Cowboys defense has problems

[GimmeTheBall!]

Without going into great detail, the defense the other day, despite the overall dominance of the Giants, were vulnerable on various big plays.

Overall, our defense is doing well. And they will get better. But progress has been incremental.
On a scale of 1 to 10 rate the Dallas Cowboys defense as being Super Bowl ready or worthy.

I say a 6.
To many big plays allowed. A weakness against the short-range pass and now, all of the sudden, Jacobs shows up our middle.

 

[DBoys]

The defense keeps teams in the game. If we had a good defense we would be undefeated right now.

 

[kramskoi]

Without going into great detail, the defense the other day, despite the overall dominance of the Giants, were vulnerable on various big plays.

Overall, our defense is doing well. And they will get better. But progress has been incremental.
On a scale of 1 to 10 rate the Dallas Cowboys defense as being Super Bowl ready or worthy.

I say a 6.
To many big plays allowed. A weakness against the short-range pass and now, all of the sudden, Jacobs shows up our middle.

iirc the longest play was between 25-29 yds...nfl offenses with just a modicum of proficiency won't be shutout...they will move the ball and they will score points...the defense must pick the battles that will allow it to win the war...a much bigger issue are bone-head penalities that extend drives and allow the offense more chances than it deserves...

Dallas has the defense to win the conference but beyond that, who knows...NE is on pace to score over 700 points and their offense keeps their defense fresh...the difference in both the NE-Indy game and DAl-NY was the ability of one team to rush the passer late in the game and force key stops...

a good offense allows the defense that luxury...against NE, dallas was'nt able to...the defense wore out in the fourth as did the Colts...in both matchups, it was a NE superior offense which put Indy and Dallas defenses on the ropes late in the game...both defenses could'nt close the deal...they were ground down by a superior offensive unit...the same way that Dallas ground down NY...rushing the passer is hard work...especially if you're giving away 50+ lbs to the man you're facing...

i'm of the opinion that only two teams have "demonstrated" the consistency on offense to match the Patriots...Dallas and Indianapolis...this "demonstrated" consistency is needed to limit the possessions of the opposing offense...Pittsburgh and Green Bay are questionable but have excellent offenses as well...Pittsburgh seems to have the best defense [statistically] of this quartet of challengers to NE and they'll visit Gillette stadium soon enough to make their case.

 

[the kid 05]

we are a pair of stickem enduced gloves for our secondary from greatness. we could play in the super bowl right now

 

[Doomsday]

The defense appears to be getting better each week. They have done a great job of generating a pass rush, without giving up many big plays. That said they still have some work to do if they are going to challenge a team like the Pats.

 

[Crown Royal]

I don't think we were all that dominant. The Giants offense killed itself as much as we stopped them. Lots of silly penalties on their part kept them from keeping the game tied/close.

 

[smarta5150]

I don't think we were all that dominant. The Giants offense killed itself as much as we stopped them. Lots of silly penalties on their part kept them from keeping the game tied/close.

We did that the 1st half... they did that the 2nd half.

I think we had great pass rush all day and the coverage was pretty good minus Shockey's 12 receptions. But we took Plax completely out of the game.

I wish we stopped Jacobs a little bit better but once again we hold a RB under 100 yards as we have all year.

 

[Hoofbite]

The play of the D sure hasn't been very pretty at times and can be extremely frustrating watching other teams take what Dallas will CONSTANTLY give them over and over again but when its all said and done, its hard to knock the results.

 

[Real1st]

The secondary is what his holding this defense back.. Hamlin has been solid everyone has been solid expect Roy Williams he is the weakest link

 

[baj1dallas]

there's no arguing the fact that they've improved. Ellis, TNew & Henry, and a more comfortable Hamlin are the reasons for that. Ware seems to get better every game and he imo is a dominant type player. Ellis isn't dominant but he's so smart that he can find any weakness when he's not handled by the defense. The front is bigger and tougher than Indy's and almost as strong rushing. IMO the secondary is just as good as Indy's, Pittsburgh's, or New Englands, overall. I'd probably rate them a 7, up from a 6 the first quarter, on their way maybe to being an 8 and none of those other teams are probably any higher than 8 either.

 

[Doomsday101]

I went with the majority because I think this defense can reach another level. I do think this unit is getting better as the season is moving on and hopefully will be a championship caliber defense

 

[Maikeru-sama]

I still think the Pass Defense is vunerable to big plays. Unfortunately, we have not had enough game where Newman and a healthy Anthony Henry have been on the same field.

Wade Phillips seems to fixing the Pass Rush, which is a Secondary's best friend.

I still fear teams that have the personnel to spread the Cowboys out but you probably can say that for just about every team in the league. Fortunately, there are not alot teams that have that type of personnel.

I think an easier way to look at it is to envision yourselves as the opposing Offensive Coordinator as we have all seen the Cowboys play through 9 Games now. How would you attack the Cowboys and get favorable matchups?

Of course it depends on what type of personnel you have but I would try to get Jaques Reeves on the field, look for Roy Williams and probably test Anthony Henry's ankle. Obviously, it would be more favorable if I could get Nate Jones on the field somehow too. All the aforementioned things are easier said then done, but I would think that would be a good plan of attack against the Cowboys defense.

- Mike G.

 

[GimmeTheBall!]

The consensus seems to be that this defense is improving every week. So, by the end of the season (I infer) . . . watch out!!

Some good observations:
That the Pats' scoring machine keeps its defense fresh, and, by implication, that we can do the same.
That Roy Williams is becoming the weakest link
That a few long runs make our defense seem more of a sieve than it really is.
And the secondary needs the most work; the line is holding its own.

 

[DallasDW00ds0n]

ugh Roy Willy