The funniest part about our 3rd down defense is that as the distance increases, the likelihood of converting for our opponents increases. Now I do not have the specifics but just from watching that is at least what it seems like.
When this defense is given a situation like 3rd down and 7 or less, we tend to play very aggressive and it typically works in our favor. Once that 3rd down distance increases to 8 or 9+ we decide to play incredibly passive, rush 4, and drop in a zone and give up an easy first down.
This happened AGAIN in yesterdays game. Right after Ware went down, it was 3rd and 7, then the chargers commit a the false start and everyone probably got all excited bc the situation now became a 3rd and long (12), only to see our defense give up a 35+ yard pass play...
This is the absolute most frustrating thing about being a dallas cowboy fan if you ask me....:bang2:

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I know just from watching our defensive formation, pre snap, whether or not we will stop the offense from converting the 1st down...at least most of the time