The 2009 Cowboys O-Line: Inside the Pass Protection Game (Part I)

Is it play-calling versus heavy blitzes (in other words allowing teams to simply bring too many people effectively)? Is it seeing and adjusting to secondary blitzes? Is it wide receivers not getting open and forcing coverage sacks?

Personally, I think if these stats are to be believed then that would put a lot of the onus for cutting down on our sacks on Jason Garrett (and Tony as well in some respects). I feel this way because if really don’t give up a ton of sacks due to just poor blocking by the front five than that would lead me to believe that a lot of our extra sacks are a function of simply not having the correct pass protection packages in at certain times (as well as maybe some problems with pre-play recognition).

This does seem like a difficult thing to gauge, because of the many other variables.

- Romo’s determination, after the first Giants game last season, to be more judicious with his throws and not give up turnovers, may have led to more sacks.

- You’ve got coverage sacks versus pressure sacks. This is a very confounding variable. Were there more at the beginning of the season when R. Williams was the #1 receiver, meaning that he had more plays called for him, but he got bumped off his route, or couldn’t get open, or in some other way disrupted the timing, causing Romo to have to look over the field, which leads to longer time in the pocket? What did it look like after Austin was the go-to receiver?

- How did schemes change the sacks? Once Garrett discovered the beauty of the screen, did that affect the defense’s willingness to all-out blitz?

- What offensive allignments were the most susceptible to the sack?

- What percentage of the sacks involved a crushing or awkward tackle to Romo, versus a coverage-type sack in which Romo saw that he “had to” take the sack, and protected himself?

- What were there sack numbers like weighted against the quality of the pass rushes and defenses they faced? Dallas played Washington, NY, and Philly twice. San Francisco was faced up against Arizona, St. Louis, and Seattle twice. Big difference.

I love these breakdowns because they take the analysis beyond the simple number of a descriptive statistic, and add layers of nuance that can be used as predictive statistics.

Also, there has been a lot of analysis now that shows that Adams and Davis are the weaker links to the offensive line. (Yet, many still clamor for Kosier’s release). If Free’s greatest current asset is his athleticism, this could mean good things. Free may mean a reduction in the number of sacks, as well as a reduction in penalties. Will this offset the potential weaker run blocking? For a pass-dominant team, the odds are good. (Particularly when you throw in a healthy Barber and give Jones more playing time).

Their line allowed only half a sack more, but that was 97% of their total. That’s pretty impressive. The key was probably Welker, so again, that makes the Dez pick seem pretty smart if he can play a similar role.

the PFF data with and without post-season is a constant nuisance for me when I look at their numbers. You are right, this time I forgot to exclude the postseason.

And I agree that Dez could be a key addition here.

Thailand is as much a media creation as it is anything else. Nowhere else in the world would such a disruptive, extended demonstration be allowed. It speaks to the sense of unity among the Thai. The Chinese tried to fund a “red” movement here in the 70s but failed to divide the country. Now Thaksin is trying to position himself as part of an old Royal legacy, use the Isan poor to make his minority voice appear louder, position himself as the “choice for democracy” … and hope people forget he stole BILLIONS from a poor country (pocketed it from the sale of public utilities to cronies).

The current Thai government is legitimate, yet they STILL accepted calls for an election – THIS YEAR – yet the protests continued, for what?

Here’s the “follow the money” bottom line: The Thai Baht and the Thai stock market remained steady throughout this mess. Speaks to what the REAL MONEY knows … this protest was not much.

in terms of getting separation. And from what I’ve seen, make the catch when a ball comes his way. How nice would that be??

Especially the way the D played at the end, they really carried the team, not the offense.
I’d like to see more variety from him, sooner or later teams will figure ways out to stop this Draw/Pass offense. They always do!

Romo’s followed exactly the arc any objective observer would’ve predicted. He obviously had all the tools, but needed to mature, and he really has. Many of us here could see the issues , but it’s a high-pressure job he’s got and it’s easier for us to say what he should do than to actually do it.

The Minn. game was one of those snowballs. Hopefully that bad taste is like metal in their mouths, because that’s how you get championship teams-that desire to do better the next year.

At times I wish he’d stick with it a little, even if it’s not perfect.
Any time he ran the ball consistently, then went to play action, it was so different to watch. That extra second for Romo kills the other team. I’d love to see Romo throw less because the running game is clicking so well, and be able to use play-action…..