Defense needs new persona

[Manwiththeplan]

I actually would like to move on from Marinelli, but you kinda can't considering he has over achieved with the talent we have given him. I really want a Seattle/Atlanta type scheme where we play a DE at SLB and move him to DE on third downs.

 

[Idgit]

The idea has been to continue getting by with what we have on defense and asking the offense to carry their load. I think the defense has actually more than carried their end of the bargain given their resources. The offense I think has come up short, however.

Don't want to derail the thread, but I think Romo takes this team to the Super Bowl. I don't think you saw the best from any one of our receivers this year with Dak at the helm. We like to compare this offense to 2014, but in reality, it should have been much better than the 2014 offense. You have Cole Beasley who has emerged as a veteran, and even Terrance Williams has improved, as has the offensive line in general.

I agree the defense is playing above it's talent level and is still not good enough. Time to actually address the talent, I guess.

 

[Galian Beast]

We were actually far better than I thought we had any right to be. I hate that we don't have more impact defensive players not he roster.

This is a championship caliber offense, for sure. I'd still like to see them with a legit speed WR in the rotation, but that guy doesn't need to be a top pick. Other than that, though, there's work to do. We need a bluebird at one of the rush positions to step up and give us something where we don't have anything. Whether that's Irving, or Tapper, or the NFL backing off the pot suspensions this offseason, or a rookie or veteran Hail Mary coming from somewhere. We need 2-3 DL upgrades, to have hit on Jaylon at the MIKE, and to be able to field a complement of DBs who can do with Marinelli wants next year. That's a fairly tall order.

Think it would be a massive mistake to have Jaylon Smith play the MIKE. I think he is your perfect WILL or SAM.

 

[Galian Beast]

Scandrick signed a 5-year, 190M contract in 2015. That is 3.8M per year average which is really low for a starting CB (Nickel CB is basically a starter).

Avg./Year Player
$15,000,000 Josh Norman
$14,024,212 Darrelle Revis
$14,010,000 Patrick Peterson
$14,000,000 Richard Sherman
$13,952,000 Trumaine Johnson
$13,500,000 Joe Haden
$12,500,000 Janoris Jenkins
$12,000,000 Darius Slay
$10,500,000 Byron Maxwell
$10,275,500 Jimmy Smith
$10,020,000 Brandon Carr
$9,750,000 Sam Shields
$9,500,000 Sean Smith
$9,500,000 Robert Alford
$9,500,000 Aqib Talib
$9,100,000 Brandon Flowers
$9,000,000 Vontae Davis
$8,608,000 Jason McCourty
$8,500,000 Chris Harris, Jr.
$8,500,000 Kareem Jackson
$8,250,000 David Amerson
$7,333,333 Johnathan Joseph
$7,333,333 Adam Jones
$7,000,000 Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie
$7,000,000 Brent Grimes
$7,000,000 Tramon Williams
$6,375,000 Alterraun Verner
$6,250,000 Buster Skrine
$6,125,000 Davon House
$5,837,750 Jalen Ramsey
$5,750,000 Jeremy Lane
$5,500,000 Prince Amukamara
$5,100,000 Casey Hayward
$5,000,000 Justin Bethel
$4,800,000 Jamar Taylor
$4,666,667 Patrick Robinson
$4,333,333 Shareece Wright
$4,000,000 Tracy Porter
$3,800,000 Orlando Scandrick

Scandrick isn't a starting corner and has not consistently played like one either.

 

[Idgit]

Think it would be a massive mistake to have Jaylon Smith play the MIKE. I think he is your perfect WILL or SAM.

If he's back, between he and Lee you ought to have the WIL and the MIKE covered. There's just no telling if he'll be back--and by 'back' I mean back to playing the way he used to, or nearly that way.

 

[TheCoolFan]

I saw what the Falcons defense did to the Seahawks, Packers, and for 3 quarters against the Patriots and I just don't think our DLine could do that. The sack totals may be similar this season but like everyone says, sacks don't tell the whole story. I dunno how accurate Sports Charts is but they counted 61 hurries by the Cowboys this season and 99 for the Falcons. Beasley and Freeney alone almost matched our entire DLine.

 

[Beast_from_East]

In fairness to their playoff game play (though I don't disagree with you generally), they would have gotten more pressure if the old hook-his-neck-but-only-if-your-helmet-has-yellow-on-it play weren't suddenly and apparently made legal.

Yea, I hear what you are saying but relying on the officials to bail you out is not a winning strategy and just seems like crying.

Everybody and their momma knows the Packers hold like ****, but your guys have to fight through the holds to get to Rogers. The Falcon players were saying how much the Packers held right after the NFC Title game, but they didn't let that become an excuse for losing. They came up with ways to fight through the holds, scheme to get guys free, stunts, twists, ect...

Of course this come full circle back to the original problem.........our front 7 is just not good enough to fight through holds or to scheme themselves open.

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

We were actually far better than I thought we had any right to be. I hate that we don't have more impact defensive players not he roster.

This is a championship caliber offense, for sure. I'd still like to see them with a legit speed WR in the rotation, but that guy doesn't need to be a top pick. Other than that, though, there's work to do. We need a bluebird at one of the rush positions to step up and give us something where we don't have anything. Whether that's Irving, or Tapper, or the NFL backing off the pot suspensions this offseason, or a rookie or veteran Hail Mary coming from somewhere. We need 2-3 DL upgrades, to have hit on Jaylon at the MIKE, and to be able to field a complement of DBs who can do with Marinelli wants next year. That's a fairly tall order.

Unfortunately, the draft is not likely to help on the DL. In the past decade its been Miller and Bosa that have come in and given double digit sacks. I don't see that guy in this draft. It's why I really wanted Bosa because that kind of talent is as rare as QB. Best we can realistically hope for is a Noah Spence type of talent.

Free agency is not likely the answer either with JPP and Sheard being the best of the bunch; there is not a Jared Allen or even a Greg Hardy that is going to be available. I like the idea of Sheard a lot but he is not a transcendent player.

If we cannot find the guy that can dominate even double teams then we need to stack guys that are able to consistently generate pressure. Consistent is a relative term. Even the very best pass rushers only generate pressure on 20% of snaps. You stack 4 guys that are able to get there 10% of the time and you can really affect the quarterback.

Really we need Thornton, Collins, and Irving to get better. We need 98, Tapper, and DLaw to get healthy. We need to bring McClain back. Stack some young talent on that and we have a chance but player development is going to be the key.

 

[reddyuta]

we need Pass rushers to mask our Secondary,one great FA acquisition can make a huge difference .

 

[xwalker]

Scandrick isn't a starting corner and has not consistently played like one either.

2013 15 starts
2014 14 starts
2015 Out for the season
2016 10 starts (only played 12 games)

His 3.8M average is really low for a veteran NFL CB.

 

[casmith07]

The defense needs a new persona and I'm not sure what that entails.

I do not believe that this offense as it is can carry this team to a super bowl. It certainly isn't good enough to overcome what I see as coaching deficiencies.

All I know is that we can not continue to keep going as we have the last few years. I hope that we do not continue to put out the same retread players on defense. I'm not certain that Marinelli is the guy for the job. I absolutely commend him for what he is able to produce from very limited resources, but the question is can he get significantly more out of higher end players? At this point, I'd at least like to see him get the opportunity.

Marinelli came here in 2013 (DC from 2014), that is 4 years.

How many first round draft picks has he had in those 4 (3 years)? One. Byron Jones, who was a late first round draft pick. I think the jury is out on him, but given what he's been able to do with Wilcox and Heath, you have to think Jones will turn into a superstar.

How many second round draft picks has he had that have actually seen the field? 1, with Demarcus Lawrence who has been battling back injuries and was suspended for four games. He's turned him into a pretty decent player, though.

How many third round draft picks has he had that have actually seen the field? Two. Maliek Collins and JJ Wilcox. Two players that Marinelli has gotten pretty good production out of. Remember, Wilcox was a complete project player, who I believe Marinelli was able to salvage.

That is a total of 4 "First-day" players in four years on a defense that was horrendous when he initially arrived. There are no free agents studs on this defense that have been brought in to help bridge the gap in draft resources.

The Cowboys need to spend the next two to three drafts focusing primarily on defense whenever possible. They need to let go of players like Carr. At this point, I'd rather see Brown starting and resources spent appropriately towards the defensive line. I wouldn't keep Claiborne either unless it was an extremely team friendly one year deal. It's time to move on from these cornerbacks if we want to see plays made in the secondary.

Morris Claiborne has 4 career interceptions. Brandon Carr has 1 interception in the last four years.

Stunned that we resigned Scandrick to the money we signed him to. I would look to move on from him as soon as feasible.

I think our linebackers will be fine if Jaylon Smith can return to form alongside Sean Lee.

It's now time to focus almost entirely on the defensive line as that is the only way we're going to get the results we need. Going into this draft, unfortunately, isn't going to be great positioning for us. I think whatever we can get for Romo needs to be parlayed into getting help earlier in the draft along the line. The going rate in my mind starts at least a first round draft pick.

Of our 2017 free agents, I would resign Church or Wilcox (not both), maybe Gachkar, Terrell McClain, Justin Durant, and that's it.

I might go wide receiver or defensive end in the first round and while that might sound like a contradiction of what I said earlier, I think you probably get more value at WR deeper in the first round than defensive end. Really depends on who is there. I wouldn't resign Terrance Williams. I would increase Cole Beasley's role in the offense instead. The Patriots make it work without expensive wide receivers, we need to be able to do the same. Especially, with the resources we're putting in at offensive line.

I don't think they need a new persona, I just think they need better talent up front.

That being said, I don't think the scheme is good enough. I've grown tired of the scheme on both sides of the ball, other than the running game.

 

[Idgit]

Yea, I hear what you are saying but relying on the officials to bail you out is not a winning strategy and just seems like crying.

Everybody and their momma knows the Packers hold like ****, but your guys have to fight through the holds to get to Rogers. The Falcon players were saying how much the Packers held right after the NFC Title game, but they didn't let that become an excuse for losing. They came up with ways to fight through the holds, scheme to get guys free, stunts, twists, ect...

Of course this come full circle back to the original problem.........our front 7 is just not good enough to fight through holds or to scheme themselves open.

Yep. Unfortunately.

 

[skinsscalper]

we need Pass rushers to mask our Secondary,one great FA acquisition can make a huge difference .

This is Jerry-speak and the type of mindset that justifies trading 3 draft picks for a Roy Williams level player. One great FA acquisition WON'T make a huge difference. It will make a difference but not as huge as everyone seems to prognosticate.

Hell, it took 200 million dollars for the Giants to turn that turd of a defense around and now, they are so woefully deficient at O-line that they can barely muster enough offense to be considered even mediocre with guys like OBJ, Sheppard, and Cruz manning the WR corp. Here's the kicker, now they have no money left to fix that O-line.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for bolstering the entire front 7 (hopefully Collins' and Tapper's development next year can help) but this notion that one huge defensive FA acquisition will put this team over the top is a pipe dream.

 

[Galian Beast]

If he's back, between he and Lee you ought to have the WIL and the MIKE covered. There's just no telling if he'll be back--and by 'back' I mean back to playing the way he used to, or nearly that way.

He isn't a great linebacker when he has to shed blockers. Makes a lot more sense as a weak side backer.

 

[CWR]

I think you need to be careful with that thinking. I think you have a production in that back four/five that is not conducive to winning you games. I think you need to seriously shift those resources towards the ball and then and only then can you build out the secondary.

I remember the first time the Giants caught lighting in a bottle. Thier secondary was playing like trash and then the pass rush got healthy and thier DBS magically became solid. Its a testament to our secondary that they are considered a strength on the defense considering our marginal pass rush.

 

[ErikWilliamsHeadSlap]

Defense needs speed

Playmakers

Hitting on Jaylon Smith is critical...add Budda Baker and we are in business

Bingo...Speed and a little more speed.

 

[Seven]

What this defense needs is a pass rush...............our entire front 7 didn't register a single sack in the playoff game. Considering they were playing at home with almost 3 weeks of rest, that is a disgrace.

Until that changes, we are never going to make a deep playoff run.

Amazing what offensive holding will do for a team, huh?

One team can't have 11 penalties and the other 2.

What's a disgrace is that this was allowed... AT HOME.

 

[Zordon]

new blood is desperately needed on the back end. only wilcox and heath play with a go-getter mentality.

 

[KJJ]

We need to take the same approach with the DL like we have with our OL and start using #1 picks to build it. You have to have a pass rush to get through the playoffs against the elite QBs. We need an edge rusher and players who can push the pocket and create some havoc upfront plus we have to find a PLAYMAKER in the secondary. We're never going to get anywhere in the playoffs unless we build a SOLID defense that can get after the QB and can force some turnovers.

 

[xwalker]

Yea, I hear what you are saying but relying on the officials to bail you out is not a winning strategy and just seems like crying.

Everybody and their momma knows the Packers hold like ****, but your guys have to fight through the holds to get to Rogers. The Falcon players were saying how much the Packers held right after the NFC Title game, but they didn't let that become an excuse for losing. They came up with ways to fight through the holds, scheme to get guys free, stunts, twists, ect...

Of course this come full circle back to the original problem.........our front 7 is just not good enough to fight through holds or to scheme themselves open.

DLinemen should mix sunscreen with baby oil and apply liberally before playing the Packers. If the Packers or Refs say that it's against the rules, just claim that it's sunscreen.