Cowboys Running Game (with Diagrams)

[AlexGreen#20]

Posted this on the GB but figured it was just as relevant, if not more so, here.

I don’t have any classes today and was pondering what happened to the Cowboys running game that was so lethal when they had their starting backfield healthy. So, I went through and diagrammed the big play that gained them so many yards against the Rams. Demarco Murray absolutely murdered them on a combination ISO run/delayed draw which I found to be a pretty damn interesting combination.

And yet as interesting as it is, it’s not a particularly good play because it requires the defense to make a ton of mistakes if it’s going to go for big yardage. It’s a play that even if it’s blocked perfectly it may be a gain of nothing if the defense plays it even moderately competently.

Here's the actual play. I apologize for the quality and the music but it was the best I could find.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17y6VgC4HsQ&t=0m9s

Here’s the chalk-up of the play:



Now the first big screwup, comes from the playside Defensive Tackle who starts out here:



And ends up here



Because he finds himself so drastically out of position, this is the hole that Demarco Murray has to work with.



Sadly enough, we’re not even close to done, demonstrating the Rams defense’s screw-ups here.

I’d like to introduce everybody to the Rams LBs of last year. All three are frozen like deer in the headlights off of Romo’s dropback, not sure if they should play the run, or drop back into coverage. Had they done either, this play isn’t a huge gain, instead they’re frozen completely. Note the Fullback gaining a full head of steam, that's going to hurt the Rams badly in a second.



The worst play was made by the WILL Linebacker who attacked the entirely wrong hole and runs straight into a block that he doesn’t get off of until it’s way too late. It would be one thing if the Cowboys Offensive Line blocked this well, but the Left Guard plays it lackadaisically and lazy. The two players meet lazily like they have a dinner date or something.

The SAM Linebacker just gets blocked by the split out Tight End, and doesn’t even get close to getting off the block. The effort was pathetic, and the execution was almost as bad.

Now we get to Lauranitas and I call him out by name because he’s the only player on the Ram’s side of this play that even vaguely resembles relevance in the grand scheme of the NFL. The man just freezes which is the absolute worst thing he could’ve done. The proper play is to charge forward and meet the Fullback in the hole. It’s a lot like the Thumper’s role in a 3-4, to be the fullback of the defense, to stalemate the leadblocker in the hole so that the RB has nowhere to run and your own guys can come free. Lauranitas takes on the block, the problem is that because he froze and the fullback has a full head of steam, he’s late. He takes on the Fullback outside of the hole. He’s not clogging the hole, he’s just getting blocked. There aren’t any teammates coming from behind to make the play anyway because the Rams OLBs were/are awful, but maybe if he forces Murray to cut, the Safeties might make a play and prevent a Touchdown.



Because everybody on defense screwed up, Murray hits the third level without having been touched or forced to change direction significantly. A great play by a Safety might have saved it but this is last year’s Rams we’re talking about. Murray walks into the endzone totally untouched
throughout the entire play.

If the Rams play this properly, Lauranitas and the FB meet in the red zone and the Defensive Tackle and the guard are fighting in the blue zone. This would fill the hole and force Murray to go elsewhere with the ball rather than up the middle completely untouched.



What we’re seeing this year is that teams have figured the play out. Defensive Tackles are staying home on it and Linebackers are filling appropriately. It’s a “trick” play that’s been used a few too many times and is no longer effective. The problem is that Jason Garret doesn’t view it that way apparently because it continues to be the Cowboys most commonly called run play.

A smart coach would try and design an effective play action counter to take advantage when Linebackers get pulled up to stop it. Getting the TE that’s blocking behind the MIKE that’s charging forward could yield some big yards and would hopefully freeze the MIKE so that Garret’s Delayed Power Draw could get yards again.

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Good thread, bad thread, do more?

Opinions?

[flyingmonkey30]

Good work man, that was a good breakdown
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[Tha King]

I doubt our struggles in the running game are due to Garrett not getting creative enough with the run game.We can't run the ball because our lineman and Fullback are struggling to run-block,you could literally put them in any formation and they'll likely still struggle.
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"Hope is what makes us strong. It is why we are here. It is what we fight with when all else is lost."

[Dboys88-82]

[AlexGreen#20]

[Rtnldave]