Have Cowboys done enough to help the Defense?

Williamsboys said:

If Gregory stays clean and we add a safety I think we'll be fine. You can only count on rookies to a certain extent, but they do have potential.

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reddyuta said:

not yet,Safety is huge concern and so is our LB situation.

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quickccc said:

So after the NFL draft and free agency additions, what are your expectations for the Cowboys defense this year ?

- we've added byron jones replacement in Travon Diggs - i expect him to start at some early point if not game one

- we've added a heir apparent 3 tech in DT Gallimore who can develop as he finds rotation time behind McCoy (Team decided not to chance waiting on Trysten hill)

-Dunno what becomes of less heralded CB Reggie Robinson and edge rusher Anae - as they find a role and assuming they make the team.

- McCoy and Poe and Ha Ha Clinton Dix - they are stopgap -decent players, they are not pro bowlers anymore at this point, but the hope is they have enough left to allow us to change how we play defense and give us enough to operate and get by while we develop better players long term.

- frankly i dunno what will become of a significantly heavier Alden Smith from 260 to 285 lbs, as
well as a guy that has been out of football for 4 years.
That time away is quite a bridge of a challenge. and i've no idea how DC Nolan will package
and use him in the scheme.

- Gregory is still only age 27, and though he's missed time himself in a year away,
he may offer a quicker bridge back vs Alden - he has a faster get off than Alden..
and like Smith, he's exceptionally agile and wiry. and now with new CBA theres not the worry
of long term suspension should there be another " hiccup" to marijuana addiction.

Theres the hope that Dlaw has had key time to fully receover from his post-shulder surgery, where he simply was not right all year long. We need his
12-14 sack ability,

Do we get the return of a healthy LVE ? never seem the same all year and it's obvious that
had to be about that neck condition that eventually IR'ed him/ and who is our depth help should he
go out again ? Joe Thomas ? switching Lee to WLB ? i really prefer way stronger LB depth than
Thomas, Gifford and Covington.

Pass rush, run defense and more turnovers will be front liner headlines for this defense
- i'm still not sure we did enough for the defense in this off season.

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DanA said:

Defensive End:
Robert Quinn vs Randy Gregory - It's a downgrade even if Gregory is re-stated but Gregory has sky high potential.
Kerry Hyder vs Tyrone Crawford - Lets see if Crawford is healthy and even makes the team
Michael Bennett vs Aldon Smith - If Smith is 285lbs I think he could be a tweener edge/tackle
Bradlee Anae vs Jalen Jelks - I think Anae beats out Jelks at the bottom of the roster

It's probably worse but we don't know that for sure. The potential is sky high. Plus Lawrence was hampered by injury so I expect we might get more out of him.

Defensive Tackle:
Dontari Poe vs Christian Covington Huge upgrade at 1T
Gerald McCoy vs Maliek Collins: I think McCoy is better, more versatile
Neville Gallimore vs Daniel Ross: Huge upgrade in the rotation

It's a heap better across the board. More talent, more versatility, better depth.

LB: No change
It's the same. LVE neck will decide things

CB:
Trevon Diggs vs Byron Jones: Lost a pro-bowl caliber CB
Reggie Robinson vs CJ Goodwin: minimal impact

Diggs is likely to be a sizable downgrade for 2020. Goodwin only played a handful of plays on defense so that change is probably minor.

Safety:
Haha Clinton-Dix vs Jeff Heath: Similar but I see it as a small upgrade
Maurice Canady vs Kavon Fraizer: Minimal impact

I think it slightly improved considering Fraizer was injured a fair chunk of the season. Canady is a DB change (not really safety) that more effects special teams.

Overall:
I think it's better mostly off the back of the DT's but we need to see if Diggs can hit the ground running and what we have at RDE. We could use an edge rusher but that could also just be throwing away money if Smith/Gregory pay off and play to their potential.

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darthseinfeld said:

Its probably a 2 or 3 year process considering we are changing scheme. I think its been a good start though.

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Fizziksman said:

yeah we got CeeDee Lamb it will help us keep the ball 8 minutes a drive

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quickccc said:

So after the NFL draft and free agency additions, what are your expectations for the Cowboys defense this year ?

- we've added byron jones replacement in Travon Diggs - i expect him to start at some early point if not game one

- we've added a heir apparent 3 tech in DT Gallimore who can develop as he finds rotation time behind McCoy (Team decided not to chance waiting on Trysten hill)

-Dunno what becomes of less heralded CB Reggie Robinson and edge rusher Anae - as they find a role and assuming they make the team.

- McCoy and Poe and Ha Ha Clinton Dix - they are stopgap -decent players, they are not pro bowlers anymore at this point, but the hope is they have enough left to allow us to change how we play defense and give us enough to operate and get by while we develop better players long term.

- frankly i dunno what will become of a significantly heavier Alden Smith from 260 to 285 lbs, as
well as a guy that has been out of football for 4 years.
That time away is quite a bridge of a challenge. and i've no idea how DC Nolan will package
and use him in the scheme.

- Gregory is still only age 27, and though he's missed time himself in a year away,
he may offer a quicker bridge back vs Alden - he has a faster get off than Alden..
and like Smith, he's exceptionally agile and wiry. and now with new CBA theres not the worry
of long term suspension should there be another " hiccup" to marijuana addiction.

Theres the hope that Dlaw has had key time to fully receover from his post-shulder surgery, where he simply was not right all year long. We need his
12-14 sack ability,

Do we get the return of a healthy LVE ? never seem the same all year and it's obvious that
had to be about that neck condition that eventually IR'ed him/ and who is our depth help should he
go out again ? Joe Thomas ? switching Lee to WLB ? i really prefer way stronger LB depth than
Thomas, Gifford and Covington.

Pass rush, run defense and more turnovers will be front liner headlines for this defense
- i'm still not sure we did enough for the defense in this off season.

Click to expand...

quickccc said:

So after the NFL draft and free agency additions, what are your expectations for the Cowboys defense this year ?

- we've added byron jones replacement in Travon Diggs - i expect him to start at some early point if not game one

- we've added a heir apparent 3 tech in DT Gallimore who can develop as he finds rotation time behind McCoy (Team decided not to chance waiting on Trysten hill)

-Dunno what becomes of less heralded CB Reggie Robinson and edge rusher Anae - as they find a role and assuming they make the team.

- McCoy and Poe and Ha Ha Clinton Dix - they are stopgap -decent players, they are not pro bowlers anymore at this point, but the hope is they have enough left to allow us to change how we play defense and give us enough to operate and get by while we develop better players long term.

- frankly i dunno what will become of a significantly heavier Alden Smith from 260 to 285 lbs, as
well as a guy that has been out of football for 4 years.
That time away is quite a bridge of a challenge. and i've no idea how DC Nolan will package
and use him in the scheme.

- Gregory is still only age 27, and though he's missed time himself in a year away,
he may offer a quicker bridge back vs Alden - he has a faster get off than Alden..
and like Smith, he's exceptionally agile and wiry. and now with new CBA theres not the worry
of long term suspension should there be another " hiccup" to marijuana addiction.

Theres the hope that Dlaw has had key time to fully receover from his post-shulder surgery, where he simply was not right all year long. We need his
12-14 sack ability,

Do we get the return of a healthy LVE ? never seem the same all year and it's obvious that
had to be about that neck condition that eventually IR'ed him/ and who is our depth help should he
go out again ? Joe Thomas ? switching Lee to WLB ? i really prefer way stronger LB depth than
Thomas, Gifford and Covington.

Pass rush, run defense and more turnovers will be front liner headlines for this defense
- i'm still not sure we did enough for the defense in this off season.

Click to expand...

Risen Star said:

The real improvement will be inside at DT. We will be harder to move there.

The loss of Quinn hasn't been replaced and will be felt.

Have to out score teams. The good ones will have their way with this defense.

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Cowboyny said:

-Rebuilding the Defense is going to take time, cannot be accomplished in 1 off-season.
-So far they addressed the CB position with much needed ball hawks.
-This is a year of evaluation to see what holdovers are apart of the long-term plan.
-Do believe they have taken a small step back, but will take a further leap when some of these pieces are developed.
-Lve should return to full health this season, he was a true playmaker in his rookie season.
-More size up front will allow our run and hit linebackers to become more effective.
-DLaw should be better this season as he was coming off of shoulder surgery last year.
-If Gregory/Aldon do get reinstated, they will probably be brought along slowly and have a bigger impact late in the season.
-Having a more aggressive scheme could lead to more splash plays, more turnovers, but also more big plays given up
-Front Office needs to find long-term answers at the RDE and SS positions.

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PJTHEDOORS said:

I see it as adding to the defense, not a total rebuild.

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xwalker said:

Changing scheme?

McCarthy said they'll play a base 4 man DL.

Mike Nolan does use a multiple front type of defense, but there is unlikely to be radical changes for most players/positions.

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• We've added three DT"s to allow us to switch between 2-gap/1-gap and play multiple front. It's a completely different look in the interior
• We've added two corners that read the QB and play press-man. We won't see our CB's playing with their back to the ball nearly as much

Cowboyny said:

-Rebuilding the Defense is going to take time, cannot be accomplished in 1 off-season.
....snipped

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Cowboyny said:

Outside of 3-4 players, I think it's going to be a total rebuild.

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PJTHEDOORS said:

Not me. What huge needs do we need for this rebuild? If Gregory and Aldon Smith come in, we have good DE depth. The DT depth is good with the 2 new starters, and adding the 3rd round rookie (Crawford can play inside). LB depth is good. CB depth for me is solid with the new guys added. Safety I like it more than most here. Ha ha should help.

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DanA said:

IMO there looks to be some pretty radical changes but I agree that it doesn't require time, IMO the transition is pretty much done.

• We've added three DT"s to allow us to switch between 2-gap/1-gap and play multiple front. It's a completely different look in the interior
• We've added two corners that read the QB and play press-man. We won't see our CB's playing with their back to the ball nearly as much

It's probably not by design, but despite the talk of a stand-up RDE, I actually think the position looks a lot more stout against the run.




Why not? It looks rebuilt to me.

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