Cowboys HC Mike McCarthy must turn his words into action starting in Week 4
By the sounds of it, it would seem like Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy learned his lesson following a disappointing loss to the Arizona Cardinals in Week 3. After a long day of third-and-longs for the offense quarterbacked by Dak Prescott, criticisms of conservative play-calling have been frequent over the last two days. Those […]
By the sounds of it, it would seem like Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy learned his lesson following a disappointing loss to the Arizona Cardinals in Week 3.
After a long day of third-and-longs for the offense quarterbacked by Dak Prescott, criticisms of conservative play-calling have been frequent over the last two days. Those criticisms aren't limited to those on the outside looking in but even the head coach himself.
"I wish I'd have been more aggressive on first and second down in the passing game," McCarthy confessed to reporters on Monday.
The numbers indicate a clear reason why. On Sunday, 89% of the Cowboys' drives that started with a pass moved the chains at least once. In drives that started with a rush attempt, the number fell to 64%, per RBSDM.com. This isn't an isolated event but the norm for NFL games as early-down passing has taken over the league because it's statistically the most efficient way to run an offense.
But of course, aggression on early downs doesn't only mean choosing passing over running but generating explosive plays. The Cowboys insisted on running inside the tackles even with three backup linemen and rarely did they generate explosives. McCarthy has since explained some of their run calls were a reaction to the Cardinals playing high coverage.
The Cowboys' red zone struggles themselves had to do with third-down struggles, as offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer explained on Monday.
"I don't think (offensive line injuries were) part of the red zone struggles," Schottenheimer said. "If you put yourself in third down and long in the red zone, it's hard (…) A big emphasis for us is going to be getting ahead of the sticks down in the red zone."
In a way, these comments by the offensive coaching staff sound encouraging. Perhaps their mindset on early downs really does change moving forward. But make no mistake about it: They should've known Sunday. For a coaching staff as experienced as the Cowboys', to talk about learning their lesson on Monday only goes so far.
It's time to turn their words into actions starting next Sunday when they host the New England Patriots for Week 4 of the NFL season.
Micah Parsons finds the perfect words to describe Cowboys’ loss to Cardinals
Couldn’t have said it better.
Featured image via Dallas Cowboys' YouTube
