After further review, the Defense...

[ejthedj]

Was not bad. Actually pretty good.

I was mad during the game, but then I saw some reporters saying the D played pretty well and that the O and ST let them down.

I went back and looked at Cinci's scoring drives... And they were right!

They got a FG starting at their 48 (after ko return)
They got a FG starting at our 29 (Romo fumble)
They got a FG starting at our 41 (Romo Int)
They got a TD starting at our 37, (ko return again)

So, 16 of 23 points were when the D had less than half the field to play with, and with that starting field position, 12 points would have been expected.

Cinci had one good drive, after halftime. 72 yards and TD.

The D played better than I thought, and we tied for most sacks on Palmer this year

 

[EveryoneElse]

We have very good players on defense, they are bound to play well despite the scheme once in a while.

 

[Eskimo]

Was not bad. Actually pretty good.

I was mad during the game, but then I saw some reporters saying the D played pretty well and that the O and ST let them down.

I went back and looked at Cinci's scoring drives... And they were right!

They got a FG starting at their 48 (after ko return)
They got a FG starting at our 29 (Romo fumble)
They got a FG starting at our 41 (Romo Int)
They got a TD starting at our 37, (ko return again)

So, 16 of 23 points were when the D had less than half the field to play with, and with that starting field position, 12 points would have been expected.

Cinci had one good drive, after halftime. 72 yards and TD.

The D played better than I thought, and we tied for most sacks on Palmer this year

You forgot to mention the TO they forced after the recovered onside kick - wasn't it at the 45. Some of the benefit of that play was negated by the Romo INT right after that but you still have to give them credit on that one.

I agree that defense was overall pretty good today. I do think they need to work on their coverages when 3 WRs are bunched up. They have messed that up a few times already this year.

 

[thekavorka]

i think one of the reasons we're frustrated with the defense is that we seem to concede a lot of 3rd downs. our blitzing just doesn't seem to be effective.

referring to the 2nd half primarily

 

[JackMagist]

The D did real well I thought. Especially in the second half with two stands deep in our territory to hold them to field goals. And also in getting the fumble and recovery that lead to our second half TD.

The Offense was out of sync a lot and Romo was not having one of his better days...nor was the O-line in pass protection though they did well in the run game.

And the kick-off teams were the suck...both on coverage and returns. And sorry but Adam Jones is not all that on punt returns...he runs backwards too much.

 

[theogt]

Great post.

Overall I was pleased with the defense. Was it perfect? No. Was it good enough to give our team an opportunity to beat any team in the league. Absolutely. More than enough, in my opinion.

 

[anava]

The defense played semi-OK today. But had Crayton not got that lucky tip and we got held FG in the end. Would you have had confidence that the D would have held up?

 

[AdamJT13]

The defense played semi-OK today. But had Crayton not got that lucky tip and we got held FG in the end. Would you have had confidence that the D would have held up?

If we didn't let them return the kickoff onto our half of the field, I would have been confident.

 

[Mansta54]

The defense played semi-OK today. But had Crayton not got that lucky tip and we got held FG in the end. Would you have had confidence that the D would have held up?

YES!!!!!!

 

[big dog cowboy]

The defense played semi-OK today. But had Crayton not got that lucky tip and we got held FG in the end. Would you have had confidence that the D would have held up?

Yes.









I think.

 

[theogt]

The defense played semi-OK today. But had Crayton not got that lucky tip and we got held FG in the end. Would you have had confidence that the D would have held up?

Would I have had confidence that they would have been held to a field goal? Ummm...why on earth wouldn't you have that sort of confidence?

On 55 drives against our defense, teams have scored touchdowns only 9 times. 9 times. In 55 drives.

 

[lane]

Was not bad. Actually pretty good.

I was mad during the game, but then I saw some reporters saying the D played pretty well and that the O and ST let them down.

I went back and looked at Cinci's scoring drives... And they were right!

They got a FG starting at their 48 (after ko return)
They got a FG starting at our 29 (Romo fumble)
They got a FG starting at our 41 (Romo Int)
They got a TD starting at our 37, (ko return again)

So, 16 of 23 points were when the D had less than half the field to play with, and with that starting field position, 12 points would have been expected.

Cinci had one good drive, after halftime. 72 yards and TD.

The D played better than I thought, and we tied for most sacks on Palmer this year

you are so correct sir!!

you have the best sig pic as well....i love it!

 

[Eskimo]

Would I have had confidence that they would have been held to a field goal? Ummm...why on earth wouldn't you have that sort of confidence?

On 55 drives against our defense, teams have scored touchdowns only 9 times. 9 times. In 55 drives.

Do you have numbers for drives that did not start on our side of the field?

 

[MagicMan]

The defense played semi-OK today. But had Crayton not got that lucky tip and we got held FG in the end. Would you have had confidence that the D would have held up?

ABSOLUTELY.....uhhhh, for sure.....well, yeah......wouldn't we?.....would think so.....maybe......okay, NO.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

Bump for a thread that isn't brain dead.

Somehow when Romo gives the other team the ball at our 35 and they get a FG, our defense sucks.

 

[theogt]

Do you have numbers for drives that did not start on our side of the field?

If you take out drives that started on our opponents' 49 yard line or worse, our defense has given up only 6 TDs in 52 drives.

 

[ejthedj]

On 8 drives that started in their own territory, the Bengals gained 164 yards and had two turnovers. That is an average of 20.5 yards a drive, so basically two first downs.

One drive of those 8 went for 72 and a TD (their only score). If you factor that one out, we had 7 drives for 92 yards and two turnovers.

Not bad

 

[LandryFan]

i think one of the reasons we're frustrated with the defense is that we seem to concede a lot of 3rd downs. our blitzing just doesn't seem to be effective.

referring to the 2nd half primarily

I know it seems as if the defense gives up a lot of 3rd downs, but the stats show they actually aren't that bad. Dallas has faced 64 3rd downs and given up a 1st down 24 times (37.5%). The league average to date is 719 of 1871 (38.4%). The Cowboys have converted 36 of 62 for a pretty amazing 58%.
Against the rest of the league, they rank middle of the pack in 3rd down stops (T-16th)

 

[LandryFan]

The defense played semi-OK today. But had Crayton not got that lucky tip and we got held FG in the end. Would you have had confidence that the D would have held up?

In today's game, yes. Cincy was trying to score after our last TD and couldn't pull it off. Don't see how it would have been any different had we kicked a FG rather than scored a TD.

 

[BigDinAZ]

What kills our D, and lets our opponents keep on moving down the field is the slat passes for 6-7 yds in the middle of the field. How many passes for a first did Cinci get because it was 3rd & 4, and Palmer dumps it over the middle on a slat for 6 yds and the 1st. We need to control the middle of the field better.

I do think our DB's did a much better job in Man Coverage rather than Zone.