Cowboys’ McCarthy on ball distribution

The Cowboys offense is currently in the shop. Whether it’s getting a minor tune-up or a massive overhaul remains to be seen. Several staffers are gone. A couple offensive playmakers, too. There are new guys to work into the mix.

Head coach Mike McCarthy maintains that he doesn’t foresee “a huge change” in 2023’s overall scheme or philosophy as compared to 2022’s.

But a deeper dive into the numbers suggest it’s going to have to be a rather significant change, with the team needing to revamp over one-third of all its run and pass plays, no matter how the coach (and now play-caller) chooses to soft-sell it.

“How we play this year will be similar to how we played last year,” McCarthy said Tuesday at the NFL owner meeting in Phoenix.

Maybe.

But without Kellen Moore, without Dalton Schultz, without Ezekiel Elliott… some things will undoubtedly have to be different, as McCarthy is well aware.

“Just look at Zeke’s opportunities,” McCarthy offered. “Where do those touches go? So much of this game is made about how many times you run it or pass it, but it’s really: how do you get the ball distributed to your perimeter players?”

2022’s ball distribution shows just how much the Cowboys leaned on their highly-paid-yet-declining two-time rushing champ.

Dallas logged 531 rushing attempts last regular season, and saw a player officially targeted for a pass attempt on 545 plays. That’s 1,076 legitimate opportunities for someone to have gotten an offensive touch.

Elliott had 254, or 23.6% of them, come his way.

“So you just look at where those touches go,” the coach went on. “Do some of those touches go to receivers? Tight ends? The new backs will definitely absorb some of those opportunities. Maybe Tony’s will go up.”

Pollard’s usage will almost certainly climb… but how much is reasonable to expect? He already nearly matched Elliott’s touch opportunities last season, with 248 total, or 23.0%.

New addition Ronald Jones will obviously hear his number called more than he did in Kansas City; the Chiefs handed him the ball just 17 times and targeted him once in two game appearances in 2022. And Malik Davis stands to see an increase over his 45 touch chances as a rookie.

But 254 possible touches- Elliott’s share last year- is an awful lot of football pie to divvy up. The former first-round pick…