Friday
watch this video and play "count the tight ends"
only 2 plays on this video do not include multiple TEs, one the receivers basically are flexed TEs, the other is a kick return, and this guy gets to be the featured running back. This brings me hope, and reminds me how much I love the Cowboys. Read the entry before this for more information on the multiple tight end running sets and how it will affect the Cowboys next season.
Wednesday
AHHHHHHHH!!!! TRAINING CAMP!!!!!
The sun is shining a little brighter, the birds are chirping a little sweeter, food tastes a little better, and it’s still way too hot. That’s right everyone, training camp has begun, and your favorite blogger is excited about it. What I’ll be writing about today was going to be my speculation article about the offense a few days ago when I designed the article outline, but now, after the “state of the team” address (a press conference held by Jerry “JJ” Jones and Wade “WP” Phillips), it can be a factually based article. You’ll have to take my word on all the things I claim to have written down days ago, but my football foresight is not the point of this entry, the point is to get you excited about the offense, and after what I heard in the press conference, I am VERY excited about it.
When I designed the outline for the offense article I was going to write about three things
1.) Strengths — big offensive line, this will help the running backs, RBs are great, o and also Tony
2.) Weaknesses — no established deep threat, lack of depth at WR and OL, few established WRs
3.) How to accommodate that — more running, scheme needs to fit personnel, not vice versa
Fast forward to the press conference, which I, your loyal football servant, listened to and waded through the JJ jargon so as to impart some Cowboy’s brouhaha into your cerebrum. I have plenty of notes from the press conference, like about how the new signing Igor Olshansky is the self proclaimed strongest player in the league and a great run stopper, and how the team will really focus on playing better on special teams by starting practices with those drills, which is exciting, but the most exciting comments came after a question concerning the term, “Romo Friendly.” This was a term coined by JJ earlier in the year after TO was released, JJ said his reasoning was to make the team more “Romo Friendly.” Everyone speculated this meant no more TO being a distraction on the team, and no more TO demanding passes. Those are the reasons TO was released, but that’s not what Romo Friendly meant to JJ.
JJ defines this term as an offense with multiple tight ends that runs the ball with our three great running backs, but because we have studly tight ends and solid possession receivers, we are able to pass the ball to keep the defense honest. The passing game, the spread offense (3 or 4 receivers, usually in shotgun) and the QB will not be the focal point of the offense; it takes the pressure off Romo, making it “Romo Friendly.” This, if you look back to my accommodation notes, is exactly what I felt the team needed to succeed (not that I’m bragging). This team needs to use its strengths, which are a big line and solid running backs, and use the passing game to keep the defense honest, not the other way around (how we played last year). This alone addresses the lack of depth at WR, because with multiple tight end sets there will be fewer WR’s on the field, most likely Williams and Crayton, so as less are used, the depth increases. They also mentioned the depth at OL is improving, as over the course of last year and this off-season they feel the line has vastly improved, which is excellent, considering I’m toying with the idea of writing an entire entry about a lineman I felt torpedoed the Cowboys last season.
The most exciting thing though, is that we have a special ability on the Cowboys, which is run a 2 or 3 tight end set and still have a scary passing attack from the TE position (Witten and Marty B). This is, and will be, extremely stressful for opposing defenses. You’ve got to understand, in football, but especially the NFL, the more linemen, the higher percentage the next play is a running play. Tight ends are linemen, so if a defense sees 2 tight ends run onto the field, they’re thinking the next play very well might be a run. To stop the run the defense either places bigger men on the field to counter, or walks more people into the box (the typical number is 7 players in the box, on a passing down it’ll usually be 6 or maybe 5, and if a team is worried about the run it’ll be 8). For my less cultured readers, the box is the invisible, imaginary area from one end of the offensive line to the other, and up to the linebackers on the defensive side of the ball.
Now here’s the kicker, against the Cowboys, a defense will have a few against this two tight end set, and the Cowboys will have some wonderful counters:
The defense could run out bigger (which means slower) men to stop the run
This makes running the ball tough, as big men are harder to move out of the way so that the running backs have a place to go, so what do the Cowboys do? Pass the ball. We have extremely fast, athletic tight ends that run excellent routes, meaning they should be able to get open against bigger, slower defenders.
The defense could walk more men into the box, usually the strong safety
Instead of having big men, the defense decides to just put more men close to the line of scrimmage in hopes to simply overwhelm the offensive line into submission and tackle the running back before he gets anywhere. These men have to come from somewhere though, and that somewhere is usually pass protection, so where there were 4 men covering 2 receivers, there are now only 3. This means 1 of them should end up in single coverage, meaning there should be plenty of room for Romo to throw a great pass and gain some positive yards.
The defense realizes and fears the passing threats discussed, and plays a standard 7 man box
This, if the Cowboys have a fullback, means there will be 8 blockers (5 linemen + 2 TE + 1 FB) against 7 defenders. A defense never wants to be more than half a man down on either side of the ball during a running play, which is more technical than I care to discuss (comment if you want to know what this means, and I’ll write about it for the next blogget). Shall we say the Cowboys will be able to do that with ease? This means they should rip apart this defense with the running game.
Anyway, this is just something to think about. I was very excited to hear that this is the direction our beloved Boys are headed, because, frankly, it needed to be. Running the ball and defense wins championships; hopefully we’ll execute those two things well enough to find ourselves in the playoffs by season’s end.
When I designed the outline for the offense article I was going to write about three things
1.) Strengths — big offensive line, this will help the running backs, RBs are great, o and also Tony
2.) Weaknesses — no established deep threat, lack of depth at WR and OL, few established WRs
3.) How to accommodate that — more running, scheme needs to fit personnel, not vice versa
Fast forward to the press conference, which I, your loyal football servant, listened to and waded through the JJ jargon so as to impart some Cowboy’s brouhaha into your cerebrum. I have plenty of notes from the press conference, like about how the new signing Igor Olshansky is the self proclaimed strongest player in the league and a great run stopper, and how the team will really focus on playing better on special teams by starting practices with those drills, which is exciting, but the most exciting comments came after a question concerning the term, “Romo Friendly.” This was a term coined by JJ earlier in the year after TO was released, JJ said his reasoning was to make the team more “Romo Friendly.” Everyone speculated this meant no more TO being a distraction on the team, and no more TO demanding passes. Those are the reasons TO was released, but that’s not what Romo Friendly meant to JJ.
JJ defines this term as an offense with multiple tight ends that runs the ball with our three great running backs, but because we have studly tight ends and solid possession receivers, we are able to pass the ball to keep the defense honest. The passing game, the spread offense (3 or 4 receivers, usually in shotgun) and the QB will not be the focal point of the offense; it takes the pressure off Romo, making it “Romo Friendly.” This, if you look back to my accommodation notes, is exactly what I felt the team needed to succeed (not that I’m bragging). This team needs to use its strengths, which are a big line and solid running backs, and use the passing game to keep the defense honest, not the other way around (how we played last year). This alone addresses the lack of depth at WR, because with multiple tight end sets there will be fewer WR’s on the field, most likely Williams and Crayton, so as less are used, the depth increases. They also mentioned the depth at OL is improving, as over the course of last year and this off-season they feel the line has vastly improved, which is excellent, considering I’m toying with the idea of writing an entire entry about a lineman I felt torpedoed the Cowboys last season.
The most exciting thing though, is that we have a special ability on the Cowboys, which is run a 2 or 3 tight end set and still have a scary passing attack from the TE position (Witten and Marty B). This is, and will be, extremely stressful for opposing defenses. You’ve got to understand, in football, but especially the NFL, the more linemen, the higher percentage the next play is a running play. Tight ends are linemen, so if a defense sees 2 tight ends run onto the field, they’re thinking the next play very well might be a run. To stop the run the defense either places bigger men on the field to counter, or walks more people into the box (the typical number is 7 players in the box, on a passing down it’ll usually be 6 or maybe 5, and if a team is worried about the run it’ll be 8). For my less cultured readers, the box is the invisible, imaginary area from one end of the offensive line to the other, and up to the linebackers on the defensive side of the ball.
Now here’s the kicker, against the Cowboys, a defense will have a few against this two tight end set, and the Cowboys will have some wonderful counters:
The defense could run out bigger (which means slower) men to stop the run
This makes running the ball tough, as big men are harder to move out of the way so that the running backs have a place to go, so what do the Cowboys do? Pass the ball. We have extremely fast, athletic tight ends that run excellent routes, meaning they should be able to get open against bigger, slower defenders.
The defense could walk more men into the box, usually the strong safety
Instead of having big men, the defense decides to just put more men close to the line of scrimmage in hopes to simply overwhelm the offensive line into submission and tackle the running back before he gets anywhere. These men have to come from somewhere though, and that somewhere is usually pass protection, so where there were 4 men covering 2 receivers, there are now only 3. This means 1 of them should end up in single coverage, meaning there should be plenty of room for Romo to throw a great pass and gain some positive yards.
The defense realizes and fears the passing threats discussed, and plays a standard 7 man box
This, if the Cowboys have a fullback, means there will be 8 blockers (5 linemen + 2 TE + 1 FB) against 7 defenders. A defense never wants to be more than half a man down on either side of the ball during a running play, which is more technical than I care to discuss (comment if you want to know what this means, and I’ll write about it for the next blogget). Shall we say the Cowboys will be able to do that with ease? This means they should rip apart this defense with the running game.
Anyway, this is just something to think about. I was very excited to hear that this is the direction our beloved Boys are headed, because, frankly, it needed to be. Running the ball and defense wins championships; hopefully we’ll execute those two things well enough to find ourselves in the playoffs by season’s end.
Monday
The mothership
So yesterday, thanks to my new favorite friend Elizabeth, I was able to attend the World “Futbol” challenge. Chelsea played Club America, it was a great game, Chelsea won 2-0, but that’s not what I’m here to write about, though I most likely could jabber on about that for far too long, I’ll save everyone the trouble. What I am here to jabber about is the venue, that’s right; I attended the game in the mother-ship, the beast that rises out of the horizon while streaking down I-30, the new Cowboy’s stadium. Let me tell you, if a stadium can spur a team on to victory, there is no greater force in the world than this place. I wanted to write about it the second I got back, but I didn’t want to sound too sensational while talking about a building. A night’s sleep later and a few hours of the next day I can still say with assured confidence that this stadium is truly, truly amazing. Now I will say the traffic is a fairly serious problem, but you shouldn’t have to worry about it. What you should worry about is when the doors open, because you should be there at that exact moment, to allow yourself a few hours to wander this incredible feat of engineering. The huge HD screen, the unbelievably nice areas, the glass walls at both endzones can open, the hole in the roof can open, and it really is quite something. What I liked most though is how close the fans are to the field, and how the stadium stares down onto the field. An interesting architectural anomaly with some stadiums is it feels too open, the lower level fans are engaged, but if you’re up too high, there’s too much of a disconnect. Granted I sat in a box very close to field level, but from the lower section looking up, it really feels like the entire stadium is watching intently what is happening on the field, or at least the big screen. The seating really has the feeling that it’s engulfing the field, and that seats have been placed almost everywhere possible to cram as many Cowboys fans in as possible. Also it’s a dome, which means we can get some serious noise going in there. What I’m trying to express is it’s a very intimidating stadium. It’s huge, and yet I don’t believe there is a seat in there that I would consider a bad place to have to sit, and coming down the tunnel to play the Cowboy’s is going to mess with almost every opposing players head, because I can almost guarantee the noise will be deafening. I don’t care how quiet Cowboys fans have been in the past, stick 80,000 people in a stadium and it’ll get loud, I don’t care who you are. The Cowboys are in for a real treat this season, let’s hope they earn this stadium and christen it the right way. Anyway, this is less analysis and more me still freaking out about the stadium, but the Cowboys are a very lucky team, and the fans, if any of us are lucky enough to enter the place, are very lucky fans. Hopefully our boys can step up and play to the level of that stadium, because let me tell you, if they do, it will be a really great season.
Wade's D
Hi all, so I’ve written two fairly light bloggets concerning the Cowboys and where this blog will be going in general, and then an extremely specific over the top mathematical study into the T.O. conundrum, and some of you may be asking, what about the team Blake, WHAT ABOUT OUR COWBOYS! Well, that’s where today’s entry comes in and, barring some horrific incident, the next bunch of entries. Today’s entry will focus on my favorite side of the ball, and I’m not talking faces or laces, I’m talking the D!-fensive side of the ball. More specifically the defense and how Wade Phillips has finally taken over, and I am WAY excited about it, But hey, this blog isn’t about me, clearly I’m overly excited about the Cowboys, I’m blogging about them at an obsessive pace. This blog is about you, the reader, to inform you of things you might not have known, and maybe, just maybe, getting you as excited as me for this up coming season.
So to Wade, the man that many fingers point to when asked the question, “what’s the problem with the Cowboys?” He may have been a pushover last season, he may have lead camp cupcake in spring training, he may have failed to get our boys to a playoff birth, but he has pride too, and I think it finally kicked in this summer. Wade was brought in to coach a team that I don’t think he liked very much. The T.O. buzzsaw was hard at work cutting the team in two, we had Pacman Jones…nuff said, a defense that didn’t work to Wade’s style, and a general manager who brought players in that put fans in the stands, but not exactly points on the board, and Wade was asked to coach this team. He addressed the challenge head on, like a true professional, but was truly embarrassed last season.
--note, past this point is purely speculation, but is backed up with facts, enjoy--
This irritated him, and I believe he took these problems to Jerry and said listen, “you want me to win with your players, I tried, it’s not happening. I want these players gone, I want these players in, and I will give you a championship caliber defense.” Jerry obliged, and now to the juicy facts.
You might be wondering how I know this and how I know that these moves were Wade oriented, and I say just look at the off-season movement. THIS is when things get a little exciting. Everyone knows about the players we got rid of this season, no more Roy Williams pretending to be a safety, no more T.O. or pacman, thank the lord in heaven, and no more Tank Johnson driving around a car full of guns. All the big signings that had Jerry Jones written all over it are gone. Tell me this is not a good sign that the wicked witch is dead. Now to the really exciting part though, you want proof Wade is taking ownership in his team, look at EVERY defensive signing we’ve brought in this year, there are 5. Are you looking, researching, and studying them yet? Of course not, that’s why you’re here, well I have, and allow me to share what I have found. Here is a list of the 5 signings.
1.) DT Jonas Seawright
2.) S Gerald Sensabaugh
3.) DE Igor Olshansky
4.) LB Matt Stewart
5.) LB Keith Brooking
Number one, the DT, was acquired from the Giants; he’s a fairly new face in the NFL. The safety at number 2 is also not part of the pattern, but is a stud safety that could do well for our team, but can anyone tell me what the other 3 have in common, ANYONE?
Ok, I’ll tell you. The 3 players we’ve brought in, numbers 3-5, have all played for Wade Phillips in the past and had great seasons with him, this means Wade is bringing in players he likes and respects, this is a HUGE deal. Wade is building a defense he thinks he can win with, instead of tiptoeing around all these idiots Jerry has been bringing in. I know its just 3 moves, but 3 starters is quite a change on a defense, and the other two guys look very promising too. Wade is building a defense he wants and getting rid of the idiots who caused problems. This is Wade’s team now, no matter what you hear, and now you have the data to back it up. We’ve kicked out the troublemakers and brought in really good players that Wade wanted. Tell me this isn’t exciting. It’s like the title says, its Wade’s D-fense now, but it’s also Wade’s D-allas (see what I did there?) and you should be really excited about it. Sorry this one was a little longer, anyway its like I said, this is all speculation, but I believe its all moves in the right direction for our team, please comment and discuss, thanks guys, keep reading em and I’ll keep cranking em out. PEACE!
So to Wade, the man that many fingers point to when asked the question, “what’s the problem with the Cowboys?” He may have been a pushover last season, he may have lead camp cupcake in spring training, he may have failed to get our boys to a playoff birth, but he has pride too, and I think it finally kicked in this summer. Wade was brought in to coach a team that I don’t think he liked very much. The T.O. buzzsaw was hard at work cutting the team in two, we had Pacman Jones…nuff said, a defense that didn’t work to Wade’s style, and a general manager who brought players in that put fans in the stands, but not exactly points on the board, and Wade was asked to coach this team. He addressed the challenge head on, like a true professional, but was truly embarrassed last season.
--note, past this point is purely speculation, but is backed up with facts, enjoy--
This irritated him, and I believe he took these problems to Jerry and said listen, “you want me to win with your players, I tried, it’s not happening. I want these players gone, I want these players in, and I will give you a championship caliber defense.” Jerry obliged, and now to the juicy facts.
You might be wondering how I know this and how I know that these moves were Wade oriented, and I say just look at the off-season movement. THIS is when things get a little exciting. Everyone knows about the players we got rid of this season, no more Roy Williams pretending to be a safety, no more T.O. or pacman, thank the lord in heaven, and no more Tank Johnson driving around a car full of guns. All the big signings that had Jerry Jones written all over it are gone. Tell me this is not a good sign that the wicked witch is dead. Now to the really exciting part though, you want proof Wade is taking ownership in his team, look at EVERY defensive signing we’ve brought in this year, there are 5. Are you looking, researching, and studying them yet? Of course not, that’s why you’re here, well I have, and allow me to share what I have found. Here is a list of the 5 signings.
1.) DT Jonas Seawright
2.) S Gerald Sensabaugh
3.) DE Igor Olshansky
4.) LB Matt Stewart
5.) LB Keith Brooking
Number one, the DT, was acquired from the Giants; he’s a fairly new face in the NFL. The safety at number 2 is also not part of the pattern, but is a stud safety that could do well for our team, but can anyone tell me what the other 3 have in common, ANYONE?
Ok, I’ll tell you. The 3 players we’ve brought in, numbers 3-5, have all played for Wade Phillips in the past and had great seasons with him, this means Wade is bringing in players he likes and respects, this is a HUGE deal. Wade is building a defense he thinks he can win with, instead of tiptoeing around all these idiots Jerry has been bringing in. I know its just 3 moves, but 3 starters is quite a change on a defense, and the other two guys look very promising too. Wade is building a defense he wants and getting rid of the idiots who caused problems. This is Wade’s team now, no matter what you hear, and now you have the data to back it up. We’ve kicked out the troublemakers and brought in really good players that Wade wanted. Tell me this isn’t exciting. It’s like the title says, its Wade’s D-fense now, but it’s also Wade’s D-allas (see what I did there?) and you should be really excited about it. Sorry this one was a little longer, anyway its like I said, this is all speculation, but I believe its all moves in the right direction for our team, please comment and discuss, thanks guys, keep reading em and I’ll keep cranking em out. PEACE!
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