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Rainer Sabin / Reporter
So many times last season, Jon Kitna appeared to be under duress. Sensing a heavy rush, he was eager to distribute the ball as quickly as possible, often throwing to a secondary or tertiary option.
By the end of the season, 66 percent of Kitna's 318 pass attempts traveled nine yards or fewer. Not surprisingly, tight end Jason Witten, who ran abbreviate routes, emerged as Kitna's go-to receiver. In the 10 games Kitna participated in, Witten was targeted 81 times - 11 more than any other Cowboys player, according to STATS, Inc.
In December, The Dallas Morning News produced an article about Kitna's lack of downfield passing and tried to find the reason why the quarterback, who replaced the injured Tony Romo, was so reluctant to go deep.
"The ball had to come out," tight end Jason Witten said at the time. "It's just the way the games have been."
It seemed like a reasonable explanation. Kitna was usually facing a heavy rush, and consequently he couldn't stand in the pocket, go through his progressions and wait for a receiver to complete an extended route. But the fact that Kitna's hand was forced so many times is deeply worrisome when considering new evidence that has been gathered and processed by Pro Football Focus.
As it turns out, Kitna was rarely blitzed. In fact, he was one of the least-blitzed quarterbacks in the NFL, facing orchestrated pressure on 33 percent of his 357 dropbacks. Only Detroit's Shaun Hill and Seattle's Matt Hasselback can claim that they avoided the wrath of the opposing defense more frequently than Kitna, the 38-year-old veteran who helped resuscitate the Cowboys last year.
That, in and of itself, is quite revealing. Based on those statistics and what was witnessed with the naked eye, it is easy to conclude that opponents were able to generate an unusually effective rush against the Cowboys without the use of additional men. This is deeply disturbing and highlights just how deficient the Cowboys' pass protection was last season.
While few would argue that the Cowboys' offensive line performed at an acceptable level for the majority of last season, the data compiled by Pro Football Focus confirms just how faulty it really was.
The numbers also explain why the Cowboys selected tackle Tyron Smith with the ninth overall pick in the NFL Draft in April. The decision to take Smith represented a departure from their drafting philosophy during Jerry Jones' 22-year ownership of the team. They hadn't picked an offensive lineman in the first round since Jones bought the team.
But in light of what happened last year, it seemed absolutely necessary to make an unprecedented move and fortify the line. The Cowboys' quarterback, whether it is Kitna or Romo, can't survive -- let alone experience continued success -- if he's always on the run.
So many times last season, Jon Kitna appeared to be under duress. Sensing a heavy rush, he was eager to distribute the ball as quickly as possible, often throwing to a secondary or tertiary option.
By the end of the season, 66 percent of Kitna's 318 pass attempts traveled nine yards or fewer. Not surprisingly, tight end Jason Witten, who ran abbreviate routes, emerged as Kitna's go-to receiver. In the 10 games Kitna participated in, Witten was targeted 81 times - 11 more than any other Cowboys player, according to STATS, Inc.
In December, The Dallas Morning News produced an article about Kitna's lack of downfield passing and tried to find the reason why the quarterback, who replaced the injured Tony Romo, was so reluctant to go deep.
"The ball had to come out," tight end Jason Witten said at the time. "It's just the way the games have been."
It seemed like a reasonable explanation. Kitna was usually facing a heavy rush, and consequently he couldn't stand in the pocket, go through his progressions and wait for a receiver to complete an extended route. But the fact that Kitna's hand was forced so many times is deeply worrisome when considering new evidence that has been gathered and processed by Pro Football Focus.
As it turns out, Kitna was rarely blitzed. In fact, he was one of the least-blitzed quarterbacks in the NFL, facing orchestrated pressure on 33 percent of his 357 dropbacks. Only Detroit's Shaun Hill and Seattle's Matt Hasselback can claim that they avoided the wrath of the opposing defense more frequently than Kitna, the 38-year-old veteran who helped resuscitate the Cowboys last year.
That, in and of itself, is quite revealing. Based on those statistics and what was witnessed with the naked eye, it is easy to conclude that opponents were able to generate an unusually effective rush against the Cowboys without the use of additional men. This is deeply disturbing and highlights just how deficient the Cowboys' pass protection was last season.
While few would argue that the Cowboys' offensive line performed at an acceptable level for the majority of last season, the data compiled by Pro Football Focus confirms just how faulty it really was.
The numbers also explain why the Cowboys selected tackle Tyron Smith with the ninth overall pick in the NFL Draft in April. The decision to take Smith represented a departure from their drafting philosophy during Jerry Jones' 22-year ownership of the team. They hadn't picked an offensive lineman in the first round since Jones bought the team.
But in light of what happened last year, it seemed absolutely necessary to make an unprecedented move and fortify the line. The Cowboys' quarterback, whether it is Kitna or Romo, can't survive -- let alone experience continued success -- if he's always on the run.
