Cowboys Homers... (1 Viewer)

[Mr. Nasty]

With Romo out for 6-8 weeks and Kitna at the helm, do the Cowboys now move to a more run oriented offense? Or do they let Kitna chuck it up? With Felix, Marion and Tashard, doesn't it make sense to run the ball more and take the pressure off Kitna (or at least try to)? Any rumblings in Big D?

 

[hip80]

IDK, but I had this same thought, and Marion Barber is sitting on the waiver wire in my 10 team league. I'm also not a Cowboy homer, but I'd think opponents would definitely key in on these things:

1. Kitna cannot be very mobile at his age

2. Kitna's arm is not Romo's

3. The logical thing to do is run more

4. The Cowboys have not been able to run all year

So even if the Cowboys do try to shift to the run, most teams will probably stack the box, make Kitna throw, and blitz a lot.

 

[Breesisdaman]

Im not a homer but until Kitna can prove himself through the air I would bet any defense would stack the box and force Dallas to throw.

 

[jdubs952]

Kitna's a vet....while the vertical passing game might suffer, i still believe their offensive tendencies dont change much. I do expect to see more screens and check downs to get Felix in space esp. w/ a less mobile qb.

 

[Mr. Nasty]

Good points. I have both Jones and Barber and am thinking about dropping Barber to pick up Donald Brown (Addai owner). Just didn't want to drop him if the word out of Dallas is that they are going to hammer the ball running it. Not sure why they would be able to run it now since they haven't been able to all year...as stated above.

 

[bill bates hits hard]

Think they will run a bit more but dez is emerging and he will get more targets. Miles plus more dez equals still not a lot of running.

 

[Banger]

they may want to run more but they will be less effective IMO

 

[Mr. Nasty]

Is Barber an afterthought?

 

[John 14:6]

Is Barber an afterthought?

I think so. I'm dropping him in my waivers tonight...

 

[Gordon09]

they may want to run more but they will be less effective IMO

This.They're bad enough at running with Romo at QB, can't imagine it getting better with Kitna at QB. The running game stinks, look elsewhere.

 

[Ridgelake]

Dallas doesnt have the line to run more. Especially against teams with quicker fronts. Their line can handle size/strength, but not speed.

Dallas' offense was already doing all it could to hide the horrible o-line. Lots of short passes. The occasional run to keep defenses honest. But Garrett has shown this year through his play calling that he cannot trust the line to hold blocks long enough for the downfield throwing offense that he loves.

He wants to run the Don Coryell/Earnie Zampese offense that couples a power running game with downfield throws. This is the offense run by the Cowboys in the 90s and run fairly effectively 3-4 years ago when they were near the league leaders in points scored. But the line has degraded to such a degree that Garrett can't run this offense any more.

You're going to continue to see a short passing game. Thats all they can effectively do right now.

 

[tdhartis]

Give Kitna some credit, hes a decent QB, albeit old. I don't think the game plan changes much with him behind center. Maybe shorter routes and less bombs downfield, but with the WR core that Dallas has I believe that is their only chance to win and they know that. Their o-line is too poor to support any semblance of a decent run game, but I do forsee a good number of screens and dumpoffs to Jones. I think besides being a their GL back, Barber has become even less of the game plan then before.

 

[Chaka]

They had a lead when Romo went down and they didn't run more.

They won't be able to run more if the defense continues to not show up.

They are not very good at running the ball in the first place.

Jason Garret never met a pass play he didn't like.

 

[tdhartis]

They had a lead when Romo went down and they didn't run more.They won't be able to run more if the defense continues to not show up.They are not very good at running the ball in the first place.Jason Garret never met a pass play he didn't like.

 

[road warrior]

Think the run is done in Big D this year. As mentioned before, they don't have even an average run blocking line. And I'm not sure if it's the added weight or what, but Felix just can't make anyone miss. As for Barber, well, we saw Jacobs have a nice comeback for the G-men. But I'm not holding my breathe on that one either.

Keep an eye out this week. If they can't run against Jax, I don't see either as a play going forward. I'm expecting to see Choice as the featured back in the next couple of weeks as long as things keep on their current path.

 

[WFR]

I'm expecting to see Choice as the featured back in the next couple of weeks as long as things keep on their current path.

I wondered about this myself.I especially thin that if the season gets away from them they may turn more to Choice.Thinking about making a move for him beforehand.

 

[footballnerd]

It just seems so Jerry Jones to want to feature his newly repaired Cadillac of a receiver, Dez Bryant.

 

[Chaka]

I'm expecting to see Choice as the featured back in the next couple of weeks as long as things keep on their current path.

I wondered about this myself.I especially thin that if the season gets away from them they may turn more to Choice.Thinking about making a move for him beforehand.

Felix will remain the lead back as long as he is healthy and Jerry Jones owns the team.Choice might begin to eat into Barber's carries if he remains ineffective, but it's Felix's job until he gets hurt or Jerry Jones sells the team.

 

[steelwind]

Clarence Hill is the beat writer for Dallas Cowboys. Usually what he writes about the Cowboys is what you will see on the field.

"Running game to become focus for Dallas Cowboys

Posted Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2010

A Rangers' blueprint for success could work for Cowboys, too

By Clarence E. Hill Jr.

chill@star-telegram.com

IRVING -- With quarterback Tony Romo out six to eight weeks and 38-year-old Jon Kitna in as his replacement, the Dallas Cowboys will try to emphasize the run more going forward.

Of course to do that, the Cowboys need better production from the running game.

Virtual starter Felix Jones, who gets the bulk of the carries, ranks 38th in the NFL with an average of 44 yards per game. Ceremonial starter Marion Barber, who is mainly the short-yardage back, ranks 51st with 30.2 a game. Combined, their 74.2 yards per game would rank them only 16th in the league.

Coach Wade Phillips said using popular third back Tashard Choice is not the answer.

He said the Cowboys just haven't given the other two good enough chances to be successful because of poor blocking and limited opportunities.

"There are two other guys I think are running hard," Phillips said. "We've got to block better for them. We've got to execute the plays better. I don't have a problem with the way they're running.""