A Look at the Current Depth Chart

[FuzzyLumpkins]

The problem with those stats are how many of those OLB had Ware across from them? 6 sacks with Ware across from you sucks. I don't need metrics to tell me basic common sense things.

Spencer always went to the side with tight end. Ware also rushed the passer 90% of the time to Spencer's 60%. Spencer had 30 pressures to Wares 40. Those are the coaches numbers.

And aside from the chip from the back what exactly do you think pass protection does on the opposite side of the formation that helps Spencer out. The guy in fron of him was Spears who has no pass rush and gets little push. That allows the OT to cheat. The TE is there and most times even when he rushed Spencer wsqa supposed to jam him because with our ILB a free run from the TE is a problem. If the TE chipped or stayed in then that was something else.

Exactly what mechanism does Ware help the opposite side of the formation other than draw the back to chip? Common sense huh? Lets hear it.

 

[kmd24]

The number of teams playing a 3-4 is limited. So the number of guys filling Spencer's role is as well.

Yes, it was 11 in 2011. So Spencer was statistically the 3rd or 4th best pass rusher of the 11 off side pass rushers.

He isn't much worse than others or much better than others. Many have the same amount of sacks as him. No one has far few than him because he only averages 6 a season. Guys like Brooks Reed and Ryan Kerrigan prove it isn't an impossible job to do. Reed had 9.5 sacks if you include his post-season.

Reed had 6 sacks in the regular season and only 26 pressures in 15% more pass rushing attempts than Spencer. Kerrigan is one of the guys I acknowledged as ahead of Spencer, so not sure what your point is there.

But none of those other guys have DeMarcus Ware. The only team who comes close is Pittsburgh. And as you state they have 2 guys who get high sack totals regularly.

Yeah, but every year there are guys with lots of sacks in 3-4 defenses, and the guys across from them almost never put up staggering numbers. This year, Aldon Smith put up 15, and Ahmad Brooks had only 6. Tamba Hali has put up 12, 17, and 9 sacks over the last three years, but the guy across from him never put up more than 6. Elvis Dumervil put up 17 in 2009 and his counterpart only 1. Yeah, Woodley has done it consistently across from Harrison, but he's about the only one. Kerrigan can probably do it as well.

Is Spencer better than Erik Walden? Of Course. Is he useable? Of Course! Do you want to pay him 9 mil a year? Of Course NOT.

Money is a good reason to replace Spencer. Thinking there will be a big upgrade isn't.

The point I am trying to make here is that an average player should get well above average numbers across from Ware. We move Ware around to get him better match ups. If we truly believed in Spencer wouldn't we just attack like Pittsburgh with little variation.

I doubt it. There just isn't data to support the idea of 30+ sacks as a realistic expectation from the OLB in a 3-4.

Spencer rushed the passer on 75% of his snaps last year.

According to profootballfocus.com Spencer rushed on 402/938 snaps, or just under 43% of his snaps.

 

[CF74]

I realize that, for many of you, this is going to sound like something you've heard before. That would be because I've said it before.

A DE is NOT going to be the guy that gets an explosive push in the pass rush in a 3-4 defense most of the time. It's simply not their primary job function. Their job, along with the NT, is to stand their guy up and control their particular gap, allowing the LBs behind them to come in, move to the ball, and make the tackle without getting blocked by a 320+ lb. O-lineman. If they can get some push up the middle, that's great, as it helps to collapse the pocket. That's something Ratliff has done very well in his career, although it was certainly not as good as it has been in past years. But that rush is their secondary task, not their primary one.

The pass rush in this defense comes from the guys playing OLB, like D-Ware. Spencer is supposed to be the other guy, but at this point, he is what he is. And what he is at this point is an average pass-rusher who plays the run fairly well. If you have an elite secondary, that's good enough to get the job done most of the time. If you have the Cowboys' secondary, and that secondary is completely healthy, it might be good enough. If Jenkins is only 85% or they have an injury, it's nowhere near good enough. In that case, they would need to have better pressure opposite D-Ware.

I think the Cowboys are going to draft a C, but not in the first round. I agree on Blake, Hos, and think he's going to be their target in round 3 if he's there. And that's a good thing, because I think the C position is a huge question mark.

But I also think the pass rush has to be better, and that would mean someone who can, at the very least, rotate in and pin their ears back to get to the QB. If Melvin Ingram is there at #14, take him. But I'll be shocked if he's still on the board. If he's not, they should look to trade back to #20 or so, pick up an extra 2nd or 3rd rounder, and take the best available (according to your board) out of Barron, Upshaw, Mercilus, and Gilmore.

Since I think you can get by with Pool next to Sensabaugh, I likely go with Upshaw despite some of the negative stuff I've heard from his workout. I'm sure that Garrett & company picked Saban's mind about those guys. I'll also say this...if Garrett was convinced by Saban that Barron could be anywhere close to what Woodson was for us--especially since Jason played with Woody--I'll be shocked if he doesn't get the call, especially if they trade back.

Oh, and as for the D-line. Sorry guys, but as much as I'd like to improve the overall group, it simply isn't a high priority to me in this draft UNLESS someone with a first round grade slides to you at #45.

Well out of that bunch I'd rate them as such:
Gilmore, Mercilus, Barron, Upshaw. Or at least that would be my preference....

 

[fortdick]

Implying that it's a forgone conclusion that Romo gets injured in we don't draft Decastro/Glenn?

I had hoped I made myself clear. Glad to see you got it.

 

[fortdick]

How many NFL teams can afford to lose their starting QB? How many of those teams have 5 probowlers on the oline?

If we don't shore up the defense and continue to give up leads, we won't win many games either. And playing catch up on offense means more times Romo is put in passing situations, which means more times he's at risk to get hurt.

Ain't looking for pro bowlers, looking for pro's. Grabbing the #56 rated guard and saying it is all better is not giving me a giddy.

 

[mmillman]

Interior OL, OLB or DE - need more pass rush, safety

Also, get rid of Mcgee and find another project. They clearly don't trust the guy. Find out if Butler can play. CB or sign Jenkins. Third WR - Dallas is going to miss Robinson more than people think and if or when Bryant or Austin go down they have no depth.

 

[BlindFaith]

Ain't looking for pro bowlers, looking for pro's. Grabbing the #56 rated guard and saying it is all better is not giving me a giddy.

I like how everyone is all over PFFs rankings. The Giants won the SuperBowl and guess what, they had the 31st, thats second to last, rated offensive line.

We had the 15th.

I guess you can win with a shoddy oline, or at least Eli can.

 

[gimmesix]

My contention about drafting DL in the 1st resides solely in the fact that we play a 3-4. It's a wasted pick unless the guy is a proven total beast that devours double teams...

I see everybody's pet cats more suited for the 4-3 as far as DL is concerned in the 1st round....

O-Line or bust...

I'm with you. I think if we draft one of the defensive linemen then all we're going to get is another end who's primary duty will be occupying blockers. It is hard to find those guys who can do more than that against double-teams as they usually go within the first 10 picks. (Doesn't mean you can't find them ... just that it's a roll of the dice.)

With DeCastro, you're getting a player who is a lock to accomplish the goal of improving the offensive line.

If we do draft defense, I'd rather see Dallas add another true pass rusher, even if it crowds the OLB spots (creativity can get them all on the field), or even take another defensive back ... although I'm not really for that, either.

 

[gimmesix]

Brooks Reed was the primary rush guy for Houston and his d-line had very good sack numbers so how does that fit into your not hard to do better metric.

You keep bringing up playing across from Ware yet leave out the fact that the d-line was below average as pass rushers, notice how the best 3/4 defenses have good pass rushers at DE?

Dallas does not use Phillips' 3-4 anymore. In the Cowboys' 3-4 scheme, the defensive linemen cover two gaps instead of just attacking one.

San Francisco also uses a variation of the Phillips' 3-4. I'm not sure about Pittsburgh and Baltimore.

 

[JIGGYFLY]

I like how everyone is all over PFFs rankings. The Giants won the SuperBowl and guess what, they had the 31st, thats second to last, rated offensive line.

We had the 15th.

I guess you can win with a shoddy oline, or at least Eli can.

Dam way to drop the knowledge,I keep pointing to the Giants line as a example of not needing to have steak at every position on the o-line.

The Giants are a great example of great coaching and having a scheme that fits your players ans being able to adapt.

 

[JIGGYFLY]

Dallas does not use Phillips' 3-4 anymore. In the Cowboys' 3-4 scheme, the defensive linemen cover two gaps instead of just attacking one.

San Francisco also uses a variation of the Phillips' 3-4. I'm not sure about Pittsburgh and Baltimore.

Uh no they don't both Hatcher and Ratliff attacked one gap the majority of the time, they rarely were asked to to cover 2 gaps and we rarely played a true 3/4 defense.

 

[Wulfman]

Uh no they don't both Hatcher and Ratliff attacked one gap the majority of the time, they rarely were asked to to cover 2 gaps and we rarely played a true 3/4 defense.

Beg to differ here. The Cowboys did play a true 3-4 defense...just not the same "true" 3-4 that everyone else does. There are as many different ways of playing the 3-4 as there are the 4-3, and the Ryans are known for how they vary it to allow for pressure from any direction.

What makes it murky is the number of times Dallas shifted into the 4-man front, both for the 4-3 and for a variation on the old 46 defense that Buddy used to run. And that doesn't even count the hybrids that they used in nickel and dime packages.

If you want to say they didn't run purely a 3-4 defense, then I can get on board with that. But they DID play a true 3-4 as their base defense.

 

[Soth]

Never have I agreed this much or with this much fervor with Hostile as this. Finish it! Grab DeCastro then trade up a bit to grab Konz.

Retooling the defense moreso than adding Pool & Carr will have to wait for next year barring any upgrades we can get via next round of FA cuts.

Imagine Murray running behind a line with Konz, DeCastro, Smith plus Vickers. It's such a great scenario that it will never happen.

Our D would still suck, but our offense would be able to control the clock and we would be able to protect Romo (which should be the team's #1 priority).

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

People also do not seem to grasp the difference between a 4-2-5 and a 4-3-4 and a 3-4-4.

We barely ever ran a 4-3-4. Church/McCray is an extra safety as is Scandrick a third corner. Going with 4 up front in the nickel is not the same thing as a 4-3-4.

 

[Wulfman]

People also do not seem to grasp the difference between a 4-2-5 and a 4-3-4 and a 3-4-4.

We barely ever ran a 4-3-4. Church/McCray is an extra safety as is Scandrick a third corner. Going with 4 up front in the nickel is not the same thing as a 4-3-4.

 

[gimmesix]

Uh no they don't both Hatcher and Ratliff attacked one gap the majority of the time, they rarely were asked to to cover 2 gaps and we rarely played a true 3/4 defense.

I totally disagree with this. Ryan's base defense is a true 3-4 with each lineman handling two gaps.

Now, Ryan mixed in a lot of variations off the theme, but one of the reasons our run defense was better this year was because we two-gapped and allowed the linebackers, particularly Sean Lee, to be able to run to the ball.

 

[jterrell]

I totally disagree with this. Ryan's base defense is a true 3-4 with each lineman handling two gaps.

Now, Ryan mixed in a lot of variations off the theme, but one of the reasons our run defense was better this year was because we two-gapped and allowed the linebackers, particularly Sean Lee, to be able to run to the ball.

Ryan and Wade both had Ratliff and Hatcher attack 1 gap. That's what they do best. Spears, Lissemore, Coleman all held 2 gaps. You can tell who plays 1 gap or 2 by who is in the game for nickel. Those are all 1 gap guys.

We played as much odd front as we did even. Because it was so even we didn't have much of a pure base. Ryan would run all 46 if he could. You gotta have way better cover guys than we had last year to do so however.

Lee made plays because he reads the play and gets to the ball. Bradie and Brooking made the same amount of plays they always have... not many.

Expect the defense to be even harder to define this year. Ryan will have a full off-season to install packages and the team will add talent on defense to do more things with.

 

[SilverStarCowboy]

Everyone who is so down on Costa should realize that he was playing injured most of the year.
That said Nagy and Kowlaski have a stronger base.

Our weakest link is Secondary but that improves with a real NT which creates pressure from the DE and OLBs.

Nose Tackle and Saftey ... teams that are strong in the middle win in the NFL.

 

[jterrell]

Brooks Reed was the primary rush guy for Houston and his d-line had very good sack numbers so how does that fit into your not hard to do better metric.

You keep bringing up playing across from Ware yet leave out the fact that the d-line was below average as pass rushers, notice how the best 3/4 defenses have good pass rushers at DE?

So then Connor Barwin was the non-rush OLB? with 11.5 sacks????

When Mario went down they did keep Connor at his spot but Reed actually dropped into coverage more and let Barwin go after the QB.

 

[MapleLeaf]

I agree on weakest link. However, Konz is rated 45th right now and we pick 45th. I would take DeCastro and either play him at Center or move Bernadeau to Center. Truth be told my first 2 picks would be DeCastro and Konz.

I believe we need to finish this Offense.

...the roster to look for real opportunities for sustainable improvement now and a good base for the future.

There is no better place to start than the o-line for the Cowboys. This improves their chance to ride the Romo wagon and the young uns will be the foundation for a new QB.

If we can get these two players, don't follow college much, and they somehow pan out to their draft positions it would be an envious position for the team to be.

My belief for what I feel is the best way to win games in the NFL is to control the clock and not give up the ball.

The best way to improve those two metrics is a strong o-line. It's hard to beat a team who can run 6-8 minute drives on you and score at will inside the red zone.

This league is a throwing league and it's designed to give offence the upper hand. We need to build a team that takes advantage of the present day rules.