It was bound to happen. The Cowboys had a new game without a new personnel package in Week 5 against Cincinnati. The first week this has happened.
Now there are a few wrinkles that Jason Garrett had to offer, including the return of Deon Anderson who is a very competent FB in this offense. I think he is a very underrated player, and allows the offense plenty of options.
Speaking of plenty of options, just 1 week after 0 touches for Felix Jones, the Cowboys made sure he had 10 touches this week. Let’s not see any more “0” touch performances, eh?
Jones lined up at WR one time, and if I were to guess, in 1 year I bet he will frequently line up all over the field – maybe not to the extent of Reggie Bush – but I expect the creativity will continue as long as it appears no one has an answer for his speed.
Another effort made was to get Terrell Owens loose by putting him in the backfield. On the Touchdown pass to Witten in the 2nd Q, The Cowboys had 2 players flanking Tony Romo in the shotgun – Felix and T.O.
One interesting stat jumped out at me from the last two Sundays:
1st Down vs Washington: 28 plays and just 3 runs
1st Down vs Cincinnati: 25 plays with 18 runs
That is called an honest attempt at establishing the run.
Worst formation on Sunday? “S12” which is Shotgun with 2 TE’s. They passed out of this formation 4 times for a grand total of 5 yards. That will not help your yards per attempt.
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Here is what the Bengals game gave us:
62 Offensive plays – (38 runs/24 passes) Here is how we break it down:
1st Down plays (25 = 6 different packages – 18 runs/ 7 passes)
“12” – 5 (4 runs for 32 yards, FD/1 pass for 2 yards)
“13” – 2 (1 run for 3 yards/1 pass for 0 yards)
“21” – 12 (9 runs for 39 yards/ 3 passes for 0 yards, INT)
“22” – 2 (2 runs for 8 yards)
“knee” - 1
Shotgun
“S11” – 2 (1 run for 4 yards/1 pass for 7 yards)
“S12” – 1 (1 pass for 0 yards)
2nd Downs (21 plays – 5 looks):
“12” – 5 (2 runs for 9 yards/3 passes for 6 yards)
“13” – 3 (2 runs for 3 yards/ 1 pass for 0 yards)
“21” – 6 (5 runs for 12 yards, FD/ 1 pass for 57 yards, TD)
“22” – 4 (3 runs for 27 yards, 2 FD/ 1 pass for -2 SACK)
“knee” – 1
Shotgun
“S11” – 2 (1 run for 2 yards/ 1 pass for 29 yards, FD)
15 3rd downs for the Cowboys – 7 looks (9 for 15, 60%)
“11” – 1 (1 pass for 8 yards, FD) 1-1, 100%
“12” – 1 (1 run for 5 yards, FD) 1-1, 100%
“22” – 2 (2 runs for 16 yards, FD) 1-2, 50%
Shotgun
“S11” – 5 (1 run for 6 yards, FUMBLE/ 4 passes 46 yards, 2 FD, TD) 3 of 5, 60%
“S11H” – 1 (1 pass for 10 yards) 0-1, 0%
“S12” – 4 (1 run for 4 yards, FD/ 3 passes for 5 yards, FD) 2-4, 50%
“S12H” – 1 (1 pass for 4 yards, TD) 1-1, 100%
1 4th Down
“11” – 1 run for 33 yard TD
Regardless of Down and Distance, here are the yardage results for each personnel package:
38 runs - 24 passes
UNDER CENTER (46 – 34 runs/12 passes)
“11” – 2 (1 run for 33 yards, TD/ 1 pass for 8 yards, FD)
“12” – 11 (7 runs for 46 yards, 2 FD/ 4 passes for 8 yards)
“13” – 5 (3 runs for 6 yards/2 pass for 0 yards)
“21” – 18 (14 runs for 51 yards/ 4 passes = 57 yards, 57 yard TD pass to Owens)
“22” – 8 (7 runs for 51 yards/ 1 pass for -2, SACK)
“knee” – 2
SHOTGUN (16 – 4 runs, 12 passes)
“S11” – 9 (3 runs for 12 yards/ 6 passes for 82 yards, Crayton TD)
“S11H” – 1 (1 pass for 10 yards)
“S12” – 5 (1 run for 4 yards/4 passes for 5 yards)
“S12H” – 1 pass for 4 yards, TD
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Personnel Packages Defined
“11” = 1 running back and 1 TE
“12” = 1 running back and 2 TE
“12w” = same as 12, just with both TE’s in the backfield in front of Barber
“13” = 1 running back and 3 TE
“21” = 2 running backs and 1 TE
“22” = 2 RB and 2 TE
“23” = 2 RB and 3 TE
“11H” = 1 RB and 1 TE, but Witten is playing the “H” of “F” back – which means he is lined up where a FB might normally be deployed.
“12H” = 1 RB and 2 TE, with Witten playing “H”.
“S11” = Romo in Shotgun, 1 RB, 1 TE
“S11H” = Shotgun, 1 RB, 1 TE, Witten playing “H”.
“S12” = Shotgun, 1 RB, 2 TE
“S21” = Shotgun, 2RB, 1TE
“31” = 3 RB’s and 1 TE. Jones, Barber, and Anderson.
“S01” = Shotgun, 0 RB, 1 TE, 4 WR –
It seems to me that the win against the BenGALs is confirmation that the Cowboys have a studdly team going here. 0-4 teams do one of two things...they either wither and die (Miami last year) or they behave like a caged animal, swinging for the fences and doing on-side kicks in the middle of the game.
ReplyDeleteDallas responded by taking a very large and comfortable lead and then relaxing. When the caged tigers responded, Dallas kicked it in again and put them away. I submit to you that flipping that switch is very difficult to do. In fact, most teams (including the 2007 Cowboys who could not flip the switch once it was firmly in the off position) would have lost that game. It remains to be seen if Dallas learned from this mid-game relaxation or if they continue to put themselves in that situation. Great teams do not allow themselves to get in that position more than once or twice a year.
Bob,
ReplyDeleteThese breakdowns are tremendous pieces of homework. This is such a breath of fresh air from the usual garbage that is spouted from most talk radio and football "analysts".
Thanks