Comparing 2016 Defense to 2014

[KJJ]

I'm sure we could talk about individual plays forever, but when you look at every play of every game, Dallas was much, much better running than passing in 2015.

Our QB situation was so bad we had to stick with the run but our running game was a far cry from what it was in 2014. If you take away the blown up rushing averages McFadden got the final 4 games of the season when the Cowboys were done and most of their opponents were either done or looking ahead to the playoffs he would have averaged under 4.0 a carry. I said all season our backs weren't getting it done and that RB will have to be addressed during the offseason.

 

[Kaiser]

The talent on that 2014 team was terrible when you actually see it listed like that. I mean, they might have had the worst talent in the league that season.

Totally agree, that was the point I was going for. At three of the four DL positions we may have a backup in 2016 that is better than the starter was in 2014 - but Marinelli still made the 2014 defense an OK unit.

And at the 4th DL position we have guys with talent who may (or may not) end being better than Mincey was that year.

Plus the only young guys you could point at for improvement in 2014 where T. Crawford and DLaw at the end of the year when he got healthy.

In 2016 you have the potential of improvement from Irving, Mayowa, Randy Gregory, Ryan Russell, Maliek Collins, Tapper, Damien Wilson, Byron Jones, Mark Neozcha and Jaylon Smith.

 

[Sydla]

TOP without yardage and points does very little except keep you from getting blown out. We controlled the clock in 2014 to control the pace of the game and keep the opposing offense off the field. In 2015 we ran down the clock so we didn't get blown out. We clearly missed Romo and Murray. Although we maintained our time of possession in 2015 we fell off dramatically in yards and points per drive.

We did not "clearly" miss Murray. We "clearly" missed Romo and Bryant. If we had those two, McFadden likely would have had well over 1400 yards likely in just 12 started games.

 

[Kaiser]

These are the first two sentences of the OP:

"The strategy for 2016 will be identical to 2014 when the team went 12-4. Dallas will try to win with offense and have a “good enough” defense that stays fresh because the offense controls time of possession."

And the point for the third time is that controls time of possession is a different animal a crappy team ending up with the same amount of time of possession.

 

[Sydla]

There was no typo you recounted wrong. You claimed I was amongst a group who said there was a 10+ play difference between the 2014 team and the 2015 team and that it was quickly refuted. You were wrong! What I've been posting has been "reported" by NFL Network for 2 years that the Cowboys defense in 2014 spent 12 fewer plays on the field than the 2013 defense. The ESPN article I posted yesterday confirmed what NFL Network has been reporting and you have yet to provide anything that disproves the findings of both Networks.

There was a typo. The article you linked was from October of 2014. I misstated that the article was from October of 2015. I meant to say 2014 because we were talking about the 2013 AND 2014 season comparison.

And you can still say you were "right" but you aren't. When one looks at the entire 2014 season and entire 2013 season, the Cowboys defense only faced 7.25 more plays a game (based on Pro Football Reference data). Not 12. I posted the data you seek and you keep ignoring it.

2013 - Opponents ran 1094 total plays That's 68 plays per game on average.
2014 - Opponents ran 978 total plays. That's 61 plays per game on average.

Difference of 7 on average, not 12.

You do realize that the article you posted was written after 6 games, right? So after 6 games, they were maybe running at 12 less plays a game but over the entire season, they only average around 7 less plays a game.

So yes, in October of 2014, after 6 games, ESPN was right. But over the entire season, to suggest they averaged 12 less plays a game on defense is an erroneous statement.

 

[percyhoward]

And the point for the third time is that controls time of possession is a different animal a crappy team ending up with the same amount of time of possession.

The quality of the offenses has no bearing on the amount of rest each one gave its defense.

Again, the 2015 offense ranked 2nd in the NFL in TOP through 3 quarters, and 2nd when the margin was one score or less. What specifically are you thinking is skewing the numbers?

 

[KJJ]

There was a typo. The article you linked was from October of 2014. I misstated that the article was from October of 2015. I meant to say 2014 because we were talking about the 2013 AND 2014 season comparison.

And you can still say you were "right" but you aren't. When one looks at the entire 2014 season and entire 2013 season, the Cowboys defense only faced 7.25 more plays a game (based on Pro Football Reference data). Not 12. I posted the data you seek and you keep ignoring it.

2013 - Opponents ran 1094 total plays That's 68 plays per game on average.
2014 - Opponents ran 978 total plays. That's 61 plays per game on average.

Difference of 7 on average, not 12.

You do realize that the article you posted was written after 6 games, right? So after 6 games, they were maybe running at 12 less plays a game but over the entire season, they only average around 7 less plays a game. This isn't hard, dude.

In your earlier post you recounted wrong because enjoy twisting my comments. I've given what was "reported" and regardless what the exact number of plays were there was a significant difference in the amount of plays the defense spent off the field in 2014 than in 2013. I realize when the article was posted but NFL Network has been reporting a 12 play difference for 2 years. If you like arguing go argue with them.

 

[Sydla]

In your earlier post you recounted wrong because enjoy twisting my comments. I've given what was "reported" and regardless what the exact number of plays were there was a significant difference in the amount of plays the defense spent off the field in 2014 than in 2013. I realize when the article was posted but NFL Network has been reporting a 12 play difference for 2 years. If you like arguing go argue with them.

Then the NFL Network is wrong (as would you be if you continue to claim it) if they are claiming that over the course of a full season the Cowboys defense faced 12-13 less plays in 2014 as opposed to 2014. There isn't a website that would confirm that.

But my apologies for confusing you with jazzcat over the 2014 and 2015 comparison.

 

[waldoputty]

We did not "clearly" miss Murray. We "clearly" missed Romo and Bryant. If we had those two, McFadden likely would have had well over 1400 yards likely in just 12 started games.

The zone blocking scheme had to be changed to fit DMC.
He was horrible before that if I remember the stats correctly.
The OL was put together to perform best with the zone scheme.
If that is not missing, I dont know what is.
The difference in end result, we would only know if we played Murray last year.

Of course we missed Romo more than we missed Murray.
The dropoff in performance in QB was far larger than RB.
Not sure Bryant would have made much of a difference without Romo.

This year, we will have a superior rb, romo back (hopefully all season), hopefully a fully recovered Bryant.
Should be a dominant O that can kill you with the run or the pass.
If they sell out for the run, Romo can bomb away. That would obviously reduce TOP.
If would be nice to rest the D by increasing TOP, but quick score is a 'nice' consolation price.
I suspect the adrenalin flow from the quick score would invigorate the D for the next series.

Even if they put 8 in the box, we may still be able to run with an even better OL than last year and Zeke.
We were able to run even without a QB last year when the other team knew we could not pass.

If they dont sell out for the run, they will be run over. That would obviously increase TOP.

All these stats have so many conditions embedded in them that you cannot scientifically de-embed them without changing one condition at a time. That is not going to happen.

Although, I would say red zone offense production would at least be interesting to compare between the different years.

 

[KJJ]

Then the NFL Network is wrong (as would you be if you continue to claim it) if they are claiming that over the course of a full season the Cowboys defense faced 12-13 less plays in 2014 as opposed to 2014. There isn't a website that would confirm that.

But my apologies for confusing you with jazzcat over the 2014 and 2015 comparison.

I do what most do I post what's been reported I'm not the one doing the math or making the claim. It's been "reported' only 2 defenses Seattle and Pittsburgh spent less time on the field than the Cowboys defense in 2014. Whatever the exact number of plays the Cowboys defense spent off the field in 2014 compared to 2013 was significant. That can't be argued. Part of the reason the 2013 defense was the 3rd worst statistically had to do with the amount of time the defense spent on the field.

Only two defenses spent less time per game on the field than the Cowboys last season: the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Seattle Seahawks.

http://www.footballinsiders.com/dallas-defense-looks-strong-with-mcclain-in-middle/

 

[Sydla]

That's all fine and dandy but anyone, whether it be you or ESPN or NFL Network, that states the Cowboys faced 12-13 less plays per game on defense when comparing the 2014 to the 2013 seasons would be incorrect.

And again, no one is denying that the 2014 defense faced less plays and spent less time on the field than the 2013 defense. The problem is that people then took that and used it to reach conclusions that were then essentially refuted by a comparison of the 2014 and 2015 seasons.

 

[percyhoward]

It's been "reported' only 2 defenses Seattle and Pittsburgh spent less time on the field than the Cowboys defense in 2014. Whatever the exact number of plays the Cowboys defense spent off the field in 2014 compared to 2013 was significant. That can't be argued. Part of the reason the 2013 defense was the 3rd worst statistically had to do with the amount of time the defense spent on the field.

Most of the reason the 2013 defense spent so much time on the field was that it sucked. Our offensive TOP was about average (15th) that year, so if the defense's number had been average, the team number would have been as well.

But the defense ranked 21st.

 

[KJJ]

Most of the reason the 2013 defense spent so much time on the field was that it sucked. Our offensive TOP was about average (15th) that year, so if the defense's number had been average, the team number would have been as well.

But the defense ranked 21st.

Some of the reason our 2013 defense spent so much time on the field was our offense wasn't as efficient our TOP was middle of the pack. The 2013 defense bent a lot giving up the most yards but 6 teams gave up more points. Our D got worn down in games and the yards kept piling up especially the passing yards. In 2014 our defense was only better from not having to spend as much time on the field due to our efficient running game/offense.

We were able to mask the defense and keep it fresh by controlling the ball and building leads which put opposing offenses on their heals leading to turnovers. You could tell in the first game against Washington in 2014 and the playoff game vs Green Bay that if the defense has to spend too much time on the field they'll get shredded. It was like watching the 2013 defense in both games.

 

[percyhoward]

In 2014 our defense was only better from not having to spend as much time on the field.

It was about half-and-half. The offense helped a lot by playing keep away, which kept the number of possessions the defense had to face at a minimum. But that defense was significantly better than 2013 on its own merit.

 

[KJJ]

It was about half-and-half. The offense helped a lot by playing keep away, which kept the number of possessions the defense had to face at a minimum. But that defense was significantly better than 2013 on its own merit.

The 2014 defense minus Ware had 6 fewer sacks and fewer pressures than the 2013 defense. We had a miserable pass rush in 2014 even last seasons team had more sacks than we did in 2014. The fewer plays your defense has to face the better off you'll be because all it takes in a tight game is one play to beat you or to keep an opponents drive alive. We've seen many times where the defense gives up a 3rd and long play and it leads to a lengthy time consuming drive that ends up draining the defense.

What could have been a quick series for the opposing offense turns into a 7+ minute drive. A fresher defense that isn't spending as much time on the field is going to be a better defense. Playing with leads that forces the opposition to have to play catch up by throwing the ball plays into the hands of the defense. This is why we created so many turnovers in 2014 despite no pass rush. Your offense not turning the ball over as much also helps your defense.

 

[percyhoward]

The fewer plays your defense has to face the better off you'll be.

Right, but your offense can only control how many possessions your defense faces in a game, and even then it's not total control. Your offense has practically no influence on how many plays the defense must face within each possession. That's almost completely up to the defense itself.