Explosive Dallas Cowboys offense needs to light up scoreboard, not just pile up yards
The Dallas Cowboys had the league’s top ranked offense in 2019, featuring a 4,900-yard passer in quarterback Dak Prescott, two 1,000-yard receivers Michael Gallup and Amari Cooper and a 1,300-yard rusher in Ezekiel Elliott.
They nearly became the first team in the NFL in 12 years to have three 1,000-yard receivers as slot Randall Cobb caught 55 passes for 828 yards and had several key plays called back due to penalties.
The Cowboys replaced the departed Cobb with rookie top pick CeeDee Lamb, who has lived up to the hype since Day 1 of training camp, prompting boasts that they will deliver on that promise of a 1,000-yard threesome in 2020.
Add in tight end Blake Jarwin, who will give the Cowboys more explosion at the position than aging robot Jason Witten offered a year ago, and more input from speedy backup running back Tony Pollard and it’s a pick-your-poison situation for opposing defenses.
New coach Mike McCarthy knows what he has to work with so instead of bringing in a whole new offense he melded his system to what the Cowboys were already doing in hopes making the unit more efficient, more explosive and more end zone friendly than teh team was in 2019 when they finished first in yards, but sixth in points and a mediocre 16th in red zone touchdown percentage.
“Football is still football,” McCarthy said. “There’s common concepts that were run here in the past that I’ve run for 20-plus years in this league, and then there’s concepts that I didn’t run in my past that were run here that I think are exceptional, so we’ll run those. And there’s some things that I have history in that weren’t run here that we put in.”
Said Elliott: “I don’t think that any changes that we’ve made are that big from what we were doing. Just like, little different play calls. It’s very similar to what we ran last year, so it’s not really anything that’s crazy-new or crazy-alarming. I think the sky’s the limit.”
The sky’s the limit because of the personnel, which boasts as much talent — if not more — than any team in the league.
And it starts with Prescott, who has a 40-24 record in four seasons and is coming off the best season of his career with 4,902 yards passing and 30 touchdowns against just 11 interceptions. He had seven games with 300 passing yards last season after just five in his first three seasons combined.
And the scary part is that he may only get better under McCarthy, a noted quarterback guru.
The other thing about Prescott is that he has also never missed a game. His 64 straight starts are the third most in the NFL among active players. But should the Cowboys ever need to go the bench, they finally have a backup capable of winning games in former TCU star Andy Dalton, who had a 70-61-2 record with the Cincinnati Bengals.
One reason the Cowboys lost the division title to the Philadelphia Eagles last season is that Prescott was forced to play in a crucial December loss with an injured shoulder because the team didn’t trust then-backup Cooper Rush.
At running back, Elliott averaged a career-worst 84.8 yards per game and had a career-low four rushes over 20 yards with a long of 33. But he still finished fourth in the NFL in rushing with 1,357 yards and averaged a very respectable 4.5 yards per carry.
He believes a full training camp absent the distraction of a contract dispute that kept him away last year should have him back in contention for the NFL rushing title.
The Cowboys also plan to find a way to get Pollard more involved this season in place of Elliott as well as in packages when both are on the field together. Pollard totaled 562 yards and three touchdowns in limited duty as a rookie.
The Cowboys might boast the best receiver corps in the NFL in 2020 with Cooper, Gallup and Lamb.
Cooper had a career-high 1,189 yards and eight touchdowns in 2019, despite playing through foot, ankle and thigh injuries for much of the season. Gallup should build on his breakout season with 1,107 yards and six touchdowns.
The addition of Lamb could make group really good, like silly good. He can play inside or outside and will make team’s pay for focusing on Cooper.
At tight end, Jarwin took over for finally departed Jason Witten as the primary pass catcher, giving the Cowboys another vertical threat. Jarwin averaged 11.8 yards per catch last year to Witten’s 8.4. Blake Bell will serve as the primary blocking tight end with Dalton Schultz handling halfback and fullback duties.
The biggest questions for the Cowboys are on the offensive line where career backup Joe Looney is going to replace five-time Pro Bowl center Travis Frederick and journeyman Cam Erving is going start at right tackle in the season opener for La’el Collins, who is out the first three games with an injured hip. Connor Williams is going to start at left guard for the third straight season after winning a training camp battle against Connor McGovern.
What the Cowboys can count on up front is six-time All-Pro Zack Martin at right guard and seven-time Pro Bowl left tackle Tyron Smith, who was named to the All-Decade team for the 2010s.
The addition of kicker Greg Zuerlein in free agency is an embarrassment of riches for the Cowboys already potent offense. He is healthy again after having a down year in 2019 due to injuries and he is ready to reclaim his title as the league’s best kicker. He missed just one field goal in training camp and that one was from 60 yards out.
Bottom line, when it’s all said and done, the 2020 Cowboys may be one of the most high-octane offenses the game has ever seen.
