Run Away Spagnola: Ground Attack Must Engage . . . Soon

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Updated: August 22, 2010, 10:30 PM
Run Away
Spagnola: Ground Attack Must Engage . . . Soon
Mickey Spagnola
DallasCowboys.com Columnist


The Chargers shut down Felix Jones and the Cowboys run game only allowing 54 yards rushing.

SAN DIEGO - By golly, for those who have grown tired of eating but cheese pizzas at Papa John's these past two Tuesdays and Wednesdays after Cowboys' preseason games, no more.

Why, the Cowboys finally scored a touchdown. Two of them to be exact. Two free toppings for all.

And what's this? These Cowboys actually scored a red-zone touchdown here Saturday night against the San Diego Chargers. Throw in a little extra pepperoni, would ya?

Sorry, nothing free for the safety, though you ought to argue for a little extra cheese or something since those two points late in the fourth quarter were the difference between this third preseason game going into of all things, overtime (ugh), and the Cowboys mercifully defeating the Chargers, 16-14, to the delight of the overwhelming number of Cowboys fans swelling the Qualcomm attendance to 64,372.

Plus, after all the media handwringing this past week, so many convinced there was no way in Haiti the Cowboys should play Tony Romo behind a make-shift offensive line, the franchise quarterback wasn't even sacked - three fewer times than the previous preseason games behind the starters - and didn't have to sit on the bench the entire second half this time nursing a sore back. In fact, tackle Robert Brewster, who earned the name "Brew-Nasty" from Big Leonard Davis, and Montrae Holland acquitted themselves nicely - and this with the Chargers relentlessly blitzing on passing downs.

Some people.

Now here is the offensive irony of the decreasing 76-degree evening: In the first two preseason games, totaling all of three series - hardly enough to draw any sort of solid conclusions - the first-team offense moved the ball very efficiently, finishing with field goals after a 14-play, 63-yard drive against Cincinnati and a 12-play 45-yard drive against the Raiders, plus tacking on a six-play 16-yard drive resulting in a punt the second time out against Oakland. And in preseason, mind you, totaling 124 yards on 32 plays.

But oh my gosh, the Cowboys didn't score any touchdowns. What in the world? And worse, couldn't score in the red zone, either, last season's bug-a-boo. Might as well throw in the towel and away those Vegas claim checks on the NFC-favored Cowboys.

Yet this time, in winning their second of three preseason games, the Cowboys' first-team offense was highly inefficient, in four series netting only three first downs - never more than one in any series - and just 47 yards on 17 total plays. Yuk.

Ah, but the first-team offense scored a touchdown this time, and the team overall the first two of the preseason, and hallelujah, they did so from inside the red zone, Romo connecting with Miles Austin on an 9-yard back-shoulder throw on third and goal, knocking those two monkeys off their backs.

That won't be good enough for the worry warts, though.

It's always something.

Look, here is a lot of what happened Saturday night, the Cowboys running into a perfect storm offensively. With Brewster playing for any length the first time in the NFL, after having missed all of last year, the Cowboys were making sure with alignment and play calls that Romo was safe, so the ball was coming out sooner than later. Common sense.

But against the Chargers' style defense, where they like to run blitz and stuff everything inside, offenses must efficiently throw the ball down field first to loosen them up. Romo rarely did so, and one of the times he ill-advisedly did, throwing off his back foot in the face of a jail-break blitz, he was intercepted, setting up one of two San Diego touchdowns.

"They play a lot of pressure in their defensive scheme, so you can be spotty, and that's why you have to be efficient in the passing game," offensive coordinator Jason Garrett said. "But we had to be smart."

Makes sense.

But if you just need something to worry about after three of the Cowboys' five scheduled preseason games, here it is, at least to me:

They are not running the ball effectively.

First game: 29 carries for 85 yards.

Second game: 22 carries for 66 yards.

Third game: 23 carries for 54 yards, and even more disconcerting, the Big Three, Marion Barber, Felix Jones and Tashard Choice, finished with 36 yards on 12 carries against San Diego.

Total: 84 carries for 205 yards, factoring out to a

 

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2.8-yard average.

That ain't getting it.

And, again, to me, if the Cowboys are going to turn all of those yards they totaled last year, a franchise record high, into a representative amount of points, then the Cowboys have to run the ball more efficiently - extra-especially in the red zone.

So far, not so good.

And while owner Jerry Jones certainly hasn't joined in with those pushing the panic button in preseason - he liked the red-zone touchdown, he liked what Brewster and Holland did, he liked what Sean Lee did, he liked what Akwasi Owusu-Ansah did and so, too, Jon Kitna - even he had this to say about the running game:

"I want us to be able to run the ball physically. And after tonight we have to make sure we're physical running the ball."

You bet. And he probably was a little envious of what he saw on the other side of the field. Against a Cowboys defense that had been dominant the first two preseason games and finished fourth against the run last season, the Chargers plowed ahead to the tune of 94 yards on 34 carries behind rookie Ryan Mathews and Michael Tolbert. And if not for an ill-fated eight-yard loss on an end round, they would have finished with 80 yards on 21 carries.

They even ran in for two touchdowns - in the red zone at that.

"I was very impressed how physical they were," Jones again said of the Chargers, who by the way were doing this without LaDainian Tomlinson. "We will have a running game."

Now I've said it before, and I'll say it again - and probably again after that if this aspect of the Cowboys offense does not improve: for the Cowboys to become more productive in the red zone they must improve running the ball into the end zone. That simple.

Last year, you know the numbers. The Cowboys scored 43 touchdowns, but only 14 times did they run the ball into the end zone, and only three of those touchdowns runs were from more than seven yards out. And of the 26 touchdowns scored from inside the red zone, only 11 of those were runs, the longest that seven-yarder by Felix Jones.

So don't get hung up on the periphery. Go right to the heart of the matter. Don't worry about who catches how many passes. Don't worry so much about the starting running back or the finishing running back nor the guy getting the most carries. Don't get hung up on the average age of the offensive line nor Kitna turning 38 on Sept. 2.

This running stuff, though, ah, now there is something you can sink your teeth into, and the real worry if Marc Colombo and Kyle Kosier miss games. The real worry if a legit third tight end is not located. Sure pass blocking is vital. But so is knocking people off the ball, and the one time the Cowboys tried to run the ball in the red zone Saturday night, Felix was dropped for a yard loss. Sound familiar?

So let's see going forward.

"You shouldn't get too nervous this time of year if you are not already where you want to go," Jones qualified. "I do not at this time have a concern."

If he did, I'm guessing he has something he could run with.

And so could (should?) you.

But in the meantime, enjoy the free sausage and mushrooms for a change.