The Landry Hat
Fansided

Dallas Cowboys must return to playing unselfish offense

By Brad Austin

ARLINGTON, TX - OCTOBER 30: Jason Witten #82 of the Dallas Cowboys celebrates with Cole Beasley #11 of the Dallas Cowboys and Terrance Williams #83 of the Dallas Cowboys after scoring the game winning touchdown against the Philadelphia Eagles in overtime at AT&T Stadium on October 30, 2016 in Arlington, Texas. The Dallas Cowboys beat the Philadelphia Eagles 29-23 in overtime. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TX - OCTOBER 30: Jason Witten #82 of the Dallas Cowboys celebrates with Cole Beasley #11 of the Dallas Cowboys and Terrance Williams #83 of the Dallas Cowboys after scoring the game winning touchdown against the Philadelphia Eagles in overtime at AT&T Stadium on October 30, 2016 in Arlington, Texas. The Dallas Cowboys beat the Philadelphia Eagles 29-23 in overtime. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /
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ARLINGTON, TX – JANUARY 15: Dez Bryant #88 and Ezekiel Elliott #21 of the Dallas Cowboys warm up on the field prior to the NFC Divisional Playoff game against the Green Bay Packers at AT&T Stadium on January 15, 2017 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TX – JANUARY 15: Dez Bryant #88 and Ezekiel Elliott #21 of the Dallas Cowboys warm up on the field prior to the NFC Divisional Playoff game against the Green Bay Packers at AT&T Stadium on January 15, 2017 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /

SELFISH NUMBERS DON’T LIE

Last season Dak Prescott took 1,010 snaps for the Cowboys offense. Below is the breakout of how he distributed the ball.

Elliott: 35.7% – 361 chances (322 rushes, 39 pass targets)

Bryant: 9.5% – 96 pass targets

All others: 54.8%

Of 1010 snaps, 54.8% saw Prescott utilize another player besides Dez or Zeke.

Now let’s compare the allocation of Dak’s 263 snaps in four games this season.

Elliott: 36.1% – 95 chances (76 rushes, 19 pass targets)

Bryant: 15.2% – 40 pass targets

All others: 48.7%

It’s glaringly obvious Elliott and Bryant are now involved in over half the snaps.

Elliott was a workhorse last year and is being used a tad more. The problem is his effectiveness has decreased by 34.1 total yards per game.

The elephant in the room is clearly Bryant. After four games he’s on pace for 120 targets this season, 24 more than 2016.

Like Zeke, Dez’s increased reliance has resulted in worse production. Last season he averaged 61.2 receiving yards per game, but now checks in at 53.

Even further, in 2016 the Dak/Dez connection completed 52% of their attempted targets. This season it has fallen to 40%.

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