News: Cowboys' success in 2016 will again rely heavily on DC Rod Marinelli

[Denim Chicken]

Yeah.

Suddenly Morris Claiborne, one of the biggest busts in this team's draft history, is now some 'loss' and used as an excuse. Again, the limbo bar goes pretty low. Not to mention, the rookie Lawrence retroactively called the "best pass rusher". Some fans will tell themselves anything...

You are exhausting, bro. It's cool, though.

We'll just disagree on this one too.

 

[CATCH17]

We got about 3 defenses we run.

Rod will drill fundamentals in them all season and choose from those 2 or 3 defenses.

So Marinelli will not be a factor. Again, it will be our defense relying on it's talent and there isn't much of It on that side of the ball.

 

[CCBoy]

You are exhausting, bro. It's cool, though.

We'll just disagree on this one too.

He really is a good/loyal fan...but sometimes, on topic, he is focused on no excuses and current success. No problem, that is part of the picture also.

 

[Stash]

You are exhausting, bro. It's cool, though.

We'll just disagree on this one too.

Fair enough.



Thanks for an engaging debate.

 

[Stash]

He really is a good/loyal fan...but sometimes, on topic, he is focused on no excuses and current success. No problem, that is part of the picture also.

Thanks.

 

[arglebargle]

Reasons are not excuses.

And if Kevin Hardy is the pass rushing uberbeast, and our defense just used him wrong, why is he sitting on the sidelines? In a league where pass rushing talent is highly sought after and paid top dollar. Are all those defensive co-ordinators just blind?

 

[Denim Chicken]

He really is a good/loyal fan...but sometimes, on topic, he is focused on no excuses and current success. No problem, that is part of the picture also.

I'll take a passionate fan I don't agree with over an apathetic observer any day.

 

[Stash]

Reasons are not excuses.

And if Kevin Hardy is the pass rushing uberbeast, and our defense just used him wrong, why is he sitting on the sidelines? In a league where pass rushing talent is highly sought after and paid top dollar. Are all those defensive co-ordinators just blind?

For the same reasons all but one team wouldn't touch him last season. As well as the reports from Dallas and the fact that the one team that did sign him wants nothing to do with him, despite their obvious need at the position.

But I think anyone paying attention is well aware of that.

 

[Sydla]

I really hate excuses. Hate to hear them, loathe to make them, but Marinelli deserves some slack.

Hardy has 40 career sacks over 5 seasons and jus the two double digit sack performances while playing with a dominant D. The year he was suspended he had 1 in the four games he played, and then missed two years of football. I still had high expectations, and think he's a force, but the fact is, he looked gassed at the end of games, became undone mid season, and ultimately was on a team going nowhere fast and his effort seemed to reflect that.

Gregory missed 8 games with his injury and it was one that is known for lingering and hampering players well after the fact. High ankle sprains and hamstring injuries are the most overlooked and misunderstood injuries in sports because they don't require surgery and aren't completely diagnosable. You break a bone and fans will validate it immediately because it appears cut and dry. Bone broke? Can't play (and if you do you're a warrior). Sub par play upon return? It wasn't healed properly the guy just wanted to get back on the field! But sprained ankle or hammy just sound like weak injuries that can be powered through with little effect.

I'm not saying you have to give Rod the benefit of the doubt (I do) but pointing to Hardy and Gregory to say he's no good because they were the premier options is being either obtuse or disingenuous.

All you hear from players is how much they love playing for him, how he gets the most out of them, and that he pushes for effort and responsibility at all times. That's what I hang my hat and opinion of him on. He's had a collection of jags and one semi pro bowl talent who can't stay on the field, with a random bone or two thrown his way over the years and each time he's gotten a toy there was a string attached where he was a head case, a perrenial underachiever, a small school unknown, or other crucial pieces were lost for the season.

Obviously as time goes by it feels like excuse after excuse and he should be running out of them, but outside of last year and really attempting to infuse the D with blue chip talents (addressed above) they've largely given him a scrap heap and said "good luck with all that"

I know this is hard to believe but sometimes guys and their systems just get stale. It's quite possible that Marinelli's scheme just doesn't work well in today's NFL.

Further, the fact guys love playing for him matters little to me. Tyrone Willingham's players were loyal to him and loved playing for him........... while he proceeded to run Notre Dame and the University of Washington into the ground. Yes, an extreme example but highlights that I often don't put a ton of value into a player(s) saying how much they love playing for a coach.

At this point, I honestly don't know what to think of Marinelli.

 

[CCBoy]

I'll take a passionate fan I don't agree with over an apathetic observer any day.

Tact: The ability of a person to tell another to eat crap, and it being appreciated.

 

[Doomsday101]

I know this is hard to believe but sometimes guys and their systems just get stale. It's quite possible that Marinelli's scheme just doesn't work well in today's NFL.

Further, the fact guys love playing for him matters little to me. Tyrone Willingham's players were loyal to him and loved playing for him........... while he proceeded to run Notre Dame and the University of Washington into the ground. Yes, an extreme example but highlights that I often don't put a ton of value into a player(s) saying how much they love playing for a coach.

At this point, I honestly don't know what to think of Marinelli.

Yet in 14 he was able to take JAGS and while they gave up yards they did what most Marinelli defenses have done in the past which is create turnovers. Coach has to take responsibility but then so do players they are the ones actually playing the game. Missed assignments, blown tackles are on these so called Professional football players.

 

[jnday]

I cant wait till Rod is gone from this team as DC, he is living off his past.

I think so too. He is not capable of making adjustments in his scheme and he is running the most predictable defense in the league. He doesn't blitz or make the offense prepare for many surprises. The 4-3 defense is not the problem, his use of it is.

 

[CCBoy]

Todd Archer, Dallas Cowboys: Thankfully for the Cowboys, he did not have the highlight of the year last season, as he did in 2014 when he made that one-handed grab on Brandon Carr. At times it seemed as if Carr was the new "agony of defeat," considering how much they showed Beckham's catch over and over. But a funny thing happened in 2015. Beckham wasn't a factor in either game. He caught nine passes for 79 yards. The Cowboys kept him under wraps after seeing the damage he could do in 2014. The Cowboys don't vary their coverages often. They stay basic and they often don't shadow the big-time receivers, either. They rely on team defense to get the job done. It worked last year and I can't see them changing much in 2016.

http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york-gi...their-hands-full-trying-to-stop-odell-beckham

With talent, a Marrinelli defense is very tough...

 

[Proof]

I know this is hard to believe but sometimes guys and their systems just get stale. It's quite possible that Marinelli's scheme just doesn't work well in today's NFL.

It's entirely possible and I don't discount it. My opinion is just that he hasn't had very much talent, and the one time he got it, those impact players were marginalized by injury, other factors, and a season that was lost three games in. I really have a hard time shaking that.

The first two and a half games of the season (cherry picking I admit) I was very impressed. Shut OBJ down, destroyed Demarco, stifled Julio, held in the redzone and looked to be a very competent unit. That disintegrated very quickly (after weedens INT on our side and some creative usage and movement of Julio ) but it impressed me.

Hell they were beating the patriots up until they started setting picks, and by that point the wheels were falling off the season as a whole.

As far as other teams being able to overcome injury, the vast majority of them have had more talented units to begin with. Next man up is a difficult prospect when the first man up was already the next man or the one after him lol.

Worst part is that the odds of him redeeming himself this season are already slim with the release of Hardy, selections of zeke and Jaylon, suspensions etc. Was already behind the 8 ball.

The offense has had the luxury of having an elite qb under center for the past ten years and either a top five receiver, rb, te, o line or combination of all of the above. The defense has damn near been the complete opposite. The two times in the past 6-7 years that they've made an attempt to upgrade its backfired in Claiborne and Carr, and Hardy and Gregory. What do you expect him to do?

 

[Denim Chicken]

I know this is hard to believe but sometimes guys and their systems just get stale. It's quite possible that Marinelli's scheme just doesn't work well in today's NFL.

Further, the fact guys love playing for him matters little to me. Tyrone Willingham's players were loyal to him and loved playing for him........... while he proceeded to run Notre Dame and the University of Washington into the ground. Yes, an extreme example but highlights that I often don't put a ton of value into a player(s) saying how much they love playing for a coach.

At this point, I honestly don't know what to think of Marinelli.

I don't think that's the case, though. 4-3 under is my favorite scheme, it's very similar to a 3-4, Seattle and Oakland run the same, but it's success is predicated by penetration and disputing at the line. For whatever reason you want to go with, we haven't had the rush we need, but the scheme is sound as evidenced by Seattle who has the personnel to run it.

 

[arglebargle]

For the same reasons all but one team wouldn't touch him last season. As well as the reports from Dallas and the fact that the one team that did sign him wants nothing to do with him, despite their obvious need at the position.

But I think anyone paying attention is well aware of that.

Well, maybe his failure to play well in Dallas isn't just based on coaching. Certainly no one else in the NFL thinks they can 'coach 'em up'. Of course, teams' injuries and desperation may eventually change that thought.

 

[Sydla]

I don't think that's the case, though. 4-3 under is my favorite scheme, it's very similar to a 3-4, Seattle and Oakland run the same, but it's success is predicated by penetration and disputing at the line. For whatever reason you want to go with, we haven't had the rush we need, but the scheme is sound as evidenced by Seattle who has the personnel to run it.

It's more than just scheme.

There's also something to be said for a DC who has the ability to adjust on the fly, get inside the heads of his opposition, make the right calls at the right times, stay one step ahead of an offense, etc.

Sometimes, guys get stale in that aspect of coaching.

 

[Stash]

Well, maybe his failure to play well in Dallas isn't just based on coaching. Certainly no one else in the NFL thinks they can 'coach 'em up'. Of course, teams' injuries and desperation may eventually change that thought.

If you want to believe that the reason Hardy isn't on a team is due to a lack of ability, that's up to you.

 

[Stash]

It's more than just scheme.

There's also something to be said for a DC who has the ability to adjust on the fly, get inside the heads of his opposition, make the right calls at the right times, stay one step ahead of an offense, etc.

Sometimes, guys get stale in that aspect of coaching.

Parcells did.

The 3-4 he was running toward the end of his coaching tenure was about as bland and vanilla as it gets.

Time waits for no one.