Are fans ready to accept the Micah trade devasted our defense?

[Diehardblues]

This is kinda funny because I just read 2 articles that suggested just the opposite. That the Cowboys may actually fare better later on especially since Micah hasn't blown the doors off at GB. Our defense was garbage before he left. More than anything, we could not stop the run last weekend and that has been a constant even when Micah was here.

I don’t think last year is a fair argument especially with Dak out. The previous 3 seasons Micah made quite an impact on defense.

Despite not having more success in playoffs arguably one of our best defenses this era making us a legit playoff contender.

 

[Diehardblues]

We misplaced his Lombardi?

Lombardi’s are a pipe dream this era under Jethro.

 

[Majic]

For me trading him was one of the worst decisions in franchise history. As I posted yesterday, 10 out of 12 front office officials consulted thought the Packers won the deal . None thought Dallas got a good deal, 2 thought if they were rebuilding you could justify it. Parsons is a generational talent who would be maximised if you surround him with good players to let him do his stuff. I personally think Jerry already regrets the move as this year with our offense and no dominant team in the NFL, with Parsons plus some better free agency we would be in contention. As to the Packers, early days yet, but he will be a difference maker for them at some point

 

[BLEU3ASY]

He just literally walked out of the door.. what does that mean when all of those other years that he was here and the same thing happened?

 

[Diehardblues]

Right now there are wide receivers running wide open all over the field. Micah Parsons can’t fix that.

I think their problem is a combination of mediocre talent and a new scheme that they are still adjusting to.

Oh yeah! There are also gaping holes for opposing RB’s to run through.

This defense stinks!

If you don’t think a pass rush disrupts the LOS causing havoc on the QB derails those receivers getting the ball , I can’t help ya.

I do agree this defense stinks. Worst ever possibly. But a disrupter at LOS masked many other weaknesses.

 

[Diehardblues]

Mix of truth and nonsense here.
Micah was already being difficult claiming back issues but yes, he would have reluctantly signed his franchise tag because he wasn't going to leave a FT season worth of cash on the table, knowing Dallas would retain his rights.

Jerry is ego-driven and he did get offended but ultimately that was good for Dallas.
Signing Parsons would have been stupid. Period.
No matter who says otherwise or how much someone likes him.
He was a progress stopper and their most valuable asset on the trade market for a team starved for better draft picks and some draft success.

Handing him 136M GTD would have gone very, very poorly.

Dallas instead got a starting DT for 2.3M this year and 2 R1 picks.

We are going to get these treaties every Cowboys loss when in fact the losses are exactly why they had no business paying him like that and locking him up long-term.

Bottomline is it tanks this season. What happens moving forward is even more iffy , especially with our dysfunctional ownership.

My hunch is this sets us back for years.

 

[Reality]

I 100% agree however do we trust Sponge Bob and Square Pants to actually do something that will turn our defense around with said money?

LOL .. not easily ...

 

[Shannon1]

Our defense sucked last year with him

 

[jterrell]

I agree that one player, especially an edge who while elite in pass rushing and average at best at edge setting wasn't going to be the sole reason for a good or bad defense.
I just think he was still a player to retool the defense around, and then let guys like Bland wait till the end of the season to pay.

With his current cap structure, Micah doesn't get expensive till 2028, where his cap goes from 26mil to 42mil and then it becomes a question on what the plans for him are.
This defense needs a lot of love to become good, just a shame as our offense this year seems to be clicking for the most part.

His cap hits this season and next are very manageable but that is beside the point.
Especially since those hits are for a new contract in GB and not an extension here.

The point is moving the money to multiple guys, develop your young Edges, backfill in free agency with good draft picks you now have a surplus of.

He was their only shot at recouping 2 R1 picks. And trading him in 2 years would have been impossibly expensive. All that money would push forward on your cap at trade time.
4 R1 draft picks over the next 2 years and this defense can look very, very different.

You have spent R2 on Edges 3 times and you need to see if any if those guys can play.

No one who has watched the scheme and this LB corps can honestly argue Dallas would be a good defense with Micah here.

Dallas can go sign multiple defensive free agents next off-season and make their year 1 cap hits very low.

The best two pass rushers in the league both played on pretty trash defenses.

 

[JonesBoys]

Defense was bad with Micah it is now complete trash and worst in the league without him.

 

[AstroPilota]

If you don’t think a pass rush disrupts the LOS causing havoc on the QB derails those receivers getting the ball , I can’t help ya.

I do agree this defense stinks. Worst ever possibly. But a disrupter at LOS masked many other weaknesses.

I see where you are coming from, but, with all the "disruption" Parsons might have provided while he was a Cowboy, it never equated to what really matters - winning games. The sacks were fun to watch, but him over-running (getting pushed out of the lanes) the Tackles while the QB or RB passed right by were maddening. Parsons was literally a one-man deal, and this is a team sport. The Cowboys have had enough years with him on the roster to prove he was not the key to them hoisting another Lombardi.

 

[BrAinPaiNt]

Looked up some stats for 2024
https://www.foxsports.com/articles/nfl/2024-nfl-defense-rankings-team-pass-and-rush-stats

Overall Defense

Dallas was ranked 28th overall in defense
Giving up an average of 355.2 yards a game
Giving up a total of 55 TDs

Pass Defense

They were ranked 17th in Pass Defense giving up an
average of 218.1 yards per game and 28 total TDs

Rush Defense

Ranked 29th giving up an average of 137 yards per game
and giving up 25 total TDs

Scoring Defense

Ranked 31st
Gave up an average of 27.5 yards per game and 55 total TDs

Red Zone Defense

Ranked dead last at 32 with a 75% red zone TD rate

ALL OF THIS WHEN MICAH WAS ON THE TEAM.

Micah is an all pro player and if he keeps it up a future HOF...But the fact is, we had a piss poor defense last year with him.

 

[Diehardblues]

many have not given a lot of credit to dlaw as well he was good against the run as well

Yes, as I stated in OP. We lost both of our edge rushers.

 

[ScotsCowboy]

I understand if we were actually in an official rebuild mode and Micah wasn’t in our plans as we planned on trading him to highest bidder during Free Agency that could have actually been a strategic plan. But that’s not what happened. We had every intention on resigning. We just couldn’t get a deal done . But I’m not here to argue out as that’s been exhausted over last couple months.

This thread is about what the impacts of losing Micah has meant to this defense . The fact we lost him a week before the season had to be devasting to a DC and schemes with other losses on defense in FA and injuries.

Where was our pass rush going to come from. We also lost Lawrence as a Cap Casualty. Our top two edge rushers gone .

And with our 2 CB’s not a 100% recovering from injuries we were leaving our secondary very vulnerable without a pass rush.

WTH were we thinking. We had to know it could be a disaster .

Really believe this Eberflus scheme would suddenly just click simply with Micah involved in it?

Nah, not buying that.

 

[Brax]

It’s the right decision if you’re tanking this season and in an official rebuild. Which wasn’t our intention.

Fans just want to believe that.

Fans don’t see the big picture or the reality of the talent. You think with a fan view. There’s no rebuilding coming just players will be added and subtracted. It’s business as usual at the star. If you believe MP makes a major difference in this D you are sadly mistaken and history shows that

 

[Diehardblues]

I see where you are coming from, but, with all the "disruption" Parsons might have provided while he was a Cowboy, it never equated to what really matters - winning games. The sacks were fun to watch, but him over-running (getting pushed out of the lanes) the Tackles while the QB or RB passed right by were maddening. Parsons was literally a one-man deal, and this is a team sport. The Cowboys have had enough years with him on the roster to prove he was not the key to them hoisting another Lombardi.

Parsons first 3 years here I’d argue we’re sine if our best teams this era. Now whether that translates to a Lombardi and a quite another argument.

Bottomline IMO is are we a better defense with him. And how do we build around it. Not tear it down.

 

[big dog cowboy]

Are fans ready to accept the Micah trade devasted our defense?

Not even close. You seriously think that would have made any difference having 11 out there???

 

[Reality]

I dont know brother.

Micah covered up a lot of holes on this defense if only for the fact DCs had to plan for him.

Nothing has really changed in the secondary from when Quinn was here talent wise, so I find it hard to believe that we are seeing them regress THIS bad and him not being on the team has nothing to do with that.

There are several personnel changes and the ones that were here are older now.

More importantly, the scheme is much different and does not fit the players they have especially in the secondary.

Diggs is nowhere near at his skill level from two years ago because it takes 18+ months for professional athletes to return to pre-injury skill level.

Hopefully next year he will be back to form if they don't replace him in some way.

Eberflus' influenced signings like Sanborn and Murray are new and worse than what Quinn had.

This team has a lot of issues and no single defensive player including Micah Parsons, Aaron Donald or any other superstar would fix this defense.

They would help it be a little better, but still a long way from what it needs to be.

 

[Diehardblues]

Fans don’t see the big picture or the reality of the talent. You think with a fan view. There’s no rebuilding coming just players will be added and subtracted. It’s business as usual at the star. If you believe MP makes a major difference in this D you are sadly mistaken and history shows that

I’d argue his first 3 years he made quite a difference . Last year with Dak out wasn’t much we could do.

But 12 win seasons despite fizzling out in playoffs is arguably worthwhile especially with our dysfunctional ownership.

I guess some fans just can’t accept that winning championships is basically off the table with Jethro now. Hoping for a playoff caliber team that might get lucky is all we have. Unfortunately the bar has been lowered. Not by me but our owner.

 

[Diehardblues]

Not even close. You seriously think that would have made any difference having 11 out there???

Of course. How much difference is unknown. But some pass rush causing havoc is better than none . It can mask other weaknesses and double and triple teaming can open it up for other players.

Can’t ever dismiss talent at his level. We’ve had so few this era. Have to find a way to build or add to it than tearing it down. Most good GM’s would .