Red Dragon
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The Cowboys' defense has struggled for a very long time. That's fairly obvious to anyone who follows this team for a while.,
The frustrating thing is, it certainly hasn't been as if the Cowboys haven't taken a great deal of effort to fix the problem. Indeed, the Cowboys have seemingly been trying to put together a good defense ever since 2002.
From 2002-2007, every single Cowboys first-round pick was a defensive player. (Roy Williams, Newman, Spears, Ware, Carpenter, Spencer.) And yet in the 2006 season, quarterbacks such as Drew Brees and Michael Vick scorched the Cowboys' defense for five and four touchdown passes, respectively. The following season, the Cowboys allowed 48 points to the Patriots in a defeat.
Fast forward to 2008. The Cowboys used a first-round pick to draft Mike Jenkins, a cornerback. They also acquired Pacman Jones. Here now surely was a strong secondary that would make the Cowboys' defense one of the league's elite, right?
2008 was a rather mediocre season for the defense. 2009 was better - the Cowboys limited the Raiders, Commanders (at home,) Commanders (away,) and Eagles (at home) to 7, 6, 0, and 0 points respectively. The defense got back-to-back shutouts for the first time in franchise history. In some respects, 2009 was perhaps the best Cowboys defensive season in many years. It was marred by allowing 34 points to Favre and the Vikings in the playoffs, but for the most part it was a good defensive year.
But in 2011, the Cowboys' defense just could not stop Eli Manning in two crucial, vital games against the Giants. So the Cowboys traded up to draft Morris Claiborne and also signed Brandon Carr. Again, a strong focus on strengthening the defense.
But the following year, the Cowboys allowed Griffin and the Commanders to score 38 points at Cowboys Stadium. Then in the season finale, Alfred Morris ran for 200 yards and the Cowboys simply could not stop the Commanders offense when it mattered most.
So, that's the long story - the Cowboys spending a decade of time trying to put together a good defense.
And yet, despite drafting Claiborne and acquiring Carr, what happened against the Broncos? Answer: The Cowboys' defense allowed Denver to score 51 points...........the most points the Cowboys have allowed in a single game in nearly 43 years. They also allowed over 500 yards to the Chargers and over 500 yards to the Broncos.
Is there nothing that this team can do to finally fix its defense once and for all?
The frustrating thing is, it certainly hasn't been as if the Cowboys haven't taken a great deal of effort to fix the problem. Indeed, the Cowboys have seemingly been trying to put together a good defense ever since 2002.
From 2002-2007, every single Cowboys first-round pick was a defensive player. (Roy Williams, Newman, Spears, Ware, Carpenter, Spencer.) And yet in the 2006 season, quarterbacks such as Drew Brees and Michael Vick scorched the Cowboys' defense for five and four touchdown passes, respectively. The following season, the Cowboys allowed 48 points to the Patriots in a defeat.
Fast forward to 2008. The Cowboys used a first-round pick to draft Mike Jenkins, a cornerback. They also acquired Pacman Jones. Here now surely was a strong secondary that would make the Cowboys' defense one of the league's elite, right?
2008 was a rather mediocre season for the defense. 2009 was better - the Cowboys limited the Raiders, Commanders (at home,) Commanders (away,) and Eagles (at home) to 7, 6, 0, and 0 points respectively. The defense got back-to-back shutouts for the first time in franchise history. In some respects, 2009 was perhaps the best Cowboys defensive season in many years. It was marred by allowing 34 points to Favre and the Vikings in the playoffs, but for the most part it was a good defensive year.
But in 2011, the Cowboys' defense just could not stop Eli Manning in two crucial, vital games against the Giants. So the Cowboys traded up to draft Morris Claiborne and also signed Brandon Carr. Again, a strong focus on strengthening the defense.
But the following year, the Cowboys allowed Griffin and the Commanders to score 38 points at Cowboys Stadium. Then in the season finale, Alfred Morris ran for 200 yards and the Cowboys simply could not stop the Commanders offense when it mattered most.
So, that's the long story - the Cowboys spending a decade of time trying to put together a good defense.
And yet, despite drafting Claiborne and acquiring Carr, what happened against the Broncos? Answer: The Cowboys' defense allowed Denver to score 51 points...........the most points the Cowboys have allowed in a single game in nearly 43 years. They also allowed over 500 yards to the Chargers and over 500 yards to the Broncos.
Is there nothing that this team can do to finally fix its defense once and for all?
