2nd / 5th ranked D

[Zordon]

@percyhoward can tell us what’s good and what’s concerning.

@percyhoward has been harping about the pass D for years.

7th in pass yds, 2nd in pass tds allowed. the claiborne/carr days are over.

 

[Nova]

To be honest, I know very little about this stat. Is it TDs vs FGs vs TOPs?

It's just an average points our opponents have scored per drive.

So it's just total defensive points surrendered divided by total drives.

And if I understand correctly, kneel down drives are not counted by the source I got the info from.

The reason the 2016 Cowboys were 5th in scoring defense is because the they faced the 4th fewest drives;

They were actually gave up 1.89pts per drive which was 13th best in the league.

 

[Established1971]

I’m not the legend/myth/fable @percyhoward , but it’s concerning that our Opponent Passer Rating is still a shade below average.

We rank 18th and typically SB winners rank around top 5.

There are 5-6 other teams that are playoff contenders that are ahead of us, and 4 teams that hover around that top 5 range.

The good news? We’re improving. At the beginning of November we were 26th.

And the Giants proved in 2011 (and Colts in 2006) that teams can elevate to a SB caliber pass defense in the playoffs.

true those Colts were close to last in the league in rushing defense and just turned it on towards the end out of seemingly nowhere

 

[Established1971]

Good start I guess. Let me know when they are 1st across the board. Then I’ll be truely impressed.

seriously?

 

[Praxit]

...the Advent Rise of the front 7. ...

 

[CWR]

@percyhoward can tell us what’s good and what’s concerning.

Of course @percyhoward can. Hes a master statistician.

 

[cern]

never underestimate the value of good coaching. Kris Richard's coaching has been invaluable. can't discount bloom or Marinelli either.

 

[Proximo]

The only real knock, in my opinion, is that we aren’t currently generating a lot of takeaways. Maybe (hopefully) that changes during the end of the season/playoffs.

If we could consistently generate an average of 2 (or more) per game we’d be all set.

 

[StarBoyz83]

I was thinking top 10 for this year and they've been great. It's really weird to have a good defense in Dallas lol.

 

[RoyalCowboy]

More importantly we've climbed up to 6th in weighted defensive DVOA

If you could give me a quick and skinny on what Defensive DVOA is? I know I could google it but would rather get a perspective from a forum mate. Cheers.

 

[QuincyCarterEra]

If you could give me a quick and skinny on what Defensive DVOA is? I know I could google it but would rather get a perspective from a forum mate. Cheers.

It's a stat created by footballoutsiders.com
Essentially it weighs success rates against each defense per down, instead of raw stats. It also takes into account the quality of offense the team is facing.

From what I've found, it's been by far the best stat in forecasting future success.

 

[Captain43Crash]

Good start I guess. Let me know when they are 1st across the board. Then I’ll be truely impressed.

To be truly dominant we need to be 1st across the board. I think we have that potential with Lee and Irving both healthy. We need to take care of business vs The Ugles before we get to high on this D.

 

[Nova]

true those Colts were close to last in the league in rushing defense and just turned it on towards the end out of seemingly nowhere

Two Words: Bob Sanders

They gave up around 170 yds on the ground per game without him. Around 80 with him.

 

[BAT]

What gets me about this defense is that we still don't have an established complement to Lawrence on the defensive line. We're getting pressure from a variety of players but Lawrence is the only consistent threat.

I think the main thing that has made this defense better than last year's is the play we're getting from the linebacker group and putting Byron Jones at corner. And it's amazing to me that we've gotten that mostly with Sean Lee sidelined. If he's healthy, this could be the best three-man LB corps in the league.

Gregory is generating the same number of sacks (4 vs. Tank's 3), tackles for loss and QB hits as Lawrence in last 4 games.

Gregory may have had too many costly penalties against the Saints but there is no question that he has knocked the rust off and is integral in the D's improvement recently.

 

[Clove]

When the Ravens get murdered by the Chiefs this weekend, we will have the number one points against defense.

Book it.

Remember, defense over offense any day. lol

 

[gimmesix]

Gregory is generating the same number of sacks (4 vs. Tank's 3), tackles for loss and QB hits as Lawrence in last 4 games.

Gregory may have had too many costly penalties against the Saints but there is no question that he has knocked the rust off and is integral in the D's improvement recently.

You're right. It had slipped past me that he's up to four sacks now with three of them coming in the last four games. It does appear that he's getting more consistent with his pressure.