THE OFFICIAL 2023 DALLAS COWBOYS OFF-SEASON THREAD || Cowboys Gonna Cowboy

[va757va]

how good or bad the defense is rest on what spencer and ware do this year. LB core could be great but they become useless if both DT are getting zero pressure and ran over at the line

carr and Mo go from playing man cover there whole careers to ask to be zone coverage man.

if they can stay healthy the front seven should benefit GREATLY from this switch...i think ratliff/hatcher benefit the most..then the LBs since they wont have to take on lineman as much..

carr/claiborne in essence should adjust good too...think of seattles/chicagos defense last year, thats what monty wants from our corners...alot of zone but its starting with press/bump nd run coverage..allowing our corners to use their strengths (bumping the man at the line) then transitioning to whatever zone in the back end..

Rumor has it offer was sent to Brian Waters... Deal might happen this week. 

instant upgrade..this would actually get me hyped about the line..

 

[licensed to ball]

My girls brother (big Boys' fan) invited me to roll to their training camp after work today. I said sure, why not? Maybe I can get a couple autos and pics.

I'll share anything interesting with you guys later this evening

 

[do work son]

random question, but why do the cowboys hold training camp in california every year?

 

[kid fiasco]

My girls brother (big Boys' fan) invited me to roll to their training camp after work today. I said sure, why not? Maybe I can get a couple autos and pics.

I'll share anything interesting with you guys later this evening

Hook me up with a Dez autograph so I know it's real. 

have fun fam. 

 

[kid fiasco]

random question, but why do the cowboys hold training camp in california every year?

The Cowboys finished a five-year contract with the city of San Antonio last year and elected to move camp to California. In 2010, the Cowboys held a split training camp here and in San Antonio. 

"We really like everything about it," coach Jason Garrett said about training in Oxnard. "The weather is something everybody talks about, that's a good thing, I think it allows you to get more work in. The players are more focused on what we're asking them to do instead of the Gatorade and water jug behind them. We've all practiced in some of those really, really hot Texas days where the focus isn't on competing against each other. It's where's the trainers? Where's the water? Give me a hold towel. All of that stuff. We feel like this gets you away from the mindset and lets you go to work. We got a lot of football plays to run." 

Training camp was held in Oxnard from 2004-to-2006, it was the first time the team had been in California since 1998. After 1988, the Cowboys conducted training camp in Wichita Falls, Texas, with the exception of a split camp in Oxnard in 2001, until moving to San Antonio for the 2002 season. 

The Cowboys have held training camps in Oregon; Minnesota; Michigan; Austin, Texas; and Thousands Oaks, Calif.

Per ESPN Article Last Year. 

Never heard of it until Cowboys host training camp there... I guess sight seeing is on point there and fans apparently don't have a problem on the location/drive. 

 

[do work son]

i would hope it's more of a fan thing then a "it's too hot in texas" thing

 

[licensed to ball]

There is nothing to sight see in Oxnard. It's a horrible town. But It fits the perfect place for a training camp. Lots of open fields and space. Good weather. No distractions.

If the players get days off on their rest days they can head 45 minutes north to see Santa Barbara or head 45 minutes south to see LA. So it's perfectly in the middle of both. But not too close to either so coaches don't have to worry about daily distractions during practice days.

 

[Ox.]

There is nothing to sight see in Oxnard. It's a horrible town. But It fits the perfect place for a training camp. Lots of open fields and space. Good weather. No distractions.

If the players get days off on their rest days they can head 45 minutes north to see Santa Barbara or head 45 minutes south to see LA. So it's perfectly in the middle of both. But not too close to either so coaches don't have to worry about daily distractions during practice days.

talking down my city 

 

[alsdaman30]

I'd be totally fine with Leary, Frederick, and Bernadeau on the interior. I am more concerned with the interior of the DL. I think Hatcher will be fine but everyone else is questionable.

 

[kid fiasco]

http://espn.go.com/blog/dallas/cowboys/post/_/id/4712398/cowboys-claim-defensive-end

OXNARD, Calif. -- The Cowboys claimed defensive tackle Thaddeus Gibson  off waivers after he was released by the Tennessee Titans. 

To make room for Gibson, the Cowboys released tackle James Nelson. 

There are some health issues along the defensive line. Defensive tackle Jay Ratliff, defensive end Anthony Spencer  and defensive tackle Sean Lissemore  are nursing injuries. Ratliff hasn't practiced in training camp. 

 

[blackboyfly]

Telling y'all, Dez will put together one of the best seasons we've seen from a Cowboy in a long long time.

 

[mr s j king]

He did that last year. Good chance this year he has the best season a Cowboys receiver has ever had.

 

[blackboyfly]

He did that last year. Good chance this year he has the best season a Cowboys receiver has ever had.

Nah, I mean a really really special year. Like DWare's 20 sack season.

He'll be off the charts more than just statistically.

 

[mpire]

I don't think he tops T.O's 15 TDs 1400 yards in 15 games but he''ll get darn close.

 

[kid fiasco]

Either Witten or Dez will get double digit TDs this season. 

I'll be content if both of them do. 

 

[mr s j king]

Gotta remember Dez put up 2/3 of those stats in 8 games, and wasn't the first option in the passing game.
T.O. was the main option in the passing game and had a decent running game that helped him out too.
On one hand I want Dez to have a heck of a year.
On the other hand I want us to have a balanced attack because that will win more games.

 

[mr s j king]

Please read this article about our offense. Garrett was disgusting as an OC.
Offensive Upgrades

Football is a game of competing minds. The Cowboys’ coaches must not only figure out what their players do best, but they need to determine how they can play to their players’ strengths while knowing that the opposing coaches are trying to limit the effectiveness of those strengths. In many situations, that can lead to counterintuitive thinking; the Patriots, for example, do such a great job of taking away an opponent’s best option that, in many situations, it’s optimal to build the game plan around “sub-optimal” players. Quite the paradox.

The study of this sort of decision-making – the type that’s governed by rational minds, often in a zero-sum game (just like football) – is known as game theory. The best way to make sense of the concepts behind game theory is with an example.

Last week, I published an article detailing why I think the running game philosophy is changing under Bill Callahan. In it, I mentioned that the Cowboys have historically had the most success running to the weak side and from spread formations, i.e. where they have the fewest blockers. It’s not inherently advantageous to run where there aren’t any blockers, of course, but since defenses typically have fewer defenders in those areas, the net effect is positive.

So why don’t the Cowboys just run to the weak side all the time? Well, that would obviously be a problem since defenses would catch on quite quickly, negating the advantage the Cowboys once possessed. So NFL offenses need to find some sort of balance, running optimal plays as much as they can before defenses defend them differently. The point that will maximize overall efficiency is known as the Nash equilibrium. In regards to run location, that point is where the efficiency of weak-side runs matches that of strong-side runs. And since NFL teams are still much more successful when running to the weak side, it follows that they should be doing it more often.

NFL coaches obviously don’t need to concern themselves with the specifics of equilibriums and complex decision theory, but they should be doing two things: 1) calling the “unexpected” in an effort to remain one step ahead of the opponent, and 2) determining when it’s best to play to your strengths and when you should be focused on exploiting opponent weaknesses (or, preferably, both).

Expect the Unexpected

Thus far through two preseason games, we’ve already seen a change in the Cowboys’ play-calls. Although they’ve expectedly stayed “vanilla,” the ’Boys have still run the ball way more often to the perimeter and thrown more screen passes than what we saw in 2012. Those play-types suggest that Callahan is at least taking opponents’ actions into account when picking plays – a rudimentary form of game theory.

So without further ado, here are the “unexpected” play-types, the plays that might be sub-optimal in a vacuum but most beneficial in practice, that the Cowboys should consider running more often in 2013.

Counters
There’s no single type of play that I’d like to see more in 2013 than the counter. Counters take a long time to develop and there’s a bigger opportunity for negative yardage than on a dive or other quick-hitting run, but there’s also a (much) larger probability of hitting a home run. From 2009 to 2011, Dallas averaged over 7.0 yards per carry (YPC) on counters! They ran only six of them last year, however, likely due to concerns about the offensive line.

And as mentioned, weak-side runs are usually best. The Cowboys have actually increased their rate of weak side runs, which was as low as 19.5 percent, every year since 2009. In 2012, it was nearly double that.

Screens
Everyone seems to believe that the Cowboys need to run the ball more often to take pressure off of Tony Romo (which is a form of game theory itself), but why not run more screens? Screens are high-percentage passes that can hold back pass-rushers, generating the same effect you’d want from a handoff (risk minimization), but with higher upside.

Dallas ran only 24 screens in all of 2012, and 16 of those were to receivers. Those aren’t the screen passes I’m talking about (although they can be useful at times). Rather, the Cowboys look like they’re going to run more running back screens under Callahan, which shouldn’t be difficult considering they called an average of one every two games last season. With exceptional pass-catching backs, there’s no reason that we shouldn’t see more screens in 2013.

Spread Runs and Tight Passes
One of the great things about having versatile tight ends is that you can split them out wide and utilize spread formations with heavy personnel. That allows you to keep your best blockers on the field when you want to run, yet still spread out the defense. And that sort of strategy works.



The Cowboys have always been most successful when calling a play that is “unexpected” based on the formation. Again, it might be best to run from tight formations in theory, but in practice, it’s typically most beneficial to run from spread formations (and pass from tight ones) due to the defense’s preconceptions and actions.

Play-action passes
If you follow me on Twitter (@BalesFootball), you know I talk quite a bit about play-action passes during the season. That’s because they’re underutilized by just about every NFL team. Of the 27 quarterbacks who took at least half of their team’s snaps in 2012, only five of them had a lower yards per attempt (YPA) on play-action passes than straight dropbacks.

And Romo was one of the league’s best. He completed 66.2 percent of his play-action looks, averaging 8.6 YPA and generating a 109.1 passer rating. He recorded a passer rating of 88.3 on all other passes.

Despite that, the Cowboys had the lowest play-action pass rate in the NFL, by far. Romo attempted a play-action pass on just 10 percent of his dropbacks. The difference between Romo and the second-lowest quarterback, Eli Manning, was larger than the difference between Manning and the next 11 quarterbacks!


And I know it’s popular to argue that you can’t run play-action passes without an effective running game, but that’s just not true. Defenses play situations, not necessarily past rushing efficiency, so defenders typically bite up on play-action passes based on the down-and-distance, not whether you’re averaging 5.0 YPC or 3.5 YPC.

We saw Romo have success on play-action without a running game, and the same was true for passers like Matt Ryan, Ryan Tannehill, Ben Roethlisberger, Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck, all of whom ranked in the top 10 in play-action passer rating with rushing offenses ranked 20th or worse in efficiency. Actually, of the 10 most successful play-action passers in 2012, only two, Cam Newton and Robert Griffin III, played on offenses that ranked in the top 10 in rushing efficiency (and that’s really just because of their own rushing prowess).

So the Cowboys’ rate of play-action passes should really increase in 2013, regardless of whether or not the rushing game improves.

 

[blackboyfly]

^^^^^ Already seen more screens and play action passes in the pre season than we saw all of 2012 JG could move the ball but his play calling was too predictable. Romo was one of the 5 best play action QB's last year yet the Cowboys ran the least amount of play action plays In the league by far. Just another reason to be optimistic for the season.

 

[slicknick951]

^^^^^ Already seen more screens and play action passes in the pre season than we saw all of 2012 JG could move the ball but his play calling was too predictable. Romo was one of the 5 best play action QB's last year yet the Cowboys ran the least amount of play action plays In the league by far. Just another reason to be optimistic for the season.

This

Its early but i like what i see

 

[blackboyfly]

 

[mr s j king]

He's torn that knee up 2 or 3 times, so he needs to take every precaution.

 

[mr s j king]

Are they showing todays game nationally?

 

[36Hypno]

NFL Network

 

[mr s j king]

So yall saw Dwayne Harris fumble that punt

 

[ackdaquick]

So yall saw Dwayne Harris fumble that punt

He got stood up and robbed. Sometimes you gotta just go down. Secondary looking decent but Fitz is doing his thing.