How bad?
I just don't see how our defense is going to be that bad. We have a few games against fairly weak offenses (Rams, Jaguars, Texans, Titans).
I'm not saying they are going to be great, or even good for that matter. I just don't see all the doom and gloom.
Selvie had a decent year last year rushing the passer. Mincey and Melton are both solid players. Scandrick is a very good CB. I like Church and Wilcox at the safety positions. Durant is solid and Bruce Carter could be a fantastic player as long as he sets his mind to it, the athleticism is there. Terrell McClain played on very good defenses in Baltimore. Carr, while ultimately not worth the big contract, isn't terrible.
We need a few players to step up and play really well, namely Morris Claiborne and Rolando McClain, as well as our D-Line depth.
I like your positive attitude and I'm not here to rain on your parade buuuut... Some people are natural negative Nancie's, Debbie downers, and all the other platitudes out there but some people are just going on the unknown. I'll try to go in the order you listed them.
1. Selvie - He did well for us last year no doubt but that was with known guys like Ware and Hatcher sucking up the offensive blocking assignments. Yes Ware was a shell of himself and Hatcher shut it down the 2nd half of the season but they still demanded the the opposing teams attention.
2. Mincy and Melton - Mincy has never been really good in this league so I don't know why people are pinning their hopes on him and although Melton was a probowler before his injury, it is unknown if he can return to that form and neither of them has played a single down for us against an opposing team's offense this offseason. McClain DT either, for that matter.
3. Scandrick and Church are very good but Scandrick is out for 4 games and don't count on the Commish doing us any favors, so that leaves Moore and Patmon manning the slot. Am I impressed with the rook? You bet but I have no idea how he is going to hold up against the starters and by all accounts Moore has regressed bad so we don't know how that position is going to do against live fire.
4. Wilcox is athletic and firey. That's all we know about him. He started to play well in camp LAST year but then his world was rocked and we were introduced to the magnificence of Jeff Heath... ugh! By all accounts Heath is bigger and stronger this year and Wilcox appears to be back to the form that we saw during the offseason last year but nothing we've heard or seen this year makes us know that we have a keeper.
5. That brings me to our linebacking core. By all accounts this is an abysmal failure with the exception of Durant and to a lesser extent McClain LB. Durant has been our best linebacker but we were ready to cut him at the end of the year into this year... remember? Carter was lost at the Will.... again... and was on the verge of being benched until they put him at the least thinking spot in the core... Sam. Maybe here his athleticism will finally show up but we don't KNOW. Don't say Wilber because as a linebacker he is baaad. His only redeeming quality is being able to rush from the linebacker spot.
6. The offensive line is supposed to be one of the best in the league with the addition of Zack Martin but what I saw in preseason didn't impress me overly much. I saw him dominate against our dline and that was it. That's not much to hang your hat on.
7. Romo, in my opinion, belong amonst the elite qb talk of the league. Ladies and gentlemen, children of all ages, without Romo, we are a 3 win team for the last 7 years. No doubt in my mind. Never in all of my years has there been a team that needs it's qb to be absolutely perfect to have a chance to win consistently. Yes he has overcome some horrible games but that was because HE overcame them not the rest of the team. Will his back hold up for the whole season? We don't know. Will he be able to, once again, be the spinning ghost leaving DE's grasping at air? We don't know.
8. Even the great Dez Bryant has known question marks that we don't KNOW if they will or will not be overcome. Dez has a bad back. We all know this and with his playing style he is going to continue to put incredible strain on it and the rest of his body. It's why we all love him but it's hard on his body and is going to take it's toll.
9. We don't KNOW if the running backs are going to be able to do any better this year than last. I believe they will because we had some pretty good runs against the other teams 1's. This is the area I have the most confidence in but we don't KNOW.... everything is new.
10. This brings me to one of the 2 things we do know: We know that Witten is going to bring his A game each and every week and demand the same from everyone else. The only problem is that our resident Hall of Famer is long of tooth and never was a high RAC guy anyways (except for the lost helmet run). This does not a winning season make.
11. And the only lockdown, surefire positive is Dan Baily. One of the top 3 kickers in the league (Shoutout to Hostile
).
This is a laundry list of unknowns and until our beloved Cowboys bring it week after week, there will be much wailing and gnashing of teeth. But stay positive because as crappy as Jerry is, somehow I manage to come in off the ledge week after week, in large part, because of positive posts like yours. Thank you.
