We had 8 possessions last night...

[jday]

Originally Posted by GloryDaysRBack

Yeah! This defense played great!!!! We held them to 19 points...

Lolololol

If you look at the average score of any game in the NFL, holding a team to 19 points should be enough to win. I honestly do not blame the defense at all for the loss to Atlanta.

[Hoofbite]

Originally Posted by AbeBeta

Chalk that one up to injuries. Costa is a good run blocker -- and Murray is greatly missed.

I know that teams need to go "next man up" - but we've lost Rat, Lissemore, Murray, Costa, Church, and Sean Lee for substantial periods. And we played with a not healthy Witten for several games. These are big losses and they hurt in close games

I'll chalk that one up to trotting out a formation that plays right into the defenses hands.

Dallas has a weak OL. They barely win one-on-one's on a consistant basis.

You can't let a defense stack the line when you're 5 guys up front can't get it done when they don't stack the line. Adding Parnell, an even weaker player than what is on the field, isn't helping.

After watching the OL get zero push on the goal line in back to back plays last week, there's no way Dallas should have given the Falcons the same opportunity to stop them.

They should not have gone back to that formation.

[aikemirv]

Originally Posted by jday

If you look at the average score of any game in the NFL, holding a team to 19 points should be enough to win. I honestly do not blame the defense at all for the loss to Atlanta.

How many times do you let Atlanta pass a 15-20 yarder down the middle of the field until you stop the play?

[Hoofbite]

Originally Posted by OklahomaCowboy88

If you can't get 12 inches in the NFL, you dont deserve to be in the NFL. Sadly, our offensive line and running back position is full of guys who don't deserve to be in the NFL.

Trying a QB sneak every now and then probably wouldn't hurt.

I saw Palmer sneak for a full 2 yards the other day. 2 inches seems to be too far for Dallas to attempt it.

[ufcrules1]

Originally Posted by jday

If you look at the average score of any game in the NFL, holding a team to 19 points should be enough to win. I honestly do not blame the defense at all for the loss to Atlanta.

Me either.. not at all. The offense didn't help them one bit. Romo overthrew Beasley in the endzone, overthrew other receivers, underthrew Romo in the endzone, WR's dropped balls, etc. We lost that game because of the offense, not the defense.

[ufcrules1]

Originally Posted by Hoofbite

Trying a QB sneak every now and then probably wouldn't hurt.

I saw Palmer sneak for a full 2 yards the other day. 2 inches seems to be too far for Dallas to attempt it.

Have you ever seen Romo's QB sneaks? lol.. did you forget the Giants game when he turned the ball over trying a sneak?

[jday]

Originally Posted by aikemirv

How many times do you let Atlanta pass a 15-20 yarder down the middle of the field until you stop the play?

Against that offense, big plays are going to happen. Period. The fact that they were able to force field goal attempt after field goal attempt was a huge success in my mind. But perhaps my standards are low.

[Wolfpack]

Originally Posted by ABQCOWBOY

Had really hoped that our FA signing of Vickers would have solved a great deal of this issue. Alas, not so much.

He is never on the field. They run shotgun way too much. Maybe he sucks as a FB back I cant tell because the guards are leaving too much trash for him to clean up. IF the FB cant find a hole, the RB isn't gonna do much either is the general rule.

[AdamJT13]

Originally Posted by jday

If you look at the average score of any game in the NFL, holding a team to 19 points should be enough to win. I honestly do not blame the defense at all for the loss to Atlanta.

In the average NFL game, each team gets more than eight possessions -- the average this season is 11.1. The average points scored on each possession this season is 1.90. Allowing 19 points usually is good enough to win because the average offense gets 11 possessions and scores 21 points. If you get only eight possessions, however, you have to score 2.5 points per possession to win -- which would rank third in the NFL this season.

In other words, if your defense allows 19 points and your offense gets only eight possessions, your offense has to play like a top-three scoring offense if you want to win.

[jday]

Originally Posted by AdamJT13

In the average NFL game, each team gets more than eight possessions -- the average this season is 11.1. The average points scored on each possession this season is 1.90. Allowing 19 points usually is good enough to win because the average offense gets 11 possessions and scores 21 points. If you get only eight possessions, however, you have to score 2.5 points per possession to win -- which would rank third in the NFL this season.

In other words, if your defense allows 19 points and your offense gets only eight possessions, your offense has to play like a top-three scoring offense if you want to win.

I understand what you are trying to say...but 13 of those 19 points came in the fourth quarter. This, after possession after possession of offensive ineptness. Granted, Atlanta only had the ball 5 minutes longer than the Cowboys, but the Cowboys didn't start having long drives until towards the end of the game, so I would venture to say that when the Falcons did finally score, the defense was pretty exhausted. Factor in injuries to Church, Lee, Ratliff, and a number of guys playing hurt like Ware and those 19 points, in my mind, become understandable against a potent offense like the Falcons.

[Wolfpack]

Originally Posted by AdamJT13

In the average NFL game, each team gets more than eight possessions -- the average this season is 11.1. The average points scored on each possession this season is 1.90. Allowing 19 points usually is good enough to win because the average offense gets 11 possessions and scores 21 points. If you get only eight possessions, however, you have to score 2.5 points per possession to win -- which would rank third in the NFL this season.

In other words, if your defense allows 19 points and your offense gets only eight possessions, your offense has to play like a top-three scoring offense if you want to win.

Can you slip that under Jason's door tonight after bedtime. Make sure to write it in blue crayon so he can read it ok please. He was sick the day they taught head coach stuff so its not his fault. Thanks and tell him we all love him.

[Nation]

Originally Posted by jday

If you look at the average score of any game in the NFL, holding a team to 19 points should be enough to win. I honestly do not blame the defense at all for the loss to Atlanta.

Since 1962 teams are 2-97-1 when allowing the opposing QB to go for over 275 yards on over 10 yards per attempt without forcing an interception. The defense deserves their fair share of the blame for Sunday, they did not do much to help us win the game.

[jday]

Originally Posted by Nation

Since 1962 teams are 2-97-1 when allowing the opposing QB to go for over 275 yards on over 10 yards per attempt without forcing an interception. The defense deserves their fair share of the blame for Sunday, they did not do much to help us win the game.

If I were the coach, there is no way I'd let them hang their hat on that performance. But let's not kid ourselves here. The most important stat is points on the board. A stat that dates back to 1962 is completely irrelevant, because with the advent of rules that protect the offense, a 275 yard game is not uncommon. 9 QB's threw for over 275 yards this past weekend.

[Nation]

Originally Posted by jday

If I were the coach, there is no way I'd let them hang their hat on that performance. But let's not kid ourselves here. The most important stat is points on the board. A stat that dates back to 1962 is completely irrelevant, because with the advent of rules that protect the offense, a 275 yard game is not uncommon. 9 QB's threw for over 275 yards this past weekend.

The YPA and lack of interceptions was killer though. Points alone as a statistic is looking at the game as if it were played in a vacuum. The amount of points the D let up did not lead to us losing the game. The poor field position the defense gave us did.

[AdamJT13]

Originally Posted by jday

I understand what you are trying to say...but 13 of those 19 points came in the fourth quarter. This, after possession after possession of offensive ineptness. Granted, Atlanta only had the ball 5 minutes longer than the Cowboys, but the Cowboys didn't start having long drives until towards the end of the game, so I would venture to say that when the Falcons did finally score, the defense was pretty exhausted.

The average NFL offensive possession lasts about 2 minutes, 40 seconds.

Here are the lengths of our offensive possessions in that game --

FIRST QUARTER
3:07
2:33

SECOND QUARTER
4:41
5:11

THIRD QUARTER
3:19
4:04

So, through three quarters, we had six possessions for an average of 3:49 -- far more than the NFL average. Only one was less than the average (by seven seconds), and all of the rest lasted at least 3:07.

If the defense was "exhausted" at that point in the game, it certainly wasn't because of the offense. It was because THEY COULD NOT STOP THE FALCONS FROM DRIVING THE LENGTH OF THE FIELD ALMOST EVERY TIME THEY HAD THE BALL THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE GAME.

Factor in injuries to Church, Lee, Ratliff, and a number of guys playing hurt like Ware and those 19 points, in my mind, become understandable against a potent offense like the Falcons.

If you want to say that injuries were one reason why the defense played its worst game of the season, that's fine, but it doesn't change the fact that the defense played its worst game of the season.