What’s wrong with Cowboys defense?

[Stash]

This article is referenced in the daily tweets thread, but felt it was worthy of having its own thread.

There's a lot of quality information contained here and it shows that there's plenty going wrong defensively in Dallas:



61.

The amount of points the Dallas Cowboys have scored in the last two weeks.

848.

The amount of yards the Cowboys’ offense accumulated against the Los Angeles Rams and Green Bay Packers.

105.2

Dak Prescott’s QB rating in his last two outings.

2.

The number of losses the Cowboys have in those two games.

It’s obvious to even the casual viewer that the Cowboys’ offense hasn’t been the problem lately — it’s the defense. Under Football Outsiders’ DVOA system, the Cowboys rank 23rd in pass defense, 32nd in run defense, and 29th in overall defense this season — meaning the Cowboys’ defense has been below-average thus far. Those struggles have been exacerbated the last two games.

Why?

Glad you asked.

https://www.fanragsports.com/whats-wrong-with-cowboys-defense/


This fan sees two defensive personnel changes that should happen immediately. Heath and Jaylon Smith need to sit, and Woods and Hitchens need to start (with Lee's return).

The rest is the fault of some poor coaching.

 

[Ranching]

Didn't read the article, but in my opinion.....Rod does not have confidence in his secondary thus the three man front which is killing us. He should be sending Jaylon after the QB since he can't cover. Playing to soft giving up the underneath leading to long drives and no interceptions

 

[Kaiser]

61.

The amount of points the Dallas Cowboys have scored in the last two weeks.

0

The number of games Sean Lee has played in the last two weeks.

 

[Alexander]

Didn't read the article, but in my opinion.....Rod does not have confidence in his secondary thus the three man front which is killing us. He should be sending Jaylon after the QB since he can't cover. Playing to soft giving up the underneath leading to long drives and no interceptions

Actually, he has too much confidence in the coverage abilities of his LBers just as much. If he is sending only three, he is counting on the one or two LBers to do their job while the rest of the DBs have a numbers/matchup advantage. He is actually counting on the secondary, but the linebackers (or even safeties inside the box, are not covering well enough. Especially since Lee has not been around.

 

[Macnalty]

Didn't read the article, but in my opinion.....Rod does not have confidence in his secondary thus the three man front which is killing us. He should be sending Jaylon after the QB since he can't cover. Playing to soft giving up the underneath leading to long drives and no interceptions

I agree he is trying to camouflage Jaylon Smith as much as possible, we have no one besides him to put in the game at this point in time, as Hitchens is coming off a broken/fractured leg. Heath has not shown himself to be starting material so may as well throw in the rooks and try and disguise our exposure with all the new faces in the defensive backfield.

 

[Trouty]

LB and SS.

We fix those two units we have a D.

I like our CBs (healthy OScan, Awuzie, Lewis, [Brown’s apparent regression is troubling, tho]) and our DL is doing well this season (with some hitches on the interior, but MCollins isn’t as bad as some of these threads paint out).

Scheme, lack of blitzing, is also maddening.

I have faith that Woods is going to be a very good ball player. Dude can flat out hit, and already seems to have a higher field IQ than Heath. Still, he’s a rook and has had limited snaps, so the SS is still a work in progress.

We have to fix our LB woes. It’s killing us. GB just gashed us with some scrub RB, opening up the field for A “captain play-action” Rod

 

[sean10mm]

The defensive talent mostly stinks, so whatever scheme you run on any given play always has some glaringly obvious vulnerability to exploit.

 

[Alexander]

0

The number of games Sean Lee has played in the last two weeks.

All that does is point out exactly what is wrong with the defense.

It is too dependent on Lee making up for the shortcomings given the current state of the personnel.

Lee is an outstanding player, but the defense should not fall apart if he is out a couple of games.

He missed all of 2014 and things were not like this with leads being blown left and right. Smith and Heath are a vulnerable pair in the middle of the field and there is no capable WILL linebacker in a scheme that has to have a decent one.

 

[big dog cowboy]

This fan sees two defensive personnel changes that should happen immediately. Heath and Jaylon Smith need to sit, and Woods and Hitchens need to start (with Lee's return).

The rest is the fault of some poor coaching.

I agree with the changes in the lineup.

But to put all the rest of the blame on the coaching staff is wrong.

Switzers fumble and TWill's tipped pick six are directly responsible for the last two losses.

 

[TheFinisher]

The tackling has been atrocious.

If you don't tackle well, nothing else really matters.

 

[Alexander]

Switzers fumble and TWill's tipped pick six are directly responsible for the last two losses.

Wait, so two plays are directly responsible for the last two losses?

 

[Stash]

0

The number of games Sean Lee has played in the last two weeks.

Sure, but if we're so completely reliant on one injury-plagued player, what kind of shape are we truly in?

 

[Ranching]

In a nutshell, WE SUCK!

 

[Stash]

Didn't read the article, but in my opinion.....Rod does not have confidence in his secondary thus the three man front which is killing us. He should be sending Jaylon after the QB since he can't cover. Playing to soft giving up the underneath leading to long drives and no interceptions

You absolutely should read it.

 

[Ranching]

0

The number of games Sean Lee has played in the last two weeks.

Amazing how much of a difference one guy makes

 

[Ranching]

You absolutely should read it.

I'm burnt out with all of this and to drink to concentrate. Lol

 

[Stash]

I agree with the changes in the lineup.

But to put all the rest of the blame on the coaching staff is wrong.

Switzers fumble and TWill's tipped pick six are directly responsible for the last two losses.

Those two plays sure didn't help, but neither has contributed to the poor overall numbers for this defense.

I'm not discounting either blunder, both were huge. But it doesn't excuse this defense's very real problems either.

This is about fixing the defense and controlling what you can on that side of the ball. Switzer's fumble and Williams' tipped pass are beyond their control here.

 

[Stash]

I'm burnt out with all of this and to drink to concentrate. Lol

Well maybe when you're in the right frame of mind.

I think you'll be glad you did. It's good stuff.

 

[CowboysBravesSpurs]

Sure, but if we're so completely reliant on one injury-plagued player, what kind of shape are we truly in?

Keep taking Lee for granted. "Injury-plauged", Show some respect boy

 

[JD_KaPow]

Wait, so two plays are directly responsible for the last two losses?

Turnovers tend to do that to you. We were -2 and -1 in turnover differential in the last two games, and lost each one by one score. Of course, you can turn that right around on the defense and note that we had zero takeaways in those games.