Saturday, May 15, 2010

Running Game: Dallas’ Key To Victory

Posted by brglowacki
http://dallascowboysnation.com

The Cowboys passing offense can be the best in the NFL. With a receiving core of Miles Austin who had 81 catches for 1,320 yards and 11 touchdowns in only 9 starts, and Roy Williams who had seven touchdowns and is looking for a bounce back year; Dez Bryant the Cowboys first round pick is turning heads at camp.

Most feel he can be a big time player right away.

All pro Jason Witten, who is coming off another pro bowl season, will look to keep adding to his hall of fame resume. Throwing to that group will be pro bowl quarterback Tony Romo, coming off one of his best seasons.

Saying all that, the most important part of the Cowboys offense is the running game.

The Cowboys have a three headed monster at running back with Felix Jones, Marion Barber III and Tashard Choice. All of them have their own role on offense and can make plays. The problem is Jason Garrett loves to focus on the passing game with all of those weapons.

How can you blame him? It’s hard not to call a passing play every down with that type of talent on the edge. However, if you want to win games the Cowboys are going to have to run the ball. When you look back at 2009 you can see that when the Cowboys run the ball, they win more often than not.

Not only that but when Jason Garrett gets too pass heavy they lose.

Last season the Cowboys never won a game when Tony Romo threw more than 36 passes. In five 2009 Cowboys losses, Tony Romo threw and average of 40 times. The Cowboys lose when they throw too much. On the other hand, nine of the Cowboys wins this past season they ran the ball more than 25 times. And vs. the Raiders they had 24. The Cowboys don’t have to run the ball well all the time they just have to make sure they try. Last season when they played the Giants in December they ran the ball only nine times in the second half. On one possession they had three running plays and that drive ended in a touchdown.

It is great to have weapons on the outside, however, the statistics show that if the Cowboys want to win games they need to run the ball and not just air it out.