Cowboyszone Report Card... Stephen Bowen... GPA = 2.18

[Hostile]

Grade him. He may be our 2011 starter. How does that sit with you?

 

[67CowboysFan]

Works for me. I like his play.

 

[CowboyDan]

B from me. He has room for improvement, but he gets push into the backfield on a consistent basis and doesn't quit on plays. Outplayed Spears and hopefully took his starting spot away from him. Go Big Bow!

 

[Clove]

I give the guy a "C" mainly because he's a part of the suckiness of the defense, but I expect him to get an A- next year or a high "B". I think this guy has something.

 

[JohnnyHopkins]

I think he did okay in Spears absence, but I did not see anything that would lead me to believe he would be as good as Spears as an every down player. He seemed to wear down in the second half of games when he was in a full-time role and it seemed to me that his pass rush ability was pretty non-existant on grass surfaces. He is cheaper than Spears, so that will win out with Dallas. Reasonable salaried decent player is of less value than Cheap JAG.

Hopefully he will make me eat these words.

 

[jobberone]

If he can hold up against the run then great.

 

[StanleySpadowski]

I wish some of you would have been my college professors...4.0 would have been a breeze.

Average player who has a below average season gets a below average grade

 

[TheCount]

I'll give him a C. I like his play but I haven't seen enough of him to be excited about the prospect of his being a starter, that's for sure.

The defense was awful all season, so even if Bowen played well, it wasn't enough.

 

[Doomsay]

A JAG at the right price.

 

[RS12]

Was RR looking at his pre season play when he called him a WOW player?

 

[CowboyDan]

Was RR looking at his pre season play when he called him a WOW player?

Rex Ryan's an idiot compared to the defensive geniuses on this board.

 

[Stautner]

B from me. He has room for improvement, but he gets push into the backfield on a consistent basis and doesn't quit on plays. Outplayed Spears and hopefully took his starting spot away from him. Go Big Bow!

I disagree that he outplayed Spears. I think he got more pressure than Spears, and I agree that he has a high motor and doesn't quit on plays. I really like that aspect with Bowen. But I don't think he clogs running lanes the way Spears does, and I think that is especially important since our NT is the same kind of player - gets lots of penetration and has a high motor, but not a big body that clogs running lanes in the manner a more traditional NT might. Spears is not exciting or dynamic, and Bowen certainly is more noticeable because he penetrates, but the role Spears plays is important just the same.

I gave Bown a C (probably a C+) simply because I think our run defense suffered some after Spears went down, but I think there is room for Bowen to become a well rounded DE, so I hope to see thegrade improve next year.

 

[CowboyDan]

I gave Bown a C (probably a C+) simply because I think our run defense suffered some after Spears went down,

I'm still waiting for someone to provide evidence of this.

 

[JohnnyHopkins]

I'm still waiting for someone to provide evidence of this.

Why not just post evidence that refutes it instead of waiting?

 

[Stautner]

I'm still waiting for someone to provide evidence of this.

What evidence do you expect? He's 1 starter out of 11, with many others rotating in and out, including at his postion, so its not as if losing that one player is going to cause a dramatic swing in statistics.

 

[CowboyDan]

Why not just post evidence that refutes it instead of waiting?

I did, in the Spears thread. There's no dropoff, and I'm so tired of reading "our run defense suffered when Spears went down."

 

[Stautner]

I did, in the Spears thread. There's no dropoff, and I'm so tired of reading "our run defense suffered when Spears went down."

So, you would expect a dropoff to show itself through a dramatic change in rushing yards allowed?

I think you are overexaggerating what people ar saying. Nobody is saying the run defense suffered a huge blow that had crippling results. We recognize he is one player on a defense that got subbed for on passing downs.

I know all I am saying is that Spears does some things better than Bowen, and Bowen does some things better than Spears, and because what Bowen does is more noticeable that doesn't make it more valuable.

But here's one stat. Spears had 19 tackles in 8 games, and Bowen had 22 tackles in 16 games.

 

[urface59]

C. Not bad, Not particularly good, just there. Essence of JAG. Don't really have a problem with that cause it's not like we can have a probowler at every position.

 

[CowboyDan]

So, you would expect a dropoff to show itself through a dramatic change in rushing yards allowed?

I think you are overexaggerating what people ar saying. Nobody is saying the run defense suffered a huge blow that had crippling results. We recognize he is one player on a defense that got subbed for on passing downs.

I know all I am saying is that Spears does some things better than Bowen, and Bowen does some things better than Spears, and because what Bowen does is more noticeable that doesn't make it more valuable.

But here's one stat. Spears had 19 tackles in 8 games, and Bowen had 22 tackles in 16 games.

I'm not overexaggerating anything people are saying. I'm taking what they say at face value. Maybe they/you should choose your words more carefully. As for your stat, I've already addressed that in the Spears thread too. But here's a recap for you..... there's no dropoff.

 

[Stautner]

I'm not overexaggerating anything people are saying. I'm taking what they say at face value. Maybe they/you should choose your words more carefully. As for your stat, I've already addressed that in the Spears thread too. But here's a recap for you..... there's no dropoff.

If you think that the people .... well, lets leave it at just me ...... if you think I am saying that losing Spears had such a dramatic affect on the run defense that there would have to be a clear indication in the stats, then, yes, you are exaggerating.

As I have ALREADY mentioned, he plays one position out of 11, and is one player in a rotation, so it is likley that even with a dropoff in playing the run FROM THAT ONE POSITION, there may not be a noticeble statistical change.

That point should be incredibly obvious. We weren't losing a star RB, we were losing a DE in a defense that doesn't rack up a lot of stats for DE's and replacing him with someone that has a little different skill set, but also doesn't rack up a lot of stats.

In otehr words, stats don't say a whole lot in this situation. Besides, i did quote you one stat since that seems to guide your thinking, and that is that Spears ran up almost as many tackles in half a season as Bowen did in a full season.