This defense still has a ways to go. Pass defense is killing us

[CouchCoach]

The level of turnovers we are getting is unsustainable. At some point you need to tighten up the defense or you're going to get smoked.

It is a turnover based defense for now because they do not have enough talent. Quinn has to make do with what he's got and try and not expose it.

They go up against the better QB's and receiver sets, we're going to need that offense to get north of 35.

I think some are expecting too much too soon from a defense that is still in the rebuilding stage.

One thing I really like about Quinn and I think his experience as a HC helped that is that he's trying a complimentary defense to his overall team. Some DC's just operate independently of their offense and often put it in a hole. Quinn knows he can take some more chances because of that offense and he knows he has to take chances and go for the ball. He really doesn't have much of a choice. It is not a contain type defense so it must be opportunistic.

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

I said this tongue in cheek. Of course it is allowed, but mentioning things that did not go well on the way to victory is often shouted down on this board. I've been around a long time. And I love it when we win. But just because I notice things like "giving up chunk plays" during a victory, does not mean I did not enjoy the win. And quite often, you are accused of being a grouch if you discuss such things after a victory.

More than half of the threads and posts are negative.

Acting like the negative posts are the only ones complained about as if homer and the like are not common responses as well. The whingers sure like to act the victim.

 

[MRV52]

If the Panthers game tells us anything it's that if Diggs goes out we are in trouble.

The Panthers scored an easy 14 points with Diggs taken the rest of the day off.

No we are not really in trouble, Cowboys went prevent and took foot off the gas. Diggs would be a huge loss but not the reason Carolina scored 14.

 

[charron]

Without the takeaways this defense would be one of the worst. 3 of the 4 takeaways from the Tampa game could have led them to score more points. It prevented a blowout. Can the interceptions continue? Seems they carried over from the 2nd half of last year. Can Joseph come in and help this pass defense?

 

[MountaineerCowboy]

No we are not really in trouble, Cowboys went prevent and took foot off the gas. Diggs would be a huge loss but not the reason Carolina scored 14.

You keep telling yourself that.

 

[Big_D]

We get healthy after the bye and the pass D improves in the 2nd half of the season. It's a process. That sentence used to be a joke but today it's not. It's actually what's happening.

 

[baltcowboy]

So far, with the exception of turnover ratio (ranking 1st) we've flip from one of 2020 worst defensive rankings to another one for 2021. In other words, last season we had the league's worst rushing defense ( dead last) and spent the offseason hell-bent on fixing it. The good news is it so far this season, we are ranked 6th rushing yards allowed BUT the bad news, we are dead last passing defense ( 31st ). That is, 31st in total passing yards allowed and passing yards allowed per game.

https://www.lineups.com/nfl-team-rankings/defense

Not trying to be negative Nancy here but a couple of things to keep in mind.....

• Quinn is a former Dline coach
• We are 16th in points allowed per game. IF we can improve this to at least top 10, the 31st yards ranking issue won't matter much. Why? As Belichick says ( many here know I've repeated this a 1000 times) only two defensive stats really impacts the game, turnover ratio and scoring defense ( keeping points off the board).
• What happens if we don't fix the passing yard issue? Look no further than the Panthers letting them back in the game and nearly lost. This has been an issue with his defenses, giving up points late in games
• Also, teams with a good QB AND Oline can put up a lot of points, especially late in the game when your D is tired.
• On January 22, 2017, Quinn's Falcons won the NFC Championship against the Green Bay Packers 44–21, clinching a berth to play in Super Bowl LI against the New England Patriots.[15] Up 21–3 at halftime and 28–3 in the third quarter, the Falcons blew the largest lead in Super Bowl history and lost the game in overtime by a score of 34–28.[16][17]

I hate the term but the Eagles and Carolina had lots of Garbage time yardage and scores. The Cowboys had leads of 41-14 on the Eagles and 36-14 on Carolina in the 4th quarter with numerous players out with injuries. You could argue playing Brady/Herbert you have two top 5 offenses. The Cowboys defense is fine but not perfect.

 

[Flamma]

In football you can't just look at a stat line and come to a conclusion. You'll often be wrong.

Jalen Hurts threw for 326 yards with 2 TDs and two picks. If you didn't watch the game you can conclude one of two things, Hurts is pretty good or the Cowboys D is terrible. Neither is true.

Hurts had a horrible game. The Cowboys D basically handed them the last 75 yards just to end the game. Another 40 yards on a hail Mary to left field earlier in the game.

The Cowboys D isn't the greatest. But it's not as bad as the yards allowed would imply.

 

[pansophy]

In football you can't just look at a stat line and come to a conclusion. You'll often be wrong.

Jalen Hurts threw for 326 yards with 2 TDs and two picks. If you didn't watch the game you can conclude one of two things, Hurts is pretty good or the Cowboys D is terrible. Neither is true.

Hurts had a horrible game. The Cowboys D basically handed them the last 75 yards just to end the game. Another 40 yards on a hail Mary to left field earlier in the game.

The Cowboys D isn't the greatest. But it's not as bad as the yards allowed would imply.

What causes me pause on those explanations is that we gave up more 20+ yard pass plays than anyone last year, and that trend continues this year. It’s not a one-off moment. Red zone defense is fair at best — too many TDs down there — also a problem last year. We are surviving on turnovers and if we keep getting them then great, but they can be fickle.

We’ll get guys back and they should get better in this new system. But I’m not brimming with confidence about them yet.

 

[Flamma]

What causes me pause on those explanations is that we gave up more 20+ yard pass plays than anyone last year, and that trend continues this year. It’s not a one-off moment. Red zone defense is fair at best — too many TDs down there — also a problem last year. We are surviving on turnovers and if we keep getting them then great, but they can be fickle.

We’ll get guys back and they should get better in this new system. But I’m not brimming with confidence about them yet.

I'm not arguing the point you bring up here. I too notice that we're giving up too many chunk plays. In fact, yesterday at work I was talking to an Eagles fan about just that. My point was in making determinations based on stat lines.

 

[pansophy]

I'm not arguing the point you bring up here. I too notice that we're giving up too many chunk plays. In fact, yesterday at work I was talking to an Eagles fan about just that. My point was in making determinations based on stat lines.

Yes totally agree about that. Stats are only helpful in the context in which they occur. No better example of that is the stat showing we are like 26-0 when we run the ball more than pass. So many people read that stat and think the answer to winning is to call more run plays.

 

[Flamma]

Yes totally agree about that. Stats are only helpful in the context in which they occur. No better example of that is the stat showing we are like 26-0 when we run the ball more than pass. So many people read that stat and think the answer to winning is to call more run plays.

Right. That's another misleading stat. You're not actually winning because you run more. Same goes for rookie QBs not getting to super bowls. We could probably go on and on.

 

[Bullflop]

Every once in a blue moon, the Cowboys hierarchy sees fit to put in the special efforts that make even the best outfits jealous. I'm hoping this is the one that places them smack dab into the winner's seat that they so covet. Something about this season is simply Extra Special.
So Sayeth Yours, Truly! Hey! This year is One of those Very Rare Ones! Hip, hip, Hooray!! Let's Rejoice!!

 

[blueblood70]

the team will grow and improve all season..improving in all areas needed to peak at the right time down the stretch..its after the bye and December where you start truly seeing where your team stacks up against the best..

its futile, all the threads on debating stats, rankings, and the teams good and bad as of now..

we have many players coming back after the bye week..

 

[BAT]

 

[JoeKing]

With the exception of the Cardinals, we have as good a record as anyone. We just have to take care of business including Jan 2nd when the Cardinals have to come to us to play. On that day we can earn the NFC #1 seed. Just keep on winning and don't let these stat monkeys tell you this defense isn't good enough.

 

[JW82]

The majority of yards vs Philly and Carolina were when the game was easily in hand. They need to get better at closing a team out though.

 

[T-RO]

Up 21–3 at halftime and 28–3 in the third quarter, the Falcons blew the largest lead in Super Bowl history and lost the game in overtime by a score of 34–28

As for the purported Quinn defensive collapse in that Pats Super Bowl....CHALLENGE TIME, SPORTS FANS!

I'll fire up ONE stat and see who can unravel it.
Keanu Neal played 99 snaps in that game. WTH? That's six quarters worth of football. Why? How? What did it mean?

 

[CowboyoWales]

So far, with the exception of turnover ratio (ranking 1st) we've flip from one of 2020 worst defensive rankings to another one for 2021. In other words, last season we had the league's worst rushing defense ( dead last) and spent the offseason hell-bent on fixing it. The good news is it so far this season, we are ranked 6th rushing yards allowed BUT the bad news, we are dead last passing defense ( 31st ). That is, 31st in total passing yards allowed and passing yards allowed per game.

https://www.lineups.com/nfl-team-rankings/defense

Not trying to be negative Nancy here but a couple of things to keep in mind.....

• Quinn is a former Dline coach
• We are 16th in points allowed per game. IF we can improve this to at least top 10, the 31st yards ranking issue won't matter much. Why? As Belichick says ( many here know I've repeated this a 1000 times) only two defensive stats really impacts the game, turnover ratio and scoring defense ( keeping points off the board).
• What happens if we don't fix the passing yard issue? Look no further than the Panthers letting them back in the game and nearly lost. This has been an issue with his defenses, giving up points late in games
• Also, teams with a good QB AND Oline can put up a lot of points, especially late in the game when your D is tired.
• On January 22, 2017, Quinn's Falcons won the NFC Championship against the Green Bay Packers 44–21, clinching a berth to play in Super Bowl LI against the New England Patriots.[15] Up 21–3 at halftime and 28–3 in the third quarter, the Falcons blew the largest lead in Super Bowl history and lost the game in overtime by a score of 34–28.[16][17]

Id take the gamble of hawking with the high rate of turnovers rather than dying from a 100 plays. You also miss out the fact that turnovers mean we dont start every drive from our own 25 yard line

I think you need to highlight the "giving up points late in games". All we require, with the offense performing as it is, is to keep us in the game.

 

[Hawkeye0202]

Does anyone remember what MM his overall game strategy/goal was last year after he was hired? He wanted his offense to score fast and early so his DLine can take over or close games.