's the lack of pressure they've been getting that has caused the lack of turnovers, and teams are resorting to short three-step drops and making quick throws. Warner's a pretty savvy quarterback, but moving in the pocket is not his specialty. A lot of times when the Cowboys have gotten to quarterbacks this season, they just missed the sack.
MARK MOHR, HUDSON, IA: We have some real play makers at the WR position, but I am concerned the coaches are not utilizing them correctly. Opposing defenses are doing a great job covering the wide outs when Cowboys continue to line up and snap the ball. Why don't the coaches put these guys in more motion and confuse the defense which would give the receivers a head start? Your thoughts?
Nick: They have been doing that. Romo is averaging more than 300 yards passing in the first five games. They're moving the ball through the air. I think you've seen when Owens gets doubled for the first half, the way the Cowboys get him going is in the middle of the field. It does make you wonder why they wait until the second half for that. Actually, when you look back to some of the big plays this season, Owens' deep balls in Cleveland and against Philly, and Miles Austin's long catch in Green Bay were all right down the middle of the field. The Cowboys also worked the middle against Washington and Cincinnati with Owens. So look for the Cowboys to keep that up this week in Arizona.
Mickey: Well, you can't put everybody in motion. If you have noticed, Terrell Owens has been put in motion more and more each week, especially when moving from the outside into the slot in three-receiver sets. And despite all these problems, let's see, the Cowboys have scored 28, 41, 27, 24 and 31 points in five games. That puts them on pace to score 483.2 points this season, four more than the franchise record of 479 set in 1983 and 28 more than last year.
Josh: I don't see any reason why they couldn't do that, especially with Terrell Owens. He's the guy they really need to get the ball to, and getting him going before the snap makes it harder to jam him at the line, which teams have been doing with some success against him this year. It just seems like they have been splitting him out wide on one side of the field all by himself a lot, and while that should open things up for the guys on the other end, including Jason Witten, it seems like you wouldn't want to limit your biggest offensive weapon to decoy duty. And you can bet T.O. doesn't like it, either.
October 7, 2008 1:14 PM
(Editor's Note: Each day we will take the 2 best questions for our staff writers to answer from the Mailbag. "Click here" to email questions now.)
CHRIS KING, CALLAWAY, MD: With Arizona passing the ball 40 to 50 times a game and Kurt Warner protecting the ball very well, what do you all think the Cowboys will do different to slow down their air assault and create some chances with getting some turnovers?
Nick: You'll probably see more pressure this week than any other game this season. My reason for that is Warner has seen everything in the book. So disguising defenses and playing different zones won't help too much. You give Warner all day to throw and he'll find the right guy. So blitzing him not only speeds up his decision making, but you know he's not going to escape a lot of pressure with his feet. I think blitzing him a lot this week would be a good idea, considering the Cardinals don't have a lot of speedy receivers that can hurt you after the catch, if Warner decides to get rid of the ball early.
Mickey: The Cowboys must get consistent pressure on the veteran Kurt Warner, who doesn't like to move much out of the pocket and certainly at his age doesn't like getting hit anymore. Plus, he's averaging 31 passes a game, not 40 to 50. A good pass rush is the great equalizer. Right now the Cowboys have 14 sacks after five games, putting them on a 45-sack pace for the season, one short of last year's total. They need to pick up the pace just a tad.
Josh: I think they can probably play their regular defensive plan of soft coverages. The Cardinals try to get the ball downfield more than a lot of teams, so that means more five and seven step drops and a greater chance the Cowboys pass rush can get there. It's the lack of pressure they've been getting that has caused the lack of turnovers, and teams are resorting to short three-step drops and making quick throws. Warner's a pretty savvy quarterback, but moving in the pocket is not his specialty. A lot of times when the Cowboys have gotten to quarterbacks this season, they just missed the sack.
MARK MOHR, HUDSON, IA: We have some real play makers at the WR position, but I am concerned the coaches are not utilizing them correctly. Opposing defenses are doing a great job covering the wide outs when Cowboys continue to line up and snap the ball. Why don't the coaches put these guys in more motion and confuse the defense which would give the receivers a head start? Your thoughts?
Nick: They have been doing that. Romo is averaging more than 300 yards passing in the first five games. They're moving the ball through the air. I think you've seen when Owens gets doubled for the first half, the way the Cowboys get him going is in the middle of the field. It does make you wonder why they wait until the second half for that. Actually, when you look back to some of the big plays this season, Owens' deep balls in Cleveland and against Philly, and Miles Austin's long catch in Green Bay were all right down the middle of the field. The Cowboys also worked the middle against Washington and Cincinnati with Owens. So look for the Cowboys to keep that up this week in Arizona.
Mickey: Well, you can't put everybody in motion. If you have noticed, Terrell Owens has been put in motion more and more each week, especially when moving from the outside into the slot in three-receiver sets. And despite all these problems, let's see, the Cowboys have scored 28, 41, 27, 24 and 31 points in five games. That puts them on pace to score 483.2 points this season, four more than the franchise record of 479 set in 1983 and 28 more than last year.
Josh: I don't see any reason why they couldn't do that, especially with Terrell Owens. He's the guy they really need to get the ball to, and getting him going before the snap makes it harder to jam him at the line, which teams have been doing with some success against him this year. It just seems like they have been splitting him out wide on one side of the field all by himself a lot, and while that should open things up for the guys on the other end, including Jason Witten, it seems like you wouldn't want to limit your biggest offensive weapon to decoy duty. And you can bet T.O. doesn't like it, either.
posted by The Gryphon at 5:53 PM
<< Home