Defense Could be One Off-season Away from Top 5

[MyFairLady]

Is that you Jerry?

 

[Hawkeye0202]

Lawson won’t be here!
The prospect of Williams in coverage is terrifying!
Mazi can’t hold up as a 1tech, 2 snaps in zero he would be running to the locker room in tears because his bra is cinching.
Kinlaw is a walking IR designation waiting to happen… plays for the Jets… 49ers sent him away!
Kneeland is a 43 5t epitome of the position… let’s make him a waisted 2nd round pick!
Overshown is having issues holding up as a WiLL hed get destroyed playing 34 SAM!
A potato could figure out Kendrick’s won’t be here!
Liafau hasn’t shown nothing to indicate he’s smart enough to be a 34 MiKE!
Switching to a 34 would be a 3 year rebuild!

You would be surprised what a difference another playmaker, a couple more role players and a good DC coordinator can make. Suddenly you could see a lot of players you mentioned overachieving.......see the Commanders and Lions. Just read a nugget where fans/media wanted Lions DC Glenn fired a couple of years ago but Campbell got him a couple of solid players and stuck with him. IMO this defense isn't that far away with the right coaching and a couple more solid players.

I think Dez made a good point about the D before the season started ..........Zimm wasn't playing guys to their strength. Good example, forcing Carson to play man coverage and it's killing him.

 

[nate dizzle]

They literally are one season away from being a top 5 defense.....last season.

They were 7th last year...9th scoring, 5th pass, 18th run.

But yes, they weren't far off.

 

[Hawkeye0202]

They literally are one season away from being a top 5 defense.....last season.

Exactly........they are not far off with the right coaching and couple more players

 

[Hawkeye0202]

They were 7th last year...9th scoring, 5th pass, 18th run.

But yes, they weren't far off.

No idea why is so hard to fix this.......god knows we have been trying for years

 

[PAPPYDOG]

Despite the doom and gloom, I believe we can be one off season away from fielding a top
5 defense. This will necessitate:

- Hiring a top tier DC
- Switching to a 3-4 and moving Parsons to a more natural OLB position
- Investing through draft picks and FA signings

Projected 2025 D:

OLB: Micah Parsons/ Carl Lawson
DE: Top 10 pick (Mason Graham, Deone Walker)
NT: Mazi Smith/ Free Agent/ Draft pick
DE: Javon Kinlaw/ Gholston/ Keeland
OLB: Sam Williams/ Draft pick/ Free Agent

ILB: Overshown/ Draft pick
ILB: Kendricks/ Liufau

CB: Diggs/ Free Agent
CB: Lewis/ Carson
CB: Bland/ Draft pick
SS: Bell/ Draft pick/ Free Agent
FS: Thomas/ Draft pick/ Free Agent


But I do believe that once we get past the imbedded and warranted pessimism of this season that there’s light at the end of the tunnel. Pair this with an emphasis on the run game and we should be back to being respectable.

The Defense has always held their own since 2016 till last season.
Our fat cap-fed offense has been problem # 1, failing to score points against playoff-caliber teams.
Hope you can find the Cap $ to build a team that has support galore for our offensive leader and build a top 5 defense.
But even then our offense will still find a way to turn the ball over and blow any chance we have to advance in the playoffs
Havent you seen this scenario countless times??????????????????????????????????
Stop Dreaming no one is coming to save us from #..................

 

[stinkface]

Our safeties are really bad, borderline awful. Then we need help on the D line. We may be OK at Linebacker on the outside, but we need a thumper in the middle bad. More then a one year project. We do have some building blocks, but we aren't there yet.

PS. Our offense is really bad. Even if Dak comes back ok, he turns 32 before next season. His body will continue to break down. We really need a quality back.

 

[baltcowboy]

Jerry is not going to use free agency so he is going to rely on the draft. So when the Cowboys throw young guys into the fire that don’t play like CeeDee and Parsons did their rookie season, fans/media will call them busts. The Cowboys need too many pieces to have a great defense by just using the draft.
Look at our rivals the Eagles. They used veterans to develop their young defensive tackles and linebackers last year. They did the same for their cornerbacks this season. The Eagles rebuilt a Super Bowl team by making shrewd trades and signing free agents. They also draft for talent instead of reaching for need. We need to copy the Eagles philosophy. The Eagles make drafting mistakes (trading up for Jordan Davis) but overcome that with free agents.

 

[CowboysLakerBamaFan]

Historically and philosophically, a 3-4 is less effective against the run, but more adept at stopping short passing game (which makes sense, since ur raking 1 big dude off the line of scrimmage, and replacing him with a smaller guy whose standing up).

The 3-4 REALLY relies on the 3 down Linemen controlling the LOS, especially the NT.

What about this team, and Mazi, makes you think that not only are we good enough stopping the run with our dLinemen, but that we can even take one of our lineman away and replace him with a LB?

Teams would just run it straight down our throat.

P.s. also, it appears with so many draft picks and free agents in this scenario all on defense, that we're just rolling with the offensive line we currently have andnthe RBs and WRs we currently have?

At the end of the day...what difference does it make, with ole Here We Go garbage time Dak at QB

 

[b0xZZ]

We have no dawgs. We have DIVAS and podcasters. Blow this whole thing up and start over with a coach that instills discipline.

 

[John813]

It could be, but in reality it won't be lol.

IMO the 3-4 and 4-3 doesn't mean much anymore.Those formations are no longer the base formation.
It's all about how you line up the 4 DL.
TJ Watt isn't going to play pass coverage more than a few snaps to throw off the offense.
They know most snaps he's coming after the QB.
What gaps are the guys in, and do you have the players for those roles.

Seeing Mazi in a starting role and saying top 5 is a contradiction.

 

[JohnsKey19]

No idea why is so hard to fix this.......god knows we have been trying for years

They swung and as of now whiffed with the Mazi pick. They also let Hankins, who was at least adequate, walk for peanuts. I still dont understand that one. If they legitimately addressed DT and then got a younger MLB to replace Kendricks, you'd see a noticeable difference. Just look at the division. Washington has Allen/Payne and also drafted Newton who is a good player. NYG has Lawrence, possibly the DPOY. Philly has Carter. Even Jordan Davis while inconsistent can still be a force at times. Dallas has Mazi who by most metrics is the worst player at the position. Osa is solid but undersized.

 

[shabazz]

The Mazi comme is are well warranted but any defense that has Kendricks starting will not be top 5.

Past his prime and slow as molasses. Can be seen trailing badly on most big running plays against us.

This defense won't be top 5 for at least 2-3 years IF our "GM" starts taking free agency seriously

 

[Manster_Mash]

Despite the doom and gloom, I believe we can be one off season away from fielding a top
5 defense. This will necessitate:

- Hiring a top tier DC
- Switching to a 3-4 and moving Parsons to a more natural OLB position
- Investing through draft picks and FA signings

Projected 2025 D:

OLB: Micah Parsons/ Carl Lawson
DE: Top 10 pick (Mason Graham, Deone Walker)
NT: Mazi Smith/ Free Agent/ Draft pick
DE: Javon Kinlaw/ Gholston/ Keeland
OLB: Sam Williams/ Draft pick/ Free Agent

ILB: Overshown/ Draft pick
ILB: Kendricks/ Liufau

CB: Diggs/ Free Agent
CB: Lewis/ Carson
CB: Bland/ Draft pick
SS: Bell/ Draft pick/ Free Agent
FS: Thomas/ Draft pick/ Free Agent


But I do believe that once we get past the imbedded and warranted pessimism of this season that there’s light at the end of the tunnel. Pair this with an emphasis on the run game and we should be back to being respectable.

You had me until your depth chart showed Mazi at NT.

 

[Hawkeye0202]

They swung and as of now whiffed with the Mazi pick. They also let Hankins, who was at least adequate, walk for peanuts. I still dont understand that one. If they legitimately addressed DT and then got a younger MLB to replace Kendricks, you'd see a noticeable difference. Just look at the division. Washington has Allen/Payne and also drafted Newton who is a good player. NYG has Lawrence, possibly the DPOY. Philly has Carter. Even Jordan Davis while inconsistent can still be a force at times. Dallas has Mazi who by most metrics is the worst player at the position. Osa is solid but undersized.

Exactly ....for some odd reason, Jerry refuses to commit quality resources to fix the issue.

 

[plasticman]

They were 7th last year...9th scoring, 5th pass, 18th run.

But yes, they weren't far off.

5th in both defensive categories of scoring and total yardage.

 

[JayFord]

Defense is actually fine

Not much you can do with an offense that refuses to stay on the field …even the 85 bears and the 2000 ravens would give up points with this offense

 

[Darkhound]

Despite the doom and gloom, I believe we can be one off season away from fielding a top
5 defense. This will necessitate:

- Hiring a top tier DC
- Switching to a 3-4 and moving Parsons to a more natural OLB position
- Investing through draft picks and FA signings

Projected 2025 D:

OLB: Micah Parsons/ Carl Lawson
DE: Top 10 pick (Mason Graham, Deone Walker)
NT: Mazi Smith/ Free Agent/ Draft pick
DE: Javon Kinlaw/ Gholston/ Keeland
OLB: Sam Williams/ Draft pick/ Free Agent

ILB: Overshown/ Draft pick
ILB: Kendricks/ Liufau

CB: Diggs/ Free Agent
CB: Lewis/ Carson
CB: Bland/ Draft pick
SS: Bell/ Draft pick/ Free Agent
FS: Thomas/ Draft pick/ Free Agent


But I do believe that once we get past the imbedded and warranted pessimism of this season that there’s light at the end of the tunnel. Pair this with an emphasis on the run game and we should be back to being respectable.

Nothing, I REPEAT nothing MATTERS as long as Jerry Jones keeps managing this team

 

[Creeper]

Color me skeptical. This plan involves 11 new players on defense including 6 draft picks and 5 free agents. We already know Jerry's philosophy on free agents so I do not expect any upgrades there. And Lawson is also a free agent after this season so it involves Jerry resigning him as well. The more stats he puts up this year the less likely Jerry re-signs him.

It also means using 6 draft picks on defense. I guess that's possible but they need help on offense too.

I like the idea of signing Kinlaw. He has looked much better for the Jets than he did with SF. He is better than anyone Dallas has on their roster right now, which isn't saying much. Kinlaw cost the Jets about $7 million this year. I suspect next year he will cost a bit more which means Jerry will not sign him.

I am not a fan of moving to a 3-4. I just do not think Dallas has the right bodies up front for it.

 

[tm1119]

You have to build around Parsons. A 3-4 makes sense.
How about Williams as a 5T.
Could Overshown become an OLB? with a bit more weight?

You can’t play a 3-4 with 5 DB’s on the field…what you’re talking about is outdated and irrelevant in today’s game.

Talent is FAR more of an issue, and you seem to have your head in the sand about that. Going forward the D has Micah, Overshown, Bland, Diggs, and maybe Kneeland to build off of. The rest is garbage. No where close to a top 5 D anytime soon.