DC: 3 Questions: New Play Caller, Marinelli, Crawford's Fit

[MichaelWinicki]

Keep in mind that before the draft Crawford was projected to be a 4-3 DE and some thought it was odd that Dallas wanted to play him in the 3-4. Granted, he's not a particularly quick DE, but I'm not sure if it's better to be slow footed as a 1DT or as a SDE in this scheme, not to mentioned both slow footed AND undersized for a DT.

Generally speaking "slow footed" DE's are "fast footed" DT's.

Looking up his predraft stats Crawford posted a 4.89 40-time and did 28 reps of 225lbs.

That's a wee-bit slow for a DE, but I think he could do at least an acceptable job at DT.

 

[Idgit]

Assuming he comes back from what was a nasty injury, I'm pretty excited to see how Crawford plays under Marinelli. He hadn't shown much other than in camp, but he was a significant loss for us last year.

He's a guy who played strong against the run as a rookie, and who they were working with on his pass rush in the offseason. IIRC, the rumors where that he'd probably play predominantly outside to start and that they'd work him at either the 1 or the 3 inside in certain situations last season. It sounds to me like they weren't really sure yet which position in this front would be his best fit, and that's probably extending to this season, too, for obvious reasons. Either way, they're counting on him to be a significant part of the rotation.

 

[Doomsay]

Because they believe with his overall knowledge of the entire defense from front to back he can be in essence a "Coach of the defensive coaches". To me that's what an assistant coach does.

I though that that was the job description of the Defensive Coordinator, not the demoted ex-Defensive Coordinator.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

I though that that was the job description of the Defensive Coordinator, not the demoted ex-Defensive Coordinator.

Keep in mind the DC is also going to remain as the DL coach.

Let's be honest here, obviously Marinelli has deep respect for Kiffin and his knowledge of the game. And I don't think one bad season means everything that Kiffin has taught and learned over the years is crapolla and he has absolutely nothing else of merit to share with the team. Even from just the talent evaluation standpoint I think it's worth having Kiffin around.

 

[Idgit]

Keep in mind the DC is also going to remain as the DL coach.

Let's be honest here, obviously Marinelli has deep respect for Kiffin and his knowledge of the game. And I don't think one bad season means everything that Kiffin has taught and learned over the years is crapolla and he has absolutely nothing else of merit to share with the team. Even from just the talent evaluation standpoint I think it's worth having Kiffin around.

I'm more than half of the opinion that the Kiffin hire was for a last-hurrah season, anyway. I didn't like the move at the time, but it's pretty hard to blame the guy given how badly the DL was decimated from the get-go. It's not like Marinelli and Garrett were sitting around deciding how to make the playoffs and were reluctant to say 'play more single high' just because of the enormous respect they had for the old man. We didn't play the press coverage and bring the S up because we couldn't get the pressure late in the season and we couldn't leave our LBs in coverage once Lee went out. We were hamstrung, and the organization had to know it.

And I don't see Marinelli agreeing to the position promotion over his old friend in his final year if that wasn't something on the table all along.

I guess there are a couple of other ways this could have played out, but I think it's more likely that some sort of transition plan was in the works all along. Now, I think that, in itself was probably unnecessary and stupid, but that doesn't mean I don't think it was part of the discussion in bringing the 4-3 press coverage defense to Dallas.
Either way, I like Marinelli, and I really like this scheme the way it's meant to be played, so I'm happy with the result.

 

[TheFinisher]

I disagree.

The kid came here as a 3-4 DE and 3-4 DE's are more akin to be 4-3 DT's than they are 4-3 DE's.

I never felt he had the burst to play as a 4-3 DE, BUT he showed some power in his 300 or so snaps as a contributor in 2012.

He has a much higher upside as a 4-3 DT than he does as a 4-3 DE IMO.

He was a prototype 4-3 LE coming out, going back to that draft it seemed like an odd fit because he was undersized to play 5-tech. We asked him to gain a lot of weight to play a different position, but coming out he was a very similar player to Justin Tuck, a power End in a 4-3 Defense. Drafting a player and trying to change his body type and position is an odd way of operating, especially a 3rd Rounder. It may work out, but could also blow up in our face by trying to get cute with a prospect who already had a natural position in this type of scheme.

 

[DandyDon1722]

I'm hoping it translates into more aggressive play by the corners.

Zone doesn't mean that the corners have to play 5 yards off the WR.

Seattle plays an aggressive 3-deep zone where the corners will play up on the WR and then will drop off back into their zones of responsibilities. Yes you need athletic corners to do that and I think the Cowboys have that.

Seattle put on a clinic on how you stop all these short patterns... disrupt the patterns before they start and tackle the guy if he makes the reception.

I thought I heard Troy on the broadcast say Seattle plays a lot of single high which is specifically designed to get more guys in the center of the field to disrupt crossing patterns. Maybe we're talking about the same thing but I don't understand the terminology.

 

[daveferr33]

Keep in mind that before the draft Crawford was projected to be a 4-3 DE and some thought it was odd that Dallas wanted to play him in the 3-4. Granted, he's not a particularly quick DE, but I'm not sure if it's better to be slow footed as a 1DT or as a SDE in this scheme, not to mentioned both slow footed AND undersized for a DT.

Does that mean that he doesn't the sought after "quick-twitch."

 

[MichaelWinicki]

I'm more than half of the opinion that the Kiffin hire was for a last-hurrah season, anyway. I didn't like the move at the time, but it's pretty hard to blame the guy given how badly the DL was decimated from the get-go. It's not like Marinelli and Garrett were sitting around deciding how to make the playoffs and were reluctant to say 'play more single high' just because of the enormous respect they had for the old man. We didn't play the press coverage and bring the S up because we couldn't get the pressure late in the season and we couldn't leave our LBs in coverage once Lee went out. We were hamstrung, and the organization had to know it.

And I don't see Marinelli agreeing to the position promotion over his old friend in his final year if that wasn't something on the table all along.

I guess there are a couple of other ways this could have played out, but I think it's more likely that some sort of transition plan was in the works all along. Now, I think that, in itself was probably unnecessary and stupid, but that doesn't mean I don't think it was part of the discussion in bringing the 4-3 press coverage defense to Dallas.
Either way, I like Marinelli, and I really like this scheme the way it's meant to be played, so I'm happy with the result.

Agreed.

Honestly given the injury/Ratliff problems on the DL last season I couldn't imagine giving any DC a fair appraisal of their system.

 

[tm1119]

Crawford at 1 tech is such a waste. He should be a rotation player between 3 tech (passing plays) and SDE (running plays). No idea how anyone can watch him from his time at Boise State and think "yeah, that kid looks like a run stuffer." I'd like to see his weight near 285 so he can utilize his athleticism and full potential. Having him at or near 300 lbs and asking him to play just 1 gap cuts his potential down and is a waste of his talent

 

[Idgit]

Crawford at 1 tech is such a waste. He should be a rotation player between 3 tech (passing plays) and SDE (running plays). No idea how anyone can watch him from his time at Boise State and think "yeah, that kid looks like a run stuffer." I'd like to see his weight near 285 so he can utilize his athleticism and full potential. Having him at or near 300 lbs and asking him to play just 1 gap cuts his potential down and is a waste of his talent

You really think the DL coaches are going to misdiagnose the guy so completely?

 

[LatinMind]

I was telling this forum since the season ended Broaddus was talking about what he's been hearing at VR with Crawford and this forum with all its connections and exp said Crawford cant be a 1tech.

 

[jobberone]

Yes, he was just trying to survive the all of the injury players and the string of replacement players that where in and out of the lineup/roster.

Kiffin said before the Season that they wanted to be similar to Seattle and he referred several times to playing a lot of single high Safety.

Well we'll see what they can do. A lot is hinging on who they can retain and acquire as well as who we have here who can step up.

I see Crawford and Bass as being contributors on the DL. I think Holloman can play the weak side and Wilbur the strong side but I don't have a lot of confidence in them. I have zero idea what to expect from Carter. I think we'll see Wilcox develop some but I have no idea how much. Who knows about Johnson or Heath. And there are question with Claiborne although I suspect we will see better from him. That's so many question marks not even counting Ware, Spencer and Selvie as well as the unknowns.

 

[jobberone]

Keep in mind the DC is also going to remain as the DL coach.

Let's be honest here, obviously Marinelli has deep respect for Kiffin and his knowledge of the game. And I don't think one bad season means everything that Kiffin has taught and learned over the years is crapolla and he has absolutely nothing else of merit to share with the team. Even from just the talent evaluation standpoint I think it's worth having Kiffin around.

Too much crapping on Kiffin who is regarded well by his peers. You can't complain about the drafting and player acquisition and then turn on the coaches although I admit both can be a problem. I don't see coaching as a major problem here although some aspects can certainly improve. We need players mostly on D.

 

[Doomsay]

Agreed.

Honestly given the injury/Ratliff problems on the DL last season I couldn't imagine giving any DC a fair appraisal of their system.

Then, shouldn't Kiffin still be the DC?

 

[MichaelWinicki]

Then, shouldn't Kiffin still be the DC?

He may simply not want to be.

The fact is without being a fly on the wall and hearing all the conversations at VR between Jones... Jones-Garrett... Garrett-Kiffin... Kiffin-Marinelli... Marinelli-Garrett... No one has any idea what transpired to put the chess pieces where they currently are. BUT we do know that Kiffin is happy enough to stay on as assistant coach and Marinelli is the DC.

I'm happy to have both of them.

 

[tm1119]

You really think the DL coaches are going to misdiagnose the guy so completely?

Either that or you can add him to the long list of bad picks and putting him at 1 tech is a last ditch effort to make him a useful player. You don't find it just a little bit weird that last year he was slimming down and playing behind Spencer at DE and now this year he's viewed a 1 tech? Unless the injury was severe enough that they don't think he's going to regain a lot of his mobility back. Either way, if he's really being viewed as a 1 tech I don't feel nearly as confident in him being a big part of the d line next year.

 

[khiladi]

While I'm not excited that Garrett is still the HC, I'm optimistic about Marinelli. I can appreciate Broaddus' perspective in this regard. I think the most effective route for Dez was the drag route and that actually is more attributable to Callahan, considering it was a feature in the Denver game. I'm just not interested in his conservative approach.

 

[Idgit]

Either that or you can add him to the long list of bad picks and putting him at 1 tech is a last ditch effort to make him a useful player. You don't find it just a little bit weird that last year he was slimming down and playing behind Spencer at DE and now this year he's viewed a 1 tech? Unless the injury was severe enough that they don't think he's going to regain a lot of his mobility back. Either way, if he's really being viewed as a 1 tech I don't feel nearly as confident in him being a big part of the d line next year.

Not at all. As I mentioned above, there was considerable discussion re: where they were going to play him last year, in part because of his size, and in part because of the fact that he was still developing his handwork for his pass rush during his rookie season. A lot was depending on his development.

But I also don't think Broaddus really knows where they intend to play him or how they might use him. I think he's got enough flex that he's a candidate to be one of our better players at three DL positions next year, depending who else we add, so I imagine they'll use him in a fairly heavy rotation. But in no event do I think Lett and Marinelli just don't know how to use the guy or where he might make the most sense.

 

[Common Sense]

Does that mean that he doesn't the sought after "quick-twitch."

You know, interestingly enough, today Broaddus answered a Tweet saying that he felt that he was.