Defense wins in the playoffs

[jobberone]

I think the biggest road-block for Dallas is Green Bay...go into Lambeau and squeak out a win and I would say Seattle will be in real trouble...Dallas will gain tremendous buoyancy from that win...and they have already showed that they can beat Seattle playing it's B-game. I would say the toughest road-block for Green Bay is Dallas...a team that will exploit how light they are in the front seven (even though they have moved Matthews around), with an o-line that is the real deal...likely the best they would face all year. Moreover, Dallas possesses what Seattle does not, namely Dez Bryant, along with a treasure-trove of offensive role players (Beasley) who have a knack for making plays. If Dallas is going to average 40 ppg from here on out, then they will be VERY difficult to beat. If they are going to put 28 points up in the first 2 quarters of play...they are going to be VERY difficult to beat.

The Dallas-Green Bay matchup looks like the real NFC title game. Seattle, good as they are, have not faced a blitzkrieg-style offense that can put them behind early and fast (since Dallas)...Philly was destroyed on first-downs and Dallas followed the script...otherwise, Arizona, St. Louis and San Fran just don't feature as top offenses this year. Seattle has feasted on a suddenly weak NFC West, with only Kaepernick as a legitimate quarterback. Just my perfunctory take on the playoffs...

This is a well thought out scenario. I like it. I too think if we can play error free it will be drive score. The get them off the field. I haven't seen a Sc% like as of late since the early 90s team. At this point no team in the NFL can beat us. Turnovers, errors, and mistakes can kill that as we don't have the defense to keep us in the game against the likes of GB. If we can get off the field some and limit them a bit in the RZ then we can beat them. I don't see them hanging with our running game although GBs is not a slouch.

 

[Jarv]

I look at total defense as points/game, not yardage per game.

This year our defense gave up 22 points/game, which put us in 15th place in that category. My math for the second half of the year has us at 18.88 points/game, which would have us in 6th place overall.

We are not the old doomsday or the early 90's crowd, but we gang tackle and rarely miss assignments. Our pass rush is averaging 3 sacks/game over the last 3 games vs. an average of 1.8/game over the season.

In 2006, when Peyton got his only ring, his defense stepped it up a notch come playoff time, which absolutely made the difference for them, I feel our defense is doing the same. All of the stats show our defense improving. Of course, the defense is helped by improved offensive play and TOP. With the leads our offense has been creating, we can forgo some of our "stop the run first" schemes and do more twists and stunts in our pass rush, creating more hit, hurries and eventually sacks/turnovers as we have seen.

Right now, I see that 90's philosophy of build a lead in the first half, run it down their throats and create turnovers in the second half game plan...and I love it.

 

[Boyzmamacita]

I think the biggest road-block for Dallas is Green Bay...go into Lambeau and squeak out a win and I would say Seattle will be in real trouble...Dallas will gain tremendous buoyancy from that win...and they have already showed that they can beat Seattle playing it's B-game. I would say the toughest road-block for Green Bay is Dallas...a team that will exploit how light they are in the front seven (even though they have moved Matthews around), with an o-line that is the real deal...likely the best they would face all year. Moreover, Dallas possesses what Seattle does not, namely Dez Bryant, along with a treasure-trove of offensive role players (Beasley) who have a knack for making plays. If Dallas is going to average 40 ppg from here on out, then they will be VERY difficult to beat. If they are going to put 28 points up in the first 2 quarters of play...they are going to be VERY difficult to beat.

The Dallas-Green Bay matchup looks like the real NFC title game. Seattle, good as they are, have not faced a blitzkrieg-style offense that can put them behind early and fast (since Dallas)...Philly was destroyed on first-downs and Dallas followed the script...otherwise, Arizona, St. Louis and San Fran just don't feature as top offenses this year. Seattle has feasted on a suddenly weak NFC West, with only Kaepernick as a legitimate quarterback. Just my perfunctory take on the playoffs...

The part in bold is poetry. Beasley, Randle, Escobar and Dunbar can all come off the bench and make outstanding plays. It's beautiful to behold. I hope they turn it up a notch in the postseason.

 

[kramskoi]

The part in bold is poetry. Beasley, Randle, Escobar and Dunbar can all come off the bench and make outstanding plays. It's beautiful to behold. I hope they turn it up a notch in the postseason.

Man...I don't know if they can get the offense any hotter, because it is looking absolutely lethal at present...but I surely welcome it. Since the debacle on Turkey Day, they have quietly developed a nasty habit of starting extremely fast on offense. The '07 and '09 Cowboys did not have this type of balance and production, at least not down the stretch, and only the '93 team had a similar December, going 4-0 and winning their last 5. Even then, the road record is phenomenal and I don't remember any Cowboys team in recent memory going a perfect 8-0.

They are the most balanced and the most talented offense in the playoffs...maybe that comes to something in the end. I think they need to ride that offense as far as it will take them...it really is their best defense. GB-Dal has all the makings of an all out WAR! If it comes to fruition, it will be a real shame that one of those two teams will have to lose. I really think it should have been an NFC title match-up...lots of history there.

If the Cowboys do make it to a Superbowl, I think the Turkey Day game will be seen as the catalyst. They have simply hit another gear...a gear I did not think they had. Hopefully they have lots of fuel to burn...they will certainly need it at GB and at Seattle...should it come to that.

 

[zrinkill]

Just look at the OP's thread history.

http://cowboyszone.com/search/428756/

All negative ....... just saying

 

[kramskoi]

I look at total defense as points/game, not yardage per game.

This year our defense gave up 22 points/game, which put us in 15th place in that category. My math for the second half of the year has us at 18.88 points/game, which would have us in 6th place overall.

We are not the old doomsday or the early 90's crowd, but we gang tackle and rarely miss assignments. Our pass rush is averaging 3 sacks/game over the last 3 games vs. an average of 1.8/game over the season.

In 2006, when Peyton got his only ring, his defense stepped it up a notch come playoff time, which absolutely made the difference for them, I feel our defense is doing the same. All of the stats show our defense improving. Of course, the defense is helped by improved offensive play and TOP. With the leads our offense has been creating, we can forgo some of our "stop the run first" schemes and do more twists and stunts in our pass rush, creating more hit, hurries and eventually sacks/turnovers as we have seen.

Right now, I see that 90's philosophy of build a lead in the first half, run it down their throats and create turnovers in the second half game plan...and I love it.

Yep...but I can tell you Indy's run defense down the stretch in '06 was a fabulous disaster inside a shop of horrors. They were getting destroyed, gashed, gutted, routed, abused or any other adjective you would care to use, especially with Bob Sanders in and out of the lineup. I do think they stepped it up considerably in the playoffs, but it also helps when you face a Rex Grossman at quarterback. Indy gives up an abominable 375 rushing yards to Jacksonville in a 44-17 loss on Dec 10th, and 6 weeks later they are cruising toward a date with destiny...they kept all teams except Chicago to under 100 yards rushing. With Grossman at quarterback, giving up 111 yds on the ground did not really hurt them...at all!

 

[Ender]

It seems like the defense plays much better when we are ahead early in games. So jumping out to a fast start will be important through the playoffs. Hopefully the offense stays aggressive.

 

[Risen Star]

The Cowboys could easily lose this game. The Lions are a quality team with a nasty defense. It's not like this is a mismatch.

But these Cowboys haven't given me any reason to doubt them this year and the betting line tells me they win the game and probably win it by double digits.

 

[Boyzmamacita]

The Cowboys could easily lose this game. The Lions are a quality team with a nasty defense. It's not like this is a mismatch.

But these Cowboys haven't given me any reason to doubt them this year and the betting line tells me they win the game and probably win it by double digits.

At this level they could easily lose any game which makes it that much more exciting. I want to see the process come to fruition and I want to see it now.