KMY_Amber
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Indeed.
Very few have wanted Marinelli fired (or severely demoted) longer than I have, dating back to 2017 when I could see his BBDB defensive philosophy was never going to create a turnover-laden, intimidating defense. Years later of this philosophy and this defense is mired in mediocrity. Damn the stats, this vanilla, no deception strategy all game long ("just hold him to a FG and it's a win!") just creates a passive, back-pedaling defense that's just not effective, unless the opposing offense sucks, or the Cowboys offense holds the ball on long drives consistently throughout the game. This is rare of course, because penalties, missed blocks, dropped passes...they happen. It's football.
Now, going back to when the Cowboys were 3-0, and the team had really good defensive stats, I (and a few others) pointed out that....yes, the Cowboys won but:
- Dak still needs to become more accurate and make quicker decisions, because against better teams, he'll probably struggle if his acumen and accuracy don't improve
- The defense PPG was low then, but that philosophy was destined for mediocrity against better teams, especially if they can't create more consistent pressure and more turnovers
- The conservative coaching and slow to make in-game adjustments approach was going to come back and haunt them against better coached teams
But any cause for concern at 3-0 was seen as Cowboy fans "not enjoying the success", and "complainers", and "haters".
And I'm a Dak fan, but he has to get better. No doubt about it. I don't care about him leading the league in passing yards (screw the stats!). We need consistently good play for longer periods in the game from him, and earlier success in the 1st quarter (better red zone efficiency). And he's going to have to pull out some of these close games in the 4th quarter.
I could tell then that the o-line wasn't playing well, they were just facing lower-tier opponents.
Yes, the LBs were flying around making plays, but I was seeing the plays they missed (missed reads, missed tackles, etc.). And the secondary was doing OK, but still not knocking down enough passes or creating pressure-driven turnovers. The Dee line looked pretty good, but again, with no real creativity...just beating their man. Some of us knew this could change when facing better offensive lines and better schemes.
And now today for that defense? No fixing them without a new philosophy and a coach, and likely a few new players too.
And the defensive coaching? Well, at this point, we can't see them miraculously changing, bringing fresh new defenses and strategies to any game, or making immediate adjustments when necessary. So I don't know if keeping ANY of them is worthwhile in the long run. Richards may be a victim of being on a bad coaching staff, but oh well, that's life. He'll get another job.
Hec, if we see that same 3rd Down "twist" from the Dee line on every 3rd and 5+, with no creativity, I think the fans in the stadium should flat out boo....not the players, but the COACHING. Once the 3rd down is completed, I think everyone in Cowboys stadium should clap, facetiously, sarcastically....so the coaches know that we're growing tired of seeing this same ineffective crap.
And the special teams? Just putrid.
So now, at 6-7, NOW those happy-go-lucky fans at 3-0 (and it was most), they now see what some of us saw back then: These coaches, these players, these strategies, these late in-game adjustments....they're not a recipe for a 12-4 solid season.
We "complainers" didn't want to be clairvoyant back then as I would gladly eat crow now if this defense got even better and became dominant under the BBDB scheme, and if the offense became a complete juggernaut against the better coaches and defenses, but 10 games later....
