The Dallas Cowboys run game through six weeks has been exactly what many anticipated – not very good.
With Ezekiel Elliott, Rico Dowdle, Deuce Vaughn, Hunter Luepke, and Dalvin Cook, the group struggled to get anything substantial going on the ground outside of the Pittsburgh Steelers game.
Through six weeks, as expected, Dallas has the worst run game in football, averaging just 77.2 yards per game with Dak Prescott getting no help from his running backs.
Now on the bye, the Cowboys first had to pick up the pieces of the 47-9 blowout loss to the Detroit Lions, and now offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer says the coaching staff is hellbent on finding a solution to the NFL’s worst run game.
“I think we have a good idea of how we think it goes,” Schottenheimer said. “Each game’s going to be different, and when you use the word committee, it really is what it is, and yeah, at times it’s frustrating when the game doesn’t turn out the way you want it to turn out, and you’re like oh man he didn’t get enough touches, or he did get as many touches as we thought. But you stay the process like this business is one that not for everybody, some people can’t handle it, they don’t like it, it just gets hard. We’re not wired like that as a locker room, as an offense, as a coaching staff, and we are very hungry to find the solutions.”
For some of Cowboys Nation, a solution might come in the form of a Dallas trade. As CowboysCountry.com has long detailed a move like that that eats up cap room isn’t happening. For many on Cowboys Nation, therefore, part of that solution is to give Dowdle more touches and limit Elliott’s.
Another option is Luepke, who when given an opportunity this season, has made some positive things happen in both the run and pass game.
Deuce Vaughn feels like a lost cause at this point, being a healthy scratch in the last two games and Dalvin Cook, who looks like the only lever Dallas can pull, is still stuck on the practice squad.
Some point to the offensive line’s poor play as a reason for the bad run game, which is also valid. So there’s plenty of blame to go around The Star, and now, during the bye week, fans don’t want to hear excuses for the rushing attack being as poor as many predicted; they want solutions.
And the coaching staff appears to be trying to do just that.