Defense positives

[sportsman]

As we complete 3 weeks of Cowboys defensive play. Will we go into this season as improved from last year? If not, seeing the last year SB opponents strength were on defense...not say we can't change that trend with the offensive weapons we have. I'm just saying history not in our favor. One thing for sure the offense will be fun to watch. Go Cowboys!

 

[xwalker]

As we complete 3 weeks of Cowboys defensive play. Will we go into this season as improved from last year? If not, seeing the last year SB opponents strength were on defense...not say we can't change that trend with the offensive weapons we have. I'm just saying history not in our favor. One thing for sure the offense will be fun to watch. Go Cowboys!

It is really hard to evaluate team defense in the preseason. I primarily just focus on individual players. If they can stay healthy on defense, then I think they will be decent. Most positions have decent players in the starting spots. The obvious question is RDE. Mayo only played a few snaps, so his ability is still undetermined. The DT position can hopefully make up for the DE position. McClain and Thorton look good. M. Collins flashed his talent but didn't play much. He is really quick for a guy that is over 300. T. Crawford, Irving and Jenkins were out.

 

[CowboyRoy]

It is really hard to evaluate team defense in the preseason. I primarily just focus on individual players. If they can stay healthy on defense, then I think they will be decent. Most positions have decent players in the starting spots. The obvious question is RDE. Mayo only played a few snaps, so his ability is still undetermined. The DT position can hopefully make up for the DE position. McClain and Thorton look good. M. Collins flashed his talent but didn't play much. He is really quick for a guy that is over 300. T. Crawford, Irving and Jenkins were out.

Its all gonna come down to stopping the run. If we cant stop the run we are cooked. IF we can stop the run then I think we can skirt by most games because the other offense will be one dimensional. And with leads we can blitz and gamble more. But no pass rush will get us beat in the playoffs eventually.

 

[Derinyar]

The people declaring this the worst defense in history are going to be wrong. Our 1s matched up pretty well with their 1s while that is what was going on. We yank our starters faster then any team in the league I think, and they got serious traction when we were playing down a line to a line and a half on them. I think seattle is going to have to become an air it out team if last nights 1s on 1s is any indication.

 

[Sydla]

It is really hard to evaluate team defense in the preseason. I primarily just focus on individual players. If they can stay healthy on defense, then I think they will be decent. Most positions have decent players in the starting spots. The obvious question is RDE. Mayo only played a few snaps, so his ability is still undetermined. The DT position can hopefully make up for the DE position. McClain and Thorton look good. M. Collins flashed his talent but didn't play much. He is really quick for a guy that is over 300. T. Crawford, Irving and Jenkins were out.

DT cannot make up for a lack of talent on the edges. It just can't.

Someone, somehow, has to step up as an edge rusher for this team. Mayowa, Tapper, whomever.

 

[casmith07]

The people declaring this the worst defense in history are going to be wrong. Our 1s matched up pretty well with their 1s while that is what was going on. We yank our starters faster then any team in the league I think, and they got serious traction when we were playing down a line to a line and a half on them. I think seattle is going to have to become an air it out team if last nights 1s on 1s is any indication.

Seattle initially struggled to score against our scrubs with their 1s.

Our defense isn't going to hold teams to 13ppg like the legendary Baltimore Ravens defense, but I think people don't realize that our defense was more than good enough last year to win a lot of games.

We won't set the world on fire on defense, but they certainly won't be as bad as everyone thinks. They're just grasping for narratives because this team is otherwise one of the most boring teams in the NFL from a storyline/narrative standpoint. Gotta generate clicks somehow.

 

[jazzcat22]

I think the D will be better than most believe.
I do make a few jokes, and do have some legit concerns, as we all have. But overall I think once it's for real, game planned, the pads and lights are on. They will be decent.
Now they will give up their share of bad plays, but will make some good ones too. They just need to be more consistent on the good ones.

We will scratch out heads, throw stuff at the TV, some will curse Jerry. But they will play hard and if rested as the offense can make that happen, I can see some decent things.

 

[Cowboy4ever]

I seem to be in the minority here but I think the D has looked good for most of the PS until the second half. We aren't seeing a lot of complex stuff on D right now. Once the bullets fly for real, I suspect you will see the team create more pressures. I think running on this team is going to be very hard to do with any success. We seem to still struggle with quick routes and throws that is the most concerning part for me. But I think this D will be much improved over last years bunch, especially in the 4th Q when the D last year just fell apart.

 

[Derinyar]

Seattle initially struggled to score against our scrubs with their 1s.

Our defense isn't going to hold teams to 13ppg like the legendary Baltimore Ravens defense, but I think people don't realize that our defense was more than good enough last year to win a lot of games.

We won't set the world on fire on defense, but they certainly won't be as bad as everyone thinks. They're just grasping for narratives because this team is otherwise one of the most boring teams in the NFL from a storyline/narrative standpoint. Gotta generate clicks somehow.

I think, with Romo, we will have a close to 30 ppg offense. If that's the case we need a competent defense to win a lot of games. I also think we match up well against a lot of the better defenses in the league because we aren't one dimensional.

 

[casmith07]

I think, with Romo, we will have a close to 30 ppg offense. If that's the case we need a competent defense to win a lot of games. I also think we match up well against a lot of the better defenses in the league because we aren't one dimensional.

If we have a 30ppg offense, we could have the 2013 defense out there and win 12 games.

 

[xwalker]

Its all gonna come down to stopping the run. If we cant stop the run we are cooked. IF we can stop the run then I think we can skirt by most games because the other offense will be one dimensional. And with leads we can blitz and gamble more. But no pass rush will get us beat in the playoffs eventually.

The pass rush at least has the potential to get better as the season progresses. I think many of the players on the DL have decent physical talent and none of them are old. In 2014, they really were not going to improve much over the season with guys like Mincey, Selvie and Golden Cock (Hayden). Last season they did have some talent at DE with Hardy and Lawrence, but the DT position was a mess. T.Crawford played all but the 1st game or 2 with 1 functioning arm and Hayden was terrible. T.McClain was out for the season and the initial backups (Davon Coleman, Ken Bishop) were cut mid-season.

 

[big dog cowboy]

As we complete 3 weeks of Cowboys defensive play. Will we go into this season as improved from last year?

Hayden and Wilcox aren't starting this year and OScan is back. That makes our defense instantly better.

 

[xwalker]

DT cannot make up for a lack of talent on the edges. It just can't.

Someone, somehow, has to step up as an edge rusher for this team. Mayowa, Tapper, whomever.

In theory, the top pressure player in Marinelli's defense should be the 3-tech DT (Warren Sapp). That is how he schemes it. The DEs are often not playing a style that maximizes their pass rush chances. They often crash down inside in an attempt to free up the DT. Marinelli also requires the DEs to play the run (including the QB) on their way to pass rushing. They often don't have a full go within the scheme to loop wide around the OT because that takes them out of a contain position.

I don't always love Marinelli's style of using DEs, but I do prefer it to a read-and-react style. I hated it when Rob Ryan had D.Ware playing a read-and-react style.

 

[CowboyRoy]

The pass rush at least has the potential to get better as the season progresses. I think many of the players on the DL have decent physical talent and none of them are old. In 2014, they really were not going to improve much over the season with guys like Mincey, Selvie and Golden Cock (Hayden). Last season they did have some talent at DE with Hardy and Lawrence, but the DT position was a mess. T.Crawford played all but the 1st game or 2 with 1 functioning arm and Hayden was terrible. T.McClain was out for the season and the initial backups (Davon Coleman, Ken Bishop) were cut mid-season.

I can agree on that point.

 

[Denim Chicken]

 

[xwalker]

Mo needs to do push-ups for bad grammar.

 

[JoeyBoy718]

DT is much improved and probably the best it's been since Ratliff was in his prime. Thornton is a true 1-tech and will make a good starting duo with T. Craw. McClain can be a solid backup 1-tech if he can stay healthy, as always. And I think Irving is best suited as a backup 3-tech. The four of those guys make a very solid rotational set.

DE is scary how bad it could be. Lawrence is easily our best and most experienced player, but he really only has one good season under his belt. He isn't a guaranteed perennial Pro Bowler. And sadly Mayowa might already be our next best (best the first 4 weeks) DE and he's completely unproven. Russell doesn't look very good at all and probably wouldn't make the 53 if we weren't so bad. J. Craw might be our next best. If Lawrence could absolutely beast then we could be alright. But that's not a guarantee.

LB is solid as long as Lee stays healthy. Everything rests on Lee. If he goes down, a LB trio of Durant, Hitchens and Wilber is competing for the worst in the league. Lee makes all the difference. Funny thing is, Lee, a sane McClain and a healthy Smith could be the best LB trio in the league.

CB is probably our strongest position outside of DT but I don't know if that's saying much. Scandrick is back, Carr is Carr, and if Claiborne can play anywhere near a 1st rounder then we have a solid CB trio. Some of the young guys look intriguing too.

S is a big question mark. If Jones plays like an All Pro then we could be good. It would take pressure off Church and he could do his thing. But I don't know how good Jones is. He's another young guy with a lot of pressure on him, like Lawrence, except he hasn't had a breakout season yet so it's all potential. Not much depth at safety either.

 

[Fla Cowpoke]

I did a quick look at the players playing in the first half.

On defense, we know we went into the game without T. Crawford, O. Scandrick and we didn't start Thornton...so we really were down three players. We were in nickle a good bit of the time so Brown was in for Scandrick.

First two series we basically played our starting D and we gave up a FG.

Third series Mayowa, Church were not in and Lee left after second play. Russell, Brown, Wilcox were in and then Wilson took Lee's place. No points given up.

Fourth series, Jones went out, Church came back in. Wilson burnt Brown on the play where he got lost and then had the perfect throw to beat tough coverage by Claiborne. At best, we had 5, maybe 6 starters on the field at this point and Seattle still basically had entire starting group.

After half, the Seahawks again still had basically the whole starting unit in, the only starter Dallas had in was Hitchens.

I think the defense played pretty decently while they were in. Seattle used a lot of short passes which defeated pass rush. Our LB's and secondary did not tackle really well, giving up RAC on most plays.

On the other side, we of course didn't have Romo after 2 plays and no Dez.

Our 4th series, Tyron came out, Witten came out, Zeke went out so we in effect has 6 starters in against the majority of their starting D. Sherman, Thomas, etc were all out there. Seattle was playing 8 in the box a lot. They stacked the line many occasions and then dropped guys so only 4 were coming. I see them send 5 and 6 rushers on multiple occasions. They hardly played vanilla. The good news is that despite this Dak was not overwhelmed.