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2009-2010 Regular Season: Postgame -
Offensively Awful And Incredibly Injured In Win
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- November
25, 2009
At 12:30 AM CST
By Eric M. Scharf
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- Who Do You Know?
The Cowboys knew the Redskins.
The Cowboys knew the Redskins were having another horrible season.
The Cowboys knew the Redskins watched tape of their anemic offense
from last week.
The Cowboys knew the Redskins were coming to town missing a few of
their best players.
The Cowboys knew the Redskins were not going to let a few injuries
diminish their effort.
The Cowboys knew the Redskins were going to be all hatred and heart
until the end of the game.
The Cowboys and their fans knew exactly what would await them at
Cowboys Stadium this past Sunday afternoon. They knew they would
face a deeply wounded and mistake-prone Redskins team that still had
plenty of vim and vigor to bring to one of the NFL’s most ancient
rivalries.
The Cowboys knew Redskins QB Jason Campbell would either attempt to
challenge Mike Jenkins and Terence Newman deep with Santana Moss or
throw check downs – all game long – to avoid pressure from the
Cowboys’ aggressive defensive line.
The Cowboys knew the Redskins were going to make them earn every
single yard, every single first down, and every single point . . .
even if they lost more players to injury in the process (which –
incredibly – they did).
The Cowboys knew the Redskins – like the Eagles and Giants before
them – were going to treat their game like one of two
interdivisional Super Bowls they play every year.
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- The Cowboys won an unbelievably and
unnecessarily close game. Depending on who you ask, the
history of this heated rivalry - and a solid Redskins defensive
effort - conspired to make the results very much believable.
On the other hand, the Cowboys still appeared to overlook their
second straight battle-damaged opponent. The return of their
running game was ruined by just enough play-calling mistakes and
execution blunders to keep the game entirely too interesting.
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- A win may be a win, but to the
Cowboys' division foes, it has always been more than just a win
against the Cowboys. It would not hurt the physically wounded
Cowboys to take the same mental approach against the same Giants,
Redskins, and Eagles teams they will be facing one more time before
the regular season comes to a close. A division title may just be on
the line.
Labels And Liabilities
Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis referred to the Cowboys’
offense as predictable after facing Tony Romo and Co. last year.
The Eagles’ defense suggested the same thing after humiliating the
Cowboys in the final game of the 2008 season.
The Cowboys made at least one decision in the offseason designed to
encourage Romo and his offensive teammates to feel more comfortable
with the concept of spreading the ball around . . . and becoming
less predictable with their receiving targets.
Outside of some poor execution and disappointing play-call
adjustments over two to three games earlier in the season – against
some 3-4 defenses – the Cowboys were generally succeeding at
becoming unpredictable and utilizing nearly every offensive weapon
available to them.
Everything changed two contests ago, when the Cowboys showed up as
flat as a Kraft single against a desperate Green Bay Packers team
that was sporting the familiar 3-4 defensive scheme.
Dom Capers – defensive coordinator of the Packers – labeled the
Cowboys’ offense as one-dimensional after they gave up on the run,
and his defensive unit nearly succeeded in delivering a shut-out.
A professional football offensive system can collapse due to one or
all of four very simple elements: your own injuries, your own poor
play calling and adjustments, your own poor play execution, or
excellent play calls and adjustments by your opponent.
I mentioned in a previous article that “coaches and players fail to
succeed if they are talking past each other during game preparations
and game day.”
Jason Garrett is the keeper of the keys for all things offensive,
and it is up to him to do a better job of making sure all of those
things do not continue to become truly offensive.
If a label is accurate, that label will stick . . . until such time
as an above-board effort is made to remove it. If the players fail
to execute perfect plays (on paper), it is up to Red Ball to make
the label go away. He must acknowledge and adjust to what component
or dimension of his system a defense has taken away. He must
instruct Romo and Co. to change how they are executing, what they
are executing, and with whom they are executing . . . especially in
the face of recent injuries (take your pick) and season-long
inconsistency (Roy Williams).
It is easier said by a demanding fan than done by a coach and his
squad.
Injuries can be managed or even prevented through proper diet, solid
workout regimens, and good on field technique, but – like fate –
injuries are generally on autopilot.
Play calls are crafted over time, drawn up on a sideline whim, or
suddenly realized through a timely audible at the line of scrimmage.
Play execution is done exceptionally well, just enough to succeed,
or not at all.
An opponent’s effort – in play calls and execution – can be measured
against your individual or coordinated group reaction and response
time. You either played poorly or your opponent played brilliantly –
in spots or all game long. You either made a great pass, a great
catch, a great run, a great tackle, a great interception, or you
accomplished the opposite.
The one constant that always remains at the end of that
self-examination is how well and how quickly a coaching staff
adjusts to an opponent. Those who cannot make at least some
necessary changes over time – or on the fly – become labeled as
liabilities to their organizations.
Beyond Balance
Fans and prognosticators are – once again – swinging away at Red
Ball’s pedigree and coaching experience as the Cowboys’ offense
appears to find itself in the middle of a familiar condition: a
perceived inability to be multidimensional while maintaining
balance.
Balance for the sake of balance serves no purpose in the NFL unless
that effort is laced with equal parts flexibility and creativity:
the flexibility to pass or run and the creativity to change up how
you pass or run . . . on a dime.
You can run to set up the pass (traditionally) or pass to set up the
run (unconventionally), but the order matters not if you cannot mix
them together on a regular basis.
What if your opponent catches on to your system? What if you lose
one or more of your stars or quality role players? Do you fit the
remaining players to your system or do you fit your system to your
remaining players? Everyone knows Bill Parcells would follow his own
quote – pursuing the former – but he is busy swimming with the
Dolphins in South Florida.
What would Red Ball do? Does he want to go away from plays on which
his offense has soured more than succeeded? Will he set aside the
“suddenly” defective parts of his playbook in favor of schemes that
best utilize his available weapons?
Will he encourage his extremely mobile QB to rely on more rollouts –
in order to force opposing linebackers to make a choice between a
seam streaking Jason Witten / Martellus Bennett or a running Romo?
Will he use more rollouts to allow his banged up offensive line an
easier time – versus constant hand-to-hand combat in the trenches?
As a brief-but-related aside, did anyone notice how many times
Tennessee Titans QB Vince Young successfully took off downfield –
even with good line blocking – against the Houston Texans on Monday
night? Does Romo really relish the idea of standing too long and too
tall behind his shell of an offensive line? Romo knows how to
run away and out of bounds just like Young.
Does Red Ball want to accentuate the positive (of the healthy and
productive players he does have) and roll (defensive) coverage away
from the negative (of what his cupboard may lack)?
Fans had a chance to see what his offense would do against a
diminished but prideful Redskins team. Romo “self-terminated” on a
great play to stop Redskins cornerback DeAngelo Hall from returning
a Marion “Major Butter Fingers” Barber fumble for a touchdown. Red
Ball could do nothing but watch in agony as Romo laid in agony –
after getting a knee in the back from Hall.
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- While the Redskins' defense has been
fairly stingy this season, the Cowboys' latest win simply should not
have come down to a banged-up Romo's late game heroics - playing
pitch and catch with the resurgent Patrick Crayton. Brett
"Cardiac Kid" Favre can keep that title all to himself, as
Cowboys fans - like most - prefer their team possess a comfortable
lead from beginning to end of any game.
Fans will have at least six more opportunities to see what approach
Red Ball will take towards attaining victory. Red Ball will have at least
six more opportunities to show everyone that Jerry hired a brilliant
offensive mind (and head coach in waiting) away from the Miami
Dolphins three years ago. It must bother the competitor in him that
more than a few fans and prognosticators would refer to him as a
creatively challenged Norv Turner clone even less capable of
grinding out a win . . . with less than an absolutely perfect
complement of offensive weapons.
Other teams throughout the NFL seem to be able to make enough
adjustments - and accomplish enough balance - on a semi-regular
basis to overcome any shortsightedness of their initial game day
plans. The Cowboys cannot be the only team that struggles so
mightily with this . . . or can they? Jason Garrett cannot be the
only NFL offensive coordinator who appears to go “light as a
feather, stiff as a board” the moment one of his star players goes
down . . . or can he?
Nothing To Lose VS
Everything To Gain
The Oakland Raiders will arrive Thursday at Cowboys Stadium for a
nationally-televised Thanksgiving Day game – brimming with boldness
by beating the Bengals – with absolutely nothing to lose. New
starting QB Bruce Gradkowski – the journeyman who just replaced
JaMarcus – did nothing to dampen their spirits, either.
The Cowboys should be able to handily beat the Raiders – regardless
of Tony Romo’s bad back, Marc Colombo’s injured reserve, Jason
Witten’s sprained foot or
abnormal penalties, Roy “I Hear
More Footsteps” Williams, Mike Jenkins’ arm, Keith Brooking's ankle,
David Buehler's toe, and regardless of any
shouting matches between Terence “Hands To The Face” Newman and his
position coach, Dave Campo.
The Cowboys should be able to make enough reasonable adjustments to
their offensive playbook to prevent another puzzling performance by
Romo and Co.
The Cowboys should be able to make enough reasonable adjustments to
their defensive playbook to prevent Gradkowski from mimicking Jason
Campbell’s dink and dunk success. Yes, the Cowboys' defense made a
valiant effort for four quarters - finished off by Anthony Spencer's
game-winning interception - but just when you think they have just one
unit to improve, another unit springs a leak (like Terence Newman). The 2009
Cowboys - as I have stated in the past - are not the kind of team
that can overlook anything or anyone.
The Cowboys have everything to gain (in a tight divisional race)
against an inferior team with nothing to lose (and a desire to play
spoiler until season’s end).
The power to achieve victory sits squarely on the shoulders of Wade
Phillips and Jason Garrett, first, and their remaining healthy
players, second.
Wade and Jason know their players better than the rest of us.
Wade and Jason know their injured players better than the rest of
us.
Wade and Jason know their healthy players better than the rest of
us.
- Wade and Jason know their
little-used backups better than the rest of us.
Wade and Jason know their collective play book better than the rest
of us.
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- Can these coaches – who know the
Cowboys better than the rest of us – achieve the full-bodied victory
against the Raiders that has been so expected yet so elusive over
the past two weeks? Fans would love nothing better than to be
exceptionally thankful - for creative coaching, reasonable
execution, and a touch of balance - on Thanksgiving Thursday.
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- Wade and Jason would know
that Raiders’ cornerbacks Nnamdi Asomugha and Chris Johnson are two
of the very best in the NFL - and that the Raiders' secondary is
going to aggressively jam the Cowboys' receivers on every play -
leaving the Cowboys' running backs and tight ends as prime
alternatives for Romo.
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- Wade and Jason could know
that Bruce Gradkowski has a much better grasp of the Raiders'
offense than JaMarcus "Romper Room" Russell - and that Gradkowski
will be working very hard with Raiders' tight end Zach Miller to
rejuvenate his career at the expense of Cowboys linebackers and
safeties who are not paying close attention.
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- Wade and Jason should know
that former Cowboys defensive standout defensive end / linebacker
Greg Ellis (and his line mates) will be playing with revenge on his
mind, a career back-up in his way, and a sore Romo in his sights -
and that Romo should be "Free" to roam from sideline to sideline if
that is what it takes to help stymie an aggressive Raiders front.
The Cowboys woulda’, coulda’, and shoulda’ . . . but will they?
We shall see. We always do.
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