Issues In Oxnard: Identifying The Best Players On This Defense - Splash Plays

When you discuss the Cowboys defense in 2014 (or any other year), you start with the obvious discussion of who the potential best players could be.  As we examine this particular depth chart, you have to be rather struck with this important quandary.

Who are the best players on defense?  Where is the star power going to come from in 2014?  If every player on the defense was made available to the entire league, who would be snapped up first as the most coveted players?  And amongst them, who would be required the biggest check?

Regardless of how many feel about the results of spending $50m on Brandon Carr, I would argue that he has been a very solid player for the Cowboys and while maybe he has been slightly less than dominant, he has played every single game and has put up results on most of those occasions.  If they have been a poor defense since his arrival, it would be difficult to pin the failures on Carr - He is simply no match for Calvin Johnson or Brandon Marshall, but then again, without much safety assistance, who is?

Beyond Carr, you then get into the discussion of who is next?  Would Orlando Scandrick be that guy?  Quite possibly.  In fact, if you want to know who would be grabbed by the competition the quickest in a hypothetical reallocation draft from the Cowboys defense, the Top 3 picks might all be corner backs.  With Carr, Scandrick, and the underachieving and even disappointing Morris Claiborne.  Claiborne has plenty of ability, but if anyone needs to demonstrate their true value on the football field (and start by playing every game), it is the #6 overall selection of the 2012 draft.  Of course, Claiborne would be a "potential over performance" play, but I think he might be the 3rd guy taken.

If he isn't, then surely George Selvie is.  In his 5th year in the NFL at his 4th organization, he finally put it together last season with 7 sacks and is now a year away from perhaps being a real coveted player in free agency at the age of 28 (he will turn 28 in March).  Nothing pays in the NFL like sacks, and if he can find his way to 10 or so this year, he will get paid well.

Then, we look to a healing Henry Melton.  But, I imagine he has to prove what he can do with a healed knee and a lesser supporting cast.  Everyone hopes he will be dominant (or at least 2013 Jason Hatcher), but the football world has only seen him play dominant football when surrounded by 3 HOF caliber players on his front 7.  If Lance Briggs, Brian Urlacher, and Julius Peppers from 2010-2012 were coming with him, it would be easier to project him.  At this point, there might be some questions that require answering.

Barry Church might be next or the ability of Bruce Carter.  After that, Tyrone Crawford, JJ Wilcox, and Kyle Wilber would likely all be next as players who have yet to prove much at this level, but bright prospects who have legitimate futures.  And, of course, DeMarcus Lawrence would be ahead of all of them if he was healthy and threaten the Top 5.

Let's put it this way, there is talent on the defense, but it is really an interesting discussion when you try to weigh one against the next.

Measuring individual value on a defense is always quite tricky.  For instance, a great corner looks much better with the help of a pass rush.  He can only defend so long.  Conversely, if a pass rush has no coverage behind them, then they don't have time to get home.  Even more so than offense, one weak link can really sabotage the overall success of a defense.

All of this has led me to attempt to measure "splash plays" in this space since the start of the 2011 season.  The idea was that if we can at least tabulate the real great moments, we will have a better idea of who is performing from week to week and who is spending more time in the background.

Splash plays are absolutely a flawed stat, but it is better than not measuring at all (at least that is what I tell myself).

What is a splash play? Well, for purposes of this blog I believe a splash play will include the following: A sack, a pressure that forces a bad throw, and big hit on the QB, and a batted ball that may lead to an interception opportunity. Again, you can see how this leads to subjectivity, but a subjective breakdown is better than no breakdown at all, I have decided. In addition, a splash play will include tackles for loss, a big hit for a short gain, or a stop which is an open field tackle where a player is pulled down on 3rd down short of the marker because of an exceptional effort from a defender. An interception is clearly a splash play, but so is a defended pass that required a great effort. A major hit in the secondary could be a splash play, but I believe that the outcome of the play will determine that. Sorry, defensive backs, but standing over a guy who just caught a 15 yard pass because you think you hit him hard will not generally pass the test on this blog. So, stop doing it.  

I am trying to be careful about handing out too many splash plays per game. I am trying to be picky, but too extreme in either direction. When I log a splash play, I will put time of the game on the chart so that if you want to review the same game and challenge my ruling, you are welcome to do so. Also, if multiple players deserve recognition on a single play, we will try to see that as well.

Basically, we are trying to assign a value to making plays on the defense. We don't want to just see sacks and interceptions. We want to see broader definitions of splash plays to assign credit to those who help the Cowboys get off the field in important situations. These rankings will not deduct for negative plays at this point. There are simply too many occasions where we are guessing, and for now, I want to avoid that for this particular idea.

A splash play is a play that makes a major difference in the game. And by keeping it all season long, we will see which defenders are play makers and which are simply warm bodies. We already have our thoughts on both categories, but let's see if we can dig a bit deeper and actually have numbers to back up our claims.

OK.  So, allow me to review the season totals from 2013 - a year where the defense put this reputation of having maybe the worst defense in the industry on film:

2013 Splash Play Totals

Player	Wks 1-4	Wks 5-8	Wks 9-12	Wks 13-16	Totals
1. G Selvie	9	7.5	3.5	8	28
2. J Hatcher	7.5	8	5	5.5	26
3. S Lee	9	12	1.5	0	22.5
4. B Carr	3	10.5	4	3	20.5
5. B Church	8	6	3	2.5	19.5
6. D Ware	7	3	4	5	19
7. O Scandrick	1	5	6	6	18
8. B Carter	5	3	4	4	16
9. N Hayden	3.5	0	3	8	14.5
10. K Wilber	1	4	4.5	1.5	11
11. J Heath	0	1	0.5	6.5	8
12. D Nevis	0	2	4.5	1	7.5
13. J Wynn	0	2	1.5	3.5	7
14. M Claiborne	2	5	0	0	7
15. J Durant	1.5	1	2	1	5.5

The players above who are in bold are those who are returning.  As you can see, health plays a major role in the rankings.  Stay on the field and you have a chance.  So, for Sean Lee, Claiborne, and DeMarcus Ware, it is tough to perform to your normal levels of excellence if you aren't out there.

By looking at the season in segments of 4 games, you can definitely see the value of good health and also you can examine how a player might have done when the league is now aware of him and taking him more seriously than a warm body.  George Selvie looked like he was fading in November but did step up a few more times in December quite nicely.

Aside from Claiborne, the biggest disappointment here has to be Bruce Carter.  One year ago, the training camp raves were all about the idea that this new defense is going to be perfect for him to set up as Derrick Brooks or Lance Briggs at the Will Linebacker.  The scheme allows him to generally run free and make the plays that the rest of the front in the scheme should make available for him.

Most point to pass defense as the big issue for Carter (and Danny Woodhead did put that out there for all the world to see), but in reality, the bigger issue at that particular spot - and one reason why he is on a very short leash according to some in the organization - is his work against the run.  For your stomach's sake, don't watch his performance in New Orleans.  There are some inside that think Justin Durant can do better at the Will spot right now.  That is certainly discouraging to all who thought Carter was worth the trouble in any scheme change.  

Below, please find the 3-year standings on the Splash Play project.  A more in depth study would measure splashes per snap, but I don't want to confuse things even more to the newbies.  So, this is the raw numbers of just big plays on the defense by player.

To the shock of nobody, DeMarcus Ware has a sizable lead on everyone and barring an insane comeback season from Anthony Spencer (who still doesn't not appear close to even practice speed) will be the leader to start 2015 and maybe 2016, too.

Ware might have been slipping a bit with his last 2 banged up years, but as you can see, a bad year of D-Ware is still better than good years by most.  

2011-2013 SPLASH LEADERBOARD

Player	2011	2012	2013	Totals
1. D Ware	39	30	19	88
2. A Spencer	29	38	0	67
3. S Lee	25	10	22.5	57.5
4. J Hatcher	13	16.5	26	55.5
5. O Scandrick	16	5	18	39
6. B Carr	---	13	20.5	33.5
7. B Carter	1	15	16	32
8. J Ratliff	24	6	---	30
9. G Selvie	---	---	28	28
10. B Church	3	1	19.5	23.5
11. M Claiborne	---	16	7	23
12. V Butler	10	8	---	18
13. N Hayden	---	---	14.5	14.5
14. M Spears	8	6	---	14
15. S Lissemore	8	5	---	13

So there is some information to chew on as we evaluate where they are at as a defense.  Clearly, they are banking on a lot of players emerging without reputation and honestly, in the NFL, that is the most efficient way to go.  You want to build your defense around young players who have a chance to grow together, and hopefully Lawrence, Crawford, Wilcox, and Wilber, will join Carter, Claiborne, and the veteran defensive backs to start digging out of this hole.

But, there is plenty of work to be done.  More than plenty.

'13 Rewind: Week 11 - Giant Win Over The Giants

Throughout the first few weeks in August, we will carefully review the 2013 season week by week. I do this as a matter of habit during every training camp because the offseason allows too many things to fall from my memory banks and I think as I get older, that issue becomes bigger. But, since I write about this team daily and I forget most of the details, I thought perhaps you would like to take this trip as well. Some of you will, I assume most of you will pass on this endeavor, but the blog space is free so don't say that I didn't offer. 

The Morning After Report from a Huge Divisional Win in Week 11:

November 25, 2013

Victories like that don't come around very often.  And the rarity of this particular afternoon is why what you saw on Sunday was so sweet.

As I said on Twitter Sunday Night, "That is a meaningful, cold-weather, clutch, road, nationally-televised, divisional win."

You are quite familiar with my stance on winning in the NFL and the difficulty that goes with it, so you can likely imagine my stance when you beat a divisional foe at their place that you certainly have not handled really well in this current era of Cowboys football.

And the New York Giants have dealt with the Cowboys quite well over the last 15 years or so, but not in 2013.  This year, they suffer the fact that Dallas shoved the dagger into their chest right in front of their loyalists on a cold day at the new Giants Stadium with a gutsy 24-21 win that required all 60 minutes to sort out.

It was the kind of win that you realize can and will be picked apart from many perspectives, and that the victor had anything but perfect grades all around.  However, with the game on the line and the team needing to put together a drive, they looked once again to their franchise QB to carry them home.  And while the overall performance of the entire afternoon left plenty of room for improvement, the job that the offense and Tony Romo, in particular, put together with all of the chips down was something to behold.

To review the circumstances, we must back up to a 1st half where there was little accomplished offensively by either team.  For the Cowboys, it was 6 drives with 4 punts and an interception surrounding one particular effort where a touchdown was scored on a beautiful play action pass to Jason Witten following a successful screen pass to Lance Dunbar and a huge run from DeMarco Murray that had many wondering if the bye week and play-calling adjustments had actually stumbled upon something big.

Beyond that, the Cowboys were ahead because the defense scored again.  Say what you want about this defense - and you can say some seriously negative things that will be founded in truth - but that is their 5th defensive touchdown of the season when Jeff Heath scooped up a Orlando Scandrick strip of Victor Cruz and ran it back to the end zone for the Touchdown to give the Cowboys a lead they would only lose for a few minutes when the Giants tied late in the 4th Quarter.  5 defensive Touchdowns so far in 2013 (Barry Church, Brandon Carr, Sean Lee, Nick Hayden, and Heath) is more by any Cowboys defense going back to at least 2000.  They are scoring points and that doesn't even include the times their takeaways set up a short field.  This is just actual TDs scored by the defense, and they have 5 now.  It is remarkable, to say the least, and consistent with their +11 turnover margin, one which puts them tied for 2nd in the NFL with Seattle, trailing only the Kansas City Chiefs at +15.

So, after the 14-6 halftime margin, Dallas comes out of the locker-room to find that the temperature had dropped again and the wind was picking up.  In fact, there were times in this game where both Quarterbacks looked like completing passes was going to be a major chore and any afternoon-long throwing exhibitions were not going to be realistic.  This was a game that appeared to be destined for the more physical of the two teams.

And, between the running of Andre Brown and Brandon Jacobs and the pass rush that was able to snuff out a fair number of Cowboys drives, the physicality of the Giants was beginning to take the game over as the afternoon went along.

Dallas stopped the Giants on a 4th Down to start the 3rd Quarter, and then the physical play of the Giants got them in trouble when they basically assisted Dallas in taking a 21-6 lead on a drive where a roughing the passer penalty on a 3rd Down from Mathias Kiwanuka gave the Cowboys a fresh set of downs and then Antrel Rolle took a head shot at Murray as the runner was heading out of bounds for 2 costly personal fouls in Giants territory that set the Cowboys up for a composed pitch and catch between Romo and Witten again and Dallas appeared to have a big enough margin to start considering a masterful victory.

But, we all knew it was never going to be easy, right?  And when the Giants had to attempt yet another 4th Down in Cowboys territory, they crawled back into the game on a bizarre turn of events as Eli Manning hit his 2013 tight end, Brandon Myers on a wheel route designed to expose Bruce Carter in coverage (this week's version of that concept that is becoming common place) which it certainly did for what appeared to be a 1st and goal inside the 10.  Instead, Carter, who at times seems to give up in situations where adversity is hitting him between the eyes, walked like a zombie past Myers without touching him to end the play.  Myers, as shocked as anyone that Carter and Jeff Heath didn't seem to know the most basic of NFL rules, just stood up and ran into the end zone for a free touchdown.  Carter was challenged by the coaches in San Diego for losing his spirit against Danny Woodhead and certainly did not seem full of resolve in New Orleans late in the game, so, unfortunately, this is not an isolated case of defeat causing him to stop his maximum effort.

Now, 21-13, this is where the stadium starts coming alive, the opponent starts believing, and the Cowboys normally begin to panic.  They have a 2nd half lead in a key game, but closing the deal has never been listed under the expertise of this current Dallas group, it seems.  In fact, the cold weather - which was 25 degrees at kickoff and fell throughout the afternoon - only heightens the difficulty level, as Tony Romo has only won just a single game before yesterday (now 2-4) in cold weather situations (kickoff temperature below 40 degrees) and that was against a 4-12 Washington team in 2009.

The next 3 Dallas drives were just as we have seen normally in these spots.  Chances to regain control of the game on a deep shot that could have been pass interference to Terrance Williams, a crossing pattern to Dez that ended up a 20-yard loss on a fumble, and a few throws that were caught up in the wind.  Then, pass protection was beginning to cave in and even shotgun snaps looked like a chore.  The offensive line was starting to break down in the interior and Romo was starting to get hit more and more.  They were losing the physical edge to the game and in 3 drives after the Witten TD midway through the 3rd Quarter until midway through the 4th, they had run 14 plays for 13 yards.  It was a rather familiar script.

And then there were 3rd Downs.  3rd Downs have been an amazing achilles heel for the Cowboys offense all season long, ranking them 30th in the league overall and 32nd in the league on the road.  They simply have not been money on the money down.  They have had miscues and frustration and their inability to not extend drives have clearly been an issue that has not been fixed.  14 for 58 in road games this season before Sunday and then working on another brutal 1 for 8 with the only conversion being the 3rd Quarter Witten Touchdown, things looked the same.  And now, with 4:45 to go in the game after Eli and the Giants and scored and converted a 2-point conversion to level the game at 21-21,  the Cowboys had to go get points or suffer another destructive defeat.

On Friday, I wrote about Tony Romo's worst decisions in a piece that certainly was difficult for many people to enjoy.  The overall premise is that in these particular situations with high stakes, the Cowboys often have the game in their control - the ball and a chance to win - and fail too often.  In 3 of those 5 examples, they were tied - just like they were tied on Sunday.  This means that they have a chance to win, but also, if they do something too risky (interception) or too conservative (punt), they are going to give the opponent a chance to finish the game with their own dramatic win.

So, they need to put a drive together.  And on this day, they did a fantastic job, with Romo doing his best work of the day.  They converted 3 different 3rd Downs that were all mandatory to the victory, with a beautiful read on a 3rd and 7 which turned into finding Dez down the sideline on a fade when the safety took away Austin on the slant.  Then, on another 3rd Down and 5, it was Dez again on a tricky slant himself.  A beautiful pass inside to Austin on a 2nd and 10 put the Cowboys into long field goal range, but the final 3rd Down conversion was the best of the bunch.

It was only 3rd and 10 from the Giants 28 because of the very difficult official ruling on a beautiful post route from Bryant that Romo hit down to the Giants 5.  By just about any perspective aside from the officials, this looked like a catch and then the impact of the ground jarred the ball loose, but only after Dez had completed the catch.  However, in this age of the hazy definition of how rules are interpreted, there is no cut and dried way to understand what is a catch and what isn't.  In this case, it seemed clear that the Cowboys deserved a review, but even after calling a timeout, had no such luck.

But, the fact that they even threw the pass into a tight space like that speaks to the idea that Jason Garrett and Romo both realize their risk aversion in these situations is no way to realize their fullest potential given the circumstances.  Other situations like these (at Baltimore in 2012 comes to mind) involve going very conservative the second they believe they are in Dan Bailey's range.  Get to the 30 yard line and then hand the ball off a few times is usually the order of the day.  In fact, we can only wonder what might have happened if the Giants did not convert their 2-point conversion and they kicked to the Cowboys with a 21-19 lead.  Would the Cowboys have reeled in their adventure and handed the ball off 3 times and punted back, only to lose 22-21?  In a odd way, were the Cowboys aided by being tied?

Maybe not, but either way, it seemed out of character for the Cowboys to put the game to the sword by throwing downfield even after the ball might have been in Field Goal range.  And after losing out on the long completion to Dez down to the 5, on 3rd and 10, they resisted the urge to run the draw and instead had Romo look to convert it.  If they did run it, the Giants use their final timeout and get the ball back with over a minute to go - down 3.  But, instead, Romo finds Cole Beasley on a fantastic route and they convert the 3rd Down and get Bailey even closer down to the 15-yard line.  From there, because of their aggressive posture, the game was over if their kicker could put it through.  And of course, with Dan Bailey, that is as automatic as almost any kicker in the business.

What a drive and what a time to start converting 3rd Downs in succession.  They went 4-11 on the money down which will not set any records, but those 4 were the 4 most vital of the game.  Beautiful job demonstrating the clutch characteristic that these late-game drives require to defeat your opponent.

The win gives the Cowboys a 4-0 start in the NFC East and with the other 2 games in the division reserved for the final 2 weekends of the season, they have set themselves up to have every opportunity to win the division title.  They also have a chance to get to 7-5 in a few days if they can take down Oakland and then put a 10-win season back in play.

Great resolve against an opponent that talked all week long and has humiliated the Cowboys on many occasions.  But, this day, all that talking wasn't worth much.  Only the ability to make the plays when it mattered most was going to get the win.

That is a fantastic response to the humiliating day in New Orleans.

That is a meaningful, cold-weather, clutch, road, nationally-televised, divisional win.

Now, let's see how they deal with success.

=====

Decoding Callahan - Week 11 - Rediscovering Play Action Passes

Kiffin Report - Week 11 - Gashed on the Ground Again

Tomorrow, we move on to Thanksgiving versus the Raiders.

'13 Rewind: Week 10 - The Humiliation In New Orleans

Throughout the first few weeks in August, we will carefully review the 2013 season week by week. I do this as a matter of habit during every training camp because the offseason allows too many things to fall from my memory banks and I think as I get older, that issue becomes bigger. But, since I write about this team daily and I forget most of the details, I thought perhaps you would like to take this trip as well. Some of you will, I assume most of you will pass on this endeavor, but the blog space is free so don't say that I didn't offer. 

The horrid details of that night to forget in New Orleans:

November 11, 2013

Well, then.

There are certain games that become landmark moments because of the events that they contained and the way that the game shaped the season.  When people mention a year, those of us obsessed with following a certain team have a few games from each season that come quickly to mind.

They take that spot on the main stage because either the highs were phenomenally high or the lows were incredibly low.

I don't think we have to tell you which was which last night in New Orleans as the Saints went a long way embarrassing the Cowboys and then Dallas took it from there.  Games like this, that are as one-sided as Alabama against a 1-AA school in early September, require the accommodation of both teams - with precise and powerful execution from the victor aided by ineptitude and, at times, the seeming give-up of the defeated.

New Orleans was so great offensively, coming off a discouraging defeat at the hands of the mighty Jets the week before, that the thorough domination is impossible to properly describe.  On one hand, the Saints were so explosive that they had an absurd 9 plays of 20 yards or more, which is a number that you will almost never see above 5 or 6.  Heck, the Broncos only had 5 when they put on the 51-point clinic back in Week 5.  But, on the other hand, the Saints had enough small gains to sustain long drives and move the chains at will to the tune of accumulating an equally absurd 40 first downs.

Now, generally, first down stats are not very indicative of a team that had a big day.  They are not always a fair metric to spend too much time worrying about, because a 50-yard play is more desirable than 5 10-yard plays for a number of reasons.  But the Saints were so good on Sunday night, that they set the season high for explosive plays against the Cowboys with 9, and the all-time NFL record for first downs in a game with 40.

40.

What if I told you that day back in Week 5 when Peyton Manning did whatever he wanted with his high-flying Broncos offense that by November 11th, pretty much all statistical totals would be surpassed twice by upcoming Cowboys opponents in Detroit AND New Orleans?

This time, the all-time Cowboys defensive yardage record was broken by Drew Brees and an offense that was not fully in sync when the game started, but as the night went along, they were so good that they stopped trying in the 4th Quarter.  That's right, despite throwing for 392 yards, Brees did not attempt a pass after the 12:51 mark of the final quarter.  And yes, that's also right, they broke the all-time Dallas Cowboys yardage record for an opponent - a record that has been standing 14 days!

The Saints had just 10 possessions to do all of their damage that were not aided with a single Cowboys turnover (the one thing you can say about the Cowboys' offense that is not negative) and after the 1st drive stalled with a punt, the Saints next 9 drives looked like this on the drive chart:

Touchdown, Touchdown, Touchdown, Touchdown - Halftime - Missed FG, Touchdown, Touchdown, Touchdown, Kneel Down - Game Over.

I am pretty sure Aledo High School has had the authorities called on them for drive charts that look like that.

Injuries have hit the Cowboys hard again, making the depth chart that left Oxnard just a faded memory.  For those of us who believe that the personnel department has made some strides in 2011-2013, this is a stark reminder of how far they must go to fortify the roster to withstand the annual outbreak of hamstrings and knee issues that attrition claims.  No, the Cowboys are not alone as the NFL seems like it has more injuries every single year to a point where roster expansion might be the only way to operate a team in this league anymore, but they have been hit hard again and like 2012, by the time they get to November, the defense looks like someone's practice squad all-star team.

Sean Lee joined Anthony Spencer, Jay Ratliff (gone, but not fully forgotten), Jason Hatcher, Morris Claiborne, and JJ Wilcox as starters who were unavailable as Brees was marching up and down the field.  This will mark the 4th year out of 4 (and many more in college) in which the fantastically skilled Lee has been unable to withstand the rigors of a season without an injury that has forced him to miss a chunk of time.

Down 6 starters and watching DeMarcus Ware and Barry Church play hurt demonstrates how perhaps the injuries have finally taken an insurmountable toll, and that the defense is obviously at a spot now where they are throwing guys on the field who are not at a level that is required to perform well in the NFL.  But, they are the "next man up" and you have no other choice.  This makes you recall silly statements from the owner/general manager on whether the defensive line was the strength of this roster and whether anyone ever learns from the annual lessons about how attrition demands depth and also recommends that you avoid building your team around players who are old and have an extensive injury history.

This also brings up the question of how Rob Ryan was fired for a similar predicament last season and even the greater question of whether a Monte Kiffin defense can still handle the modern NFL offenses as just about every opponent that has a QB is passing for 400, gaining 550-600, or both.  How do you evaluate whether the scheme is able to work when for 2 straight years you have bodies that are likely incapable of running any scheme?

Which brings us - albeit a little deeper in the column than they should be positioned - to that disappointing offense.

You know, the one that again, knew what sort of mess the defense was in and who the defense was going to be trying to stop.  The offense that, for the most part, has its full compliment of weapons at its disposal and was going to be asked again to carry the lion's share of the responsibility if this team was going to achieve anything.

The one that punted 8 times and after hearing how badly they have been on 3rd Down conversions in road games this season (30th in the NFL, 14-49 entering last night) and everyone agreed that this simply must improve if they were going to compete in games like this one.  Instead, the team put on one of the worst 3rd Down nights possible as they stalled out at 0-9 and now sit at the very bottom of the NFL in this category - 32nd, 14-58 for 24% conversions.  In fact, now it is so bad that in all games they are ranked 30th on the "money down" above only Arizona and Jacksonville for overall 3rd Down conversions.

They put another bizarre game plan together that seems incapable of mixing passes and runs, and you almost wonder if they are trying to find comedy in the extremes that they put out there.  First, last week, it was the highest pass/run ratio in NFL history with a 6:1 ratio, then this week they ran on 9 of their first 12 plays and 11 of their first 15.  This served as an example of running the ball, yes, but it also did not allow Tony Romo and the passing game to attempt passes on consecutive plays until the game was over 25 minutes old with 4:19 left to go in the 1st half.  Did this not allow them to find a rhythm until the game was already turning into to a track meet where you either keep up or get blown out?

To further add to the confusion, they seemed to be doing just the opposite of what has worked in freeing up Dez Bryant from the clutches of double teams.  For instance, it seems that when the Cowboys roll out 4 WRs, that the defense has to either loosen up Dez or get gashed underneath by Beasley and Williams.  So, why then, did the Cowboys have 1 or 2 WRs on the field on 15 of the first 17 snaps in those first 4 possessions?  Did they want Dez completely locked down?  Because James Hanna is not going to change the convictions of a defense, that is for sure.

But, despite these strategic questions, at some point in these battles - especially on the road - Tony Romo is going to have to match wits with the guy across the field, this week, Drew Brees.  And his 2013 season has been a mixed bag of results, especially on the road.  One particularly interesting trend that is headed in the wrong direction is his ability to complete passes (which one might argue is his primary job).  In the first 5 weeks of the season, he had completed 72% of his attempts and the offense seemed capable of competing in a game like this.

But, in the 5 games since, Romo's completion ability has fallen substantially into the 57% range and 2 of his last 3 games his completion percentage has dropped into the 40s.  That is very troubling with this many weapons at his disposal.  Also, the yards per attempt are down substantially to 6.36 after being at 8.10 in the first 5 games.  Yes, this isn't merely a Romo issue, but it does fall to him to deliver the ball where it needs to be and his protection to give him time.  And honestly, after a 10 completion game in which the opposing team almost matched your completions with touchdowns, there are not many other places to look.

Yesterday was a complete mess made worst by what appeared to be a complete give-up by the defense in the 4th Quarter that reminded many of Wade Phillips last stand on a Sunday Night in Green Bay back in 2010.  I don't recommend you watch it again, but let's just say there sure appeared to be players in the middle of that defense that had decided to start their bye week about an hour before they were allowed to do so.  When a team loses the stomach to even stand up and fight, that sends very disconcerting messages to any who care about the organization, so let's hope that is not tolerated when the film is examined.

But, who is examining it?  Is Jason Garrett and his staff on thin ice as we hit the bye week?  They sit at 5-5 and surely a division crown is required for them to feel safe and even that appears far more tenuous than it did a few weeks back after leaving Philadelphia with a win.

Here is a much needed week off to try to get some bodies back, but it looks like life without Sean Lee is a reality for the rest of November and possibly a bit longer, so they are going to have to plan on scoring 35 because the defense doesn't look capable of stopping teams.  But, can this offense figure out its own issues?

They showed no signs of that last night.

6 games to go.  But all signs point to the ultimate destination being a very familiar one around here.

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Decoding Callahan - Week 10 - Lowest Lows for Offense, Give Up from Free/Smith

Kiffin Report - Week 10 - 600 yard games - Jeff Heath on Marques Colston will not work

Xs and Os - Week 10 - Rob Ryan's Moment of Brilliance

After this game, we believe the Cowboys spent their bye week changing the play calling duties over to Jason Garrett.  Their next game was at New York and we cover that tomorrow.

Issues In Oxnard: Scandrick Joins the Ranks Of the Unavailable

This is getting flat-out ridiculous.

It is clear that the Cowboys have minimal depth through these last few years, and if you don't believe that has been my overall position for sometime, I invite you to glance at the archives.  They have been critiqued plenty for not having a number of options behind each player in case of an unforeseen circumstance that appears out of thin air.

But, man, this team is starting to appear cursed defensively.

Last year, it was a training camp that saw Tyrone Crawford, Anthony Spencer, and Jay Ratliff all go from prominent starters on the depth chart to complete non-contributors for the entirety of 2013.  In fact, Ratliff is long gone and Spencer has yet to prove he will ever play again.  Poof.  Your defense went from thin to inoperable in one camp (and it wasn't due to the physical contract - it was just health issues that either continued to linger or popped out of nowhere).

This year, they couldn't get out of May without losing their alpha-male at middle linebacker with Sean Lee and after losing DeMarcus Ware and Jason Hatcher for contract reasons, the 32nd defense in the NFL thought it couldn't get worse.

Well, it could.  First, DeMarcus Lawrence - he whom the draft was highly leveraged upon - broke his foot and thusly has been taken out of the realistic mix until November.  And now, the man that has received the best reviews just about each and every day for this often ridiculed defense - Orlando Scandrick will miss the first 4 games for a violation of the league's substance policy.

I will not pretend to know what we are talking about in terms of substance violations (early reports are the typical "something got in my system in Mexico" defense attempt) and in the end, from an Xs and Os standpoint, it doesn't really matter why he is gone for September.

Losing Scandrick with those first 4 troubling games on the list - San Francisco, at Tennessee, at St Louis, and New Orleans - presents further complications as they try to get to at least 2-2 before a long stretch of mostly home games before they head to London for Jacksonville for Week 10.  After London, it is 4 of 6 on the road to finish the season, with the 2 home dates being Philadelphia for Thanksgiving and Indianapolis as the lone December home date surrounded by potential cold weather dates making up the rest of the schedule against possible playoff teams.

Even if you leave Tony Romo's health considerations completely off the list of things to stress about, you still have a defense that gave up the most plays of 10 yards or more in the league last year by a rather healthy margin.

To ask that same defense to not really add any upgrades in personnel (hoping for the best from Henry Melton - he who has just left the field with what we hope is a small injury) and yet improve despite the exits of most of the actual premium players off the 2013 version seems to be an exercise in extreme optimism.

Here is the ugly truth: Of the 41 Cowboys to take snaps on defense in 2013 (yes, 41!) only 5 were given the green positive season grades on Pro Football Focus (this denotes a net positive season from the player based on positive plays per snap).  Those 5 players were, in order, Jason Hatcher, Sean Lee, DeMarcus Ware, Orlando Scandrick, and Sterling Moore.

The good news?  Sterling Moore will be available for Week 1.

Otherwise, their 32nd best defense in many categories is hoping for dramatic upticks from players they have invested plenty into: Bruce Carter, Mo Claiborne, JJ Wilcox, and Tyrone Crawford.  But, unfortunately, to the unbiased observer, a reasonable estimate would say that even if those players all perform to the upper reaches of their optimistic projections, they would still have trouble merely canceling out the exits of those best 4 defenders from 2013 (of which at most they will get 12 games from Scandrick).

They are also hoping for a tremendous repeat of the turnover ratio, in which they were a +10 because of 28 takeaways and only 18 giveaways in 2013.  Unfortunately, when you dig a bit deeper into the numbers, you see that 19 of the takeaways happened in Weeks 1-8 last year, so even as 2013 went along, the takeaways dried up to only 9 in the remaining 8 games.  That is a pace that puts them down in the basement again and suggests that the offense will need 30 points to win against the better offenses on their schedule.

Meanwhile, popular thinking seems to be that they will be better in 2014 because of the "they can't get any worse than last year" theory.  I hope that the optimistic fan is on to something here, but that is some very stretchy logic.  They can get worse, and to lose all of your top players and to be forced to rely on those who were either reserves, under performers, or those who did not find work elsewhere is an odd recipe for boosted performance.  That said, they are working every day to try to figure that out.

As this week goes on, we will be visiting plenty more about the defense and ways they may try to fix things, but for now, we just wish for no further bad news from the defensive side of the ball.

'13 Rewind: Week 9 - Cowboys Back On Win Train W Vikings

Throughout the first few weeks in August, we will carefully review the 2013 season week by week. I do this as a matter of habit during every training camp because the offseason allows too many things to fall from my memory banks and I think as I get older, that issue becomes bigger. But, since I write about this team daily and I forget most of the details, I thought perhaps you would like to take this trip as well. Some of you will, I assume most of you will pass on this endeavor, but the blog space is free so don't say that I didn't offer. 

Here is the Week 9 Summary from Arlington against the Vikes:

November 4, 2013

If there is one thing I have learned covering the Dallas Cowboys over the last 16 seasons, it is the idea that on many Mondays during the year, the team will be expected to apologize for winning a game without the requisite style that those who enjoyed the dynasty days came to expect 2 decades ago.

You see, there are losses (which, of course, are unacceptable).  But, there are also wins that feel like losses to so many who lived through somewhere between 3 and 5 Lombardi Trophies, and certainly didn't expect to wait this long for #6.

What happens, of course, is when you add up the real losses and the perceived losses over the course of every year, you find that there are only about 3-4 Mondays where the franchise is in good standing with its fan-base.  It is the toughest of crowds.  It is also a delusion-filled crowd that has not changed its expectation level to coincide with the changes in the NFL, but surely that isn't their fault, right?

Anyway, after beating the Vikings on a 90-yard drive that snatched victory from the jaws of defeat - a complete reversal to the deed that was done to Dallas last week in Detroit - the loathing began again.

"Dallas played down to its competition!"

Here is a question:  What if this is the level of both the Dallas Cowboys and most of its competition?  What if they are not playing "down" to its competition but rather, just playing?  What if it is all an illusion that makes you believe that this team, with its fancy stadium, reputation, and Sky Mirror, is superior to its foes most weeks, but in reality, they are Detroit or Minnesota or Philadelphia or Washington, but in fancier clothing?

Sure, there will be exceptions to every rule and teams that stand above and below the giant pack in between in the NFL, but overall, is it reasonable to assume that this is the 2013 Dallas Cowboys?  A team that - on its day - can play with anyone on the league.  And a team, when it is not hitting on all cylinders, must scratch and claw and overcome itself in beating a team that is playing at a very low level and still has yet to win a game on United States' soil all year?

So, when people ask why the Cowboys play down to the level of their competition so much, I often wonder what that really means.  I see them in the great peloton that sits between 6-10 wins every year playing a team that has been horrid this year, but also was in the playoffs 10 months ago and still has several wonderful talents, including the greatest RB of this generation.

They survived a game that was a gigantic struggle and needed a remarkable 90-yard drive at the end that accomplished more than most expected when they were down 3.  The risk averse Cowboys might play for a field goal there and take their chances in overtime, but on that final drive, the Cowboys offense deserves some very high grades for not settling, but continuing to attack - even when in safe field goal range - to go for the victory and to then execute just that objective.

And when they survive a 3-hour grind against a talented, yet disappointing Minnesota side, you shouldn't expect apologies.  They know that they underperformed on offense and for them to be a divisional winner, they will have to sort that out immediately.  They are 5-4 at the 9 game mark, but trouble is straight ahead.  Trouble that won't forgive the mistakes of Sunday.

Mistakes?  There were many.  For roughly the 4th week in a row, the Cowboys offense frustrated itself with missed opportunities and self-inflicted wounds.  This time, 8 of the 10 drives were sabotaged with self-inflicted wounds.  Here is the damage:

Drive #1 - tackle for loss, poor throw
Drive #2 - tackle for loss
Drive #3 - sack, sack
Drive #4 - tackle for loss, dropped pass, sack
Drive #5 - Touchdown
Drive #6 - penalty
Drive #7 - dead ball penalty that takes team out of field goal range
Drive #8 - dropped pass, penalty
Drive #9 - interception
Drive #10 - Touchdown

Those events listed for each drive are what are known as "drive killers" in the coaching community.  Sacks, penalties, drops, and of course, turnovers are drive killers.  They can take a drive where good things are happening and all it takes sometimes is a holding penalty to bring the whole thing to a halt.  Drives with sacks or penalties have about a 85% fail rate if the numbers are consistent with traditional numbers around the league.  Given that this team is in a bad way offensively, they cannot overcome these issues as offense is difficult enough these days.  The Cowboys rank near the bottom of the league in sustained drives (10 plays or more) in 2013 after ranking dead last in 2012.  They cannot grind you down to a fine powder, and one reason is that they have a hard time running that many plays in a row without a self-inflicted wound.

But, let's understand what we are looking at here.  A tackle for loss on a run play is often not a mental bust, but being physically dominated at the point of attack.  Same goes for a sack, where a man just cannot get and win his block.  This is all starting to point back again to that familiar tradition around here, which is entering November with a feeling of impeding doom about the state of the offensive line.

I have already been asked today several times whether Brian Waters was really that good that they could look this differently in his first game away from the squad.  The short answer is that he was solid, but not necessarily spectacular.  He was a guy you didn't have to worry about and they should not immediately go to nearly helpless the second he lands on injured reserve.  Remember, the Cowboys were not going to have him at all until Nate Livings broke down and then Brandon Moore left them at the altar.

But, Waters provided something that is in short supply around here these days and that is just a bit of belief in the offensive line.  You see, there is some sort of self-fulfilling prophecy about the ineptness of the offensive line that goes back several years and plays into the greater tapestry of Cowboys football.  They were bad and the coaching staff and Quarterback lost faith in them.  But instead of insisting that they improve and sticking with it, it almost went the other direction where they were asked to do less and less run blocking over the years because it was assumed they couldn't.  Then, especially against the Vikings front (it is highly possible, given the game-plan, that the Dallas coaching staff thought yesterday that they were playing the Vikings of 2009 and 2010, when the Vikings front was thought to be the industry leader) they run so seldom that we are not really sure if they could run because the coaching staff sent the message with their play calling that they could not.

DeMarco Murray, for instance, carried the ball 4 times the entire game.  Since he broke one for 27 yards, we can assume that he was going to be able to accomplish something more if they offered him a few more opportunities, but it appears that the 2 or 3 negative runs early in the game spooked the Cowboys out of even trying.  This is a characteristic that reminds us plenty of those games in 2012 (Cleveland, New York, Washington, in particular) where they design a game-plan all week that is balanced and sound, then on game day, when there is a sign of frustrations from players, coaches, or even the stadium seats, they scrap it all and go shotgun the rest of the day.  It is a weird thing to criticize, because although it destroys all balance and renders your planning as pointless, it eventually helps the Cowboys win the game by putting things back on Tony Romo and the playmakers to put the necessary points on the board.  And, until proven otherwise, that is the best option for this offense.  But, it is that same crutch that might keep them from ever improving to a team that can consistently win.

Meanwhile, the defense pulled another rabbit out of its hat by winning the turnover battle with multiple takeaways (again) and scoring a timely and required touchdown (again).  They continue to put guys on the field that their own fans must identify during the game because they have never seen them before (this week: say hello to Everette Brown!) and watch them make plays.  They were run over a few times by Adrian Peterson, including a touchdown run that will be talked about for a long time, but in the end, made a stand with the game on the line against a team that had nothing to lose.  The ability for the Cowboys to force a 3 and out after the Romo interception with 4 minutes to go was vital and likely deserves as much credit for the victory as the final drive itself.  They could not give up a 1st down to Minnesota on that drive and to their credit, they held tight with a few stops.  There is no doubt we grade the defense on a curve these days, but like the Washington game, give them credit for their timeliness, if nothing else.  They are making key plays late in games to preserve victories.

So, what do we have here?  We have a Cowboys team that is grinding through injuries and overall mediocre performances to a point where they are 5-4 in the NFC East, which remains good enough for 1st place in their division.  They will play a game next week as a pretty substantial underdog to a team in New Orleans that should trouble them with an offense who has too many weapons to contain and a defense who has a coordinator that knows what the Cowboys do not like to face.

Then, they will get to the bye week with a chance to look at their final 6 games with some reinforcements returning and a real shot to finish their job.

This is not a team that will be confused with a dynasty team.  But, this is a team that should be credited with finding a way to win a game that was entirely too easy to lose yesterday.  There are lessons that can be learned in a loss, but let's not be silly;  either you win or you lose every Sunday, and this team is not good enough to turn its nose up at a win because it did not contain the style points that everyone in their audience demands.  They needed to grind for the entire afternoon and then make a few timely plays on offense and defense, and if they didn't, this season might have imploded.

Don't be afraid to recognize the difficulty in that.  It doesn't mean you have to enjoy mediocrity or being a normal NFL franchise, but it does mean that every Sunday must be taken seriously and appreciated when victories are achieved.  Nothing comes easy to the Dallas Cowboys;  that is true.  But, look around the league.  Nothing comes easy to just about every team in pro football.

So, you can be mad at Romo for not being Troy Aikman,  Garrett for not being Jimmy Johnson, and Murray for not being Emmitt Smith.  Or, you can accept that for now, this is the best team they can put on the field and understand that the 1990's Cowboys are not coming back unless you dust off your VHS tapes.  And in a race against the 2013 versions of the Eagles, Redskins, and Giants, this group holds a small lead in early November.

I talked to your mailman today, and he said there are no apologies arriving at your house from the Cowboys for that win over the Vikings.

Maybe tomorrow.

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Decoding Callahan - Week 9 - Those Negative Runs

Kiffin Report - Week 9 - The Remarkable Waiver Wire DL

Xs and Os - Week 9 - The Game Winning 90-yard Drive

Next, the humbling at New Orleans

'13 Rewind: Week 8 - Disaster In Detroit

Throughout the first few weeks in August, we will carefully review the 2013 season week by week. I do this as a matter of habit during every training camp because the offseason allows too many things to fall from my memory banks and I think as I get older, that issue becomes bigger. But, since I write about this team daily and I forget most of the details, I thought perhaps you would like to take this trip as well. Some of you will, I assume most of you will pass on this endeavor, but the blog space is free so don't say that I didn't offer. 

Here is the Week 8 trip to Detroit that really complicated the season:

October 28, 2013

In the context of discussing the 2013 Dallas Cowboys, there seems to be two factions of observers throughout the area that the Cowboys call home.

The very large majority seem to consider this team as "the Same Old Cowboys" who can't close the deal on games they should win, often make silly mistakes that make their demise all the easier, and then because of this chronic generosity to their opponent, stay stuck in a rut of mediocrity that keeps them from ever being good enough to contend or bad enough to rebuild.  Some weeks it is the quarterback, some weeks it is the coach, and some weeks it is a new player who just joined the team.  But, too often there is sabotage that brings an otherwise acceptable performance to its knees at just the wrong time.

And then there is a much smaller group that believes that this season is different from all of the others; and that progress is being made under Jason Garrett and lessons are being learned.  They believe that to paint all Cowboys teams of the last decade with the same brush is lazy and reckless and misses out on the nuance of growth and maturity.  This group believes that with the help of a personnel department that has found its footing, the turnover in this squad is such that this is a completely new group that is capable of new and lofty destinations and is not at all tied to teams that insist on self-inflicted torture that will in the end leave them stuck in the middle of mediocrity.

But, unfortunately for the particular group that attempts to perceive that organizational progress is being made, there are days like yesterday in Detroit that put far more people in the larger group.

The "Same Old Cowboys"narrative gains plenty of steam when you lose a game that you had won, most notably because you didn't seem to fully grasp the game's situations and the specifics surrounding the final sequence that allowed Detroit to pull of a miracle at your expense.  For this team to be unique and different from other Jason Garrett-coached teams, you would be required to handle late-game tactics differently and make sure that if your team is in a position to win a game at the end, that the decisions made put the team where it needs to be.

In this particular case, with Detroit holding 2 timeouts when you stop them at 1:24 to play, I am having a hard time seeing a scenario where this loss isn't placed heavily on Garrett fully grasping the percentages of how to close the deal.

On first and second downs, the Cowboys ran two running plays that both lost yardage, but it accomplished its goal of burning through Detroit's remaining timeouts.  So now, with a 3rd and 14 from the Detroit 35 with 1:14 to play, I figured that the call would be for Tony Romo to either feed another middle dive play to his running back or he would take a knee on his own.  The idea would be to waste a few more ticks and then to start the :40 play clock with roughly 1:10 to play, bringing the 4th down snap inside :30 left, at which point the safest bet is to simply punt the ball and hope to down it around :20 left or so inside the 10 yard line - or at worst, a touchback that puts the Lions at their own 20.

This is a rather simplistic strategy, not that I have ever coached at any level, and leaves the Lions time for 3 plays if they run it perfectly to the sidelines, but more than likely just one tackle inbounds would end the game.  A field goal would tie, but needing 45-50 yards to get to field goal range and :20 to do it seems the higher percentage play.

Instead, the Cowboys run an inside play that Phillip Tanner attempted to bounce outside in an effort to find a few more precious yards - as the team seemed intent on helping Dan Bailey kick another field goal rather than trying to take the remaining time off the clock.  One of the reasons that trying to take as much time off the clock as possible seemed vital - especially in retrospect, but indeed, at the time this was known to the coaching staff - was that the defense was down to reserves at 3 of the 5 spots in the secondary (BW Webb, Jeff Heath, and Jakar Hamilton - all 3 rookies and all 3 playing their first extended NFL action in this game) and that the Lions were working on an offensive performance that would ultimately break the 600 yard barrier (623, to be exact) and would be the most yards ever gained against a Dallas Cowboys team.  EVER.

So, when Tanner bounced the play outside, Tyron Smith committed one of the very few holding penalties in his very impressive Cowboys career against Lions' DE Devin Taylor - and despite it being declined - it ended up being as costly as a penalty could possibly be.  The Cowboys did preserve their field goal range and Tanner did stay in bounds, but by rule, once the flag is thrown, the clock properly stopped on an offensive foul.  Tyron made a blunder that simply cannot be made.  He didn't want Tanner to get tackled for another loss and get knocked out of field goal range, because we can assume in the huddle and on the sideline during the previous timeout that the main objective of field goal range was likely being preached.  In a parallel universe, where perhaps expiring the clock is the sole objective, I wonder if the play turns out much differently.  But, it wasn't being preached and the holding certainly happened.  The clock stopped at 1:07, meaning that even when Dan Bailey made another long-range field goal, the lead would still just be 30-24 and a Lions' touchdown would beat them.

This is perhaps a good time to stop the discussion about the game itself and take a moment to consider the Fox booth of Dick Stockton and Brian Billick and their discussion points all around these events where they had the Cowboys winning and the speculation of how Lions coach Jim Schwartz would handle the disappointment of such a loss in his post-game press conference.  Evidently, they thought the game was done and dusted long before the game was actually over, and having awarded the Cowboys the game with all of that time left was in and of itself, disconcerting.  A 6-point lead with a reasonable amount of time to play, against an offensive attack that was seemingly unstoppable all day as Calvin Johnson looked as perfectly suited for the nickname, Megatron, as humanly possible, is not in the books before the clock has fully expired.  Billick, having coached in the NFL for a very long time, should have as firm a handle on what happens in the 60th minute of games as anyone, but nevertheless, they seemed as shocked as Jason Garrett that 1:02 might be too much time to give the Lions the ball back.

Back to the game, where facing a 6-point deficit and having 62 seconds to travel 80 yards and punch in a touchdown was now what faced Dallas-raised QB Matt Stafford against a Cowboys defense that was going to back up the linebackers and play everything to the middle of the field if possible.  2 plays gained the Lions 17 yards, but also required :22 of the clock down to :40 and the Lions were still well within their own territory.  This is the portion of the story where we must acknowledge being impressed with the play that Stafford made next.

His day was spotty and his career has certainly shown us that yards don't mean much in the win column, but on this day, Stafford battled his rear end off and kept his head in the game.  This was on full display on the play where he hits his college roommate Kris Durham down the sideline from the opposite hash mark in a demonstration of a big-time arm.  The ball beat Orlando Scandrick vertically and Jakar Hamilton in that window that beats Cover-2.  It is a small window that requires a bazooka for an arm - especially from the opposite side of the field, but Stafford hit Durham in stride after looking Hamilton away.  Would Barry Church have made a difference if he had not exited the game a few minutes earlier with a hamstring issue?  I think that is rather likely, but certainly not a given. If anyone knew that the two safeties that the Cowboys would attempt to use to limit the attack in Detroit that would include a career day for Megatron (among others) would be undrafted rookie Jeff Heath and undrafted rookie Jakar Hamilton, then perhaps we now see attrition playing a major role in Dallas.

The play gained 40 yards down to the Cowboys 23 and now with :33 left, the ominous feelings were loud and clear for all to see.  On the next play, it is back to Calvin Johnson for Stafford on another beautiful throw over the shoulder of Brandon Carr and right to the goal-line, with the safety, Hamilton, again seeming to arrive late on the scene.

And finally, the death blow, with the chaos of the clock ticking down and no Lions' timeouts, Stafford had to try to spike the ball and set up what was surely a situation where they had 1-2 shots at a fade to Megatron again in the end zone.  But, Stafford saw that Dallas was not fully prepared to stop him, so he did what we have seen many alert QBs do at this moment, get that last yard with a simple dive over the goal-line himself.  Risky?  It is being painted that way, but it seems like if it did not work, they surely would have had a chance to clock the ball, but it might have been close.

After the Denver game, we must be careful about how we label the historical significance on certain games, but this one in Detroit is amazing from all sorts of angles.

*  The Cowboys gave up a franchise record 623 yards, shattering the 583 they coughed up to Houston back on November 10, 1991 in a 26-23 overtime loss to the Oilers.  It was the 18th time in franchise history they have given up 500 yards in total offense and the 3rd time this season.  In those games they are 3-15 and now 0-1 when they give up an absurd 600 yards.

*  Dallas lost the game despite winning the turnover battle with a +4.  In franchise history, there have been 46 games in which the Cowboys were a +4 or better, and they are now 44-2 with the other loss being November 28, 1965 against Washington when they lost 34-31.

*  Calvin Johnson caught an absurd 14 passes on 16 targets for 329 yards at 23.5 yards per reception and 1 touchdown.  Only one player in NFL history has had a bigger day and that is when Willie "Flipper" Anderson had 15 catches for 336 yards.  7 yards short of the all-time single-game record.

Much of the aftermath will center around the petulance of Dez Bryant, who was caught again on camera helping everyone on the Cowboys sideline understand that he has all of the answers to all of the questions, but I hesitate to spend much time spinning wheels trying to convince anyone that petulance is uncommon or damaging on NFL sidelines.  He certainly doesn't have the gift of communication in a non-confrontational manner, but again, in this league where we champion heroes of past generations because their temper tantrums seemed to work out, and on this franchise where Bryant was handed the keys to the franchise when he was picked, complaining that Dez acts like the world revolves around him is hardly a good use of internet column space.

More than anything, this game is another frustrating chapter that links the Cowboys to the teams that came before them.  To much of the sporting world, all Dallas teams since the Super Bowls are the same mediocre group that can't get out of its own way.

Now, since the final gun in Tempe at the end of Super Bowl 30, when Jerry and Barry were having a laugh and holding the trophy, the Cowboys are 144-145 in the 289 games (regular season and playoffs combined).  This team is 4-4 and should not be attached to teams that featured Clay Shiver and Eric Bjornson, but they invariably are.  They have to prove - with play in games like this - that this team is of different quality to those that helped fashion this reputation of mediocrity over the last 18 seasons.

And on Sunday in Detroit, they did not.  They played well enough to win and yet found a way to lose.

They will be picked apart this week and have their manhood questioned again.  It is a place they are all too familiar with and then they become the self-fulfilling prophecy of what Dallas Cowboys football is all about.  8-8.

They maybe didn't make this bed, but they sleep in it routinely.  And surviving games like yesterday with a victory is the best way to quiet that lazy narrative.

But, they didn't quiet the narrative yesterday.  They reinforced it.  And that is the burden they carry with them until that day when it changes.

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Decoding Callahan - Week 8 - Getting Dez enough targets, Road 3rd Down futility

Kiffin Report - Week 8 - 500 yard games, 400 yard passing games surrendered

Xs and Os - Week 8 - Matthew Stafford thoroughly schools the rookie safeties

Tomorrow - The Home Win Against Minnesota

Email Bag: Running to Win or Running after Win?

I love advanced metrics.  I love statistics.  I love thinking about new ways to strike down old myths.

I love all of these things, so what you are about to read may be problematic.

In baseball, if I read something from Fangraphs, I generally am not fact-checking.  I take them at their word because they immerse themselves in baseball all summer long.  I don't.  I immerse myself in baseball for 3 hours at a time, but certainly not for weeks or months at a time like those dudes.

But, football?  That's my jam.

So, I want to read your theories and your premises, but they have to pass my tests of observation and study.  I am watching football nearly 12 months a year and almost every day inside those 12 months in some form or fashion.

I want to hear your statistical study, but I am also attending a coaching clinic, talking to scouts, and watching film on my own.  

And if it all fits, great.  But, if the stat guys are saying something that doesn't agree with the coaches and scouts, then someone needs to say something.

You see, statistics can tell us plenty, but it doesn't answer "why?" very often.  Why do we run?  Why do we pass?  Why do we play this guy in this situation and then this guy in this situation?  DVOA never answers that.  They simply measure results and compare numbers.

So, the numbers side of football and the tactical side of football live in two separate universes.

But, what if a guy like me likes to live in both?

Do I silently disagree when I read things that don't hold water with the other side?  This must be why the stat guys and the scouts were always mad at each other in Moneyball.  The stat guys have it all figured out and think that observation only gets in the way sometimes.  

Honestly, when it comes to my football advanced metric thought leaders, Football Outsiders are my guys.  I buy their annual every year.  I love it.  I dive into it.  But, the cornerstone of everything they write and believe is based on the following essay which starts every annual:

You run when you win, not win when you run.

 The first article ever written for Football Outsiders was devoted to debunking the myth of "establishing the run." There is no correlation whatsoever between giving your running backs a lot of carries early in the game and winning the game. Just running the ball is not going to help a team score; it has to run successfully.

There are two reasons why nearly every beat writer and television analyst still repeats the tired old-school mantra that "establishing the run" is the secret to winning football games. The first problem is confusing cause and effect. There are exceptions, usually when the opponent is strong in every area except run defense, like last year's Pittsburgh Steelers. However, in general, winning teams have a lot of carries because their running backs are running out the clock at the end of wins, not because they are running wild early in games. 

The second problem is history. Most of the current crop of NFL analysts came of age or actually played the game during the 1970s. They believe that the run-heavy game of that decade is how football is meant to be, and today's pass-first game is an aberration. As we addressed in an essay in Pro Football Prospectus 2007 about the history of NFL stats, it was actually the game of the 1970s that was the aberration. The seventies were far more slanted towards the run than any era since the arrival of Paul Brown, Otto Graham, and the Cleveland Browns in 1946. Optimal strategies from 1974 are not optimal strategies for today's game. 

A sister statement to "you have to establish the run" is "team X is 5-1 when running back John Doe runs for at least 100 yards." Unless John Doe is ripping off six-yard gains Jamaal Charles-style, the team isn't winning because of his 100-yard games. He's putting up 100-yard games because his team is winning.

Every time I read that, I cringe.  Because they write it in such a manner that it basically relegates all old football people as being confused.  They are so cute and don't understand our method of arithmetic and therefore allow us to explain their game to them.  

What makes it worse is that, on the surface, it makes sense.  We all have memories of our favorite RB being given the ball in the 4th Quarter of a game and the defense can't get a stop.  Emmitt Smith was running the ball down Green Bay's throat in the 1995 NFC Championship Game, and they couldn't stop him.  He was running because the Cowboys were winning.  He was the closer, picking up the save by killing the remainder of the clock.

But, it doesn't even address all of the countless tactical/strategic reasons for running that play out Sunday after Sunday.  Then, countless Madden and Fantasy Football-playing fans read this and agree, partly because it matches their sensibilities for what works in both Madden and Fantasy Football.  It must be right.  Forgive me if I am assuming Head Coaches or Offensive Coorinators don't read Football Outsiders as much as fans, but I am taking that leap without doing the research.

That, of course, leads to people assuming that Football Outsiders have this thing nailed (after all, they tell us that it is the first story they have ever written).  That, in turn, brings it to readers quoting it as if it was sent down from Heaven above.  Gospel.  It must be.  Running is pointless and despite coaches believing in it for a myriad of reasons, we now have proof that it doesn't correlate to winning at all.

Now, to debunk their premise, I could offer you an extend film session on the actual effects of running the ball and physical football.  The coaches and scouts tell you repeatedly that their are two ways to defeat an opponent.  Speed and Power.  Speed is certainly more conducive to highlights and video games, but power still works and always will.  Chip Kelly loves speed and Jim Harbaugh loves power.  The NFL evolves around and around, but at some point you are talking about speed and power or some combination of the two.  The comedy of this, of course, is that Chip Kelly loves speed, but does so inside a running game that is often 60% run at Oregon.  Harbaugh loves to pass, too.  Balance is what we seek.

Quick thought: When I was recently at a coaching clinic, I asked one HS coach about this theory and where he sat on "establishing the run".  His entire reasoning is based on the following - do you think attacking a castle is easier when you surprise them or when they are waiting for you?  You want to pass when they are waiting on the run, not the pass.  It is just trying to enhance your chances of success.

But, really, I think anyone who has ever watched a game knows this. Where I agree with Football Outsiders is the claim that giving Emmitt the ball 20 times is the key to winning as some magical number or formula for victory.  We used to joke that we might as well just take a knee 20 times and presto!

Of course those stats are misleading, especially if most of the runs come after the lead is established.  But the effects of running the ball are almost countless:

* - Running the football forces the defensive front into physical exhaustion, Passing the football forces the offensive line into physical exhaustion.  Are you attacking or defending?  If you are pass protecting, you are in retreat against an attacker.  If you are run blocking, you fire forward at the snap and the defense is trying to defend their spot.  Exhaustion, of course, leads to injuries.  Think of all of the OL injuries.  I suspect most in your head are from pass protection.  DL injuries?  Most in my head are from run stopping, not pass rushing.

* - Running the football slows down pass rushers.  It also stops blitzing.  Catch the defense in a blitz with a nice draw?  That burns your hand and you will be less likely to blitz.  But, why not blitz when you know they are passing all of the time?  Pass rushers also have run responsibilities, but if you oblige them by not running, they become nothing but "rush men".

* - Running the ball keeps you ahead of the sticks.  Even an unsuccessful run play generally gets 2 yards.  Do you like 3rd and 10 or 3rd and 6?  Well, incompletions get nothing and interceptions are worse.  Runs have a lower ceiling, in general, but a higher floor.

* - Perhaps most importantly, Running the ball allows you to control the pace of the game.  If your defense has issues, you can shorten the game.  You can protect the defense by controlling the number of snaps they must stand up to a test by the opposing offense.  If every game averages 11 possessions to each side, would you enhance your situation by limiting each to 8 or 9?  On the other hand, what happens if your pass-happy 3 and outs put Denver or New Orleans back out there for 14?  If the best defense is a good offense, then much of that cliche has to be based on controlling the clock and time of possession.

* - Running the ball occupies the Linebackers and Safeties in their pre snap reading of keys.  This is the beauty of play action passing.  Balance leads to indecision and confusion for the defense.  Playing "Madden-style" (80-90% passing) leads to no confusion whatsoever.  So, I am saying it - running the ball makes passing the ball so much easier.  

All plays are organically connected in football.  Tendencies are the basis for game plans.  Players are calculating what is about to happen in ever huddle.  They rely on what you just did to plan for what you are about to do.  All of this is connected.  It isn't about getting a "magical 20th carry".  It is about confusion and misdirection to get a defense out of position for that next run or pass that might win the game.

And back to Football Outsiders, it isn't even about attacking a weak run defense.  It is about making a defense defend everything.  About making indecision their biggest enemy.  That's all.  

I love those boys, over there.  But, I think their simplicity in this matter is too big of a departure from the logic coaches and scouts use in real football.  Running and being powerful and physical absolutely matters.  A lot.  Chip Kelly is great for the sport, but the Seahawks and 49ers were not slinging the ball around in shotgun last January.

It was ground and pound.  

Don't tell me for a second that they only run because they were ahead.  And that the old timers don't understand how football works these days.

Talk to Pete Carroll or Jim Harbaugh or the millions who watch what "works in today's game".  This, of course, should not be confused for Bob trying to bring back 80% run offenses.  Those days are gone and the great passing attacks are so good that they can replicate many great things about running with short horizontal passes.  But, that should not be mistaken for rendering the power run as antiquated or on the verge of extinction.

Now, back to my defense of Football Outsiders - if their actual point is directed at broadcasters, former players, and other people replacing tactical discussions with age-old cliches, then I am with them.  I think they are against people misapplying perceived truths rather than the overall summary that suggests running has very few positive impacts beyond nostalgia.

I recommend you read their stuff (as I do) and learn about their findings.  It is just on this particular one, I believe a lot of well meaning football enthusiasts are being misled about the actual effects of the running game and while it still owns a vitally important place at the table.

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I realize that I called this post an email bag and then really didn't include much of an email (just a Twitter exchange up top).  So, here is one that I received that I think is worth reading about his findings as a statistician.  I think you will find that Richie and I agree on quite a bit.

Hello Bob,

My name is Richie and I enjoy your work on the Cowboys. I am also a lifelong fan of advanced metrics in sports. I work as a statistician for a living. In fact, I also provide a 'moneyball approach' to the game of golf for several PGA Tour players such as Ben Crane.

I was reading your recent article on how the statisticians are more or less, anti-running game. As a statistician, I used to interpret football in the same fashion. However, over the past 3 years I have started to see the folly in that line of thinking and how it is actually backed up by statistics. I'll try to give some bullet points and I think you will see how this applies to the Cowboys.

1. Historically defensive players have been more than twice as likely to get injured as offensive players. That is just a statistical fact. So, if you're throwing the ball around a lot, you are more likely to burn out your defense. Even if you're scoring tons of points, your defense is on the field longer. In order to stay healthy, the offense needs to be on the field longer because they are much less likely to get injured than the defense.

Forget about Dallas the past 3 seasons, if you look at the Patriots since they ramped up the passing in 2007, their injuries on defense have climbed dramatically.

That's a big reason why teams like Seattle and San Francisco make it to the NFC Championship...their defenses can stay healthier come January while teams like New England have depleted defenses.


2. While not a real statistical tidbit, the wind plays a large role in pass efficiency. So, if you're playing in December at stadiums that tend to get windy like Giants Stadium, the Linc or FedEx, you may have no offense if you are unwilling to run the ball.


3. Overall, passing the ball is more effective than running the ball. But, the standard deviation in results is much bigger. While there is more of a likelihood of gaining at least 8 yards on a passing play, the negative plays are entirely higher like a strip fumble, a sack, an interception or a holding call. Even an incomplete pass is a substantially negative play.

With running the ball, most carries are for 1, 2 or 3 yards. But, the odds of a RB fumbling are far less and the standard deviation in results is smaller.

It's kinda like comparing Barry Sanders vs. Emmitt Smith. Barry could certainly hit the home run and make the big play more often. But, Barry had the most negative carries in the history of the game. So the Lions offense would often start 2nd and 13. Whereas Emmitt may start the Cowboys at 2nd and 7. You need to use the run to help narrow the deviation in results so the offense doesn't have to make up huge amounts of yard in order to keep the chains moving.


4. The one metric I'm fascinated by is the one that shows the Cowboys have never lost when Murray gets 20+ carries in a game. We've seen similar incredible results for coaches like Joe Gibbs, Bill Cowher, Bill Parcells, etc. when they are able to run the ball 20+ times a game.

The common rebuttal to this is that it is a causation flaw. Obviously, you just can't run the ball 20 times in a row and expect to win.

However, the key metrics (carries and win percentage) are both extremes.

What I mean is...20 carries a game is not a lot of carries. Conversely, the win records of coaches like Gibbs, Cowher, Parcells and Garrett is nearly 100%.

20 carries a game means 5 carries per quarter. And if your team does run the ball 20 times in a game...that means they will likely have thrown the ball about 40 times. It's still a 2:1 pass to run ratio.

In order to get those 20 carries, the team can't fall behind by too much early on and the offense has to move the ball to some degree.

But, outside of those situations, the 20+ carries a game stat basically is showing the power of not neglecting the running game. Even if you're scoring points early on by passing the ball, it is critical to stick to the run. It narrows the deviation in results and takes time off the clock and keeps your defense fresh and wears down the opposing team's defense.

As much as I love statistics and I respect many sports statisticians, I think they have neglected these key points. Perhaps they are trying to drive home a certain narrative or they just haven't explored this enough.

Richie

'13 Rewind: Week 7 - Defense Shuts Eagles Down

Throughout the first few weeks in August, we will carefully review the 2013 season week by week. I do this as a matter of habit during every training camp because the offseason allows too many things to fall from my memory banks and I think as I get older, that issue becomes bigger. But, since I write about this team daily and I forget most of the details, I thought perhaps you would like to take this trip as well. Some of you will, I assume most of you will pass on this endeavor, but the blog space is free so don't say that I didn't offer. 

Here is the recap of Week 7's Impressive Win in Philadelphia:

October 21, 2013

What is the only thing better than a divisional win over a rival in the NFL regular season?

Probably a divisional win over a rival - at their place.  And in winning a 17-3 decision in Philadelphia on Sunday afternoon, the 4-3 Dallas Cowboys sit all alone in 1st place in the NFC East for the time being.  Whether they can maintain their perch from here on in will depend on their demonstrating a little consistency and the ability to find clear waters amidst a high number of injuries, but their accomplishments in the first half of the season appear to center around their ability for them to win their divisional match-ups.

And in taking down the Giants, Redskins, and Eagles in succession in the first round of the annual home-and-home divisional series, the Cowboys have emerged as the leaders at the present.  That award is certainly nothing more than discussion fodder, but it puts them in an advantageous posture in a division that seems there for the Cowboys' taking as many of us projected a few months back.

Is the NFC East very good this year?  No.  And it doesn't matter.  The league mandates that you win your division to earn a home playoff game, which means that finishing 2nd in a division with 14 wins is worth less than winning a division with 8 wins.  It is just the way the league is presently set up.  And no apologies need to be offered.

Last night, the Denver Broncos (6-1) lost their first game of the season in their game at Indianapolis, and in doing so they fell out of 1st place in their division because the Kansas City Chiefs are 7-0.  What an amazingly difficult division, right?  Well, maybe, but let's not forget that it took 12 weeks last year for the Broncos to clinch the AFC West as they won that "powerhouse" division by a mere 6 games just last season and the runner-up 7-9 Chargers never troubled them all season.  In fact, there were 3 divisions last season in which only the champion was better than 7-9, so let's not act like this is that uncommon.

The point is, keep your eyes on your own paper, and this season in the NFC East, the Cowboys are very much on schedule to battle for a division title with a 3-0 start inside the division - and in large part they owe that to the performances of the last two weekends where they had to function almost completely without their superstar pass rusher, DeMarcus Ware.  And, 4 interceptions and 6 sacks later for this "no name defense", the Cowboys are restoring the good names of Monte Kiffin and Rod Marinelli by employing the "next man up" philosophy with great effectiveness for the time being.

Collectively, against the division, the Cowboys have allowed a passer rating of 62.5 with 4 TDs (all to Eli Manning on opening night) and 7 INTs and 9 sacks in those 3 divisional games.  Given that this team surrendered a 93.5 passer rating inside the division in 2012 and only found 3 interceptions all season in 6 divisional games, this is a marked improvement against Manning, Robert Griffin, and now, Nick Foles.

The Cowboys have taken chances on churning that roster and switching out their defensive personnel - many by necessity due to a myriad of injuries - at a lot of spots up front, and to the credit of those who we are still getting to know, the work is being done and the opposing QBs (at least those not named Peyton Manning) are having a hard time finding openings down the field.  Marinelli and Kiffin have committed to their career-long philosophies of not risking coverage to bring pressure, and although it does seem that too often the QB has too much time to stand back there and look for opportunities, the Cowboys coverage is getting better and better at staying on their men and limiting big play chances.

Yesterday was a day where many of those in Cowboys uniforms wanted to quiet this discussion about Chip Kelly "owning" Monte Kiffin after those clinics that were administered at Oregon against USC, and on this day Kiffin can enjoy his clear victory.  The Eagles have rolled up production every week, but that stopped in major fashion on this Sunday afternoon against a Cowboys defense that surely looked like the next in a long line of victims.

In 2013, how many times had the Eagles reached 400 yards?  All of them - until yesterday.  The previous low was 425 against Tampa Bay and the previous low for yards per play?  5.7.  So, it should interest you to know that even with a fair amount of yardage coming late in garbage time, the vaunted Eagles attack only rolled up 278 yards and 3.7 yards per play.  That is phenomenal work from the Cowboys defense and while Nick Foles certainly did not appear to be anywhere close to on his game, I might point out that between Sam Bradford, Robert Griffin, and Alex Smith, we might be seeing that Kiffin/Marinelli are capable of making QBs have "bad days" when they play this scheme.  Not all of them, of course, as Phil Rivers and Peyton didn't seem troubled at all, but enough to put you in a spot where you can contend for divisional titles and may be the difference between 8-8 and winning your division.

And LeSean McCoy, the awesome running threat and NFL's leading rusher through this point of the season had to battle for his 55 yards on 18 carries for just 3.1 yards per carry and one run of 10 yards - something he does routinely.  For this banged up and largely cast away defensive front to do the type of work that they did - with phenomenal support from Sean Lee and the linebackers - against the inside zone play of the Eagles attack is worth noting.  And, although Matt Barkley was generous in his ball generosity on his 3 interceptions, it is also worth pointing out that the Cowboys are now at 15 takeaways through 7 games this season after getting 16 in the entirety of 2012.  9 games to play and they need but 1 more takeaway to equal last season's totals.

Meanwhile, the offense saw another week that required grinding to the extremes of everyone's level of patience before they eventually solved their protection issues in the teeth of an Eagles' blitz that threw them off their game in the 1st half.

The Denver game brought on a lot of observations from those of us obsessed with NFL tactics and how a team attacks while another team tries to thwart those attacks.  It is a league filled with brilliant minds and if they sense that you have a weakness, they will force you to defend it.  That is particularly amplified in road games where you must deal with the noise and the swagger of a home team playing in front of its demanding faithful masses.  The Broncos game showed the Cowboys what their offense was capable of, but it showed the league that allowing the Cowboys to have Tony Romo sit in the pocket and pick apart a secondary in coverage is suicidal.  So, while Dallas people were excited to go and score 48 against everyone, the defensive coordinators of the NFC East decided to stop that nonsense by sending more and more pressure at Romo's face and see if he can still find big plays.

That has been the subplot of the Washington and Philadelphia contests, as Jim Haslett blitzed over and over again.  And, Billy Davis decided to mimic that same approach.  Blitz with 5 and sometimes 6, while trying to take away the hook/curl to Witten that has been the staple of the Cowboys blitz counters.  And for much of the 1st half, it worked like a charm.  You could see the frustration mounting as the Cowboys were periodically moving the chains, but just not finding any points.  The Eagles even did something that was more effective than what Haslett was trying the week before in that they seemed to have the ability to drop off after faking or "sugaring" blitzes and getting a quick linebacker drop into Romo's blitz beating spots.    They were showing a 6 or 7 man blitz, but only 4 or 5 actually did blitz and Romo had to decode that with a man in his face and not throw the ball where he normally liked to go (Witten).

This tactic worked well for most of the 1st half and the Cowboys frustration was obvious.  They entered the game pretty sure they would need 30+ to win, and when the defense was giving them an opening to put some space between themselves and the Eagles on the scoreboard, they were not pouncing on the chance - partly because they were giving up sacks and committing penalties at a rapid rate.

But, after the intermission, the Cowboys did a much better job of getting the protections right, and after a Dwayne Harris kick return gave them some space, they started carving things up.  Romo hit Dez Bryant 3 times on that first drive for 13 yards, 12 yards, and then 18 yards on a play that was close to being a touchdown on a crossing pattern, but Bryant did step out at the 2.  Each one of those big plays came against big pressure and the Romo to Bryant combination proved to be too strong on this very important drive.  They only needed 1 3rd down conversion (3rd and 2) on the way down the field and then drew a pass interference in the end zone on Bryant again as the Eagles were having fits trying to deal with the dominant game-breaker.  Philip Tanner punched in the touchdown and the Cowboys finally broke through to take a 10-0 lead before the Eagles touched the ball in the 2nd half.

Despite the breakthrough in strategy and execution, it is still a tight-rope walk in dealing with the blitz, and although the Cowboys had the answers, a missed throw and catch to Miles Austin on the next drive (where Chip Kelly won a challenge) was followed by a major offensive mistake late in the 3rd Quarter.

The Cowboys offense was driving again with a 10-0 lead and in Eagles territory with a chance to take the game by the neck.  Facing a 3rd and 3, the Cowboys were expecting pressure, and had Cole Beasley - who might be the Cowboys great 3rd Down conversion discovery and counter punch to teams suffocating Witten - in a preferable man-to-man matchup with a much slower Mychal Kendricks underneath from the right slot, stacked behind the TE.

Romo waited for Witten to take coverage down the seam and clear out the space by the sticks, and then Beasley fakes Kendricks to the outside and heads back in front of Romo with all sorts of space.  Meanwhile, on Romo's left, Tanner is picking up the blitz, but when he sees that DeMeco Ryans is not blitzing, he decides to clear out across the field back to the right.  This puts Ryans crossing the path of Beasley who is 5 yards deeper, and Ryans picks off a pass that is going to a wide-open Beasley.  First, the interception itself was a magnificent play by the middle linebacker and he returned it into Cowboys territory in a play that could have swung the entire game.

The announcers seemed to not fully notice what was happening as Troy Aikman and Thom Brennaman never seemed to acknowledge that it was not an errant pass intended for Tanner (that would have been well behind him), but rather a pass that was for Beasley.  And here is where it appears Tanner was supposed to clear out in a way that would not bring a linebacker into the path of the throw from the opposite side.  Tanner admitted his error later, but the milk was already spilled.  A small mix-up from a RB in a check-release responsibility might have just swung the game.

And this is where you love what the defense did next.  They held the damage to a minimum - with some help from Foles missing an open Jason Avant - and kept the game from getting out of hand.  JJ Wilcox made two great defensive plays during this sequence, and then George Selvie and Jarius Wynn combined on a sack that ended Foles afternoon altogether.  A field goal cut the game to 10-3, but the stand from the defense after the offense's gaffe was huge.

The Cowboys offense then redeemed itself with a clinical drive that slammed the door with the Eagles continuously blitzing Romo hoping for another gift.  But, there would be no such gifts given as Romo used Bryant, Beasley, Witten, and then finally Terrance Williams on a slant for a touchdown that made the blitz look silly.  17-3 and game over.

This was not easy, nor pretty.  But, it is the type of game that makes you feel that the Cowboys have a grit and resilience that will serve them well as the season develops.  They can deal with adversity and still stay on task.  They can outlast some opponents and fight to the very end each week.  These are characteristics that are vital in the NFL when there are too many wise men on the other sideline to allow for easy conquests.

Winning is difficult in the NFL and so is winning on the road.

But, on Sunday, the Cowboys quieted a fair amount of questions for the time being and got above .500 and into 1st place with a well-earned victory.

Detroit is next.

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Decoding Callahan - Week 7 - Red Zone Improvements

Kiffin Report - Week 7 - The Kiffin Rushmen Approach

Xs and Os - Week 7 - Tanner's gaffe and JJ Wilcox development

Tomorrow - The disaster at Detroit