An Elite defense with Dak could be enough

[MountaineerCowboy]

It's much more likely find an elite QB than it is to field an elite defense.

I'd rather look for 1 guy that can lead your team to victories with a good defense instead looking for 5 or 6 guys all playing elite together to make up for the QB's deficiencies.

You think finding an elite QB is hard? It's 10x harder to field an elite defense.

There could be as many as 3 or 4 elite QBs in the NFL at once, but an actual true elite defense don't come around very often.

 

[kskboys]

Yes it is. If they hold the opponent to a FG after a turnover or a bad ST play then they get "points" for that. But nowhere in the rule book does it say just because the opponent gets the ball in your territory your defense has to allow a TD. In those instances they only gave up 25-30 yards.. but it led to a TD. How about you get your *** out there and hold them to a FG? So even in those situations, points is the thing, not yards. The great defenses of our lifetime would frequently send the opposing offense backwards in those situations. Or sometimes even take the ball back. Our defense figured out that last bit last season. Now we gotta get them to just stop the damn ground game and we got somethin.

Sorry, Ron, you know I'm a fan of your stuff, but this doesn't make sense. A pick 6 is on the D, hey? Points is what matters, but yards are much more accurate in assessing a D.

17 is a good example. Pats D was 29th in yds allowed, but 5th in pts allowed. That mattered a ton when Philly was moving the ball all over the field in the super bowl.

 

[kskboys]

My prediction, which I could be wrong about, is that the defense moves to top 7, at least. Has a chance to be top 3, imo.

That's really why I'm not as down on this team as some seem to be. Parsons was a huge difference maker. And I only expect our other guys from his class to get better as well.

We have a shot. All the pieces have to be there, and fall in the right place. But we have as good of a shot this year as any other year we've been good.

So far, McCarthy has improved the team every year, same for Moore and Quinn, all have improved (whether fans realize it or not). And I have enough things to be negative about in life, so I'm staying positive about the team I root for. ha

S and DT are still huge question marks.

 

[Pass2Run]

Because the NFL is trying to cater to the fantasy football nerds. I mean they post fantasy points for players in stadium during the game these days. Not enough fantasy stat measurables on defense and that generation is too dense to enjoy a good hard fought defensive battle.

lol.

Always enjoy your posts, Ron.

 

[Pass2Run]

S and DT are still huge question marks.

I agree. But defenses always have question marks. It's a team sport. We're in the cap era, which our fans seem to forget altogether.

 

[kskboys]

I agree. But defenses always have question marks. It's a team sport. We're in the cap era, which our fans seem to forget altogether.

Playoff D's don't have huge questions at S and DT's. We spend way too much time and resources on CB and LB and DE and ignore the hallmark of good D's, S and DT. All good D's are stout there.

 

[fivetwos]

Ok, understood. I agree. The way I took your opening post is how an "Elite" QB is needed if you don't have an "Elite" Defense or Offense. I don't agree with that. Having a Top 10 QB along with a Top 10 Offense AND Defense should definitely be more than enough to reach a conference championship game or a Super Bowl...in my opinion.

Yes, or at least gives us a CHANCE, which we have.

The big guys need to show up when it counts in the postseason. Some decent breaks would help out as well.

 

[Pass2Run]

Playoff D's don't have huge questions at S and DT's. We spend way too much time and resources on CB and LB and DE and ignore the hallmark of good D's, S and DT. All good D's are stout there.

I personally don't think there's a huge question mark at safety. We have several guys there who come in during different situations. Kearse led the team in tackles. And for the kind of player he is, he played the pass fairly well. We also have Marquese Bell, who seems to be a lot like Kearse. Bell runs a 4.4 40, compared to Kearse's 4.6, so he's a lot faster. Hooker is also a fairly good player.

That said, I agree about DT. We're not terribly strong there. But I think we at least improve our DT play over last year, simply because our young guys have more experience. And Odighizuwa and Gholston have apparently packed on some pounds, which could help tremendously, if they can keep on the weight.

To me, CB, LB, and DE are slightly more important to our success. Plus, when you have guys like Parsons on the board when you draft, it's a no-brainer who you use that pick on.

There's still time to bring in some vet players. We have the cap room. Suh is still out there, I think. So who knows.. maybe we bring in a Cowboy hater to help us.

That said, I'd rather keep our youth and even guys like Hill have a chance to really step up (go ahead and bash me). Plus, Ridgeway, kind of a dark horse. I can't tell whether he's a hit or miss yet. I have a hard time evaluating him. But I see why they took the chance on him.

 

[zrinkill]

Well yea ..... And elite defense with an average QB has won a Superbowl many times.

Dak is an above average QB so he really only needs a good defense and a little luck
Much like when Nick Foles won one.

 

[Pass2Run]

Well yea ..... And elite defense with an average QB has won a Superbowl many times.

Dak is an above average QB so he really only needs a good defense and a little luck
Much like when Nick Foles won one.

Agree.

Comparing Dak to Dilfer is a little unfair. I get down on Dak, at times. But he deserves more credit than he usually gets.

 

[CouchCoach]

Building an elite D in this age and keeping it together is near impossible. The Rams had a good D and had to make trades to do that which will eventually bite them.

A team has to be a D drafting demon for 2-3 drafts in a row and even then they will not be able to keep it together.

There are more quality O players than D in college and therefore the NFL.

This is also compounded by the rise in the top 3 paid positions of QB, LT and WR. DE’s and CB’s are next.

 

[DeaconMoss]

What do you consider "Elite" at the QB position? Give us some names...

What did Aaron Rodgers accomplish last season, especially during the playoffs? Isn't he considered "Elite" by most?

How about Russell Wilson? Isn't he another QB who has been considered "Elite"? What has happened to him the past several seasons?

What about Lamar Jackson, Kyler Murray or DeShaun Watson? Aren't they considered "Elite" and better than Dak by many, especially by the anti-Dakkers in this forum? What happened to those "Elite" QBs?

How about Tom Brady? Isn't he the picture perfection of what one should consider "Elite"? Isn't he the G.O.A.T.??? What happened to him last season during the playoffs?

My point is that Dak is easily a Top 10 QB. Dak definitely has the talent to help lead the Cowboys farther into the playoffs and possibly to any championship game, but like any other so-called "Elite" QB, they need an "Elite" Offense and/or Defense, plus coaching, to help lead these "Elite" QBs to any championship game or Super Bowl.

I guess the Defense has to be better than this for Dak to "lead" the team to victory.
2021-Defense

1. led NFL in INTS
2. led nfl in takeaways
3. 7th points allowed
4. tied 7th in pass tds allowed
5. tied for 7th in rush tds allowed
6. 4th lowest possession scoring percentage
7. 9th fewest first downs passing

 

[Redline360]

Has been the Cowboys achilles heel for the longest time. Jerry would rather roll out a top 5 offense over anything else then wonder why we have no post season success. Bar a couple years during the Romo and Dak eras they have either been trash tier or middle of the pack.

Very few elite offenses win the superbowl alone. Majority usually have a top 10 defense as well.

And it doesn't matter how much talent you have on the field. You could have pro bowlers all over the field but it won't matter if you have ****** coaching.

 

[RonnieT24]

Has been the Cowboys achilles heel for the longest time. Jerry would rather roll out a top 5 offense over anything else then wonder why we have no post season success. Bar a couple years during the Romo and Dak eras they have either been trash tier or middle of the pack.

Very few elite offenses win the superbowl alone. Majority usually have a top 10 defense as well.

And it doesn't matter how much talent you have on the field. You could have pro bowlers all over the field but it won't matter if you have ****** coaching.

Yeah I think the 2007 Pats and the 2013 Broncos were both top 5 all time offenses.. yet when they got to the Big Dance they got shut down by elite defenses. The funny thing is that because of injuries that Giants D that shut the Pats down was not highly RANKED heading into the post season. But once they got all their horses back they were able to shut down all comers in the playoffs. No matter what the softhead media tries to tell us, if your defense can't get stops when you really need them, it doesn't much matter what your offense does.

 

[Brax]

Points are generally not a good stat to judge a D by, as not all points are given up by the D, and there are other factors involved. Every yard allowed is given up by the D.

Defense points and ppg is a very good Measuring stick and ppd the D did their job and I will take points allowed as a indicator, yards pile up when the O is 3 and outs and the D is left on the field continually. 21 points a game is very good in today’s NFL especially with many beating their vests about the #1 O.

 

[RonnieT24]

Sorry, Ron, you know I'm a fan of your stuff, but this doesn't make sense. A pick 6 is on the D, hey? Points is what matters, but yards are much more accurate in assessing a D.

17 is a good example. Pats D was 29th in yds allowed, but 5th in pts allowed. That mattered a ton when Philly was moving the ball all over the field in the super bowl.

Come on bro.. How many pick sixes does a good QB suffer in a season? 3? 4? I can't actually recall Dak throwing even one except for that fluke one where he got hit in the end zone and the ball popped up in the air against Philly. I think they ruled that one an INT. Oh yeah and the brain fart one against Washington. I just don't consider that to be statistically significant in the grand scheme. Same with special teams scores. Think about it this way.. A team would have to give up 7 TDs (49 points) off pick sixes, fumble returns for TD and special teams TDs in order for it to add 3 whole points per game to the defensive average. I will look it up later but I would wager very few teams in the NFL gave up that many defensive and ST scores last season. I know Stafford had that stretch where he threw like 4 pick sixes in a span of 5-6 weeks but I don't think even he ended up with more than 4 when it was all said and done. Yep.. I just looked it up.. Stafford led the NFL with 4 pick sixes. So a whole 28 points added onto their defensive point total. Amounting to a little over a point and a half. So instead of giving up 372 points they gave up 344. 21.9 ppg vs 20.3. Even with that they were ranked 15th in scoring and 17th in yards and 10th in turnovers. Which ranking in your estimation was more indicative of how good their defense was? I would say neither. According to these rankings the Cowboys defense 7th in scoring and 19th in yards and first in turnovers. So the Cowboys defense was overall better. Who here believes that? This is kinda why the rankings without context have little meaning. You really do have to watch the games. But you already knew that. But it's the offseason so..

 

[Acceptablename]

Regarding 2023 draft it’s defense turn in the first round but the 2nd if there we need a LG so T.Smith can man LT got Tyron

 

[Diehardblues]

Come on bro.. How many pick sixes does a good QB suffer in a season? 3? 4? I can't actually recall Dak throwing even one except for that fluke one where he got hit in the end zone and the ball popped up in the air against Philly. I think they ruled that one an INT. Oh yeah and the brain fart one against Washington. I just don't consider that to be statistically significant in the grand scheme. Same with special teams scores. Think about it this way.. A team would have to give up 7 TDs (49 points) off pick sixes, fumble returns for TD and special teams TDs in order for it to add 3 whole points per game to the defensive average. I will look it up later but I would wager very few teams in the NFL gave up that many defensive and ST scores last season. I know Stafford had that stretch where he threw like 4 pick sixes in a span of 5-6 weeks but I don't think even he ended up with more than 4 when it was all said and done. Yep.. I just looked it up.. Stafford led the NFL with 4 pick sixes. So a whole 28 points added onto their defensive point total. Amounting to a little over a point and a half. So instead of giving up 372 points they gave up 344. 21.9 ppg vs 20.3. Even with that they were ranked 15th in scoring and 17th in yards and 10th in turnovers. Which ranking in your estimation was more indicative of how good their defense was? I would say neither. According to these rankings the Cowboys defense 7th in scoring and 19th in yards and first in turnovers. So the Cowboys defense was overall better. Who here believes that? This is kinda why the rankings without context have little meaning. You really do have to watch the games. But you already knew that. But it's the offseason so..

If you’re going to discount total yards as official ranking for defense then your talking about rewriting NFL history which could infringe on many of the greatest defenses.

Turnover ratios are an important contributing factor which we saw last year. It helped uplift our defense. And total points are another important factor but points can also be scored by defense and special teams.

Total yards are still the benchmark and why official NFL stats still use because it is the measurement for which allows teams more opportunities to move the chains , control TOP and score . Always exceptions of course but is more of the rule and why is used as official measurement.

 

[Doomsday101]

I'm proud of you.

You skipped good and great and went straight to needing an elite defense when Dak is your QB.

I agree with this.

I too believe that Dak can be Trent Dilfer'd to a Super Bowl victory.

Stafford had a great defense as well. Brady has had great defense in NE and in Tampa Bay he is not winning it on his own. Frankly whatever it takes for the Cowboys to go to a SB and win it I'm in favor of. Looking at past championship teams by the Cowboys, they had an outstanding defense as well. I know this is a means to put down Dak but fact is SB teams are often times loaded on the defensive side of the ball as well.

 

[MountaineerCowboy]

Stafford had a great defense as well. Brady has had great defense in NE and in Tampa Bay he is not winning it on his own. Frankly whatever it takes for the Cowboys to go to a SB and win it I'm in favor of. Looking at past championship teams by the Cowboys, they had an outstanding defense as well. I know this is a means to put down Dak but fact is SB teams are often times loaded on the defensive side of the ball as well.

You said "great" and "great" for Stafford and Brady. OP suggested needing an "elite" defense for Dak and I agree. There's a big difference in "great" and "elite"

Also, I hate to burst any bubbles, but finding an elite QB is MUCH easier than fielding an elite defense.

I'd suggest going on the search for an elite QB that can win with a good defense instead of trying to build an elite defense to make up for an average QB.