Are you worried about our defense?

[eduncan22]

Our corners are terrible, although I have some hope for Reeves. [Newman is of course the man.]

Our Pass Defense is not that great.

Even after feasting on Green and Grossman, our Pass D is still ranked 23rd.

Our strength is the Run D...ranked 8th in the league.



As long as the O plays well...we should win most of our games.

 

[theogt]

There are several ways you can look at that.

1.) As you mentioned, it was the first game in a new system, playing injured and against a couple guys who always torch us - and who torched the Phillips system the last time they played them, too. Looking at it that way, allows us to feel like they have really improved since then.

2.) The only teams we've played well against are some of the most dreadful offenses, with the most dreadful QBs, in the entire league. And neither of those teams had a true #1 WR the caliber of a Plaxico Burress - so maybe we haven't been playing so well, as much as we've been up against crappy teams.

I don't know which one it is - but I'll confess I'm at least worried that it's option #2.

Well, I'm inclined to think it's a little of #2 as well, but we are outperforming our opponents' other opponents.

Our opponents' QB rating when we play them is 66.9. Their QB rating against their other opponents is 69.0.

Our opponents' YPG rushing when we play them is 86.7. Their YPG rushing against their other oppponents is 92.0.

And these other opponents aren't exactly bad defenses. Our opponents have played San Diego, Washington (twice), the Jets, Green Bay, and Kansas City. So, yeah, our defense has looked really good because of the quality of opponents they've played. But that doesn't necessarily mean they're not pretty good either.

 

[theogt]

Our corners are terrible, although I have some hope for Reeves. [Newman is of course the man.]

Our Pass Defense is not that great.

Even after feasting on Green and Grossman, our Pass D is still ranked 23rd.

Our strength is the Run D...ranked 8th in the league.



As long as the O plays well...we should win most of our games.

Can you please just listen to me for one second. We are scoring a lot of points. We are getting the lead in games and extended that lead every time we have the ball. So what are teams going to do when they play from behind? Are they going to run more or are they going to pass more?

Of course, they're going to pass more. That means that they're going to get more passing yards. Does that mean we're giving up more passing yards than other teams? Yes. Does that mean we're a worse pass defense than other teams? Not necessarily, because other teams aren't facing as many passes as we are.

When you look at opponent's QB rating, we are ranked third in the NFL. Our opponent's have a QB rating of 66.9. That's pretty damn good.

 

[LittleBoyBlue]

I keep seeing where some people, both fans and media, are saying things like "This Dallas offense is great, but the defense is still shaky."

Do you think it is? To me, the defense isn't a concern at all. Sure, we started out poorly that first game, but we had several injuries and it was the very first game of a new system. I think the D is coming along just fine -- you have to love all those takeaways, which we've lacked in recent years.

So is the defense a problem?

I am not worries about the defense. I think concerned is more like it.

IF this defense is a work in progress(like when Sanders got back to Indy for playoffs - everything changed, got better)... when we get TNew back at full strength and maybe Ellis and youngsters step... then I think our offense will at the very least keep up in games and give us a chance to win them. Thats funny aint it "offense keeping us in games" as opposed to defense.... we'll get there I believe... a true test, MORE than a test will be New England... Moss is a killer... especially historically against us....


I think we will be able to survive a few games with a unstable defense
I think we will be able to score enough on offense(saving the defense) to win games
I think that defense will have some really good games mixed in there

Summary: I dont think we lose more than 4-5 games in regular season.

 

[superpunk]

Can you please just listen to me for one second. We are scoring a lot of points. We are getting the lead in games and extended that lead every time we have the ball. So what are teams going to do when they play from behind? Are they going to run more or are they going to pass more?

Of course, they're going to pass more. That means that they're going to get more passing yards. Does that mean we're giving up more passing yards than other teams? Yes. Does that mean we're a worse pass defense than other teams? Not necessarily, because other teams aren't facing as many passes as we are.

When you look at opponent's QB rating, we are ranked third in the NFL. Our opponent's have a QB rating of 66.9. That's pretty damn good.

I've thought for awhile that the greatest indicator of success for anything involving the passing game on both sides of the ball is YPA.

We're ranked 13th with 6.85. That ain't bad at all - leaves you at about an average passing defense, in any year. Washington and Denver lead the league at about 5.8.

But that is probably what we are - an average defense. We're probably going to give up some big plays this weekend because StL has guys capable of winning their matchups. And if we're still banged up and dealing with not having a 100% Newman, the best we can probably hope for is a shootout with New England.

In any case, total yardage is a moronic way to determine how good a unit is playing. If that was the case, we might be fooled into thinking StL has the third best pass defense in the NFL - when in fact, their YPA is ranked 19th. Heck - New Orleans is allowing a league worst 10 YPA, but their overall pass defense is ranked 18th, because they've faced the 5th least pass attempts in the NFL. The only team that has had MORE passes thrown against them than us is Washington - who is REALLY impressive on D.

 

[Vtwin]

You can't tell anything by looking at stats at this point in the season.Both Green and Grossman left big plays on the field because of poor throws. The plays were there.I am concerned about the pass D.The Cowboys haven't stopped Moss since he's been in the league. Now he has the best QB on the best team he's ever played for throwing to him.I am concerned.

 

[theogt]

I've thought for awhile that the greatest indicator of success for anything involving the passing game on both sides of the ball is YPA.

We're ranked 13th with 6.85. That ain't bad at all - leaves you at about an average passing defense, in any year. Washington and Denver lead the league at about 5.8.

But that is probably what we are - an average defense. We're probably going to give up some big plays this weekend because StL has guys capable of winning their matchups. And if we're still banged up and dealing with not having a 100% Newman, the best we can probably hope for is a shootout with New England.

In any case, total yardage is a moronic way to determine how good a unit is playing. If that was the case, we might be fooled into thinking StL has the third best pass defense in the NFL - when in fact, their YPA is ranked 19th. Heck - New Orleans is allowing a league worst 10 YPA, but their overall pass defense is ranked 18th, because they've faced the 5th least pass attempts in the NFL. The only team that has had MORE passes thrown against them than us is Washington - who is REALLY impressive on D.

YPA is definitely a better method than looking at total yardage. But it still doesn't incorporate INTs and TDs the way that QB rating does.

If QB rating is the single best stat for judging passers, I'm not sure why more people don't judge pass defenses on QB rating.

 

[superpunk]

But even the YPA is skewed because of the abnormal pass-run ratio.

There's no way to skew it, since it's an attempt-based stat. Every incompletion counts as zero yards. It's a great indicator. The only way it could get skewed is if we spent an abnormal amount of time in a prevent defense. Otherwise, if we're allowing a high completion pct. for decent yardage, that will be reflected with a high YPA.

Like I said, Washington has been hit with more attempts than anyone in the league, yet they lead the league in YPA. That is impressive, and not skewed by the fact that people just pass on them all the time.

It is bar none the best indicator for efficiency and success that you can look at for pass offense/defense.

 

[theogt]

Yeah, I misread your post. And deleted my post immediately after. I thought you were looking at total YPA (both rushing and passing).

See edit.

 

[zrinkill]

Our corners are terrible.

Defensive player of the week.

 

[YosemiteSam]

YPA is definitely a better method than looking at total yardage. But it still doesn't incorporate INTs and TDs the way that QB rating does.

If QB rating is the single best stat for judging passers, I'm not sure why more people don't judge pass defenses on QB rating.

Maybe they should, but QB rating has it's holes too. First, a QBs with a running game will generally fair better than a QB with the same skill that is without one. I believe rating a passing defense and a rushing defense separately is an inconsistant way to do it. I believe you should rate a defense as a whole and he should have nothing to do with total yards. I say it should have more to do with average yards per non-ST play, and add/subtract for scoring and turnovers. As I note no data would be taken while a ST unit is on the field so field goals wouldn't count towards offensive production.

 

[dmq]

Most of our problems have been about Reeves giving a big cushion and teams going after him. If we can get Newman back, and our pressure continues to improve, I expect our defense to be competitive. That should be enough for a high powered offense. Hey we are 3-0 with a new defense. We should be pretty happy right now.

 

[DC_Addict]

Bulger has fractured ribs and a bum knee. They have key people out injured. I'm not worried.

Before Game 1, people were saying, Cowboys better watch out, Giants will be a tough opponent....WE WON.

Before Game 2, people were saying, Cowboys better watch out, Miami might be a tough opponent....WE WON BIG.

Before Game 3, people were saying, Cowboys better watch out, Bears are their toughest opponent thus far....WE WON BIG.

We're getting better each game in all facets except penalties. We keep from making penalties, rush Bulger and take away the running game, WE WIN BIG.

 

[eduncan22]

Most of our problems have been about Reeves giving a big cushion and teams going after him. If we can get Newman back, and our pressure continues to improve, I expect our defense to be competitive. That should be enough for a high powered offense. Hey we are 3-0 with a new defense. We should be pretty happy right now.

We're not gonna be able to fix the secondary this year. The best we can hope is they continue to pick off easy INTs.

Our Run D is getting better.

Our Offense is the key. We have to keep this thing going.

 

[NickZepp]

I think our secondary has played well. Our problems on defense are that our front 7 can't touch the QB consistently. They did do better against Chicago.

 

[YosemiteSam]

We're not gonna be able to fix the secondary this year. The best we can hope is they continue to pick off easy INTs.

Our Run D is getting better.

Our Offense is the key. We have to keep this thing going.

:loser:

 

[juck]

NO are u?

 

[NickZepp]

We're not gonna be able to fix the secondary this year. The best we can hope is they continue to pick off easy INTs.

Our Run D is getting better.

Our Offense is the key. We have to keep this thing going.

Our secondary has been pretty good. Anthony Henry leads the NFL in INTS. We've had to play Reeves and he's done well considering. Roy Williams didn't play great the first game. Since then he's played well. Hamlin has been a bit of a disappointment. But he's probably better than we've had at that position since Woodson was here. Our front 7 hasn't gotten to the QB consistently and in the NFL that's the number 1 thing. You can have a great secondary get killed in the NFL if you have bad line play.

 

[tomson75]

Our secondary has been pretty good. Anthony Henry leads the NFL in INTS. We've had to play Reeves and he's done well considering. Roy Williams didn't play great the first game. Since then he's played well. Hamlin has been a bit of a disappointment. But he's probably better than we've had at that position since Woodson was here. Our front 7 hasn't gotten to the QB consistently and in the NFL that's the number 1 thing. You can have a great secondary get killed in the NFL if you have bad line play.

How has Hamlin been a dissapointment? You'd like to go back to letting mediocre receivers beat us deep three or four times a game? What type of expectations did you have for this guy? Just curious.

 

[DallasCowboysRule!]

I don't know if it's bcause we have faced progressivly worse offenses over the course of the season but the defense has seemed to improve every week.