Can't win a ring without a strong "D"

[Doomsdayblitz]

Football is still a simple game. If you can run the ball, & stop the run, you'll win many more games than you lose. The most important position in stopping the run is the defensive tackle. If you can't control the other team's interior linemen, it's game over. We have a total of ONE DT who can start for any other team. ONE. All an offense has to do is double team Tyrone Crawford, & it's a cake walk from there. Nick Hayden works hard, but would find it difficult starting for the top defenses in the league. The front office has ignored the DT position like it's Ebola. In fact, they haven't drafted a DT in the first 3 rounds in over a decade, (TC was a DE when drafted). Until the Cowboys get serious about controlling & even dominating the middle of the defensive line, we will not see another trophy-period.

 

[foofighters]

It's gonna be tough to win a ring with a back up QB too....

 

[Seven]

Football is still a simple game. If you can run the ball, & stop the run, you'll win many more games than you lose. The most important position in stopping the run is the defensive tackle. If you can't control the other team's interior linemen, it's game over. We have a total of ONE DT who can start for any other team. ONE. All an offense has to do is double team Tyrone Crawford, & it's a cake walk from there. Nick Hayden works hard, but would find it difficult starting for the top defenses in the league. The front office has ignored the DT position like it's Ebola. In fact, they haven't drafted a DT in the first 3 rounds in over a decade, (TC was a DE when drafted). Until the Cowboys get serious about controlling & even dominating the middle of the defensive line, we will not see another trophy-period.

You gotta have a good MLB and strong side backer too.............. There's a reason most teams like their DT's big, dumb and ugly. They can eat up two lineman so the LBer's can make plays. They don't have to be super athletic.

However, If their exceptional, like say Sapp and some others, they can make plays too.

JMO, of course...........

 

[Seven]

It's gonna be tough to win a ring with a back up QB too....

Then there's that........

 

[GimmeTheBall!]

Can't win a ring without a strong "D".

DO YOU SUPPOSE Jerra know this?

 

[xwalker]

Football is still a simple game. If you can run the ball, & stop the run, you'll win many more games than you lose. The most important position in stopping the run is the defensive tackle. If you can't control the other team's interior linemen, it's game over. We have a total of ONE DT who can start for any other team. ONE. All an offense has to do is double team Tyrone Crawford, & it's a cake walk from there. Nick Hayden works hard, but would find it difficult starting for the top defenses in the league. The front office has ignored the DT position like it's Ebola. In fact, they haven't drafted a DT in the first 3 rounds in over a decade, (TC was a DE when drafted). Until the Cowboys get serious about controlling & even dominating the middle of the defensive line, we will not see another trophy-period.

T. McClain was having success when they doubled Crawford.

Jack Crawford was intended to be the other 3tech (They like to play two 3techs in obvious passing situations) but we don't know what he can do at DT because he's had to play DE.

The 2nd round might have been a good spot to get another DT but I'll take Gregory any day over the DTs available in the 2nd round.

Part of the plan was to use Hardy and/or Mincey at DT in some situations this season but Mincey/Gregory have had injury issues and Hardy is not available yet.

 

[sureletsrace]

Actually, statistics show that being able to pass the ball and stop the pass is much more important in correlation to winning games.

 

[Oh_Canada]

Ok the Seahawks started the Super Bowl with 35 year old Kevin Williams and a journeyman guy they cut right after the season last year at defensive tackle

 

[Doomsday101]

Football is still a simple game. If you can run the ball, & stop the run, you'll win many more games than you lose. The most important position in stopping the run is the defensive tackle. If you can't control the other team's interior linemen, it's game over. We have a total of ONE DT who can start for any other team. ONE. All an offense has to do is double team Tyrone Crawford, & it's a cake walk from there. Nick Hayden works hard, but would find it difficult starting for the top defenses in the league. The front office has ignored the DT position like it's Ebola. In fact, they haven't drafted a DT in the first 3 rounds in over a decade, (TC was a DE when drafted). Until the Cowboys get serious about controlling & even dominating the middle of the defensive line, we will not see another trophy-period.

I agree strong defense is needed but I also think this defense looked very good in the 1st 2 game and willing to chalk this game up to having so many players out. With the Hardy coming, MLB McClain, Gregory will be coming back and even this game with Mincey is a big boost.

 

[Doomsday101]

Actually, statistics show that being able to pass the ball and stop the pass is much more important in correlation to winning games.

Stats may show that but when a team can run it makes it hard for defense to stop the passing game. Ju. Jones was not doing much but as Alt kept pounding on us and Dallas was committing more towards the run things opened up. Heck all it took at time was a fake pitch and the entire defense went hard only to see Ryan counter and throw opposite side. Stats are a funny thing they do not tell the whole story.

 

[Bleu Star]

Football is still a simple game. If you can run the ball, & stop the run, you'll win many more games than you lose. The most important position in stopping the run is the defensive tackle. If you can't control the other team's interior linemen, it's game over. We have a total of ONE DT who can start for any other team. ONE. All an offense has to do is double team Tyrone Crawford, & it's a cake walk from there. Nick Hayden works hard, but would find it difficult starting for the top defenses in the league. The front office has ignored the DT position like it's Ebola. In fact, they haven't drafted a DT in the first 3 rounds in over a decade, (TC was a DE when drafted). Until the Cowboys get serious about controlling & even dominating the middle of the defensive line, we will not see another trophy-period.

Great post. I like how you made sure to mention both sides of that interior line. Running the ball successful for 4 quarters and regularly moving the chains combined with a girthy middle on "D" will take us a long long way.

That girth on D can also serve to regularly disrupt the pocket which increases the level of success in the secondary as well.

 

[Doomsdayblitz]

Great post. I like how you made sure to mention both sides of that interior line. Running the ball successful for 4 quarters and regularly moving the chains combined with a girthy middle on "D" will take us a long long way.

That girth on D can also serve to regularly disrupt the pocket which increases the level of success in the secondary as well.

Exactly! Not only having the girth needed to play the 1 technique, but also penetrating big men who can collapse the pocket, so the QB has nowhere to step up when the outside rush gets to him. Look at the Jets or the Bills. There is no "easy" man on their D-line to block. They are all massive, dominating play-makers who disrupt offenses to the point of total domination. THAT is what we should be striving for, not patching in retreads from other teams. We need to do the same thing on the defensive line as we have on our offensive line over the past 4 years. THAT will take us to the promised land, & nothing else will do.

 

[conner01]

What you have on the edge of the dline has a huge impact on what happens in the middle of dline
We have our top three pass rusher out
I'm more concerned with teams beating with the pass than the run
But the run defense will be better when we get out de's back
People were raving about the defense the first two games, then we lose a game and they are trash
When we get hardy and Gregory back I suspect the dline will be much better
But football is about the entire team, not just the O or D
We need to get healthier and better on both sides of the ball
Adding another DT isn't gonna change much, getting the dline we projected to have in camp back and healthy will
Getting the offense producing will also help the D more than any DT is going to help
Everyone would love a dominate DT to add to the dline but you are never going to have everything you would like to have

 

[Doomsdayblitz]

T. McClain was having success when they doubled Crawford.

Jack Crawford was intended to be the other 3tech (They like to play two 3techs in obvious passing situations) but we don't know what he can do at DT because he's had to play DE.

The 2nd round might have been a good spot to get another DT but I'll take Gregory any day over the DTs available in the 2nd round.

Part of the plan was to use Hardy and/or Mincey at DT in some situations this season but Mincey/Gregory have had injury issues and Hardy is not available yet.

McClain & Crawford were having some success, but neither was dominating. Imagine a corps of DTs that included Marcell Dareus, Kyle Williams, & Jarius Wynn-like the Bills. How about Sheldon Richardson, Muhammed Wilkerson, & Leonard Williams, like the Jets? It's all about priorities, & it's time to build our defensive LOS back into one that will rival the Cowboy's D-lines of the 90s.

 

[Doomsdayblitz]

What you have on the edge of the dline has a huge impact on what happens in the middle of dline
We have our top three pass rusher out
I'm more concerned with teams beating with the pass than the run
But the run defense will be better when we get out de's back
People were raving about the defense the first two games, then we lose a game and they are trash
When we get hardy and Gregory back I suspect the dline will be much better
But football is about the entire team, not just the O or D
We need to get healthier and better on both sides of the ball
Adding another DT isn't gonna change much, getting the dline we projected to have in camp back and healthy will
Getting the offense producing will also help the D more than any DT is going to help
Everyone would love a dominate DT to add to the dline but you are never going to have everything you would like to have

Even with all of those players back, all a team has to do is double down in the middle & run it up the gut-right past the DEs. Once the DEs are forced to over-pursue to make up for the deficiencies of the middle defenders, then the opponent runs right around the edge and gouge us there. The D-line is like the O-line, where each chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Time to start drafting a Marcell Dareus, or a Leonard Williams to make the chain unbreakable. After all, 10 years is a long time to totally ignore ANY position on a football team.

 

[conner01]

Even with all of those players back, all a team has to do is double down in the middle & run it up the gut-right past the DEs. Once the DEs are forced to over-pursue to make up for the deficiencies of the middle defenders, then the opponent runs right around the edge and gouge us there. The D-line is like the O-line, where each chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Time to start drafting a Marcell Dareus, or a Leonard Williams to make the chain unbreakable. After all, 10 years is a long time to totally ignore ANY position on a football team.

Hard to say we have totally ignored it with Crawford and they brought in Melton last year
Just who should we have passed up to take a dt, maybe Martin or Fred
I would have loved to have drafted a DT but can't think of many picks the last few years I would have taken a DT over who we took

 

[xwalker]

Actually, statistics show that being able to pass the ball and stop the pass is much more important in correlation to winning games.

That is faulty information.

Example:
A defense faces 2 different offenses but play 8 men in the box against 1 offense because they have a strong rushing threat. The defense plays 7 men in the box against the offense with a weak rushing threat.

Both offenses have 75 yards rushing. One offense did it against 8 men in the box while the other one did it against 7 men in the box. The rushing stats will look identical in terms of yardage but the stats don't show when there is 7 vs 8 men in the box.

If the 2 offenses have identical QB and receivers and pass blocking OLinemen, then the one that faced 8 men in the box and less men in coverage would have more passing yards and would win more often.

People could look at the stats for those games and say that the team with more passing yards won more often; however, that does not account for the fact that the passing yards were higher because that team faced 8 men in the box due to a strong rushing threat. Remember the rushing yards were the same but that's because the defense committed more resources to stop the strong rushing threat.

 

[cowboyblue22]

this team is a long long ways from a champion ship

 

[xwalker]

Even with all of those players back, all a team has to do is double down in the middle & run it up the gut-right past the DEs. Once the DEs are forced to over-pursue to make up for the deficiencies of the middle defenders, then the opponent runs right around the edge and gouge us there. The D-line is like the O-line, where each chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Time to start drafting a Marcell Dareus, or a Leonard Williams to make the chain unbreakable. After all, 10 years is a long time to totally ignore ANY position on a football team.

More pressure from the DEs will result in a lower completion percentage and therefore more 2nd and long and 3rd and long situations. Teams won't run on 3rd and long and will run less on 2nd and long than on 2nd and short.

More pressure on the QB will also allow the LBs and DBs to cheat up looking for the run or allow moving an extra defender into the box to defend the run.

Less passing success probably means less scoring. If the score is close or the other team is behind on the scoreboard, then they'll have to pass more late in the game.

There are many ways that better DEs will help even if the DTs are not upgraded.

Yes, it would be nice to a Dareus or Williams but as I said in another post, they can use Hardy and/or Mincey more at DT in passing situations for even more pressure on the QB which as shown above can end up helping the run defense

 

[Oh_Canada]

this team is a long long ways from a champion ship

No it's not, very close actually.
If they have reasonable health and the QB is back in time and close enough to win the division, this team is third best in the conference and capable of beating the top two.