BRANDON GEORGE Follow @DMN_George
BRANDON GEORGE The Dallas Morning News Staff Writer
bgeorge@dallasnews.com
Published: 16 October 2014 10:09 PM
Updated: 16 October 2014 10:22 PM
IRVING — The Cowboys hired Scott Linehan in late January as their passing game coordinator.
But the new passing game coordinator knew right away that the Cowboys wanted to emphasize the running game. Coach Jason Garrett made that clear before Linehan took the job.
Linehan, who also serves as the Cowboys’ offensive play-caller, went to work, putting together a plan that has Dallas leading the NFL in rushing through six games.
“Doesn’t take a genius to figure out when you’ve got a great offensive line and a great running back,” Linehan said. “I am not a genius. Just ask anybody.”
Linehan hasn’t ignored the Cowboys’ passing game, however. In fact, as he’s done in all of his previous NFL stops, Linehan has emphasized getting the football in the hands of his top offensive threats more.
In 2013, with offensive coordinator Bill Callahan calling the plays, running back DeMarco Murray and receiver Dez Bryant had plays called for them 442 times. Plays were designed for Murray and Bryant 47.9 percent of the time last season.
Through six games, the Cowboys have run 391 plays and 241 have been designed for Murray and Bryant (61.6 percent of the offense). That includes passes for which each was the target.
That means Murray and Bryant are touching the ball at about 13 times more per game in 2014. That’s emphasizing your playmakers more. That’s like two extra possessions per game that are all Murray and Bryant.
The Cowboys have other playmakers, from a potential Hall of Fame tight end in Jason Witten to an emerging No. 2 receiver in Terrance Williams to an underrated slot receiver in Cole Beasley.
So has it been tempting for Linehan to spread the ball around more with so many offensive threats?
“Well, not when you’re winning games,” Linehan said. “The whole idea is we have that ability just because we have really good players throughout at every position. I know the guys are probably used to having the ball more in certain situations, but I think everybody would trade catches, carries, whatever for ability to perform and operate on offense. I think balance throughout your offense with your skill players is as critical as balance for run-pass. Multiple people touch the ball in the game and affect the game in positive ways. It makes us a lot more effective.”
Before Linehan was hired by the Cowboys, he left his mark on four other NFL teams. At stops in Minnesota, Miami, St. Louis and Detroit, Linehan always found a way to get his best players the ball more.
Linehan became Minnesota’s offensive coordinator in 2002. Receiver Randy Moss had 24 more catches that season than he did in 2001. Moss’ numbers then jumped dramatically in 2003, when he had 111 catches for 1,632 yards and 17 touchdowns.
Linehan took over as the Dolphins offensive play-caller in 2005. The Dolphins’ leading passer, rusher and receiver all saw their numbers increase from the previous season.
In Linehan’s first season as St. Louis’ head coach in 2006, running back Steven Jackson had 92 more carries, 482 more rushing yards and five more rushing touchdowns than he did in the previous season. Rams quarterback Marc Bulger had 178 more completions, 2,004 more passing yards and 10 more passing touchdowns from 2005 to 2006.
Oh, and by the way, Detroit receiver Calvin Johnson had 122 catches for 1,964 yards under Linehan in 2012.
“He’s always done a good job of featuring the best parts of his offense,” Garrett said. “That’s something I believe in more than anything else that we do.
“Somehow, some way as coaches we have to have systems in place that feature the guys that we have and we believe in our systems and we’re convicted to our systems, but we’ve got to say, ‘OK, this is the best part of our team. We’ve got to do that. We have to make sure we do this. This isn’t very good. We can’t do much of that. We want to make this better. We want to be more balanced.’”
Garrett pointed out that the quarterbacks and receivers who have played on teams with Linehan as the offensive coordinator have been consistently successful, meaning “he’s had a pretty good way of creating a good environment for the guys on his offense.”
And that’s exactly what Linehan has done in Dallas. Murray and Bryant have had plays called for them 69 more times through six games this season than in 2013.
That’s maximizing your talent, putting the football in the hands of the players who have the best chance to do something with it.
“Scott doesn’t get rattled if we’re up by 50 or down by 50,” Murray said. “He has a great mind-set of what he wants to do and what we should do. Give Scott credit. He does a great job of calling plays. We just try to execute them as best as possible.”
BRANDON GEORGE The Dallas Morning News Staff Writer
bgeorge@dallasnews.com
Published: 16 October 2014 10:09 PM
Updated: 16 October 2014 10:22 PM
IRVING — The Cowboys hired Scott Linehan in late January as their passing game coordinator.
But the new passing game coordinator knew right away that the Cowboys wanted to emphasize the running game. Coach Jason Garrett made that clear before Linehan took the job.
Linehan, who also serves as the Cowboys’ offensive play-caller, went to work, putting together a plan that has Dallas leading the NFL in rushing through six games.
“Doesn’t take a genius to figure out when you’ve got a great offensive line and a great running back,” Linehan said. “I am not a genius. Just ask anybody.”
Linehan hasn’t ignored the Cowboys’ passing game, however. In fact, as he’s done in all of his previous NFL stops, Linehan has emphasized getting the football in the hands of his top offensive threats more.
In 2013, with offensive coordinator Bill Callahan calling the plays, running back DeMarco Murray and receiver Dez Bryant had plays called for them 442 times. Plays were designed for Murray and Bryant 47.9 percent of the time last season.
Through six games, the Cowboys have run 391 plays and 241 have been designed for Murray and Bryant (61.6 percent of the offense). That includes passes for which each was the target.
That means Murray and Bryant are touching the ball at about 13 times more per game in 2014. That’s emphasizing your playmakers more. That’s like two extra possessions per game that are all Murray and Bryant.
The Cowboys have other playmakers, from a potential Hall of Fame tight end in Jason Witten to an emerging No. 2 receiver in Terrance Williams to an underrated slot receiver in Cole Beasley.
So has it been tempting for Linehan to spread the ball around more with so many offensive threats?
“Well, not when you’re winning games,” Linehan said. “The whole idea is we have that ability just because we have really good players throughout at every position. I know the guys are probably used to having the ball more in certain situations, but I think everybody would trade catches, carries, whatever for ability to perform and operate on offense. I think balance throughout your offense with your skill players is as critical as balance for run-pass. Multiple people touch the ball in the game and affect the game in positive ways. It makes us a lot more effective.”
Before Linehan was hired by the Cowboys, he left his mark on four other NFL teams. At stops in Minnesota, Miami, St. Louis and Detroit, Linehan always found a way to get his best players the ball more.
Linehan became Minnesota’s offensive coordinator in 2002. Receiver Randy Moss had 24 more catches that season than he did in 2001. Moss’ numbers then jumped dramatically in 2003, when he had 111 catches for 1,632 yards and 17 touchdowns.
Linehan took over as the Dolphins offensive play-caller in 2005. The Dolphins’ leading passer, rusher and receiver all saw their numbers increase from the previous season.
In Linehan’s first season as St. Louis’ head coach in 2006, running back Steven Jackson had 92 more carries, 482 more rushing yards and five more rushing touchdowns than he did in the previous season. Rams quarterback Marc Bulger had 178 more completions, 2,004 more passing yards and 10 more passing touchdowns from 2005 to 2006.
Oh, and by the way, Detroit receiver Calvin Johnson had 122 catches for 1,964 yards under Linehan in 2012.
“He’s always done a good job of featuring the best parts of his offense,” Garrett said. “That’s something I believe in more than anything else that we do.
“Somehow, some way as coaches we have to have systems in place that feature the guys that we have and we believe in our systems and we’re convicted to our systems, but we’ve got to say, ‘OK, this is the best part of our team. We’ve got to do that. We have to make sure we do this. This isn’t very good. We can’t do much of that. We want to make this better. We want to be more balanced.’”
Garrett pointed out that the quarterbacks and receivers who have played on teams with Linehan as the offensive coordinator have been consistently successful, meaning “he’s had a pretty good way of creating a good environment for the guys on his offense.”
And that’s exactly what Linehan has done in Dallas. Murray and Bryant have had plays called for them 69 more times through six games this season than in 2013.
That’s maximizing your talent, putting the football in the hands of the players who have the best chance to do something with it.
“Scott doesn’t get rattled if we’re up by 50 or down by 50,” Murray said. “He has a great mind-set of what he wants to do and what we should do. Give Scott credit. He does a great job of calling plays. We just try to execute them as best as possible.”