Byron Jones: Are we concerned yet?

[Aven8]

Good grief! Now we're bagging on a 2nd year player that has played pretty well?

And Wilcox actually made a fantastic hit on the RB and turned him sideways to not get the first. He gave us a chance at the end!

Now if you want to talk about crappy LB play I'm all ears!

 

[Doomsday]

He also had a huge pass defense in the 4th quarter to force a Giants punt.

According to Pro Football Focus he was pretty solid vs the Giants.

Top defensive grades:
CB Brandon Carr, 84.7
S Byron Jones, 80.0
ED Benson Mayowa, 78.0
DI Terrell McClain, 76.5
S Barry Church, 73.9

 

[Tezz]

Looks like an exact Malcolm Jenkins clone in appearance and playstyle strengths/weaknesses, whom is a very good player. Jones is a strong safety and will move over when a replacement is found at FS

 

[John813]

Snip*
Also, this is a team that last season couldn't change up their coverages and that's why we couldn't get INT's. Wilcox can't play zone of any sort. He's Tony Dixon bad in zone coverage. Barry Church can't play man of any sort. Then you had press-man cover corners with a zone cover D-Coordinator. So they decided to play Cover-1 man most of last year and it was quite predictable. The QB and the rest of the offense knows where to go with the ball and it makes the DB's job extra difficult to get picks.

I don't think the problem is so much Byron Jones (at this point) as it is Carr (who the G-Men were pointing to Eli when they had him in coverage), Church and I'm thinking this will likely be Scandrick's last season as a Cowboy.

YR

Excellent points. We really are/were hampered by the safety play last year.
You think they'll move on from Scandrick this offseason? I think he's an above average/good corner, certainly not a cornerstone guy, but with all the retooling needed on the defense, I think they'll keep him around a little longer. Carr and Claiborne are UFAs. Brown looks promising but way too early to count on him

 

[Sydla]

Looks like an exact Malcolm Jenkins clone in appearance and playstyle strengths/weaknesses, whom is a very good player. Jones is a strong safety and will move over when a replacement is found at FS

I don't think he's a SS. He's a FS.

Personally, I think the days of the SS and FS are slowly dying in this league. In the old days, your SS was your thumper but in today's passing NFL, you are seeing teams looking for interchangeable safeties. You mentioned the Eagles, and their safeties are interchangeable.

 

[CouchCoach]

He got bounced around because of injuries last season and came in from a school not known for football so the learning curve is a little steeper for him. He also plays behind a soft front 7. I'd give him a little more time but with our secondary, he should own that FS position.

I am more concerned about Claiborne, he got by with two holding calls last week and gets lost on the WR's first cut. And Scandrick is also a concern, is he 100%? If he is, we're heading back to the CB well early in the draft. And then there's Carr who was in the right place at the right time. I have concerns for this entire secondary if they're going to be forced to cover for more than 3 seconds.

 

[Bowdown27]

I'll hold out judgment until he has a few games under his belt. That was his first game in regular season at safety

 

[dstew60105]

The fact he was moved around so much last year was a red flag to me.

Its difficult as a rookie to learn one position but this team had him playing like 4?

That tells me the coaches had a problem.

Or the player had a problem.

Nowhere else on the team have we moved a rookie around so much.

Not in the OL..

not in the running backfield..

not with the WR corp.

So it needs watching..

he needs to make some plays to justify his draft position.

He can't just be a JAG

He was moved around a lot due to injuries, not his ability. Come on man....

 

[dstew60105]

You stick a DB on TE's when none of the other DB's can cover him and you're playing against Gronk and Reed.

As far as him moving around last year, I think that was on the coaching staff and the injuries we had and the awful play we had from our corners and safeties. We inserted him at the slot corner because of injuries. Moved him to FS because of injuries and Wilcox being abysmal.

And league-wide you see a ton of 3 safety looks on the field because of the use of large WR's and TE's.

I'd like to see better anticipation out of him, but I think he's already a solid player and perhaps that anticipation will come along once he starts playing the same position for a while instead of having to be moved around.

Also, this is a team that last season couldn't change up their coverages and that's why we couldn't get INT's. Wilcox can't play zone of any sort. He's Tony Dixon bad in zone coverage. Barry Church can't play man of any sort. Then you had press-man cover corners with a zone cover D-Coordinator. So they decided to play Cover-1 man most of last year and it was quite predictable. The QB and the rest of the offense knows where to go with the ball and it makes the DB's job extra difficult to get picks.

I don't think the problem is so much Byron Jones (at this point) as it is Carr (who the G-Men were pointing to Eli when they had him in coverage), Church and I'm thinking this will likely be Scandrick's last season as a Cowboy.





YR

the voice of reason enters the room.

 

[Bigdog]

I don't know if that Romo guy has done anything yet. I don't know why we keep a guy like that on the team. I mean he couldn't even beat out a rookie qb. I think we should be worried. (Sarcasm)

 

[Doomsay]

He also had a huge pass defense in the 4th quarter to force a Giants punt.

According to Pro Football Focus he was pretty solid vs the Giants.

Top defensive grades:
CB Brandon Carr, 84.7
S Byron Jones, 80.0
ED Benson Mayowa, 78.0
DI Terrell McClain, 76.5
S Barry Church, 73.9

Thanks, do you know the rest of the defensive grades?

 

[Doomsday]

Thanks, do you know the rest of the defensive grades?

No, you need a subscription to see all the grades.

 

[RS12]

All I know is I didnt like his play at corner last year, so he really needs to make an impact at FS. Hope that happens.

 

[zrinkill]

And people wanted to draft a player just like him this year.

 

[chicago JK]

I think he will be fine. Although every snap he is replaced by Wilcox is not a good sign. It also makes me think how quick we are to say Cowboys hit a draft pick. I think he will be a good to very good player but he is young and will need to improve. We are quick to annoint in Dalas.

My quick impression on Jones is he will not be an elite ball hawk. His versatility is what makes him good. You can move him around and really take advantage of his versatility. Run support, covering a tight end, covering a wr off a corner blitz, etc. I have always though he would be perfect with that ball hawk safety paired with him. With jones versatility, you put your ball hawk in places where he can make plays and uses jones versatility to clean up the mess.

 

[Sydla]

And people wanted to draft a player just like him this year.

Well if first games are any indication, Jalen Ramsey was actually quite good.

 

[Satchel89]

I know fans are frustrated but can we please see a few more games before we decide that certain players suck and some of them need to be cut. Sunday sucked big time but there's too much overreaction

 

[xwalker]

The fact that he comes out for Wilcox and is essentially in a rotation with him at safety? How about no interceptions in his career yet?

Are we looking at a possible bust here?

I did see him covering the slot a bit , I just need someone to reassure me because it is concerning.

Jones played 42 of 56 snaps on defense. That is 14 snaps missed.

Wilcox played 26. That is 12 more than Jones missed.

I think Wilcox played on short yardage and obvious running situations.

When you play a CB at Safety, it's probably a good idea to minimize the wear and tear on him.

 

[ActualCowboysFan]

Jones' primary job on Sunday was to cover Larry Donnell. Larry Donnell had one catch for a TD but Hitch was covering him on that play. He made what should have been the game winning play by being tackled by Donnell in the end zone, but the ref didn't feel like calling it.

 

[Redball Express]

Yeah, it's not like there were no injuries in the secondary.

Or safeties that couldn't cover.

And other than S and CB, what were the other positions? I hope you don't mean LC, RC, SS and FS. Because DB swap from side to side all the time . . .

Yep..all of the above.

We'll see what happens.

The proof is in his play.

He needs some plays that creates his signature.

Didn't see it yet..you?