For the most part, the overall plays run, the general distribution of the ball, and the total yards were roughly the same.  A strong argument could be made that the 2008 Dallas Cowboys offense had to play against much better defenses than the 2007 team.

The 2008 Cowboys had nine games against top ten defenses in yards.  The other seven games came against defenses ranking: 12th, 13th, 19th, 20th, 26th, 28th, and 30th.

The Dallas team in 2007 had seven games against top ten defenses, but while the rankings for those teams were 4th, 7th, 8th, and 10th, the Cowboys team of 2008 faced teams ranked 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 9th in total defense.  The 2007 Dallas team played nine games against teams ranked 11th, 16th, 18th, 20th, 21st, 23rd, 28th, 31st, and 32nd.

The biggest advantage for the 2007 offense compared to the 2008 version was points scored.  The Dallas offense scored 427 points (there were four touchdowns scored by the defense in 2007) in 2007, while scoring but 348 in 2008.  The 2007 Dallas offense scored nine more touchdowns and set up six more field goals than the 2008 Cowboys offense, averaging 26.69 points per game, while the 2008 Dallas offense averaged 21.75.  The Cowboys offense with Romo starting, however, averaged 24.15 points per game (a difference of only 2.5 points per game).

The Dallas defense, however, forced 22 turnovers in 2008 (8 interceptions and 14 fumbles recovered), while getting 29 turnovers (19 interceptions and 10 fumbles recovered) in 2007.  Dallas ended up losing 5 fumbles and Romo threw 19 interceptions in 2007.  In 2008, the Cowboys quarterbacks threw 20 interceptions and the team lost 13 fumbles.

For those noting the sharp increase in fumbles, it was not just Tony Romo.  Romo lost 3 fumbles in 2007, and had 5 lost fumbles in 2008.  The other 6 fumbles that were lost by the Cowboys in comparison to 2008 were spread around the team.

The most interesting trend is how the Cowboys running backs accounted for more of the offense in 2008 compared to 2007.  The trio of backs in 2008 only rushed for 9 yards more than Marion Barber III, Julius Jones, and Tyson Thompson did in 2007.  Considering how Marion and Felix Jones missed 4 ½ (Barber III never really recovered from the toe and calf injuries) and 10 ½ games respectively due to injury, that the 2008 Cowboys offense out-rushed the 2007 edition is surprising.  In addition, the 2007 Cowboys offense ran the ball 20 more times than the 2008 unit.

The big jump in production from 2007 to 2008 came from reception yards by the running backs in 2008.  This occurred despite only three more passes being caught by the running backs in 2008 than in 2007.

Because of the increase in total yardage from the running backs, the Cowboys offense had the following splits:

Percent of yardage for offense in 2008

RB’s: 40.73%

TE’s: 22.99%

WR’s: 38.13%

Percent of yardage for offense in 2007

RB’s: 36.90%

TE’s: 22.32%

WR’s: 41.74%

Oddly enough, however, the 2007 Cowboys offense went through the running backs much more than the 2008 Dallas offense:

Percent of plays for offense in 2008

RB’s: 44.84%

TE’s: 11.13%

WR’s: 14.50%

Percent of plays for offense in 2007

RB’s: 46.67%

TE’s: 11.59%

WR’s: 15.90%

The 2007 Dallas Cowboys offense was characterized by going to the wide receivers more than the 2008 offense, and had much more yardage and more touchdowns as a result.  The 2008 Cowboys offense utilized the running backs more effectively, and even got more out of the tight ends with fewer opportunities.

This shift in productivity from the wide receivers to the tight ends and running backs can be explained by two factors.  First, the talent level at both positions improved significantly from 2007 to 2008.  There should be little argument that Felix Jones, Tashard Choice and Martellus Bennett were all upgrades from the players occupying those positions the previous season.

The other factor delivering a considerable impact on this shift is the deterioration of the blocking from the offensive line.  Three other statistics bear this out:

2008 sacks given up: 31

2007 sacks given up: 25

Tony Romo average yards per pass 2008: 7.3

Tony Romo average yards per pass 2007: 8.1

Marion Barber III average yards per rush in 2008: 3.7

Marion Barber III average yards per rush in 2007: 4.8

The fact that the offensive line was worse in 2008 makes Tashard Choice’s average of 5.1 yards per carry that much more impressive.  Felix’s 8.9 yards per average rush attempt is just unbelievable.  Note that despite throwing the ball downfield less, the Cowboys yielded more sacks.

Now it could be that the receivers ran poor patterns in 2008, but it is unlikely that Owens’ performance would diminish as much as it did because of a change in route running.  In addition, the addition of Roy Williams limited the amount of coverage that opposing teams could rotate over Terrell.

The likelihood is that Owens was getting just as open this season as he was last season, but that Romo did not have the time to get him the ball this season.  The quality of the defenses had something to do with that, but the lack of blocking from the offensive line was truly the problem for the offense in 2008.

Blame the play calling…

Blame Tony’s recklessness with the ball…

Blame Owens’ attitude…

But the truth is that penalties from the offensive line, poor communication amongst the offensive linemen, and pathetic performance were a big reason the 2008 edition of the Dallas Cowboys struggled down the stretch against the top three defenses in the league.  In fact, the lack of execution along the offensive line may have been the biggest reason Cowboys fans are beginning the New Year feeling empty.