Baldy's breakdown if dline against rams

[Crown Royal]

And I disagree.

They aren't much better. They are marginally better at best. Regardless.. We have much better linebackers.

There is absolutely no excuse for a top 5 run defense like we have to allow 7 or 8 yards a carry or whatever it was.

The Chicago Bears were the number one rushing defense in the league. Khalil Mack is better than any single player we have on the defensive line, full stop, and play a 3-4 with an exceptionally strong NT.

The Philadelphia Eagles were the number seven rushing defense in the league. Fletcher Cox, Michael Bennett, Timmy Jernigan, Chris Long, Brandon Graham, and Haloti Ngata are all of SIGNIFICANTLY better quality than the overall Cowboys DL.

I agree that the LBs for the COwboys are better, but that doesn't matter when the OL can overpower your DL with ease and get tot eh second level.

Oh yeah, and both the Bears and Eagles won with a lame Todd Gurley and no CJ Anderson. I don't think you can underrate the addition of a well rested Anderson to the Rams.

 

[CATCH17]

The Chicago Bears were the number one rushing defense in the league. Khalil Mack is better than any single player we have on the defensive line, full stop, and play a 3-4 with an exceptionally strong NT.

The Philadelphia Eagles were the number seven rushing defense in the league. Fletcher Cox, Michael Bennett, Timmy Jernigan, Chris Long, Brandon Graham, and Haloti Ngata are all of SIGNIFICANTLY better quality than the overall Cowboys DL.

I agree that the LBs for the COwboys are better, but that doesn't matter when the OL can overpower your DL with ease and get tot eh second level.

Oh yeah, and both the Bears and Eagles won with a lame Todd Gurley and no CJ Anderson. I don't think you can underrate the addition of a well rested Anderson to the Rams.

I just don't see them as way better and I think the numbers showed that we were one of the elite run defenses in football over the course of the season and that the Rams game was an outlier and there were other reasons beyond our talent as to why our entire front 7 was garbage.

Even Aikman commented on all of the pre-snap stuff. That played the biggest factor. Nobody knew where the ball was until they were 5 yards downfield.

 

[Crown Royal]

I just don't see them as way better and I think the numbers showed that we were one of the elite run defenses in football over the course of the season and that the Rams game was an outlier and there were other reasons beyond our talent as to why our entire front 7 was garbage.

Even Aikman commented on all of the pre-snap stuff. That played the biggest factor. Nobody knew where the ball was until they were 5 yards downfield.

I'm not suggesting the pre-snap stuff didn't play a part, it naturally did, but the holes Anderson and Gurley had to run through were the result of their OL being complete road graters.

The Rams hit a home run with Anderson - I'd suggest that signing him was as important as the Cowboys trading for Cooper was to the Cowboys. It meant they could run behind an already devastating OL with even fresher legs.

 

[texbumthelife]

A lot of this is on Marinelli and how he lines up his DL. We are one of, if not the only team in the league, that plays both DEs to the outside of the OTs and both DT either over, or outside the guard. The gaps between our DL make well executed pull, traps and misdirection runs nearly impossible to stop. The linebackers could have had their best game and it wouldn't have mattered because the Rams OL were able to get to the second level all game.

Honestly, this was one of the most poorly coached and executed games I've seen this defense have. No adjustments. No aggression. That played on their heels the entire game, sans a handful of blitzes that were pretrt successful.

I have high hopes for Richard, but if he plans to sit back in a cover-3 shell all game, like we did against the Rams, I think fans are going to lose their love for him real quick. With our front seven we should be forcing the action, using our athleticism to dictate. Instead, we play this finesse bull**** and get dictated to.

The talent is there. Make the adjustments and get more aggressive and I think this D can be elite.

 

[JustChip]

And I disagree.

They aren't much better. They are marginally better at best. Regardless.. We have much better linebackers.

There is absolutely no excuse for a top 5 run defense like we have to allow 7 or 8 yards a carry or whatever it was.

Hmmm....

Bennett, Jernigan, Cox and Graham vs. Crawford, Collins, Woods, Lawrence and Gregory

Bennet is certainly on par and probably better than the Crawford/Gregory duo. I don't know about Graham vs. Lawrence. Lawrence is better in my opinion. But I think it's safe to say Jernigan and Cox are way better than Woods/Collins/Crawford. Cox is in Aaron Donald's league.

I can't make a comment about the Bears because the only player I know on their DL is Mack and he is a top 5 player.

 

[Kolemmitt]

Exactly, so much of the OL game is executing the transitions, traps, etc. Dallas had that in 2016 and dominated, this year we had players out with injuries, everyone struggling with Alexanders new technique until he got canned, etc. On top of it Martin and Tyron were playing at 50 - 70% for the second half of the season. Its no secret why we allowed TWICE the sacks this year as the last two years.

Getting Frederick back makes this unit 50% better but having enough reps together to develop some cohesion will make them 50% better on top of that.

Not to mention trying to move to a flukey system for the entire offseason and first part of this season, just to go back to our current system. Next year will be better for that reason alone.

 

[Fritsch_the_cat]

A lot of this is on Marinelli and how he lines up his DL. We are one of, if not the only team in the league, that plays both DEs to the outside of the OTs and both DT either over, or outside the guard. The gaps between our DL make well executed pull, traps and misdirection runs nearly impossible to stop. The linebackers could have had their best game and it wouldn't have mattered because the Rams OL were able to get to the second level all game.

Agreed, watching those clips you can see huge holes before they ever snap the ball. The Rams just really needed to hold their ground and there would have been huge gaps. Seems it would have been better to close the middle and make the Rams try to run outside, their big backs don't have a lot of end speed, our linebackers would have been there waiting on them. DL has a lot of speed as well. Just a bad defensive scheme overall.

 

[nightrain]

The Cowboys LBs had their worst game all season. Even worse than the Colts game. What is disturbing is how easily the Rams took the DTs out of their gaps with one on one blocking allowing a free offensive lineman to get out and block the LBs. The Rams TEs and WRs all blocked effectively. This is where the Cowboys miss Witten and Dez. Both were good blockers in the run game.

Anyone with more knowledge of want to opine if this is a technique issue or strength? It just seems like the Cowboys get pushed around more than they should whether its offensive or defensive line.

But I posted before, go watch the tape of the Rams - Cowboys game from last year. It was the same thing, especially in the 2nd half. I thought then it was because Sean Lee was got hurt and missed the 2nd half but after watching this video its clear that wasn't the problem. Hopefully, this is a learning experience for the Cowboys LBs. They seems indecisive about where the ball was going and were ate filling gaps or filled the wrong gaps. The safeties didn't support the run game either. Bad performance all around.

I didn't look at the video of the game again, but during the game, when Lee was playing, I thought he was a little better recognizing the plays in the run game. He struggled in pass coverage though. LVE will get better with experience.

It looks to me like the DTs lose leverage on some of the run plays they stunt on by virtue of having their shoulders turned while rushing. This gives the OL an advantage of being able to use the DLs momentum to further sweep them out of the gap without much of a battle. The LBs were easily picked off by a free blocker and their own overreaction to motion prior to the snap. It's unbelievable that the Cowboys didn't see this after the first two series and I have to believe that the practices during the week involved a heavy dose of pre-snap movement that is a signature of the Rams Offense.

Field conditions may have contributed to the Cowboys looking a little flat footed at times, but it didn't seem to impact the Rams D all that much.

 

[percyhoward]

This same Rams team got dominated by the Eagles and Bears defense.

Yeah, this was not a case of the Rams "just doing what they do."

This is a team that averaged 140 yards rushing per game, and they basically doubled that against us. With a QB who ranked 23rd in passer rating over the last 8 weeks, and had a 74.4 in this game.

I don't buy the "there's nothing to see here." There's plenty to see here.

 

[goshan]

In the same way the Cowboys were better at playing this style of game than the Seahawks, the Rams are better at playing this style of game than the COwboys. Three teams that want to do the exact same things, and each better than the last. That's why the Rams are the 2 seed, the Cowboys are the 4 seed and the Seahawks are the 5 seed.

The rams have a lot different run scheme than we do. A lot of their success was due to deception and motion which had our LBs not sure what to do. They also don’t tip off their play selection based upon personnel packages. So yeah, we both like to run the ball but the scheme is very different.

 

[GMO415]

Uh... didn't JG tell them it wasn't time to fold just yet.

 

[Crown Royal]

Yeah, this was not a case of the Rams "just doing what they do."

This is a team that averaged 140 yards rushing per game, and they basically doubled that against us. With a QB who ranked 23rd in passer rating over the last 8 weeks, and had a 74.4 in this game.

I don't buy the "there's nothing to see here." There's plenty to see here.

Not suggesting that what they did to the Cowboys is what they did everywhere, but this is a better Rams team than they even were earlier in the season.

A team with a bi week vs. a team coming from a slug-fest that was the Seattle Team.
CJ Anderson has been HUGE for them - fresh legs & a rested gurley.
The Cowboys offensive line issues really bit them, especially in the running game.

 

[blueblood70]

BUT.....

 

[Hawkeye0202]

The rams won this game the same way the Cowboys dominated the league in 2014, through a top 3 OL.

I'll be honest, my take away from this game is that I'm even MORE impressed that Zeke won the rushing title over Gurley (although he sat out 2 games). The difference between the Ram's OL and the 2018 Cowboys OL was, IMO, about 300-500 yards on the ground.

Interesting ......

 

[Creeper]

The Eagles and Bear both have a dominate DT in the middle. The Eagles have Cox (and Jernigan) and the Bears have Hicks. Put any of those guys on the Cowboys DL and I get the Rams don't run for 273 again.

The Cowboys defense has lacked that guy for a long time. Imagine if the had a guy to clog the middle with their two fast LBS roaming sideline to sideline. Remember when Dallas was trying to repair their OL and signed Nate Livings and McKenzie Bernadeau instead of one quality OG? They are doing the same thing with the DTs now. Woods, Reid, Datone Jones and even Collins (a 3rd round pick) were all longshots to dominate. btw, I actually think Datone Jones may be better than all of them. Would have loved to see him stay healthy this year.

 

[gimmesix]

Lot's of finger pointing, blame on scheme or technique, etc.

I'm going to simplify it for everyone;

THeir OL is elite, the Cowboys DL was just good. Elite beat good. They were better, full stop. No different than how the Cowboys OL was better than every DL they faced in 2014-16. The Cowboys got a taste of their own medicine.

The Rams successfully executed what the Cowboys tried to do in those years - dominance on both lines. Our OL wasn't as good as their DL (although there should be MAJOR props for how the OL held up during the playoff game) and our DL wasn't nearly as good as their OL.

You can try to out-scheme them all day, but there is a reason the Rams offense is as dominant as it is. Combination of talent and scheme - IN THAT ORDER. I personally think the Ram's offense is better than Kansas City, but that will remain to be seen.

It wasn't just that. They schemed Lawrence out of the game. You can see it in these clips. Look at where they lined up the tight end. They didn't always use him to block Lawrence, but the idea was to at least have the appearance of a double team against him. Then on several of these runs, they would wall him out, move the tight end to pick up another defender and run away from him. On passing downs, they would double him or even triple him and force him inside to be doubled by the guard and tackle.

Their plan was to make Lawrence a non-factor and force other defenders to step up, which we know didn't happen. We've relied all season on Lawrence being the engine that drives the DL, and the Rams said, "We're going to take that away until you prove that you can stop us with someone else."

 

[Crown Royal]

It wasn't just that. They schemed Lawrence out of the game. You can see it in these clips. Look at where they lined up the tight end. They didn't always use him to block Lawrence, but the idea was to at least have the appearance of a double team against him. Then on several of these runs, they would wall him out, move the tight end to pick up another defender and run away from him. On passing downs, they would double him or even triple him and force him inside to be doubled by the guard and tackle.

Their plan was to make Lawrence a non-factor and force other defenders to step up, which we know didn't happen. We've relied all season on Lawrence being the engine that drives the DL, and the Rams said, "We're going to take that away until you prove that you can stop us with someone else."

Oh yeah, I'm not saying they just played the guy in front of them. They figured that if you can scheme out number 90, they trusted the rest of their OL to handle Gregory, Charlton, Collins, Woods, and Crawford. They were right.

 

[dckid]

The rams have a lot different run scheme than we do. A lot of their success was due to deception and motion which had our LBs not sure what to do. They also don’t tip off their play selection based upon personnel packages. So yeah, we both like to run the ball but the scheme is very different.

Can I like your comment 1000 times? We never see Zeke running through alleys like that. Our coaching is why we lost, this reminds me when we okay RG3 back in 2012, Demarcus Ware just flailing coming off DE not knowing where the calm is.
The win was just way too easy, you don’t run for 273 at this level. I was embarrassed as a fan.
Do we ever even send guys in motion? That stupid Jetsweep froze our LB’s the whole game. I would have run blitzed all game with LVE and Smith.

 

[silvrNblue]

Anyone with more knowledge of want to opine if this is a technique issue or strength? It just seems like the Cowboys get pushed around more than they should whether its offensive or defensive line.

This is due to we have a weak A** coaching staff who teaches "execution" and not attitude. Rams got coached to go out and blow us off our line, we got coached to go execute...should have just gave them the game by default, rather then be the talk of all the heads now for rest of the season. All I've heard is how over rated this D was, and how everyone was fooled by that 1 Saints game. Hell, I'm of a mind to believe them after this disaster.

 

[Crown Royal]

Can I like your comment 1000 times? We never see Zeke running through alleys like that. Our coaching is why we lost, this reminds me when we okay RG3 back in 2012, Demarcus Ware just flailing coming off DE not knowing where the calm is.
The win was just way too easy, you don’t run for 273 at this level. I was embarrassed as a fan.
Do we ever even send guys in motion? That stupid Jetsweep froze our LB’s the whole game. I would have run blitzed all game with LVE and Smith.

The Cowboys have been running the jet-sweep fake way before the Rams made it posh. They used to do it religiously with Dwayne Harris and did it a lot with Austin both before his injury and in the Rams game. The rams are just better at it because....wait for it.....

they have a BETTER OL.

One thing they did do that I saw earlier, they use their TEs to creatively run across and chip in deceptive ways, allowing the OL to block downfield. Not new - Andy REid used to kill the Cowboys and others doing, but to do it from the bunch formation was new.