{"id":15716,"date":"2025-02-28T11:52:10","date_gmt":"2025-02-28T11:52:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=15716"},"modified":"2025-02-28T11:52:10","modified_gmt":"2025-02-28T11:52:10","slug":"nfl-scouting-combine-brian-schottenheimer-outlines-vision-for-cowboys-offense-describes-ideal-rb","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=15716","title":{"rendered":"NFL Scouting Combine: Brian Schottenheimer outlines vision for Cowboys’ offense, describes ideal RB"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Brian<\/p>\n

INDIANAPOLIS \u2013 The Dallas Cowboys understand that the run game needs to take a significant step next season under new coach Brian Schottenheimer and offensive coordinator Klayton Adams.<\/p>\n

Since hiring Schottenheimer as the franchise\u2019s 10th coach last month, owner and general manager Jerry Jones and executive vice president Stephen Jones have repeated the team aims to \u201cmarry\u201d the run game with the pass game.<\/p>\n

On Thursday, Schottenheimer detailed the expectations and vision of his offense. It marked his first time speaking publicly since his introductory press conference on Jan. 25.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the end of the day, you have to be able to run the football,\u201d Schottenheimer said at the NFL Scouting Combine. \u201cWe\u2019ve made a commitment that we want to be great on both sides of the line of scrimmage. That\u2019s a huge part of it. The way I say it, \u2018When teams know you\u2019re going to run the ball, you have to be able to run the ball and conversely stop the run.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cDepending on how the roster is filled and how it\u2019s constructed, we want to be able to feature our guys and what they do well, and we want to be multiple.\u201d<\/p>\n

Personnel remains an issue. The Cowboys have just two tailbacks \u2013 Deuce Vaughn and Hunter Luepke \u2013 under contract through 2025, with last year\u2019s starter Rico Dowdle set to hit free agency next month.<\/p>\n

Dowdle rushed for a career-high 1,079 rushing yards last season. However, Dallas\u2019 run game struggled and represented one of many issues that emerged from the team\u2019s 7-10 disappointing campaign. Backup Ezekiel Elliott compiled 226 rushing yards across 74 carries. No other player reached 100 rushing yards.<\/p>\n

Overall, the Cowboys finished 27th in the NFL in rushing yards (1,705), 24th in rush attempts (429) and dead last in rushing touchdowns (six).<\/p>\n

Insert Adams, who arrives to Dallas as a highly regarded offensive line coach.<\/p>\n

He spent the past two seasons with the Arizona Cardinals, who finished last season seventh in rushing (144.2 yards per game) and second in yards per carry (5.3). While the Cowboys had just six rushing touchdowns, Arizona\u2019s lead tailback James Conner had eight rushing touchdowns himself. The Cardinals had 18 rushing touchdowns, which ranked ninth in the league.<\/p>\n

In addition to Adams, the Cowboys also hired new running backs coach Derrick Foster.<\/p>\n

Adams is expected to aid Schottenheimer in weekly offensive game planning with Schottenheimer serving as the main play caller on game days.<\/p>\n

\u201c[We\u2019re] trying to mesh the vision of what [Schottenheimer] wants,\u201d Adams said. \u201cI think it would be dumb on my part to try to force a lot of things on that call sheet that he doesn\u2019t want to call or he doesn\u2019t feel comfortable calling.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re working hard to evaluate what we have here, I think that there\u2019s a lot of nice pieces to work with and we\u2019ll continue to go down that road as we work through player acquisition.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"NFL<\/picture><\/div>\n<\/div>
 <\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Cowboys have an excellent opportunity this weekend to evaluate this year\u2019s running back class, which is considered deep and talented by many NFL draft analysts. The class is headlined by Boise State tailback and Frisco, Texas native Ashton Jeanty, who led the FBS in rushing yards and scrimmage yards in 2024, compiling 2,601 yards across 374 carries with 29 touchdowns.<\/p>\n

The position group is scheduled to participate in on-field workouts on Saturday afternoon at Lucas Oil Stadium, with more than 30 running back prospects in attendance at this week\u2019s NFL scouting combine.<\/p>\n

Schottenheimer, Adams, Foster and the rest of the team\u2019s coaching staff and front office will be closely monitoring all the workouts from inside a suite at the Colts\u2019 home stadium.<\/p>\n

The Cowboys possess five draft picks, including the No. 12 selection and three picks in the top 100. Additionally, the Cowboys are expected to receive up to four compensatory picks.<\/p>\n

Asked to describe his ideal running back, Schottenheimer offered his lengthy reply: \u201cYou want a guy that\u2019s got vision. You want a guy that has contact balance. The fronts that we\u2019re seeing, the fronts that we\u2019re facing, require guys to be able to make hidden yards, whether there\u2019s a free safety in the hole or there\u2019s a linebacker or a defensive lineman coming off the point of attack, you\u2019ve got to have a guy who is willing to run through arm tackles.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do believe that you have to have the ability to catch the ball coming out of the backfield. Why do I say that? If a team wants to commit to stopping the run, there\u2019s ways they can try to do that. We don\u2019t want to take an elite runner or a position like that out of the game, so if a team is doing a nice job stopping the running game, you want to be able to get them involved throwing it to them.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat doesn\u2019t mean they have to play like a receiver, but they have to be able to run routes coming out of the backfield and have the ability to separate and run after the catch is important.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/section>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dallas looks to improve after finishing 27th in rushing yards last season, with personnel changes and draft prospects in focus<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":15717,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15716","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dallas-cowboys"],"yoast_head":"\nNFL Scouting Combine: Brian Schottenheimer outlines vision for Cowboys' offense, describes ideal RB - Breaking News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=15716\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"NFL Scouting Combine: Brian Schottenheimer outlines vision for Cowboys' offense, describes ideal RB - 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