Twitter: Cowboys' Commitment To Defense

[khiladi]

We had three defensive players slotted before Zach Martin, and all of them were drafted prior. We had Sharif Floyd slotted as BPA going into the draft, but Jerry voided that when they were on the clock. We switched from a 3-4 to 4-3 precisely because we claimed defense was the issue. We also leveraged a draft for Mo Claiborne, because we focused on defense.

The point is, it is a myth to argue that Dallas intentionally focused on offense these last few years. The whole reason the Cowboys OL got built was because of Callahan. That year the Cowboys were trying to get Sparano back, but the Jets offered him the job and he took it, which also led to Callahan being released. After one year, Jerry was ready to remove Garrett from the play-calling equation with Callahan, but they still were focused on defense.

In fact, 2015 was the Greg Hardy year to generate pressure, meaning they tried to add a big-time player which actually worked until the Philly game, but the offense was wretched because Romo got injured and they had no back-up plan.

Personnel-wise, Dallas thought they had all the pieces offensively to make a run. It was only because of 2014 did Jerry decide to go with Zeke, instead of Ramsey, in 2016.

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

Lowest in the NFL at 34%.

Obviously, losing Church, Wilcox, Carr and others impacts things. And the draft will change things a little.

Very eye opening though.

Being last is not new but when Romo leaves I expect that will change. Them being near the bottom in this ratio has been going on for quite some time.

 

[Chuck 54]

the last thing I'd do is chip away at our strength to make the defense better.

Correctamundo! That's the path to being mediocre on both sides of the ball.

 

[Idgit]

Correctamundo! That's the path to being mediocre on both sides of the ball.

How is addressing your less-than-mediocre talent on defense going to make your contending-quality offense magically any worse? Assuming we sign our own (Martin, Collins), where are we getting worse offensively? Witten's retirement? Everybody's locked up. There's no path to mediocrity. There's just improving your bad talent on defense.

You're falling for Risen's attempt at a ball fake again.

 

[AsthmaField]

Dallas has a few defenders that are going to get paid when their contracts are up. Collins and Jones are the first two that come to mind.

It is amazing how overlooked Collins and his rookie season has been. The guy missed a lot of the offseason work and all of training camp, but still was starting by the third game of the season.

Had the most sacks of any interior DL out of last year's draft and the 7th most of all rookies. Second in tackles on the DL. He played phenomenally well for a rookie who missed all the work leading up to the season... who, BTW was only a third round pick.

Not only was the Collins pick a hit... it was a huge hit.

He was so overlooked because of the freakishly successful seasons that Dak and Zeke had (and because of the high profile nature of the Jaylon Smith pick)... but he was a homerun pick.

The same could be said of Brown really, considering he was a sixth round pick.

In normal seasons, Collins and Brown would have gotten a ton of attention from fans and media. As it is... they flew way under the radar.

David Irving is another guy that I fully expect to earn a large contract eventually. He gets better every game.

So the defense isn't devoid of any talent... there is some growing up now. Plus after this draft, I expect there will be a couple of other defenders that have a chance at earning a big second contract.

 

[Noclaf]

Defense wins championships!!!

Not with the boys

 

[Noclaf]

Dallas has a few defenders that are going to get paid when their contracts are up. Collins and Jones are the first two that come to mind.

It is amazing how overlooked Collins and his rookie season has been. The guy missed a lot of the offseason work and all of training camp, but still was starting by the third game of the season.

Had the most sacks of any interior DL out of last year's draft and the 7th most of all rookies. Second in tackles on the DL. He played phenomenally well for a rookie who missed all the work leading up to the season... who, BTW was only a third round pick.

Not only was the Collins pick a hit... it was a huge hit.

He was so overlooked because of the freakishly successful seasons that Dak and Zeke had (and because of the high profile nature of the Jaylon Smith pick)... but he was a homerun pick.

The same could be said of Brown really, considering he was a sixth round pick.

In normal seasons, Collins and Brown would have gotten a ton of attention from fans and media. As it is... they flew way under the radar.

David Irving is another guy that I fully expect to earn a large contract eventually. He gets better every game.

So the defense isn't devoid of any talent... there is some growing up now. Plus after this draft, I expect there will be a couple of other defenders that have a chance at earning a big second contract.

Not one of those guys will ever make the pro Bowl, that's the problem, 1 pro bowler in Lee that's it

 

[AsthmaField]

Not one of those guys will ever make the pro Bowl, that's the problem, 1 pro bowler in Lee that's it

LOL, **** man, how the hell do you know that?

You can't.

 

[TheFinisher]

Main reason for that imbalance is the huge cap hit for Romo who won't be on the books after this season... that's a huge amount of money that will no doubt be spilled over to defense. Written also has a huge cap hit at TE (believe it's the highest among all TEs for 2017) but again, this is the last year of his deal. Doug free, etc...

Combine that with the mass exodus of veteran DBs and this isn't as bad as it looks all things considered

 

[AshyLarry06]

It is more about consistency. Teams like these have a philosophy. Not certain if Dallas does.

You're not sure Dallas has a philosophy for how to build the team?? Have you not been paying attention to what Will McClay, Stevie Boy & co. have been doin' these past few years? It seems pretty clear to me that they've established a concrete plan to go out and draft talent (on both sides of the ball) while being thrifty in FA and not overpaying for marginal talent.

Unfortunately, we've struck out on a few high defensive picks (Gregory, Claiborne) n haven't gotten the full value of others (D-Law, Crawford) which, combined, really hampered this defense the past few years.

Had these guys all panned out and played at the level we expected when we drafted them w those high picks, I think it's safe to say that this D would look a helluva lot different.

But because they didn't and Bc guys like Hardy & RoMac didn't pan out in the long run, we gotta basically go back to the drawing board n frankly, if we can build off of last year n improve as a unit, I think everything will turn out just fine.

 

[dallasfan4lizife]

It makes sense most of our money is spent on the offensive side of the ball.

Between Romo and Dez....man that Romo contract is back breaking for our cap. Good job Jerry.

 

[bsbellomy]

In this day and age of the NFL if you can build a great strength on one side of the ball that's probably the best route to take. How many other teams have 3 all pro level offensive linemen? They all deserve to be the best paid at their position. How many teams have a Zeke caliber RB? A hall of fame TE? A WR like Dez? An elite level QB like Romo?

Their spending isn't out of whack and the last thing I'd do is chip away at our strength to make the defense better.

There is absolutely no reason for TE to be taking up 10% of our cap. That's egregious.

 

[Pants]

so, what that chart is saying is that we are at the top on offense, and it shows!!! (we're #1. We're #1)

Note: it's all relative and the combination of Tony eventually leaving and some defenders "sticking" on the roster will have Dallas roll to closer to the middle of the pack in the next two years

 

[DandyDon52]

Do restructures, make the player cost more per year in cap or actual money towards end of their contract?

Like Tony, if he had never been restructured would he be only a 14 mil cap hit this year and next? and 14 mil would be his regular salary?

I wonder about that, Then people get mad cause the player costs so much, and maybe not playing great, but the only reason
a player has such a big cap hit, is the restructures he took for the team to have more cap room in previous years.
So to me it seems like a player should refuse restructures, as it will work against them in about 3 years into the contract to end of
contract.
Fans and even FO will not like the higher cap hit , so will look to get rid of you.
So better to refuse and keep your cap hit low in the end, not the beginning.

Our defense has only 2 guys now making any money, crawford, and lee. So it is going to be much cheaper than the offense.
The offense is loaded with above avg pay guys , even elliot on his rookie deal isnt cheap.

 

[DandyDon52]

There is absolutely no reason for TE to be taking up 10% of our cap. That's egregious.

If that is due to restructures then it is the fault of the FO.
witten I think makes 8 mil a year, so that should only be about 5% of cap, unless restructures changed the cap hit.

 

[LittleD]

Jerry and friends have always had a fixation on Offense and especially throwing the ball and sizzle players...hence, no SB's or, in fact, no playoff success in 20+ yrs. Defense wins!

Yes, you are correct but remember one thing. Offense puts behinds in the seats and fosters media interest.
That is what the bottom line is for Owners. Jerry would like to win another SB but, not in lieu of making loads
of money on his investment. That's what drives most owners since only one team out of 32 can win a SB.

 

[DandyDon52]

Yes, you are correct but remember one thing. Offense puts behinds in the seats and fosters media interest.
That is what the bottom line is for Owners. Jerry would like to win another SB but, not in lieu of making loads
of money on his investment. That's what drives most owners since only one team out of 32 can win a SB.

fans like defense too, if it is a good one, Seattle is a good example the legion of boom was very popular, more so than the offense.
jerry is set up, he will make money no matter how the team does.

 

[LittleD]

fans like defense too, if it is a good one, Seattle is a good example the legion of boom was very popular, more so than the offense.
jerry is set up, he will make money no matter how the team does.

Teams like Seattle and Pittsburg made their names based on their defense. The Cowboys have always been focused on Offense first
and that is where they put their cap money. When you think of great Cowboy teams, you think of Stauback, the Tripletts, dorsett, Bob Hayes, etc.
Yes, we've had some great defenses and defensive players but, the focus and draw has been offense all the way back to 1960. I will admit that the
one great Ditka Chicago defense who dominated every team and won a SB was a magnificent exception.

 

[DandyDon52]

Teams like Seattle and Pittsburg made their names based on their defense. The Cowboys have always been focused on Offense first
and that is where they put their cap money. When you think of great Cowboy teams, you think of Stauback, the Tripletts, dorsett, Bob Hayes, etc.
Yes, we've had some great defenses and defensive players but, the focus and draw has been offense all the way back to 1960. I will admit that the
one great Ditka Chicago defense who dominated every team and won a SB was a magnificent exception.

well dallas had 3 great defenses, it is just at same time they had a flashy offense too.
It all depends on how the team is marketed , and then how the media markets it.
Right now all I hear from the media is how great the OL is, and the 2 rookies dak and zeke.
of course not much they can say good about our defense the last 6 years or so.

Before it was romo and dez , and austin briefly.
My point though is you can have a great offense or defense and either one will fill the seats, and win games.
Better to have both but that is hard to do now .

 

[LittleD]

well dallas had 3 great defenses, it is just at same time they had a flashy offense too.
It all depends on how the team is marketed , and then how the media markets it.
Right now all I hear from the media is how great the OL is, and the 2 rookies dak and zeke.
of course not much they can say good about our defense the last 6 years or so.

Before it was romo and dez , and austin briefly.
My point though is you can have a great offense or defense and either one will fill the seats, and win games.
Better to have both but that is hard to do now .

I could probably be persuaded but, I doubt that Jerry can. He wants to win another big one but, he wants to
do it with his big stars and we don't have those on defense.