Chuck 54
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We all knew we had a subpar OL, but most of us liked the addition of Free to the starting lineup after watching him in preseason, and most of us liked the improved depth at all positions, getting rid of the likes of Flo, Proctor, and McQ. But we knew what we were and what we have and figured the offense would find a way.
The problems on offense through the 1-5 start are probably laid mostly at the feet of Garrett's playcalling and lack of run/pass balance, including not using Felix enough early on, the stupid penalties and untimely turnovers.
But what about the defense? What has killed this unit the most? What was the biggest miscalculation?
I think it was our belief that we were okay at the safety positions. Even I supported Sensabaugh because he had such a great year covering TE's last season, especially after what we'd dealt with in the previous years.
Today, I think our safeties are probably the biggest problem we have on defense, both against the passing game and the running game, along with their tackling in general.
Sensabaugh and Ball are not making tackles, nor are they supporting the run game with any physicality at all.
Ball is killing us in the passing game, making almost no plays and seemingly often out of position. Even on a deep pass breakup against the Giants, Jenkins managed to be behind the receiver, while Ball was the short man. It was a perfectly thrown ball by Eli Manning, and only a great play by Jenkins stopped a big play. We were playing a variation of cover 2 with the safeties in deep halves, yet Ball ends up chasing the play. Most weeks I seldom even see him in the picture.
Even when teams only put 7 guys in the box vs. the run, they still require the support and solid tackling by the safeties.
There's plenty of blame to go around, but the Cowboys' front office and coaches definitely seem to have miscalculated big time regarding our safety situation. I hope we find at least one future starter among the younger kids.
The problems on offense through the 1-5 start are probably laid mostly at the feet of Garrett's playcalling and lack of run/pass balance, including not using Felix enough early on, the stupid penalties and untimely turnovers.
But what about the defense? What has killed this unit the most? What was the biggest miscalculation?
I think it was our belief that we were okay at the safety positions. Even I supported Sensabaugh because he had such a great year covering TE's last season, especially after what we'd dealt with in the previous years.
Today, I think our safeties are probably the biggest problem we have on defense, both against the passing game and the running game, along with their tackling in general.
Sensabaugh and Ball are not making tackles, nor are they supporting the run game with any physicality at all.
Ball is killing us in the passing game, making almost no plays and seemingly often out of position. Even on a deep pass breakup against the Giants, Jenkins managed to be behind the receiver, while Ball was the short man. It was a perfectly thrown ball by Eli Manning, and only a great play by Jenkins stopped a big play. We were playing a variation of cover 2 with the safeties in deep halves, yet Ball ends up chasing the play. Most weeks I seldom even see him in the picture.
Even when teams only put 7 guys in the box vs. the run, they still require the support and solid tackling by the safeties.
There's plenty of blame to go around, but the Cowboys' front office and coaches definitely seem to have miscalculated big time regarding our safety situation. I hope we find at least one future starter among the younger kids.
