Dallas Cowboys: Is it execution or play-calling hurting the team most?

In any failed attempt you can blame both play-calling and individual execution, but which one is really to blame for the Dallas Cowboys troubles?

As with nearly all things Dallas Cowboys, you’re usually either on one side or the extreme other. And the answer to what’s hurting the Cowboys the most this year is certainly no different.

One side of the debate pins the blame for Dallas’ struggles on the coaching staff. Poor play-calling, illogical game plans, and suspect in-game management are the top problem to most. On the other side resides the more restrained and ever patient “execution” fraction. They see individual failures in execution as the primary cause.

While there’s merit to both sides, one side stands out as the clear culprit in this underachieving season.

Execution

Looking at the film this season it’s easy to see failures in individual execution across the board. This isn’t really surprising since competition is generally a zero-sum game. For one player to succeed another usually has to fail. So it’s not really surprising to see failures in execution on each and every play in the National Football League.

Failed execution is almost unavoidable in matters of competition. But poor game plans and archaic play-calling is avoidable.

To blame these failures in execution is almost like blaming a coin for showing tails half the time. It’s going to happen. The best you can do is try to tilt the odds in your favor. And in football you do that by playing to your strengths, disguising intent, attacking favorable match-ups, and playing by the numbers (using analytics and odds that fit the situation).

Now, that isn’t to excuse all failures in execution either. Some failures are highly avoidable. The Dallas Cowboys game against Green Bay comes to mind. Unforced errors plagued the Cowboys all day. Good players uncharacteristically made bad plays. The game plan attacked Green Bay’s weaknesses and if it wasn’t for these ill-timed and disastrous mistakes, the outcome would have been much different.

Play-calling

But generally speaking, this has not been the case for the Dallas Cowboys this season. The Cowboys have been let down by their game plans and play-calling far too often.

Sunday night’s game is just the latest example. The running game was producing absolutely nothing while Dak Prescott was executing at peak levels. Yet, Dallas inexplicably stalled their most critical drive late in the fourth quarter by insisting on the running game.

Did players fail in their execution? Yes. But the running game was failing all day long. It was to be expected. Dallas had their biggest advantage in individual execution in the passing game. It doesn’t take an analytics guru to see the passing game heavily out produced the running game (but while we’re at it, Ezekiel Elliott finished with a – 7.4 EPA while Dak had a +24)

What’s the verdict?

Failed execution is almost unavoidable in matters of competition. But poor game plans and archaic play-calling is avoidable. It won’t always work out (again, the human element is involved) but it’ll work out a lot more often using strategy and following the math and historical data than it will ignoring it.

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The Dallas Cowboys players aren’t blameless but the bulk of the blame falls on this coaching staff for building such ridiculous game plans and calling plays that pull from weaknesses over strengths.

Published on 11/13/2019 at 13:59 PM
Last updated at 11/13/2019 at 13:59 PM

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