The Cowboys' Offseason Approach Isn't Making Them a Better Team

The Cowboys had one of the most talented teams in 2021. But for the 26th consecutive season, they failed to make it to the NFC Championship Game (they were eliminated by the 49ers in the Wild Card round). They are a team that is knocking on the door but still has lots of questions about the best path forward for building a winner this offseason. So far, they appear to be more intent on clearing cap space than going all in to take advantage of their currently-open championship window.

Moving on from Amari Cooper doesn’t improve the offense

The frustrations the Cowboys appear to have with Cooper based on his production not matching his contract in 2021 are understandable. Perhaps it does make sense to move on. The Cowboys should be careful what they wish for, however. Their passing game is not one that schemes open receivers on a consistent basis like you see with Sean McVay’s or Kyle Shanahan’s (or Sean Payton’s) system. Instead, it is more reliant on its receivers to win their 1-on-1 matchups. This is especially true when it comes to generating big plays.

I went back and watched all 66 of the Cowboys’ completions of 20 yards or more from last season. What stood out was that these big plays were rarely generated as a result of cunning route combinations. There weren’t many post-wheel, post-dig, or post-cross combos that yielded open receivers. The big completions didn’t come from sail routes or other 3-level stretch concepts.

Instead, these big plays primarily came from isolated vertical routes or routes that were largely untethered to the rest of the play (e.g. go’s, seams, out-and-ups, slot fades, sluggos, etc). These are the types of routes that, for the most part, aren’t based on putting defenders in conflict and making them choose between two receivers in their respective areas. Instead, they are largely about receivers using their technique and athleticism to win against their defenders in isolation, like Cooper did on this sluggo:

Losing Cooper won’t help the Cowboys become more explosive through the air.

As many of you know, I break down the Cowboys based on the All-22 over at The Dallas Morning News. To read the rest of this breakdown, click here.

Cowboys defense needs DeMarcus Lawrence and Randy Gregory, but likely can’t have both

In 2021, the Cowboys defense was among the NFL leaders in the categories that represent key moments and impact plays. They finished with the most takeaways, the second-best 3rd-down conversion rate, and the 4th-highest pressure percentage (according to Pro Football Reference).

Their success started with the chaos created by the pass rush.

Defensive coordinator Dan Quinn did a tremendous job of utilizing his most dynamic players (Micah Parsons and Randy Gregory) across the defensive line in pass-rushing situations. Both were athletic mismatches against any position on the offensive line, and Quinn regularly found ways to ensure that they would each get a healthy amount of 1-on-1 looks. The below play was a great example.

Here, the Cowboys showed a pre-snap double-A-gap pressure look against the Patriots. That got the running back to creep up towards the line of scrimmage before the snap so he could help out on one of the potential A-gap blitzers and block him away from the quarterback:

This also ensured that the running back couldn’t chip Randy Gregory, aligned in a 1-on-1 matchup off the edge:

The potential A-gap blitzers would bail at the snap. However, the initial look resulted in Gregory having the freedom to work his 1-on-1:

Regardless of the ways Quinn orchestrated these pressures, the point to emphasize here is that these looks were designed to put the Cowboys’ talent in position to win 1-on-1′s. It wasn’t necessarily to get to the quarterback with free runners, as you’ll see in lots of other blitz-heavy defenses. That means talent is needed for Quinn’s approach to be successful. Yes, that’s probably true for every defensive scheme, but it’s even more important for Quinn’s. This has to be factored in when it comes to the Cowboys’ offseason approach.

It seems unlikely that the Cowboys will be able to bring back both Gregory and Lawrence given Gregory’s free agency status and Lawrence’s already sizable contract. Gregory was an absolute wrecking ball and a key piece to the defense, as you could see above. Losing him would be a huge blow to the pass rush that is the engine that makes this defense go. Lawrence, on the other hand, was the Cowboys’ best overall defensive lineman in the 8 games he did play. Losing him would be a huge hit to both the pass rush and a run defense that already needs lots of help.

To read my full breakdown at The Dallas Morning News, click here.

Physicality in the trenches is the biggest need for the Cowboys this offseason

Despite the Cowboys’ talent, the biggest need for improvement is in those more physical elements of the game. That means in the trenches, and it’s a gap they need to close with their competitors on both sides of the ball. This is not to say the Cowboys aren’t physical at all or that they’re soft or anything like that. However, most of the games they lost in 2021 came as a result of physical teams neutralizing their talent and scheme. It’s largely why their season came to a halt against the 49ers.

On the offensive side of the ball, the improvement has to start up front with the running game. It wasn’t effective enough during the final stretch of the season. We consistently saw missed blocks in 1-on-1 situations, or ineffective double teams that either failed to displace defensive tackles or were beaten outright. This was particularly the case at the left guard and center positions, as you can see on the below play:

On the other side of the ball, it was a similar story. Dallas finished the year 23rd in rushing yards allowed per attempt and gave up the 3rd-most run plays of 20 yards or more. Consistently allowing yards and allowing big plays on the ground… those two things don’t happen without getting beat physically up front. Those offenses that could handle their speed and talent with power and physicality were the ones that gave them the most trouble.

Much of the ground they ceded at the line of scrimmage against the run was on the interior, where they’ll need to get better this offseason:

To read my full breakdown over at The Dallas Morning News, click here.