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Same As It Ever Was

• 2006, at this point — 4-3;
• 2008, at this point — 4-3;

• 2006, penalty yards rank:  5th;
• 2008, penalty yards rank:  2nd;

• 2006, net punting - 38.0;
• 2008, net punting - 38.7;

• 2006 KO ret. avg./rank — 23.3/8th
• 2008 KO ret. avg./rank — 23.9/11th;

• 2006 punt ret. avg./rank - 8.4/19th;
• 2008 punt ret. avg./rank - 6.7/27th;

• 2006 opponent avg. start after kickoff — 28 yard line;
• 2008 opponent avg. start after kickoff - 31.5 yard line;

Bill Parcells was known as a disciplinarian.  A hardass.  He told Jerry when he was hired that he would need to win right away because his act would not wear well over time.  Kind of like Jimmy Johnson’s.  The Tuna’s teams didn’t take stupid penalties.

Bruce DeHaven had a reputation as one of the league’s better special teams coaches.  His Buffalo squads, with Hall-of-Famer Steve Tasker leading, were superb.

Then, both of them came to Dallas.  Their last team couldn’t stop committing stupid penalties.  It was mediocre on special teams.  It’s numbers are about the same as this year’s team.

We can cry for Wade Phillips’ head and Brian Stewart’s head and Bruce Read’s head but lets put the fair share of blame on the players.  Hard coach/soft coach.  Well known special teams coach/no-name special teams coach.  The results are almost identical.

And what has changed on the roster?  On defense, there are only two starters who were not here in ‘06 — Ken Hamlin and Zach Thomas.  On offense, Leonard Davis is the only member of the starting eleven who wasn’t a starter or key role player two years ago.

You can bring in a Bill Cowher or a Jimmy Johnson but if you don’t give him the saws and scalpels to perform radical roster surgery you have what you have.

Unless the players hearts — and brains — grow three sizes, Grinch style, it’s the same as it ever was.

Fun With SF ‘08 Part V: More Aikman and Less Farve This Year, Mr. Romo. Please!

When we last saw the Dallas offensive regulars, they were pushing to the edge of dominance against a young and rising Texans defense. The Cowboys first offensive series scored a touchdown. The second just missed a TD when a Tony Romo pass flew a foot or so beyond a wide open Terrell Owens.

The third drive slashed to Houston’s two. There, six feet from an early knockout, Romo offered a jarring caveat to all the Cowboys fans dreaming of a Super Bowl run. He forced a first down pass to a well covered Tony Curtis and was picked off. Instead of trotting to the sidelines with a 17-3 lead, he watched a deflated defense surrender a long, game-tying drive.

This was the bad Tony returned, the gunslinger whose wild ways kept Bill Parcells from handing Romo the offense reins earlier in his career. It was a reminder that for all his accuracy and magic, there’s still a young Brett Favre inside of Romo just waiting for the worst moment at which to appear.

Let’s compare his ten-start ‘06 to his full-season ‘07:

Tony Romo	YPA	Rank	Near Int.	Bad Dec.	B.D. %	Rank
2006	8.4	1st	11	7	1.9	T-12th
2007	8.2	T-1st	28	22	4.0	39th

Romo’s YPAs show that he’s been one of the most effective passers in the game during his short career, mixing high accuracy with an aggressive, down-the-field style that produces big yards per attempt. He had the top spot alone in ‘06 and shared it with Tom Brady last year.

The downside to that aggressiveness is bouts of recklessness. Think Buffalo and the six interceptions, almost all of which occurred because Romo lacked the patience — at least for 52 minutes — to take what the Bills cover-two scheme conceded.

Look at Romo’s bad-decisions totals and his ranks. In his rookie season he tied for 12th in that category with Peyton Manning. That’s a great line. QBs like Manning sometimes have bad-decision averages in the top third or near mid-pack. It’s a by-product of attacking and not playing Brad Johnson-ball.

Look next at the ‘07 totals, where his percentage of bad decisions, passes where he forced passes into coverage and risked a pick, more than doubled. He ranked second-from-the-last in that category among starters, with only Derek Anderson and Jay Cutler faring worse.

His 28 near interceptions ranked next-to-last. Only his boyhood idol Brett Favre had more. To frame these stat lines another way, consider that in ‘06 Drew Bledsoe ranked second-to-last in bad decision percentage. Dallas found a rude amalgam in Romo 2.0 — the swagger and daring of Roger Staubach mixed with the consistent brain freezes of Drew Bledsoe.

That’s not to say Romo became or is in danger of becoming Drew Bledsoe. He’s better, even with the miscues. But one reason why Tom Brady has played in four Super Bowls this decade is that despite his high YPAs, he consistently makes the fewest bad decisions.

Romo talked this summer about improving his pocket presence and trying to be more patient with his reads. If he can return his stat line to the ‘06 standard and is Troy Aikman-like with his passes, Dallas truly is a Super Bowl contender. If we get more of the ‘07 edition, the bad Brett Favre replica, the one who threw that pick two weeks ago against the Texans, the more likely forecast is a Pro Bowl berth, a playoff berth and another painful playoff defeat.

Fun with SF ‘08 III, or Why Jason Witten Will Have a Career Year in ‘08

Update:  The Commissioner has re-instated Adam Jones.

I’ve written on many occasions the past few years about Dallas’ search for a fullback to replace Daryl Johnston. Some stats in the newest - and best — Scientific Football ‘08 illustrate how Deon Anderson’s shoulder injury hampered the Cowboys’ passing game, particularly the ways the team used Jason Witten, and how Anderson’s return can improve them.

We know that the Cowboys have been a two tight end heavy team the past few years. I doubt this is by design. The ’90s Cowboys relied mostly on what the team now calls its 21 package, with a fullback, a tailback, one tight end and two receivers.

The Bill Parcells Cowboys would have preferred this as well, but could not locate an adequate fullback in the draft. Lousaka Polite stuck around a while but never had the pop to excel as a lead blocker. The team had some success converting Oliver Hoyte from linebacker to fullback but he lacked the speed and receiving skills to play extensively.

The Cowboys appeared to have found their man when they drafted Anderson last year, but he went on IR after only four starts with a rotator cuff injury. Without him the team had to rely a lot more on their 12 packages, which have one back and two tight ends.

From this look the Cowboys use a traditional tight end, who lines up next to an offensive tackle, and an F-back, who flexes up and down the line, eventually lining up as a second tight end on the line; on a wing outside the first tight end; or in the backfield as a lead blocker.

Cowboys fans think of Jason Witten as the Cowboys tight end threat and of guys like Tony Curtis and the departed Anthony Fasano as the blocking tight ends, but in ‘07 those roles were reversed. Witten was the team’s primary blocking tight end. This is one big reason why Fasano now plays for the Dolphins. He struggled as the F-back and when the Cowboys needed tough inside blocking, they had to turn to their number one to get the job done.

That doesn’t seem to have affected Witten’s receiving stats. In ‘06, he ranked 5th among TEs with an 8.3 YPA. In ‘07, that number dipped ever so slightly, to 8.2. More consistently good play from Witten, right?

Yes and no. Take a look at the number of attempts Witten had in Sparano 2.0 in ‘06 and in Garrett 1.0 last year:

• 2006 — 90 attempts;
• 2007 — 141 attempts;

People frequently comment that Terrell Owens is the Cowboys number one and Witten is really the number two receiver. That’s close, but if you go by attempts, they’re really 1 and 1A in Garrett’s scheme. Owens had 139 attempts last year to Witten’s 141. That’s a 1:1 ratio. In ‘06 T.O. saw 152 balls while Witten had 90.

The loss of Terry Glenn last year greatly increased Witten’s load. Glenn had 112 attempts in ‘06. By comparison, Patrick Crayton had only 80 attempts as the #2 last year.

A closer look at the quality of Witten’s attempts shows how Anderson’s loss and Fasano’s flameout compromised Witten’s receiving capabilities. Let’s break down Witten’s attempts by distance:

Jason Witten	Attempts	% of Att.	YPA	Rank
Short, 1-10 yds.	97	69	6.2	8th
Medium, 11-19 yds.	32	23	7.3	6th
Deep, 20-29 yds.	10	7	10.4	5th
total	141	99	8.2	7th

Witten had an extraordinary number of short attemps. 69% of his catches were on routes of ten yards of less. That percentage was easily the highest among the bigger name tight ends. Only 49% of Antonio Gates routes were short; 59% of Tony Gonzalez’ attempts were short. Witten’s closest rival was Chris Cooley, who saw 65% of his attempts fall in the short category.

Yet, Witten was very effective in medium and deep routes. Of tight ends with more than 32 attempts (2 per game) Witten ranked first in medium YPA. Of TEs with more than 10 deep attempts, Witten far outranked his peers. His 19.5 deep YPA was more than six yards better than runner up Cooley’s 13.4 deep YPA.

Witten can make a case that he’s the best receiving tight end in the game. In ‘07, however, the Cowboys didn’t fully utilize him as a downfield receiver. Look at the number of times a TE “flexed” or lined up wide as a receiver last year:

Player	Attempts at WR	% of Att.
Heath Miller, Pitt.	14	23.3
Jason Witten, Dall.	33	23.4
Tony Gonzales, K.C.	59	41.0
Chris Cooley, Wash.	51	48.1
Antonio Gates, S.D.	68	62.4
Kellen Winslow, Cle.	105	74.5

Witten got far fewer chances in space than his peers. That’s no slam on Jason Garrett. Anderson’s injury made Witten the only dependable lead blocker the Cowboys had last year. With Anderson back and with Curtis and Martellus Bennett learning the F-back role, I expect to see Witten spending less time in the backfield and more time blasting up the field. I’m predicting a career year for him.

(If you want further evidence that Witten is the best overall tight end in football, this last chart should settle the argument. When you line up almost half of the time as a receiver, as Tony Gonzales and Chris Cooley do, you can’t be part of the discussion. When you line up as a receiver as much as Gates and Winslow do, you’re a tight end in name only.)

As good as Witten was last year, he has the teammates to let him be that much better in ‘08. That has to give the linebackers and safeties on Dallas’ schedule pause.

Camp Cowboys: Compare and Contrast, ‘07 vs. ‘08

It’s hard to get a definite read on anything after three days of camp. Hudson Houck laughed when I asked him on Saturday what, if anything he could tell me after one day in pads? “That I still have 22 practices to go,” was his reply.

Still, Cowboys fans hate deferred gratification. Especially after 12 years without a playoff victory. With that in mind, I went back one year to see where the team was at the same stage in their Phillips Over San Antonio ‘07 Tour. This year’s tour is already looking much better. Consider:

– At quarterback, Tony Romo was looking sharp but everybody was wondering if his dropped ball in Seattle would harm his development. Now, he’s trying to stay out of the tabloids. Call this one a wash.

– At running back, Dallas was staying with the status quo, starting Julius Jones and rotating Marion Barber into the lineup. This year, the unit looks faster and deeper. Felix Jones and Tashard Choice have not played pro games yet, but I can already say with confidence that Felix will be a better receiver than Julius and I’ll take Choice already over Tyson Thompson. Score: plus one for the ‘08 squad.

– On the offensive line, the Cowboys were waiting for starters Flozell Adams and Marc Columbo to return from knee scopes. Jim Molinaro and Pat McQuistan were manning the tackle spots. This year, McQuistan is at right tackle and second year man Doug Free is at the left tackle spot. The starting lineup looks set. Score: plus one for the ‘08 squad, based on health and continuity.

– At wide receiver, Terry Glenn was about to drop off the roster with a knee injury, not to return until January. Isaiah Stanback was in a walking boot. This year, Glenn is gone again, perhaps for good. Stanback is playing, though he’s still far from polished. Sam Hurd looks better, but if he’s not displacing Patrick Crayton, he’s risen to his level. That’s a step down from ‘06, when T.O., Glenn and Crayton were the trio, but a minor step up from last year, when Hurd was an unknown. Score: a wash

– At tight end, Jason Witten was a sure thing and Anthony Fasano was the clear backup. Tony Curtis was a promising backup. This year, Curtis is the number two. Martellus Bennett has replaced Fasano, who’s now a Dolphin. He’s a big, talented player, but nobody knows how Bennett will play this year. Score: minus one, because of inexperience.

– On the defensive line, Jason Hatcher’s promising start was wiped out by a hamstring injury. Jason Ferguson was the starting nose tackle. Chris Canty and Marcus Spears were eager to wipe out underachiever labels. This year, Canty and Jay Ratliff are set at RE and NT, after stepping up their respective games last year. Tank Johnson replaces the departed Ferguson. He shows some explosion in drills, but I’ll wait until I see him in some real games before I rate him against Ferguson. Score: plus one for ‘08, because there is far less uncertainty this year.

– At linebacker in ‘07 it was Demarcus Ware and a lot of questions. Greg Ellis was rehabbing a torn Achilles and was grumpy about his contract. Anthony Spencer was an unknown rookie. Inside, Bradie James was claiming his poor ‘06 was due to playing overweight in Bill Parcells’ scheme. Kevin Burnett was an injury prone enigma and Bobby Carpenter had the eau de bust about him.

This year, many experts are touting the Cowboys’ LB corps as the league’s best. Ware and Ellis both had double digit sacks last year. Spencer looked good in a backup role. James bounced back with a steady season. Burnett found a home in the nickel, where he excelled in coverage. And the Cowboys added Zack Thomas to replace Ayodele, who’s also joined Parcells and Tony Sparano in Miami. Score: plus one for the ‘08 guys.

– In the secondary, the Cowboys were hoping for better health and play at several positions. Anthony Henry was trying to come back from a knee injury that hobbled him in ‘06. Terence Newman was days away from a plantar fascia tear. Ken Hamlin was a low budget signing from Seattle but hardly a sure thing. He had a so-so ‘06 after missing ten games in ‘05 with a severe head injury. It was far from clear if he could regain his outstanding ‘04 form. One year ago, Roy Williams was the surest bet in the secondary.

Today, he’s the most maligned. Hamlin earned his first Pro Bowl berth in ‘07. Newman overcame his heel injury and earned his first trip to Honolulu. Henry was leading the league in picks when he suffered a high ankle sprain that cost him six starts.

In addition, the Cowboys have Adam Jones and first rounder Mike Jenkins replacing Jacques Reeves and Nate Jones. Score: plus two for the ‘08 team, based on better health, and much greater depth.

Overall, the ‘08 team looks much deeper and has far fewer question marks than Wade 1.0. The injury questions at offensive tackle, outside linebacker and cornerback are gone. You could pencil in the entire starting 22 for Dallas today, where you could not do so for several positions last year.

It’s far too early to hit the giddy button, but there’s clearly far less reason to even consider locating the panic button this time around. Let’s hope things stay this way.

Building Blocks — Camp Report, Morning, July 26th

The morning was surprising hot and so was the pace of the Cowboys first practice in full pads. The structure of the practice showed the emphasis on building units upon sound fundamentals.

Perhaps the best way to understand the work underway is to compare it to the structure and pace of Bill Parcells’ Oxnard camps, since this is the first session here for Wade Phillips.

The first and most noticeable difference is in tone. Camp Bill was fast paced and intense. It also had the shadow of paranoia about it. A high school coach who was spotted charting plays one year was brought before The Tuna by security and interrogated. The electronic press had their video access limited in year one.

And the practices were hard to view for the fans. There are two fields at Oxnard, one near the fans stands and another set behind it. Parcells always kept his offensive players on the far field and at the left end, where they were hardest to view.

Camp Wade, by comparison is an open city. The offense works out right in front of the fan stands, giving them what they want – the maximum chances to ooh and aah over a Tony Romo pass and a T.O. or Jason Witten catch.

Security is still tight – two bragged to me this morning of spotting and evicting a “reporter” with a counterfeit press pass, but everything sits in plain sight. HBO has brought “Hard Knocks” here, after all, and their cameras are everywhere, on the sidelines and in the bleachers. Players linger much longer after practice, working in small groups and signing autographs. At Camp Wade, openness and progress are not seen as enemies.

With that atmosphere surrounding them, the players jumped immediately into work. On defense, the initial drills emphasized chaos – for opposing offenses. Each position coach took a unit and stressed stripping the football, handing the football properly after an interception or fumble recovery and knocking down passes. After two minutes, the groups rotated to the next station, where they learned another way of disrupting an offense.

At this point, the offensive and defensive units returned to their respective coaches and worked from individual drills to unit drills. For instance, the quarterbacks and receivers worked together on routes and route combinations, with nobody opposing them. Then, the tight ends and running backs were summoned from the far end of the field, where those units were working with the offensive linemen on run blocking.

The QBs, RBs, TEs and WRs, then worked on integrated patterns. Later, they joined with their linemen and squared off against the defense.

The initial pairing saw the offensive and defense square off on running plays. The group then broke up and special teams coach Bruce Read took over, working today on punt coverage. He, like his coaching peers, broke the act down into discrete units: gunners worked in units on their releases, while the core group worked on blocking inside charges. The units later merged and worked on covering together.

Later, the team returned to 11 on 11 drills, with new units being run in on every play. The result was hard to track. The first offensive line, for example, would stay in for several plays while a new QB, RB, TE and WR set would enter on each play. The constant churn made it hard to get a feel for who looks good and who looks bad, since players didn’t have extended runs today. Nonetheless, here are some observations of scattered plays:

Sam Hurd’s route running looks very crisp. He got consistent separation on all CBs I saw in 1-on-1 drills and turned Terence Newman around on a comeback route.

Terrell Owens could start the season now. He torched Newman on a deep fade where T.O. started in the slot. He left Adam Jones in his wake a couple of times. I’ve watched enough camps now to get a feel for whether a player is doing well or the corners are stumbling. It’s only day two, and day one in pads, but don’t worry about T.O. slowing down.

– WR coach Ray Sherman and WRs Sam Hurd and Patrick Crayton all commented on Isaiah Stanback’s deep speed. He got behind Adam Jones with ease on a fly pattern but could not snatch a pass that was short and outside. He lined up exclusively as the flanker this morning.

– Anthony Spencer can’t be blocked by running backs or fullbacks on blitzes, at least not the ones I saw try to block him today.

– The defensive line, or at least the first unit, got the better of the offensive line in the 11-on-11 drills, which is no surprise on day two. The rushers put steady pressure on Tony Romo and Jason Hatcher batted down one of his passes.

Dallas is practicing a lot more press coverage. On one play the offense lined up in a slot formation and Anthony Henry and Terence Newman both took a man, lining up just two to three yards off the ball. Newman told me he has asked DC Brian Stewart to let the defense play more press. “I know they want to zone blitz, that’s what [Stuart and Phillips] did in San Diego, but with the players we have here, I think you have to let them play to their abilities.” Based on this morning’s work, the defensive coaches may have paid attention.

Other Notes:

– Felix Jones was not at the morning practice, but is expected to play this afternoon.

– Terence Newman and Adam Jones alternated returning punts. I asked Newman if he was going to return more kicks this year and he smiled, shook his head and said, “we’ll see when the first game comes…”

– The special teams punt coverage session was an ensemble production today: While ST coach Read focused on the inside blockers, Dat Nguyen coordinated the rotation of rushers. On the outside, TE coach John Garrett worked with the gunners on their releases.

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