Anyone else kind of excited about our D-line?

[CowboyRoy]

They won't be on the field much anyway. No worries.

Im sorry, I forgot, you are the biggest homer ever.

 

[Supercowboy1986]

The line certainly isn't drug free, but it appears that it might be Hayden free, and that could end up being more important in the long run.

If there was a Hoyer rue thread I will bet you there will be a Hayden rue thread at some point

 

[CowboyRoy]

The addition of Thornton was key this off season..Gregory-Thornton-Crawford-Lawrence looks like it could bring crazy heat.

did you forget that Lawrence and gregory are suspended for the first 4 games? doh!!!!!!

 

[CATCH17]

I admit, our D-line is completely unproven. Our most experienced player is the Eagle we brought in. Our next most is Jack Crawford. Our most proven players are probably Tyrone Crawford followed by Demarcus Lawrence who has a total of one good season under his belt. But this D-line is freakishly young and athletic. Tapper might be the fastest DE in the league. Irving is a freak. So is Gregory. I'm really looking forward to seeing what these guys can do. I'd almost rather see what a guy like Mayowa can do than get the usual 4 sacks from a guy like Jason Jones. This D-line has the potential to be absolutely awful. But they also have the potential to be very good and very exciting. I hope it goes the latter.

I'm excited in the sense that i'm a football nerd and I find intrigue with guys like David Irvin and young players in their 2nd year like Ryan Russell.


Honestly though.. I'm not expecting much.

 

[CowboyRoy]

The addition of Thornton was key this off season..Gregory-Thornton-Crawford-Lawrence looks like it could bring crazy heat.

That right there is the worst Dline in football. And with paltry backups.

 

[CATCH17]

That right there is the worst Dline in football. And with paltry backups.

I'd feel good about it if we had that Demarcus Ware type of player we could point to.

As it stands though I don't feel good about the defense at all.

It was insane how good we looked against Philly last year but that was the only time that the defense showed up and played like that.

 

[Denim Chicken]

I believe our defense, as a whole, will be better than they were in 2014 and 2015. Top 15 in total defense + have both the offence and defense work to get our turnover differential towards the middle of the league and I'll be very pleased.

Main reason we lost games last year. Turnover differential was worst in the league: 33 giveaways to 11 takeaways--abysmal.

 

[Fla Cowpoke]

Nice cherry picking. Packers overpay for Reggie White or Cowboys with Deion? Did Denver get their money's worth by signing Ware and Peyton? It all depends on the players, not the dollars.

You sure seem to think the one player you named is going to be worth it. How is that any different? What makes you think a DT is gonna be the difference maker?

 

[gimmesix]

I admit, our D-line is completely unproven. Our most experienced player is the Eagle we brought in. Our next most is Jack Crawford. Our most proven players are probably Tyrone Crawford followed by Demarcus Lawrence who has a total of one good season under his belt. But this D-line is freakishly young and athletic. Tapper might be the fastest DE in the league. Irving is a freak. So is Gregory. I'm really looking forward to seeing what these guys can do. I'd almost rather see what a guy like Mayowa can do than get the usual 4 sacks from a guy like Jason Jones. This D-line has the potential to be absolutely awful. But they also have the potential to be very good and very exciting. I hope it goes the latter.

I'm always excited to see if players take the next step up and to see what new players can bring. My expectations aren't that high, though, because we didn't have much of a pass rush last year and it's not clear that we added anyone who can improve that.

 

[erod]

Only problem w/ this lable...Cheech really isn't Cheech (Lawerence)

Chong (Gregory) problably does enough for both.....

Then Ro can be Cheech.

 

[Fla Cowpoke]

did you forget that Lawrence and gregory are suspended for the first 4 games? doh!!!!!!

Does that mean that they cant bring heat for 12 games? Double DOH!!!!! And Lawrence's suspension is under appeal so could be less or even none.

As for the DL that you claim is the worst ever....let me remind you that 2014 defense had Selvie, Crawford, Hayden and Mincey as the starters.

For the record, this was Selvie's 2nd year here, when he only got 3 sacks

Crawford chipped in 3 sacks as well.

The stud Mincey had a career year with 6 sacks.

And Hayden, do I need to even tell you had a big goose egg?

Tank Lawrence was a rookie, came off an injury and had 0 sacks and almost no stats. Terrell McClain chipped in a whopping one sack. Melton was the second leading sacker here but fell out of favor in the second half of the year.


I would put this defense, even without Gregory and Tank, as being better than that one, so your hyperbole falls short. Crawford is better now than he was then. Lawrence has come into his own and is much better than Selvie ever was. Thornton is head and shoulders better than Hayden or McClain and with Collins we have a legit rotation guy that can give some pass rush from the middle. So we really might only be weaker at one spot and that is Mincey's, but we have several bodies in Mayowa, Tapper and of course Gregory when he gets back. They may not have the skins on the wall, but they certainly have the potential to be MUCH better than that 2014 group.

That 2014 was also a trainwreck at LB, with Lee missing the whole year and musical LBs with McClain, a rookie Hitchens, Wilber and Durant being patched together each week.

Our secondary is at worst the same, but likely better with Jones in the mix.

So, on paper, this isn't the worst defense ever put on the field, particularly in the defensive line.

 

[CyberB0b]

I feel like Cedrick Thornton is going to be the lynch pin of the rotation. We haven't a guy playing the 1 tech like him since we went back to the 4-3. He will solidify the run defense. With that said, I don't see us getting a lot of pressure with this group.

 

[Dalmations202]

which of these guys, Thorton, Crawford, M Collins, Irving can beat Martin consistently with speed? Power? Which ones can consistently beat Lael Collins? Which ones can beat Fred Beard? NONE of these guys will be able to collapse a pocket consistently, IMO.

Which DE's can beat Dallas' tackles with Speed? which ones can overpower the tackles?

When you get to the playoffs, most offensive lines are good, and while Dallas may have the best, many will be close.

I don't see one player you could count on to consistently win the battle each play. Late in games, none of the DL have the size/power to overcome Dallas' offensive line. Late in games, none of the DE's have the elite speed and power of Von Miller, Demarcus Ware, Charles Haley, LT, Derrick Thomas, etc.

I just don't see how anyone can think that this DL is even close to anything but average.

 

[Denim Chicken]

which of these guys, Thorton, Crawford, M Collins, Irving can beat Martin consistently with speed? Power? Which ones can consistently beat Lael Collins? Which ones can beat Fred Beard? NONE of these guys will be able to collapse a pocket consistently, IMO.

Which DE's can beat Dallas' tackles with Speed? which ones can overpower the tackles?

When you get to the playoffs, most offensive lines are good, and while Dallas may have the best, many will be close.

I don't see one player you could count on to consistently win the battle each play. Late in games, none of the DL have the size/power to overcome Dallas' offensive line. Late in games, none of the DE's have the elite speed and power of Von Miller, Demarcus Ware, Charles Haley, LT, Derrick Thomas, etc.

I just don't see how anyone can think that this DL is even close to anything but average.

Average is fine. We can win with average.

 

[JBell]

You guys can stop with the overreactionary comments calling this group the worst D-line of all-time. It's not even the worst Cowboys D-line in the last three years.

They trotted out Mincey, Selvie, T. Crawford, and Hayden on opening day in 2014. A group that was a play or two away from the NFC Championship.

2016's group is infinitely more talented.

 

[lqmac1]

I admit, our D-line is completely unproven. Our most experienced player is the Eagle we brought in. Our next most is Jack Crawford. Our most proven players are probably Tyrone Crawford followed by Demarcus Lawrence who has a total of one good season under his belt. But this D-line is freakishly young and athletic. Tapper might be the fastest DE in the league. Irving is a freak. So is Gregory. I'm really looking forward to seeing what these guys can do. I'd almost rather see what a guy like Mayowa can do than get the usual 4 sacks from a guy like Jason Jones. This D-line has the potential to be absolutely awful. But they also have the potential to be very good and very exciting. I hope it goes the latter.

I just hope David Irving doesn't get lost in the mix. I'm very excited to watch him grow. I think he's going to be a force in the league and hopefully it's with us

 

[jaybird]

did you forget that Lawrence and gregory are suspended for the first 4 games? doh!!!!!!

Actually like the interior, but excited is not the word I would use. The lack of edge rushers will be are Achilles Heal

 

[DC Cowboy]

I admit, our D-line is completely unproven. Our most experienced player is the Eagle we brought in. Our next most is Jack Crawford. Our most proven players are probably Tyrone Crawford followed by Demarcus Lawrence who has a total of one good season under his belt. But this D-line is freakishly young and athletic. Tapper might be the fastest DE in the league. Irving is a freak. So is Gregory. I'm really looking forward to seeing what these guys can do. I'd almost rather see what a guy like Mayowa can do than get the usual 4 sacks from a guy like Jason Jones. This D-line has the potential to be absolutely awful. But they also have the potential to be very good and very exciting. I hope it goes the latter.

I think our D will surprise some folks this year. Hey we were the 16th ranked D last year with offensive woes. I hope our 3rd and 4th picks can give us something. I think the key is Gregory and inside push, if we can get something from him and more up the middle we will be ok.

 

[DC Cowboy]

Not to mention he has (outside of Zeke) the ability to play right away in either the starting role or a very heavily used rotation at DE with d-law and gregory looking at 4 missed games each....

Plus he will get "home schooling" from Smith during training camp.

 

[Fla Cowpoke]

which of these guys, Thorton, Crawford, M Collins, Irving can beat Martin consistently with speed? Power? Which ones can consistently beat Lael Collins? Which ones can beat Fred Beard? NONE of these guys will be able to collapse a pocket consistently, IMO.

Which DE's can beat Dallas' tackles with Speed? which ones can overpower the tackles?

When you get to the playoffs, most offensive lines are good, and while Dallas may have the best, many will be close.

I don't see one player you could count on to consistently win the battle each play. Late in games, none of the DL have the size/power to overcome Dallas' offensive line. Late in games, none of the DE's have the elite speed and power of Von Miller, Demarcus Ware, Charles Haley, LT, Derrick Thomas, etc.

I just don't see how anyone can think that this DL is even close to anything but average.

I think the point all of us are making is that if they are average we can compete. No one has said that they are going to be a top defense.