The Cowboys' O Line: Who'll Stop the Rain?

by Rafael Vela on Dec 22, 2008 11:44 PM CST Comment 28 comments

A tip o' the hat to blogger Kansas, who produced the core stats for this story in one of today's threads.

Tony Romo gets the attention, as all big-name QBs do, when his team does well and when it performs poorly. He's received a lot of attention for his December swoons, but a poster today pointed out that Romo has extreme performance splits in his four career starts versus the Eagles.

Romo has either been super-human or insufferable:

2006

Loss, 7-23, 45.4 rating; 3 sacks, 2 Ints.

2007

Win, 38-24, 141.7 rating, 0 sacks, 1 Int.

Loss, 6-10, 22.2 rating, 4 sacks, 3 Ints.

2008

Win, 41-37, 123.2 rating, 0 sacks, 1 Int.

???

I want to point out the relationship between Romo's protection and his performance. In Dallas' two wins, Romo was not sacked. In their two losses, Jim Johnson's guys bagged Romo seven times.

This concerns me because the offensive line's protection has broken down this month, and it is as big a reason for the team's current 1-2 December run as any other factor.

Romo was sacked more than once in a game twice in his first nine starts. The Packers got him three times in Dallas' 27-16 win and the Cardinals dropped him three times in their 26-20 overtime win. Arizona's rushers hit Romo numerous other times and broke his finger on Dallas final drive of the day.

That day aside, Dallas' pass protection was pretty good. Romo was sacked just 8 times in his first nine starts. He was sacked just once during the three game winning streak after the bye.

But the line's performance has dropped since the Pittsburgh game. Romo has been sacked 9 times in his last three starts:

Pittsburgh: 3 sacks, 13-20 loss;

New York: 4 sacks, 20-8 win;

Baltimore: 2 sacks, 24-33 loss

The sack line from Saturday night doesn't tell the full story. Romo was at his evasive best to avoid a handful more of sacks, as Rex Ryan's front seven completely flummoxed Hudson Houck's guys.

The offensive line may be reprising its '05 December meltdown, when it collapsed after Flozell Adams tore an ACL and Marco Rivera's back gave out. Look at Romo's four Eagles results and look at the relationship between pass protection and Dallas' December play. When Romo has time to throw, Dallas wins. When he doesn't, they lose.

I'm putting the over/under at two: if the o-line can limit Philly to two or fewer sacks, the Cowboys will pack their bags for the playoffs. If the Eagles' rushers get Romo three or more times, the Cowboys will be packing their golf bags for Monday tee times.

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montrae holland's health

will be HUGE
if he plays then romo will get alot more time and thus be able to make reads and throw accurately or atleast better than recently
romo is able to extend plays and get out of sacks..he threw that td to PC but he also threw the pick to ed reed
i agree…we protect romo we have a much better chance of putting up huge offensive numbers
its very simple…we win we’re in

Superbowl or Bust?

by MrMinority on Dec 22, 2008 11:53 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Sadly

I think Wade said Holland probably won’t be able to go this week either. That could spell disaster for us.

by Tristan on Dec 22, 2008 11:56 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Did Kosier play in the Week 2 matchup?

I thought he didn’t. If not, did Proctor start? If so, he must have done a halfway decent job. Beginner’s luck. But maybe he can do it again. Or maybe now the Eagles have enough film on him to know just what to do,

I am of the mind that even if the Eagles are mathematically eliminated by the time 4:15pm EST rolls around on Sunday, they will not roll over. The Eagles might lack many things – a big play receiver, classy fans, a skinny head coach and a quarterback who knows basic NFL rules – but the one thing that they don’t lack is pride. And hatred too. If beating Dallas means the Cowboys don’t make the playoffs, then the Eagles will give them all they have got. If anyone else thinks otherwise they are fooling themselves.

My confidence in Romo is at an all-time low ebb. I am familiar with his up and down play against the Eagles. Sure, he’s had two stellar games against them, but let’s keep in mind that even when he had just five incompletions while going 20 of 25 in 2007, he still managed to throw an interception. And who can forget the highlight film flaws that Romo finangled earlier this year, a wild pass intercepted by Ashante Smauel that led directly to a touchdown, and that effing fumble that was the result of not even being hit in the first place and that was recovered in the end zone for a touchdown.

Just hold on to the GD ball, please Tony!

by DavidH22 on Dec 23, 2008 12:22 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Nope

Kosier did not play – Proctor got the start.

http://www.nfl.com/liveupdate/gamecenter/29559/DAL_Gamebook.pdf

Stop the Madness - Enshrine Bob Hayes
"I played for the world's greatest professional sports team in history. Once a Dallas Cowboy, always a Dallas Cowboy." - Bob Hayes

by Raul Villaronga on Dec 23, 2008 8:02 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Holland didn't play in the first game either

and neither did Kosier.

Hey, the protection didn’t break down in the Baltimore game because of Proctor. It did because Davis and Adams were whiffing badly on plays.

by Rafael Vela on Dec 23, 2008 12:27 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

on many plays

by Rafael Vela on Dec 23, 2008 12:33 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Gotta stand up here

As an Oline coach, albeit junior high, I gotta stand up here. You can’t blame this just on the Oline. They haven’t been great, but you don’t get an oline that is anymore with free agency, players moving constantly, and better D coordinators. They might have periods of dominance or maybe even a year, but DCs are so good that they find the weaknesses, and players are so athletic and look at so much tape, they find them as well.

Anyway, my point is that there’s as much fault if not more on the QB. One of the big differences in Romo at the end of the season is his decision making. For some reason he starts making reads slower, starts forcing the ball, and starts holding onto the ball more at the end of the year. When he sees 8 or 9 men coming on the blitz he can’t hold the ball to wait for something to come open, he has to throw the hot route. When he sees an overload blitz he’s got to at least roll the other way. He can’t just sit back there and expect to get 4 seconds of protection every play!!! It’s just not possible.

The thing that got us Sat was the delayed blitz. The Oline just never got the communication down. They looked at the men in front of them and never were able to rotate to the blitzer. Now, Romo has to know that and get the ball out faster instead of just heaving it. He’s got to know that they are going to send the delayed blitz and attack it. That right there would have stopped it. The whole reason you run that scheme is that you know the QB will be holding onto the ball. If he doesn’t hold onto it, they’ve got a guy that isn’t in the play at all.

Again, the oline should be doing better, but Romo has the ability, and frankly the responsibility, to play smarter and take advantage of what the defense is doing. It seems like he’s just been deciding what he wants to do and not playing the inteligent game he’s capable of.

Just my 2 cents.

by altercall on Dec 23, 2008 12:42 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Wait a minute

Adams has been on the team since ’98;
Gurode since ’02;
Davis and Colombo are multi-year vets.

’Why this poor mouthing of the o-line. (And I played o-line and coached it too, so whatever).

Three of them are Pro Bowlers, for crying out loud.
Hey, I’m just a blogger. Take it from a scout I talked to tonight who viewed game tape:
“Davis was horrible” “Adams missed his guy twice, the first caused an interception,”

Yeah, the delayed blitz killed them. Baltimore ran it six times at Davis and he never stopped it.
When you’re a Pro Bowler, you shouldn’t have a blitz run in your gap half a dozen times and miss
it every frackin’ time.

That’s why they pay you the big money.

by Rafael Vela on Dec 23, 2008 1:07 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Somewhat agree

I didn’t watch tape of it, just from what I picked up. I didn’t watch Davis specifically. What I can say about the delayed blitz was that Adams didn’t have any help. From his perspective he was engaged so the help should have come from the inside, but the C and G were engaged as well. The backside guard should have been helping with the C and that would have allowed everyone to slide over to pick up the blitz. Don’t know if it was scheme or Davis not doing his job, but if Adams had stepped down they would have had a free rush from the DE. At that point, though, that is what he should have done if he had seen the free rusher. In the end, though, it comes down to scheme. Either there was a breakdown in it, or they didn’t have the right one. Either way, Romo’s gotta see the vacated zone and attack it.

by altercall on Dec 23, 2008 1:21 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

What's been causing the breakdowns?

Is it just the complexity of the opposing team’s schemes? Opposing Def. Coordinator’s exploiting a newly discovered weakness? Or just a random string of mental breakdowns by the o-line?

What would really concern me is if team’s have figured out how to consistently confuse our o-line. If that’s the case and team’s have consistently used similar blitz packages to pressure Romo over and over these last few weeks then we may be in for a long game on Sunday coupled with a quick end to the season.

Raf, have you noticed anything to decipher exactly what’s been going on and if there’s any uniformity to the breakdowns?

by boysinyabelly on Dec 23, 2008 12:51 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

One big problem...

Romo’s time on the huddle. I forgot who talked about it, but Romo kinda gives away the play by how long it takes him to call the play. On run plays they tend to get in and out of the huddle. On pass plays you can see him talking alot in the huddle. It could be the play call itself, or it could be him telling people what to do, but it’s taking too long. I’m sure DCs have seen it. Even if they haven’t, when you take a long time in the huddle it lets the defense disguise what they’re doing. If you’ve got 5 seconds on the play clock when you get set, the defense can shift to a different alignment and you don’t have time to adjust your scheme to account for it. I think that’s one HUGE problem. So much of Oline play is communication.

I think you can also say that they have blown some stuff, especially with Proctor in there. I’ve seen too many plays where someone’s been beat head up, but the main problem we have seems to be in the schemes. That I think can be fixed if Romo gives them more time to call the right scheme.

by altercall on Dec 23, 2008 1:01 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

That theory might hold some weight.

And it also might explain why we are better towards the end of the halfs (Think Pit and Baltimore) when we are in our 2 minute drill.

"Ask Philly was it hard tryin' a stop TO, he da main reason that the fans would come fo'."

by aussie_cowboy on Dec 23, 2008 1:09 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

laziness

Adams doesn’t block a guy in front of him twice on the same exact blitz.
Colombo doesn’t make a switch on his side.
Davis is slows to react and is lost several times.

It’s mental breakdowns all down the line, with everybody participating. They’re not getting whipped physically but they’re blowing way, way too many assignments.

by Rafael Vela on Dec 23, 2008 1:14 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I agree with that statement...

But I would also say that one of the big reasons for the breakdowns MIGHT be that they don’t have time to adjust there calls. This line is not very smart. They need more than 2 seconds to be able to make their calls.

by altercall on Dec 23, 2008 1:24 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Good Luck With This Line...

And with Jason Garrett.

Honestly, Dallas hasn’t won a week 17 away game in over a decade -I don’t see that changing this weekend.

~Texas Massacre 08~

by TheHeat on Dec 23, 2008 1:57 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

+700 theheat i agree with you

Honestly, Dallas hasn’t won a week 17 away game in over a decade -I don’t see that changing this weekend.

"My first and foremost goal is to win a Super Bowl. I also set goals in terms of having a type of year to make the Pro Bowl. If I'm going to the Pro Bowl, I know I'm making plays for the team." Brian Dawkins

by EAGLE_MAN71 on Dec 23, 2008 3:16 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

One positive about facing a division opponent

Dallas is very familiar with Philly’s blitz schemes, and in the 1st meeting I think they kept Romo fairly clean even with Procter. I hope that familiarity will help the O-line play with more confidence and success.

T-New, shutting down WR's for Dallas since 2003

by APerfectStar on Dec 23, 2008 2:12 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

It is just unbelieveable

that the Dallas Cowboys have not won a season-ending game since 1999. No week 17 wins in the 21st century! And there have been some real humdingers in there, let me tell you -

2000: 31-0 to the Titans, offense gains 95 total yards
2001: 15-10 loss to the 1-14 Detroit Lions
2002: 20-14 to the Redskins, breaking a 10-game winning streak by the Cowboys in the rivalry
2003: 13-7 to the Saints to limp into the playoffs
2004: 28-24 against the Giants, Eli’s first NFL win
2005: 20-10 to the 6-9 Rams, preventing a 10-win season for the Cowboys
2006: 39-31 to the 2-13 Lions
2007: 27-6 loss to the Redskins

Man, them are some fugly, nearly-historic-in-their-wretchedness losses. But a loss to the Eagles when the playoffs are on the line would top them all.

by DavidH22 on Dec 23, 2008 7:20 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

truer words have never been spoken

When Romo has time to throw, Dallas wins. When he doesn’t, they lose.

In Romo we Trust

by Terry on Dec 23, 2008 7:32 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Is missing MB3 hurting the offensive line?

Just a thought, are we missing his “chipping” abilities? Is the offensive lines lack luster play part due to the fact that MB3 has not been there to help block? Honestly I really haven’t noticed until the Baltimore game.
It was really evident the Choice needs a little work helping protect Tony.

We're down but not out. Keep the faith.

by Captain Comeback on Dec 23, 2008 10:47 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I think he's a better blocker than Choice

but not substantially better…our OL problems are the result of their inability to pick up blocking scheme’s against complex defenses…..they’re huge and powerful guys..just not the sharpest knives in the drawer.

In Romo we Trust

by Terry on Dec 23, 2008 1:53 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Excellent Point Captain

I would like to see Deon Anderson in there on passing downs. He can certainly do a better job of blocking than either Choise or Barber. The most important player on this team is Romo. The game plan should start with “How do we keep him healthy”. Besides Deon is a good receiver out of the backfield that was exactly the reason we drafted him. I would actually like to see more plays designed to get him the ball. This would help to keep the linebackers honest and open up the middle some more.

Yes he is not the same weapon out of the back field, but we already have enough weapons on the field. Our biggest weapon is Romo, but only when he has time to through and is not on his back (or getting Kneed in the back).

by I'm a Cowboy Babe on Dec 24, 2008 9:24 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs