Even though the Cowboys are ranked very low in the NFL when it comes to running the football, do you think they don't do enough to truly establish the run, especially with the offensive line's issues with poor pass protection? – George Davis Jr./Newport News, VA
Nick: This is starting to be more of a "chicken or egg" theory. Is the running game struggling because they don't run it enough? Or would they run it more if they had better success with the attempts they have? For me, I don't think the problem is the lack of attempts, I think it's a lack of execution. For a while now, this offensive line hasn't been great at pushing people off the ball. We've seen some success in recent years in the running game, but it stalls in the red zone, when push really needs to come to shove. And now, we're just not seeing much of a running game in the middle of the field either. Yes, the Cowboys rank 31st in total rushing yards per game, but they also rank 29th in average per carry at 3.82 yards per carry. I seriously think the Cowboys would run it more, if they ran it better. Last game, I saw Rico Dowdle with a couple of nice first-down runs in the first quarter, but in the second quarter, the Cowboys had a -1, no gain, 1-yard run and a 2-yard run on first down carries. That just keeps you behind the chains too much.
Kurt: Establishing the run when you're constantly playing catch-up is just tough to do, but I must admit there are times when I wish they'd try it more often. When we talk about great running teams, we sometimes forget that a lot of their big runs come after they've softened up the defense with pounding short gains. The Cowboys, though, just don't seem to have that luxury because they're always so far behind. Overall, the Cowboys' run blocking ranks 22nd in the NFL, per Pro Football Focus, with the pass blocking ranked 28th. Still, I wish they'd lean on Rico Dowdle at least a little more. For the season, he is averaging 4.5 yards per carry, one of only 18 running backs in the league to average at least that much. But of those 18, he is 14th for average carries per game at 10.4, and the only four behind him are not full-time starters. Sure would be interesting to see what Dowdle could do with 20-25 carries. But it's all part of that complimentary football we hear so much about. Dowdle can't get the yardage because his line is struggling, which isn't helped by the fact the defense is giving up points, which isn't helped by the fact the offense is turning the ball over at an alarming rate and putting the defense in bad positions, which isn't helped by the fact the offense is always having to play from behind, which … you get the ugly picture. It's not just a running game problem; it's a team problem. Everything works together … or not, in the case of the Cowboys this season.
