Bend but don't Break defensive mentality

J12B said:

The bend but don't break mentality on defensive has been preached ever since Marinelli has taken over as Defensive Coordinator in 2014.

Click to expand...

Jake said:

Are you sure Marinelli preaches it, or have fans just labeled it as such?

Marinelli is not a fan of the “bend but don’t break” label that has been used to describe the Cowboys defense.

“I say we play aggressive, fast football, and we try to execute,” Marinelli said. “And what the whole system has been about is when people do drive the ball, you’ve got to force them into mistakes."

https://www.espn.com/blog/dallas-co...elli-not-about-to-panic-about-cowboys-defense

Click to expand...

J12B said:

The bend but don't break mentality on defensive has been preached ever since Marinelli has taken over as Defensive Coordinator in 2014.

It has had relative success in terms of not giving up a lot of points for the most part. Which is ultimately the main goal of any defense.

However, defense regularly gives up a high amount of yardage and rarely force turnovers, especially interceptions because they keep everything in front of them.

Why not try up some different schemes and packages to confuse opposing offenses? Why does it appear that no changes are ever made?

Could it be because this style of defense protects defensive players from injury? I've noticed the Eagles always play aggressive on defense and will have some games where their defense is the main reason why they won. However, the last 2 years, Eagles have had a ton of injury problems because their defense is borderline reckless with how aggressive they are.

Sorry if this post is all over the place but I just wanted to start a conversation on why we don't see any changes in defensive scheme when a lack of turnovers has been an issue for like 4 years in a row now.

Interested in hearing your thoughts on this topic.

Click to expand...

Sydla said:

I actually agree. People wonder why we don't force turnovers and the biggest issue, IMO, isn't that the CBs don't have good hands or the safeties don't react well or whatever other player problems people cite.

It's the scheme we play, the concepts we employ. Our defense is based on not giving up big plays and quick scores by playing soft and reactive to what offenses are doing. That doesn't lend itself to forcing turnovers. Our system is based on us not making a mistake and hoping the offense does make a mistake. We don't try to dictate anything.

I pulled up the takeaway stats and where the Cowboys ranked in takeaways since Marinelli has been here. Only once were the Cowboys in the Top 10. The other years, they were in the low teens and 20s. It's time to stop blaming lack of turnovers on the players.

Click to expand...

BoysfanfromCanada said:

We've had bend don't break defences since before Romo came into the scene. I don't think we've ever actively tried to force turnovers through scheme, just relying on qb mistakes for the past 20 years probably. I'm over it

Click to expand...

nyc-cowboy said:

I've always said - Bend but don't break is code for "We don't have a good pass rush"

Click to expand...

jwooten15 said:

"Bend-but-don't-break" works against mediocre or subpar offenses who are prone to make mistakes and can't sustain drives.

When we face legit offenses or all-world QBs though, we get absolutely shredded. They literally pick our soft defense apart, straight to the end zone.

Click to expand...

Cowboysheelsreds053 said:

Just heard the pats have 15 interceptions, WOW! we are still stuck on 1.

Click to expand...