A Lot of Ifs Riding on Edge

[kskboys]

..this year, 12 sacks. ..

Possibly. Gary has been in the league 7 years, and has had two 9 sack seasons. W/ Gary, it's not about the sacks, it's about controlling the strong side edge.

I think a lot of people don't understand that the strongside OLB and the weakside OLB are not exactly the same position. If both are lightly built edge rushers, it would be all too likely for the strongside OLB to get washed out and open up that edge for easy yardage.

 

[Stash]

Possibly. Gary has been in the league 7 years, and has had two 9 sack seasons. W/ Gary, it's not about the sacks, it's about controlling the strong side edge.

I think a lot of people don't understand that the strongside OLB and the weakside OLB are not exactly the same position. If both are lightly built edge rushers, it would be all too likely for the strongside OLB to get washed out and open up that edge for easy yardage.

Well said.

It’s all about contain first in this defense.

And why they had no interest in bringing back a player like Dante Fowler.

You ‘earn your pass rush’. Something Von Miller knows very well.

If you make the play on 1st and 2nd down, you ‘earn’ the ability to pin your ears back, get after the quarterback, and either force a sack or mistake, or force a check down and get off the field.

That’s going to be the priority for Parker’s defense.

 

[kskboys]

Well said.

It’s all about contain first in this defense.

And why they had no interest in bringing back a player like Dante Fowler.

You ‘earn your pass rush’. Something Von Miller knows very well.

If you make the play on 1st and 2nd down, you ‘earn’ the ability to pin your ears back, get after the quarterback, and either force a sack or mistake, or force a check down and get off the field.

That’s going to be the priority for Parker’s defense.

Nice.

Contrary to what many seem to think, if you can't contain the edge, pass rush is almost irrelevant.

 

[75boyz]

Agreed. I love the EZ/Lawrence upside, but that’s a lot to expect out of a raw rookie and 2nd year player to carry the load.

This looks to be a very average group and is one hamstring pull away from not being very good at all.

Not even the biggest believer in the upside/potential myself. I think they're both just a continuation of all the other inconsequential edges acquired over the years not named Micah.
Its funny when I now look forward to a player who can even have a Dorance Armstrong type ceiling. And I don't think either are as good as him.
I see Lawrence/EZ as nothing more than another Gregory or Kneeland type on field impact.

jmo

 

[HungryLion]

I believe w/ the talent we have at edge, that our pass rush will be at a bare minimum competent.

Yes we don’t lack for talent I don’t think. We just need them to develop.

 

[alicetooljam]

A lot of ifs riding on the entire defense...that is still a crapshow until proven otherwise.

Counting on a lot of young players to suddenly grow up overnight, rookies to be immediate draft steals, and injury prone players to play major roles and last the whole season to be successful.

Im not a hater, I have to ride with them, too, and will gladly acknowledge "someone" had a plan if it comes together.

 

[zrinkill]

 

[StarBoyz83]

A lot of ifs riding on everything on defense coaches included expect safety imo

 

[RonWashington]

LBer is a concern .

EDGE at least has some numbers .

 

[kskboys]

Yes we don’t lack for talent I don’t think. We just need them to develop.

Only one of them. Gary is set at Strongside OLB.

EZ was not bad last season. He should be at least competent this season.

 

[kskboys]

A lot of ifs riding on the entire defense...that is still a crapshow until proven otherwise.

Counting on a lot of young players to suddenly grow up overnight, rookies to be immediate draft steals, and injury prone players to play major roles and last the whole season to be successful.

Im not a hater, I have to ride with them, too, and will gladly acknowledge "someone" had a plan if it comes together.

Not that many. Q/Clark/Winters/Thompson/Durant/Gary/Durant are all proven NFL starter quality. That's 7. Only 4 slots besides those.

 

[kskboys]

Yes we don’t lack for talent I don’t think. We just need them to develop.

Just one. Gary will be the SOLB, just need that speedy edge rusher opposite him. Good chance that one of the guys we have will be competent there.

 

[HungryLion]

Just one. Gary will be the SOLB, just need that speedy edge rusher opposite him. Good chance that one of the guys we have will be competent there.

I still think we will need Malachi to be productive too. Need 3 solid edge players.

 

[kskboys]

I still think we will need Malachi to be productive too. Need 3 solid edge players.

Malachi/EZ or even Barsham or Laffy.

Need 2 quality starters and at least one decent backup. Gary will start at SOLB, and he's very good. Just need to fill WOLB.

 

[StarW]

Just my title alone would make some readers want to nose dive off the proverbial cliff.

But please.

Don't jump.

We've got problems at edge again.

But don't worry. The proverbial Chicken Littles should step away from the ledge. We've got everything under control.

Or do we?

In the right scheme, if the right players stay healthy, with the right players taking the right leaps, we could be surprisingly good in '26.

That's a lot of ifs.

Rudyard Kipling would be proud.

On the other hand, if things don't go well, we could be surprisingly bad.

Gary is consistently average, but he's new to this scheme. He's solid, but hasn't been special.

A lot hinges on the development of Ezeiruaku, who was good versus the run but didn't make it home as much as we'd like. He did generate a lot of pressures for a rookie, which indicates he may take a decent jump in year two if he can stay healthy.

Fingers crossed.

Lawrence could be better than we imagined. Or he could struggle like most rookies do. We shall see.

Knock on wood.

Houston is what he is, undersized, but otherwise high motor who sometimes gets beaten because of his size. He's decent at rushing the passer but has been historically streaky.

We can hope

Sam Williams, meh.

Wish us luck.

At least we have a better coach.

You never know. The ball could bounce our way.

Or maybe it's a fumble.

EDGE and CB both have a lot of question marks. I hope it pans out. We def have some potential at both positions, but we have a lot of injury prone prospects at CB (Bland, Revel Jr, + Moore, Seat Belt/Bandaide).

 

[gimmesix]

Personally I’m completely fine with the plan.

I’m not sure why this position is such a concern. Yes they lack significant experience, but it’s a younger man’s game. They are also subject to rotation every series, and depth is important. Can’t have six proven vets (remember the cap is real lol).

The question marks carry a first and second round pedigree, there’s Sam who has experience and everything to prove, Houston is experienced and plays with a chip on his shoulder.

Maybe they add a vet for depth, but if that unit is going anywhere, it’ll be about the emergence of the younger guys.

It’s not going to hurt their progress to finally have some talent at DT.

Plus don’t forget our annual July mantra….”this year just feels different.”

I think it's such concern because little is proven at the position other than Gary, and he's proven that he's maybe a DeMarcus Lawrence-type player. If our best outside pass rusher is a DeMarcus Lawrence, then offenses are going to focus on stopping Quinnen and forcing all the others to beat single-blocking. Then, the only way we're getting pressure is by blitzing.

I agree that we need the young guys to emerge to go anywhere, but counting on that is a poor strategy for success.

 

[gimmesix]

Has anybody stopped to consider that Christian Parkers defense all but eliminates the need for dominant edges?

Multiple alignments, two high shells and simulated pressure is the key to this.

Yes, Philly's version of it was doing so well that they traded for Jaelan Phillips. They also drew Brandon Graham out of retirement because their outside pass rush was bad after letting Sweat leave in free agency and the defense wasn't as successful as it had been during its Super Bowl year because of that.

You need quality players no matter what scheme you run.

 

[Floatyworm]

The question is, will the Cowboys stand pat or make a move (or two) trying to upgrade the DE spot. Von Miller perhaps or Clowney? Camp starts two weeks from today.

Still can't believe we resigned Sam Williams over Clowney.....I'd still go get Clowney just to have some depth. We got too many undersized edges to hold up in the run game.

 

[Kwyn]

Not that many. Q/Clark/Winters/Thompson/Durant/Gary/Durant are all proven NFL starter quality. That's 7. Only 4 slots besides those.

The word “proven” is doing a lot of heavy lifting in that sentence

With the exception of Quennin and the Clark and Gary of years ago, all of them seee starters out of a void on their team. Most were JAG starters.

Our problem is that we have all of them on one team and of those seven, it’s possible that only one of them starts on even a majority of teams in the league.

They were all free agents or easily had trade picks up for a reason

I would say they were “proven passable” at best and only one is “proven excellent”.

 

[DarkVader33]

Christian Parker's defense all but eliminates the need for 11 men, but he doesn't want to be disrespectful.

We’ll be lucky if they let us play 6 on D once Caleb gets onto the field.