Formation width may be an underrated issue for the Dallas Cowboys offense
Formation width appears to be an issue for the Dallas Cowboys offense.
The Dallas Cowboys offense is not great right now. As is often the case. there are a number of reasons for this. We can talk about how the front office did not outfit the roster with enough playmakers. The lack of run game is certainly an issue. You will never be searching long for someone to criticize the quarterback in charge of it all.
It is possible that all of these are true in their own ways and at different times. One thing not listed in that group of potential problems is the person in charge of it all, head coach and play-caller Mike McCarthy.
If almost any other head coach in the NFL made the decision to take over play-calling duties from someone who had the success with the group that Kellen Moore did, there would have been a bigger outcry, but McCarthy led the group to even more success (while Moore has done nothing but flounder ever since). But McCarthy is clearly responsible for his fair share (and then some) in all of this year’s issues.
Formation width may be a bigger issue for the offense than conventional things
Every week the folks over at NFL Pro have a ton of wonderful insights for all upcoming games. I cannot recommend a subscription to their service enough (I am a paying customer personally). You can subscribe right here if you would like.
One of the notes this week really stands out. Here it is, exactly how they have it written:
The Cowboys offense has an average formation width (from the two widest players) of 27.5 yards this season, the widest in the NFL.
The Shanahan coaching tree makes up the top 9 teams in the most condensed formations (Rams, 49ers, Vikings, Falcons, Buccaneers, Packers, Lions, Saints, Dolphins, Texans are all 22 yards or less wide on average).
This is a bit eye-opening, is it not? We can talk about things like utilizing motion and route concepts and those variables certainly matter. But if we start at the very beginning of a given play, that Dallas is so widely (no pun intended) different from the most successful and innovative offenses in the league, doesn’t that raise an alarm bell or two?
Consider the number of teams who are operating in what is being termed as “condensed” formations. There are nine! This isn’t a situation where it is Kyle Shanahan and his top lieutenant. Literally any coach or play-caller who has broken bread in the vicinity of Kyle Shanahan seems to understand that an important thing is to bunch your players up (so to speak) upon formation and not spread them out.
You may be wondering what the point of this is. Why does width along the formation matter? You see, given that there are 22 players on the field at every moment in time, the most valuable real estate that can be achieved is anywhere where none of them are. The goal is to find open space.
It seems that McCarthy may believe that spreading players out (by a significantly larger degree, mind you) could be how finding that space is achieved. The other line of logic that appears to be held by the Shanahan tree though is, as my friend Brett Yarris put it, is that you are putting your players in a position to run to the space.
Consider what we know (generally) about the Dallas Cowboys offense and their production (lack of it, really) through four games this season.
Just two weeks ago Dak Prescott threw into the highest percentage of tight windows that he has in almost six full years. So far to this point in the season he is averaging -0.9 air yards behind the sticks on third downs when he has been at least over two air yards on average past them, all in basically the same time span (from 2019 to 2023 was the over two air yards on average time).
This offense is broken in a way that it hasn’t been since the infamous wide receiver by committee approach. Sure, not having the proper talent is exacerbating the issue, but if spreading the formations out too wide is spreading the limited group as is too thin, then it is going to be a losing battle far more often than not.
One of the most important and fundamental values of the Kyle Shanahan-led (and his branches, obviously) offenses is that they are designed to make life as easy as possible for the quarterback. This isn’t due to a lack of faith in the quarterback but for the express purpose of putting him - the most influential and important player on the field - in the best possible scenarios to succeed. When the quarterback succeeds, the offense succeeds. And when the offense succeeds, generally speaking, the team succeeds.
The season is incredibly young and there may be a reason for McCarthy to be leaning so far in an opposing direction from the offenses regarded most highly across the NFL. But for now it appears as if he is zigging where everybody is zagging and that zagging is the name of the game.
Who would insist on zigging at this rate?
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