Cowboys Must Increase Offensive Production Earlier In Games
Coach Wade Phillips claims that the current tendency of his team to start out slow on offense isn’t that important, only how many points you score in the game matters. While this is somewhat true, I disagree. As shown this past Sunday, that early deficit can sometimes be too much to overcome against a good team.
If Dallas had at least made a first down or two in either of their first two possessions and punted the ball deeper into the Patriots’ side of the field, Brady might not have been able to get the two early touchdowns as easily. Yes, Dallas averages 30+ points per game and has a very high scoring offense, but they have put up a dismal 6-points in the first quarter through six games.
In the NFL, a pattern such as this is quickly exploited by the rest of the league and as a result every team the Cowboys play will do their best to get on the board early and often to try and weather out Dallas’ usual point-scoring frenzy that follows sometime either in the second or third quarters. At some point, this weakness, if you will, has to be addressed. So far it appears that even the coaching staff isn’t convinced there is an issue involved.
What is the cause of this apparent anomaly with the offense? Is it that Romo has to get “warmed up” and develop a rhythm before the offense gets moving or is it something more systemic? During the weekly preparation for a game, it’s certain that the opponent’s defensive strategies and formations are studied and game-planned. Does Jason Garrett have to get a “feel” for what the other teams’ defense is doing before he can find the right plays to call? Maybe it’s a combination of the two, I’m not sure, but whatever the reason, it must be changed soon.
Coming into this week, the Cowboys face an inconsistent Minnesota team at home who’s best weapon so far this season has been rookie RB Adrian Peterson. With only a one-game lead in the NFC East over the Giants, allowing the Vikings to stay in the game and possibly have a chance to win is not the best way to continue to play. The offense needs to get it going early and establish a good lead so that the Vikings have to try to pass to catch up, which is something they shouldn’t be able to do.
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This post has 3 comments
October 16th, 2007 at 2:27 pm
I would love to see the Cowboys come out and dominate in the first quarter of ball games, but teams don’t typically win ball games in the first quarter alone.
The Patriots were able to come out and score early on and the Cowboys wasn’t able to make up that difference until the third quarter. Here is the problem though, in order to win a ball game your defense needs to make a few stops. If they can’t get off the field you aren’t going to get any offensive rhythm going.
Also your idea that teams are just going to decide to score early is a little off base. Teams go onto the field with the intent to score every drive, they have to score first.
Dallas lost a game this week, they are now 5-1. The sky isn’t falling yet, so lets just look ahead to the next game.
October 17th, 2007 at 8:39 am
Every season I see the Cowboys play, I am somewhere in these 3 camps.
1. They are a great team and are playing well and have a chance in the playoffs.
2. They are alright. They may not exactly dominate the other teams they play, but can make it to playoffs and can improve.
3. They aren’t any good and have no chance of making playoffs.
I should say that this season, I am somewhere between 1 and 2 (talk about fuzzy logic). Watching Brady and the Patriots offense at work last weekend, the one thing I realize is that Romo and his receivers need a lot more practise to perfect their route running and how he can squeeze the ball in at the right point. Even when he is able to do that, many of the times, it looks like the receievers aren’t able to make plays the way they should. The running game also needs to improve with better interaction between the O-line and the backs.
I felt that we should have been able to put more pressure on Brady like the one time when he fumbled and we were able to score a touchdown. Let us see how they can improve in the coming weeks.
October 18th, 2007 at 12:00 pm
I agree that the slow start is a problem. Even though the Boys scored a lot of points in the later part of those first 5 games, they were aided by a huge turnover ratio. Let’s face it, that isn’t always going to happen especially to a good team like the Pats.
Also, spotting teams that many points can cause a team to alter its game plan or play. Even though they say Garrett sticks to his game plan regardless of the score, the players and Romo especially might feel added pressure. They were lucky to get that pressure removed by the turnovers early.
I don’t know why the coaches are blowing it off. I have always heard it said that coming out and establishing tempo, momentum, and the run are vitally important. I mean 6 points in the entire first quarter all year, come on!
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