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FRISCO, Texas -- The first reaction to a plan that's not working is to burn the whole thing down. Fire everybody. Rip out that play from the playbook and put in a different one. That’s the emotion talking. Next comes the more rational approach. Analyze what worked well and what didn’t and make adjustments going forward. Dallas Cowboys coach Jason Garrett doesn’t do the first reaction. Ever. He did not upbraid Randy Gregory after the defensive end’s unnecessary-roughness penalty that cost the Cowboys three points at the end of the first half of Sunday’s loss to the Seattle Seahawks. How would the coaches he is most often tied to -- Nick Saban and Jimmy Johnson -- have reacted? That's an easier answer. Garrett likes to take the emotion out of it and look at things objectively. There is nothing wrong with that thinking, even though it does not soothe the feelings of upset fans. As Garrett looks at the Cowboys offense after three weeks, where do he and the rest of the offensive coaches find the answers to these problems: The Cowboys are averaging 277.7 yards per game, 30th in the NFL, thanks mostly to the running game, which is seventh-best so far. The Cowboys are averaging 145 passing yards per game, 31st in the NFL. They Cowboys are averaging 13.7 points per game, 31st in the NFL.
Only the Arizona Cardinals are worse in passing yards and points per game. In the Cardinals’ bid for answers, they are turning the offense over to their first-round pick, Josh Rosen. The Cowboys don’t have that option to play. They won’t -- and shouldn’t -- go to Cooper Rush or Mike White over Dak Prescott. The Cowboys could add Brice Butler to an already cloudy wide-receiver unit. They could have veteran Xavier Su’a-Filo move in at left guard for rookie Connor Williams. Neither would be a game-changing move. Speaking on KRLD-FM 105.3 The Fan in Dallas on Tuesday, owner and general manager Jerry Jones said the team would not make any major personnel moves. Trading for Earl Thomas would not help the offense. Some have mentioned re-signing Dez Bryant. After Bryant’s social media criticisms of the coaching staff and teammates, Jones would undercut the entire operation if he brings Bryant back.  If the Cowboys could be guaranteed they would have the Bryant of 2014, then it would make more sense to make the move. But the Bryant of 2015-17 had comparable numbers to those of Allen Hurns.
Having Garrett either return to calling plays or have more of a say in calling plays has been asked about and shot down twice in the first three weeks of the season. Garrett called plays from 2007-12 and the Cowboys never ranked worse than 13th in yards per game. With Scott Linehan calling plays, Dallas has ranked 14th or better in scoring in three of his first four seasons, but the passing game has never been inside the top half of the league, even in Tony Romo’s best year (2014). Keep in mind that passing for 200 yards in a league geared toward throwing is as challenging as a baby learning to walk. “There are a lot of different things we have to get better at, I guess is the simplest way of answering that question,” Garrett said Monday when asked about the overarching issues with the offense. But how? Tempo When the Cowboys struggled in the season opener against the Carolina Panthers, they turned to a no-huddle offense and at least got into more of a rhythm. They missed a field goal attempt and scored their lone touchdown when they played at a faster pace, spreading the Panthers out. After throwing for 46 yards in the first half, Prescott threw for 124 in the second half. The Cowboys were able to dictate the tempo of the game. Doing that for an entire game might be difficult from a conditioning standpoint and could affect the defense if the offense can’t convert, but the Cowboys have scored 10 first-quarter points so far this season. What’s the harm? Get Prescott on the move The zone-read game worked so well against the New York Giants in Week 2, there was a thought that would be a staple to the offense. Prescott had two carries for 21 yards against Seattle, one on a zone-read in the fourth quarter. The Seahawks did a better job of holding the edge so Prescott had to hand it off, whereas the Giants crashed hard on every play fake to Ezekiel Elliott. The Cowboys excelled in getting Prescott outside the pocket on bootlegs and waggles as a rookie, but opponents have snuffed that out for most of the past two seasons. On one attempt against Seattle, Prescott was sacked for a 10-yard loss. Moving the pocket can help Prescott. It limits the reads he has to make and can help him play faster. The receivers have to win on their routes and make contested catches. It helps the line as well because the ball is designed to get out quickly. Again, what’s the harm? Just give it to Elliott He is the lone constant of this offense. He is tied for the league lead in rushing with 274 yards and he has not had more than 17 carries in a game yet. In his rookie season, Elliott had 76 touches in 204 plays in the first three games of the season. He has 59 touches in 165 plays in the first three games this season. That is at least in the same neighborhood as his rookie year, when he had 1,994 total yards. Given the struggles of the passing game, it is interesting the Cowboys have been able to run it as effectively as they have. Defenses might be willing to let Elliott get his, knowing the passing game is so limited. When Elliott gets at least 20 carries, the Cowboys are 16-5 since 2016. It’s not about winning with style. These Cowboys will have to win ugly. What’s the harm?
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