Cowboys defense ranked 27th against the rush

[Sydla]

So teams have bad offensive lines that is why Dallas defense is so good. So if the Cowboys stop the Eagles you will give them respect? If the Eagles run for a 150 yards and score less then 20 you will still cry. Teams will make plays on offense that is the NFL.

No, the Cowboys defense is pretty good but it has one major flaw that we have seen derail past teams - they aren't strong up the middle and against the run. Last year, it showed itself in a game we should have won in the postseason. The inability to stop the run consistently also possibly cost us the #1 seed.

 

[Hoofbite]

Guess if I had to be good at one or the other I'd take pass defense. Not every week will you play against Fournette, Mixon, or Barkley.

 

[RonnieT24]

Guess if I had to be good at one or the other I'd take pass defense. Not every week will you play against Fournette, Mixon, or Barkley.

Running back is a loaded position in the NFL, man.. As good as those three are, by the end of the year they might not even be the top backs we face.. Derrick Henry and Jonathan Taylor are on the schedule.. Aaron Jones is ballin for Green Bay.. Both those kids in Detroit are off the chain.. The Herbert kid in Chicago.. And Montgomery aint no slouch if he could only stay healthy. There are some baaaaaad men at the running back position in the NFL these days.. and a lot of them are on the Cowboys' schedule.. so this run defense needs to git figured out quick fast and in a hurry.

 

[TwentyOne]

Stephen A. brought this up on first take. So I went and looked it up and he is correct so maybe we should keep our feet on the ground.

From what i see we are much improved in the middle. Our DEs are the problem.

Especially DFlaw. We give up a lot of big runs over our left side. Thats because he gets manhandled by tackles everytime.

He choses to go inside so many times.
Gives up the edge so many times.
He lacks the feel for the game.

 

[baltcowboy]

No, the Cowboys defense is pretty good but it has one major flaw that we have seen derail past teams - they aren't strong up the middle and against the run. Last year, it showed itself in a game we should have won in the postseason. The inability to stop the run consistently also possibly cost us the #1 seed.

It’s a weakness against San Francisco no doubt. I just think they will be better prepared against running teams last like Tennessee. We will see. I don’t think they fear the Rams running game we will see.

 

[CowboysFaninHouston]

Regardless, where are the linebackers even preventing any of this and in the backfield or sealing off the edge. LVE is nowhere to be found.

I assume LVE is middle LB...not defending him as he leaves a lot to be desired.

I have seen diggs and he is a weak point on that side as he almost avoids tackling and get blocked easily. We probably need to play safeties closer. Lawrence does a decent job on his side but the other DEs are getting sealed off.

Both Tampa and Commanders gashed us outside.

 

[Hoofbite]

Running back is a loaded position in the NFL, man.. As good as those three are, by the end of the year they might not even be the top backs we face.. Derrick Henry and Jonathan Taylor are on the schedule.. Aaron Jones is ballin for Green Bay.. Both those kids in Detroit are off the chain.. The Herbert kid in Chicago.. And Montgomery aint no slouch if he could only stay healthy. There are some baaaaaad men at the running back position in the NFL these days.. and a lot of them are on the Cowboys' schedule.. so this run defense needs to git figured out quick fast and in a hurry.

I would prefer they do figure it out, but if they can't then I'll take the current pass defense.

 

[CWR]

It is because we are sending the house and not setting the edge. We are also sending our MLB into pass coverage to cover for OLBs or Safeties that are rushing....this leaves the middle open. When we do this, we should probably keep a DT on the line instead of sending him upfield creating a cutback lane

Yes, teams are taking advantage of our aggression, and we are out running the ball carrier. It's a trade off and Quinn has worked it very well to this point. As far as our DTs go they've looked a lot better this year as a whole. Setting the edges by having our LBS fill in probably needs to be better.

Diggs has been on an island too many times with multiple blockers coming at him. We can't expect him to make those plays.

I'm not worried yet, when we stop being able to adjust I'll feel differently.

 

[Sydla]

It’s a weakness against San Francisco no doubt. I just think they will be better prepared against running teams last like Tennessee. We will see. I don’t think they fear the Rams running game we will see.

Rams run game isn't great as they have some OL issues. But our run D will absolutely get tested by Philly the following week. They have a running QB and arguably the best OL in football (their injuries from Sunday don't appear too serious).

And it wasn't just the 49ers. With a better seed on the line, the Cards ran for 130 on us. The Raiders ran for nearly 150 on us on Thanksgiving. The Chiefs ran for 130 on us. The Browns for 300 on us.

 

[RonnieT24]

I would prefer they do figure it out, but if they can't then I'll take the current pass defense.

Thing is, you can't win in the playoffs if the other team can run through your defense. That allows them to completely dictate the game. If they have a good QB (i.e. not Daniel Jones or Carson Wentz) they will eat your defense alive no matter how good the pass defense is.. because they will use the running game to be perpetually in 2nd and 3rd and short. So this defense can survive in the regular season giving up these big runs.. but some playoff time they need have that shored up.

 

[CanadianCowboysFan]

i have always been concerned with the run up the gut defense Dallas has put out there. That is the main weakness in this defense and what is stopping it now from being elite level. If a team focuses and sticks to the run, we are cooked goose. I can see McVey dusting off that game plan he used successfully before so Dallas better be prepared.

they had better RBs back then iirc

 

[baltcowboy]

Rams run game isn't great as they have some OL issues. But our run D will absolutely get tested by Philly the following week. They have a running QB and arguably the best OL in football (their injuries from Sunday don't appear too serious).

And it wasn't just the 49ers. With a better seed on the line, the Cards ran for 130 on us. The Raiders ran for nearly 150 on us on Thanksgiving. The Chiefs ran for 130 on us. The Browns for 300 on us.

Save Philly talk for next week. There will be a million threads about them and the talking heads will be going crazy about the game. Stephen A. Smith is back on the Eagles band wagon.

 

[Aerolithe_Lion]

Wow… didn’t realize we were ranked that low. Wonder how many yards separate 27th from #1?

Chiefs have allowed 263 yards total on the ground, Dallas 550

 

[THEHEREAFTER]

I love the adjustments in the second half Sunday. We pretty much shut them down after getting gashed in the first half.

 

[Robster8989]

Our LBs are pass rushers and play chasers. Plus, we have one of the worst DT rotations in the NFL.......been that way for years.

I agree.
Osa is really the only really goot DT we have.
I'm disappointed in Gallimore this year, his sack on Sunday notwithstanding.
Gallimore, Bohanna and Hill are JAGs.
You're right about our LBs also.
I wanted Wagner in the off sesaon. His cap # is just 2.5 this year, barely more than Barr's or LVE's.
Thought he was the run plugging LB we could really use.
We'll see him on Sunday.
Even with these deficits, our D is playing well,

 

[XXLMike]

WOW, first message

call out LVE worst not even close top NO but stop that was bad 1st post.. somehow DQ has stated him and now you are saying our coaches who are putting this top defense on the field do not know LVE is the worst ?? somehow its skipped right by and they allowed it?

I played MLB division II CFB ; LVE makes horrendous reads - he’s weak at the POA , he had a nice 5 game late last season and Dallas got suckered.
Also he hurt his neck - it’s nearly impossible to play full speed worrying about neck surgery.
He should retire .

 

[Bates]

Wow… didn’t realize we were ranked that low. Wonder how many yards separate 27th from #1?

We need better edge setters, LB play, and run support from CBs is an essential (and underrated) component of good run D. Unfortunately, we don’t have physical corners and our MLB is just average.

Definitely need to work on this aspect of our defense.

We allow a full yard per rush more than the top 10 teams. Our opponents average 5.0 yards per rush which is a half yard worse than last year.

 

[pitt33]

Sign Jaylon off the Giants practice squad.

That will shore things up.

 

[TheHerd]

27th in yards per game at 137
24th in yards per carry at 5.0

#1 in ypg is the Chiefs at 65 ypg
#1 in ypc is the 49ers at 2.9 ypc

Watching the 49ers Monday it was very clear how much better their defense is than ours. But we have Micah and Diggs, so we can make some of that up with big plays.

 

[Bates]

I don’t really worry so much about “rankings”. I’m not saying that they don’t matter, but stats have to be taken in context of what is going on in the game.

The eyeball test tells me we are better at almost every aspect on the defensive side of the ball, including defending the running game. On the other hand, the eyeball test also tells me that we still need to improve in the running game.

It seems like the yardage given up in the running game is largely caused by failure to contain and breakdowns in assignments. In the past it seems like no matter what happened we couldn’t stop the run.

That being said, I would like to see substantial improvement in running defense. I would say that we belong in the bottom half of the league on rushing defense so far based on the eyeball test.

We are giving up 138 rushing yards per game compared to 116 last year. We are giving up half a yard more per rush. Last year and this year teams are rushing the ball about the same percentage of time at 41%. Opponents are getting 5 more plays per game this year. Tells me we aren’t much different against the run, statistically a tad worse.

our passing defense is much better this year. Looking at our pass defense we’re better in sack percentage, yards per attempt and passer rating. We are getting after the qb much better this year. Averaging a sack and a half more per game. Maybe this qb pressure is messing with your eyeball test