How Can the Cowboys Boost CeeDee Lamb’s Involvement?

One of the biggest questions for the Dallas Cowboys after their 42-10 loss against the San Francisco 49ers is how the offense can get wide receiver CeeDee Lamb more involved.

All eyes are on head coach Mike McCarthy’s play-calling and quarterback Dak Prescott for the lack of big plays from the starting receiver.

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Mike McCarthy’s Play-Calling

Jerry Jones was asked on 105.3 The Fan if he wanted to see Lamb get more opportunities, to which he responded, “I don’t know about that. What I want to see is the ball spread around to several wide receivers and tight ends.”

However, McCarthy had a different take on Monday when he spoke after the game, saying, “Trust me, no one wants him to touch the ball more than I do.”

Sunday’s game was the third in a row where Lamb had less than 55 yards. He had five targets and four completions for 49 yards.

But this isn’t a one-time issue. Within the team’s first five games of the season, there has only been one game that Lamb has had double-digit targets — Week 2 against the New York Jets.

Dallas’ offense has 115 receptions, and Lamb has the most within that number with 27 on the season so far, but 13 came against the Jets.

McCarthy said that although it’s a fair question to ask why Lamb isn’t getting the ball more, he said there has to be balance within the offense, which goes back to Jones’ point.

So the issue is the distribution within games and the amount of times Lamb is getting the ball.

But does the issue stem from the lack of looks from Prescott or McCarthy’s play-calling? And since ball distribution has differed so much within the last five weeks, how can McCarthy’s play-calling open up more opportunities for playmakers like Lamb in the passing game?

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McCarthy has switched to a West Coast offense designed to build up the passing game for quarterbacks, specifically deep passes downfield. But to do that, the run game needs to be established first.

On Sunday night, McCarthy only called a total of 19 running plays out of the 49 they had on offense. In fact, they only ran it seven times in the first half against the 49ers. A strong run game is needed to open up the passing game for Prescott.

The issue trickles back to the lack of utilizing the “1-2 punch” approach with Tony Pollard and Rico Dowdle.

In the first five games, Pollard has 81 carries, and Dowdle has 25. For comparison, at this point last season, Ezekiel Elliott had 71 carries, and Pollard had 41.

In order to pass the ball deep to Lamb, the offensive game plan needs to take control of the time of possession by opening up the run game first. At that point, he can be more involved, especially if a down-the-field receiver can take attention away to open him up further.

Both Brandin Cooks and Michael Gallup could be viable options to do this.

When Jones was asked on 105.3 The Fan if he had considered allowing Brian Schottenheimer to call the plays, he said, “No, in any way. No.”

McCarthy’s West Coast offense is here to stay, so something has got to give at some point to get Lamb the ball more.

Dak Prescott’s Decision-Making

As for how Prescott can play a role in helping get the ball to Lamb more starts with his read options and sense of when to call audibles when adjustments are needed.

Lamb has been open and creating separation, even when double-teamed. However, Prescott is passing the ball to the first receiver he sees open, which isn’t always Lamb because of the initial coverage he receives.

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On Sunday, Prescott held the ball too long, which created multiple sack opportunities for the 49ers.

The Cowboys’ pass protection gave Prescott enough time to get a seven-step drop and chuck the ball to Lamb, but he held it too long, leading him to miss the open windows for a big play to happen.

Overall, Prescott’s vision downfield needs to be better without forcing plays to happen.

So, although there is blame in different aspects of the offense, the real test will be how the team responds and if they find a way to get Lamb the ball in the coming weeks.