Chuck 54
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We should all be extremely proud of the effort our defense is giving each week, but no performance, not even a shutout of the Saints, should make anyone delirious enough to think we have anything but a below average defense.
Besides a solid LBing core with decent depth, this side of the ball is a mess. Besides Hatcher, we are playing mostly guys off the street or off practice squads. They keep coming, but these guys are not NFL starters, and certainly not stars. The secondary is the most thin group on the team. We have three starting CB types, but one of them is a second year guy struggling, not shining, and our drop off is to rookie BW Webb. We are trying to get by with Church and a rookie at safety, but now one has a hammy issue and the other has a knee injury. So we're trying to win on the road against a prolific Lions offense with safeties struggling to be in the right place at the right time. This is the first year since 1967 when I became a cowboys fan that I'm actually seeing numbers out there and not knowing who they are.
And all of this with a defense in the first year transitioning from 3-4 to 4-3 without drafting any players to help with that change.
I love that these young kids keep coming and never quit. I love that in some games when we've been dominated stat-wise that we are staying in the games with turnovers we've been begging to see for years. However, make no mistake about game plans, coaching, or even occasional great performances...this defense is undermanned, and injuries are now showing how thin it is as well.
To this point in the season, we are clearly the class of the NFC East...perhaps we will hang on and get a playoff game this year...enjoy the ride, but keep hands and feet inside the car at all times as it will be a bumpy, sometimes embarrassing ride because the cowboys are still an average team with a few above average players, but below average OL and DL and a coach who still mismanaged game situations.
On the bright side, we are not the Giants, Eagles, or culturally insensitive and clearly colorblind DC football team.
Besides a solid LBing core with decent depth, this side of the ball is a mess. Besides Hatcher, we are playing mostly guys off the street or off practice squads. They keep coming, but these guys are not NFL starters, and certainly not stars. The secondary is the most thin group on the team. We have three starting CB types, but one of them is a second year guy struggling, not shining, and our drop off is to rookie BW Webb. We are trying to get by with Church and a rookie at safety, but now one has a hammy issue and the other has a knee injury. So we're trying to win on the road against a prolific Lions offense with safeties struggling to be in the right place at the right time. This is the first year since 1967 when I became a cowboys fan that I'm actually seeing numbers out there and not knowing who they are.
And all of this with a defense in the first year transitioning from 3-4 to 4-3 without drafting any players to help with that change.
I love that these young kids keep coming and never quit. I love that in some games when we've been dominated stat-wise that we are staying in the games with turnovers we've been begging to see for years. However, make no mistake about game plans, coaching, or even occasional great performances...this defense is undermanned, and injuries are now showing how thin it is as well.
To this point in the season, we are clearly the class of the NFC East...perhaps we will hang on and get a playoff game this year...enjoy the ride, but keep hands and feet inside the car at all times as it will be a bumpy, sometimes embarrassing ride because the cowboys are still an average team with a few above average players, but below average OL and DL and a coach who still mismanaged game situations.
On the bright side, we are not the Giants, Eagles, or culturally insensitive and clearly colorblind DC football team.
