When the Dallas Cowboys decided to let Dez Bryant go, they made it clear that they are going to focus even more on the running game. They brought in Allen Hurns, who gives them a solid weapon on the outside. That being said, none of their receivers are a daunting task to cover, and it will be difficult for them to get separation against top secondaries.
On top if that, they are still not at a point where they can trust Dak Prescott to throw players open. He has never been that risk taker, and everything will stall if no one is getting separation on the outside.
The Cowboys know that everything is going to start with their running game, and that makes play action the most important part of their passing game, and the key to generating the explosive plays you need to keep up in a pass heavy NFL.
The Cowboys have struggled in the past to put their receivers in positions where they will have space after an easy completion. You cannot expect the Cowboys to be completely revamping their offense, so that passing game will stay relatively simple.
With the talent they have, that simple pass attack might get completely shut down by a top defense, unless they can blow the top off of it with play action. Play action is the best way for the Cowboys to have receivers running open, and there is always the potential to force the mistake that leads to a big score.
Play action can then be the key to keeping as many players out of the box as possible, and if the Cowboys can establish a good balanced rhythm, it will be impossible for a defense to account for how they are going to attack.
The Cowboys need to be playing to their strengths, and need to make sure they avoid disasters on offense. Turnovers will ruin everything this team is trying to do. They cannot control the pace of the game and will not keep their defense rested if mistakes are being made on offense.
Prescott is great at mitigating mistakes, but they will be inevitable if Prescott is being asked to throw into tight coverage without a receiver he knows can physically dominate enough to overcome that coverage.
The Cowboys know that some change is necessary, but the goal of their offense is going to be the same. Perhaps Prescott will come out and prove that he has improved enough to make those difficult throws on a regular basis.
It could even be possible that the attention Ezekiel Elliot draws in is enough to allow these outside threats to succeed. Right now, however, they cannot trust that, and the offense will not be able to get comfortable enough if they are out of their element.
Dictating the pace of the game with the running attack, and getting big chunks through play action are where the Cowboys are most comfortable, and they will not be winning many games when they are not successful in those areas.
The Cowboys may still have a relatively predictable offense, and will still not have the kind of explosive plays everyone is looking for. By dominating time of possession, the Cowboys will not need those extra explosive plays. On top of that, no matter how predictable the Cowboys are, defenses will always have to make Elliot the primary focus, allowing them to continually have an advantage when they use play action.
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