Defense

[CyberB0b]

Wade Phillips scheme is even older than Marinelli's. Any scheme can be adjusted and improved, but it takes the right players AND the right coaches to make it successful.

Wade Phillips has tweaked his scheme everywhere he goes. He doesn't run the same scheme he ran here. He mostly runs a 1 gap 3-4, but he has changed that over the years.

"I don't understand the people that say, 'Hey, this is our scheme and that guy can't play in it,' a guy that can play, and is a good player, but, 'He can't play in our scheme.' To me, there's something wrong with your scheme," Phillips said. "You adapt the scheme to what the players can do, not what you can think of."

Phillips knows no other way, going back to when he first broke into the NFL in 1976 on his father's coaching staff in Houston.

"We started with Elvin Bethea, who is in the Hall of Fame now. We played a lot of the same things we play now, but he was so quick and so fast that we stunted him all the time," Phillips recalled. "He was our second-leading tackler on the team at defensive end.

"He was a great player, but we didn't let him sit there all the time playing our technique that you have to play, two-gap or whatever. I've had guys that played two-gap, and played it well, so we've played two-gap with those guys."

We had Quentin Jammer -- whose name was perfect because he wasn’t great playing off, but he was great at jamming a guy on the line of scrimmage. In zone, man and everything that we did, he jammed the guy on line of scrimmage and played well.

"That’s what you do. That’s a simple way of telling you how you play with players you have and fit your scheme to what they can do. That’s the only way I can explain it, I guess."

It's a simple explanation, but in a Phillips defense, it's worth remembering: If you have the tools and wherewithal to succeed in the NFL, he will find a way to make you fit. That's what coaches do; they tweak their concepts to fit their players.

The Broncos wouldn't have the No. 1 defense in the league without that mentality.

 

[BAT]

Wade Phillips has tweaked his scheme everywhere he goes. He doesn't run the same scheme he ran here.

Wade still runs a one gapping Phillips 3-4. That is still his base, everywhere he's been. He will play 4-3 over at times or even the Bear 46, but it is normal for all defensive systems to borrow/use a variety of fronts and coverage depending on down, distance, opponent and personnel.

 

[BAT]

Could not agree more. Elway would not settle for very good, he craved greatness. And he went out and got it. Consistency be da@@ed.

I meant "continuity" but I guess "consistency" works too.

 

[Zekeats]

Denver had the number 1 defense. ....can't get any higher then that

I laugh at fans like yourself who also assume that it's players and talent we need to have a good defense. As long as Rod is here this defense will never be anything special.

 

[Typhus]

To Marinelli's credit, the 1-tech to start the year was Terrell McClain who was playing very well in preseason and the first 2 games until he got injured. I"m not a Hayden fan, but he was set to be the backup so there wasn't too much favoritism as some people think.

And Hayden wasn't nearly the problem we had at safety. Wilcox does one thing well....play man coverage against TE's. But, he's not exactly Ronnie Lott. And he's horrendous is zone coverage...like Tony Dixon horrendous. And he can't tackle. That puts the defense in a real bind...especially when he has to play the FS spot as Church has zero man coverage ability and can't play deep zone coverage and really can't play mid-range zone coverage either. And his tackling wasn't all that great in the open field either.

If you're playing man with the corners, you better have good safeties to get the INT's because unless you're Richard Sherman or Revis...your CB's are not going to get a lot of picks in man coverage.

And if you're going to play zone, you better have a good pass rush and having a run stopping 1-tech isn't the answer to getting a better pass rush. But, you also better have corners who can play zone which means they had better be able to tackle and have safeties that can play short, intermediate and deep zone coverage (and some man when it calls for it) and be able to tackle as well.

And even after the DB situation is fixed...it's still a larger priority to fix the MLB position in this defense than to fix the 1-tech.

We better hope that Scandrick comes back to his old form and that we can get some defense out of guys like Terrance Mitchell and pick up some FA's that can play and hopefully get a corner in the draft that can contribute. Hopefully they'll try and pick up Weddle and let Byron play FS full time with some one-on-one against elite TE's and large WR's. And then hope that Damien Wilson can come in and perform better than Ro McClain did last year. We could have the greatest DT's in the world, if we don't fix the MIKE, the corners and the safeties, it's just going to be the same ole disappointment.







YR

I value your opinion, and can only hope for the best judgement during this years draft. Anyone who thinks this team is a player short is , well just blind... this team needs home run hits in this draft just so we are going in the right direction.

 

[Zman5]

Becoming better at aomething youre already good at isnt "completely changing". Right before manning, that defense dragged tim ****** tebow to a playoff win.

Unless you change out all the players, changing the whole coaching staff and scheme is close as you are going to get to "completely changing". The defense that won for "Tebow" wasn't good enough to win a SB and isn't even the same scheme. The team that went to the SB few years ago was dependent on Peyton and the offense. That team got creamed by Seattle. Elway realized he needed to make the change and the team that won the SB last night was dependent on the defense to win games all season and have Peyton be a good bus driver.

If you think that changing out HC and changing to a new defensive scheme is still "sticking to a plan", I hope Jerry does stick to his plan and change out the HC.

 

[plasticman]

Let's not forget that three of the four starting QB's for the conference championships and both SB starters were the #1 overall pick in their drafts. Multiple SB winners Aikman, Bradshaw, Elway, Eli Manning, Jim Plunket, all #1 overall picks, Roethlesburger was the 11th overall.

Also, the Cowboys had such a defense in 2007 and 2008. They had more sacks than the champion Broncos in 2008, only two less in 2007. They has more turnovers than this year's Broncos in 2007.

In 3 of the 4 seasons from 2006 to 2009 the Cowboys were a top 5 defense. They averaged three defensive Pro Bowlers a season.

But they always faded in the playoffs, they were always one of the teams that were a few plays away.

 

[reddyuta]

They've failed to give him a DT.

its the other way around,he feels he can plug any Dt and be successful with it.It hasnt worked for 2 years and we languish in the bottom of the sacks lists because our DTs cannot affect the pocket.Marinelli is too old and set in his ways to do much good here.I hope Mcclay has seen enough and brings in 3 Dts from FA and the draft.

 

[Alexander]

Wade Phillips has tweaked his scheme everywhere he goes. He doesn't run the same scheme he ran here. He mostly runs a 1 gap 3-4, but he has changed that over the years.

That he has. He has always found a way to make it work.

As a coordinator.

 

[bonafidebanter]

Cam is a hack. Period.

MVP of the league a hack? Ok. How many does our great QB have? I'll wait on it........

 

[ghst187]

Watching these past few superbowls and still nobody sees that you win championships with an elite defense.

I'm all in on getting this defense corrected and a top 5 elite unit.

A 39 year old QB had 140 yards 0 TDs and an interception and won because of that defense he has.


Let's reach for a rookie QB though

Oversimplify much?
What about the recent championships won by Green Bay, Indy, New Orleans, and New England?
Their defenses were pretty average, in fact NE beat a Seattle team with a vaunted defense.
A good defense is important for sure but you also better darned sure have a really good QB.
You can have a great D and bad QB and still not get anywhere except in very rare cases. However, you can have an average D and great QB and be in the hunt year after year.

 

[Zimmy Lives]

For Christmas I wanted a new, exciting, fresh coaching staff.

Santa screwed me.

Maybe you ought to be better.

 

[Irvin88_4life]

I laugh at fans like yourself who also assume that it's players and talent we need to have a good defense. As long as Rod is here this defense will never be anything special.

I laugh at fans like you who assume things. Show me anywhere where I said anything about coaches. Marinelli is a good DC......need the talent though

 

[BAT]

Let's not forget that three of the four starting QB's for the conference championships and both SB starters were the #1 overall pick in their drafts. Multiple SB winners Aikman, Bradshaw, Elway, Eli Manning, Jim Plunket, all #1 overall picks, Roethlesburger was the 11th overall.

Also, the Cowboys had such a defense in 2007 and 2008. They had more sacks than the champion Broncos in 2008, only two less in 2007. They has more turnovers than this year's Broncos in 2007.

In 3 of the 4 seasons from 2006 to 2009 the Cowboys were a top 5 defense. They averaged three defensive Pro Bowlers a season.

But they always faded in the playoffs, they were always one of the teams that were a few plays away.

What happened after 2010 when Wade was let go? Top 5 defense takes a nose dive and so does the offense, team goes 8-8 four straight seasons. Not sure what point you are trying to prove. Cowboys were WORSE after focusing on offense (Garrett) instead of defense (Wade). If Wade remained, and Jerry stayed the course, who is to say the team does not go all the way. The 2007 Cowboys was an elite team, balanced offense and dominating defense. When Sporano left and Garrett took over, the offense became a huge toss of the dice, everything was on Romo and the passing game. Jerry lost his nerve, his patience, or his mind, when he decided to elevate a completely inexperienced coach to head the greatest sports franchise in NFL history.

6 years later we are all paying for this today. 2014 was great, but a complete outlier, fool's gold.

And FYI, you forgot to mention possibly the greatest QB in history of the NFL, Tom Brady. He may as well have been an undrafted FA, since he was picked in the 6th round, practically an afterthought. There are many ways to win. A 1st round pick, or an undrafted FA, a franchise QB is a franchise QB. In either case, a championship D, almost makes it moot.

 

[Irvin88_4life]

Oversimplify much?
What about the recent championships won by Green Bay, Indy, New Orleans, and New England?
Their defenses were pretty average, in fact NE beat a Seattle team with a vaunted defense.
A good defense is important for sure but you also better darned sure have a really good QB.
You can have a great D and bad QB and still not get anywhere except in very rare cases. However, you can have an average D and great QB and be in the hunt year after year.

But who won the game against Seattle? Patriots defense with a goal line game winning interception. Green bay and Saints defense played lights out in playoffs and superbowl. Don't look at regular season stats. All those teams had defenses that got turnovers and made crucial stops.

Why you think Denver was blown out by Seattle? Defense wins championships not offenses

 

[jobberone]

That'll be enough of that fellas.

 

[kevm3]

I laugh at fans like yourself who also assume that it's players and talent we need to have a good defense. As long as Rod is here this defense will never be anything special.

Rod has had top defenses before. Who is the magical coordinator that will hold all teams we play to 7 points or less?

 

[plasticman]

What happened after 2010 when Wade was let go? Top 5 defense takes a nose dive and so does the offense, team goes 8-8 four straight seasons. Not sure what point you are trying to prove. Cowboys were WORSE after focusing on offense (Garrett) instead of defense (Wade). If Wade remained, and Jerry stayed the course, who is to say the team does not go all the way. The 2007 Cowboys was an elite team, balanced offense and dominating defense. When Sporano left and Garrett took over, the offense became a huge toss of the dice, everything was on Romo and the passing game. Jerry lost his nerve, his patience, or his mind, when he decided to elevate a completely inexperienced coach to head the greatest sports franchise in NFL history.

6 years later we are all paying for this today. 2014 was great, but a complete outlier, fool's gold.

And FYI, you forgot to mention possibly the greatest QB in history of the NFL, Tom Brady. He may as well have been an undrafted FA, since he was picked in the 6th round, practically an afterthought. There are many ways to win. A 1st round pick, or an undrafted FA, a franchise QB is a franchise QB. In either case, a championship D, almost makes it moot.

The Cowboys never focused on offense, they took the BPA a approach. They tiij their last two o-linemen in the 1st round because their defensive players were taken. In the past 5 drafts since 2010, they have taken 3 o-linemen and 2 CB's.

Since 2010 the Cowboys have taken 17 offensive players in the draft and 22 defensive players.

That was one of my points,another being that many have states frustration that the Cowboys never built a dominant defense. They certainly did. In 2009 the Cowboys shir out their last two opponents in December, shut down the Eagles in the playoffs but was hung out to dry by 4 turnovers in the divisional playoffs.

The main point I was making is that you cannot go cheap when taking a franchise quarterback in the draft. Unless your coaching staff has a premium ability to develop QB's, youake the commitment to get the best when you have that opportunity.

Even Jimmy Johnson knew that, selecting both Aikman and Walsh in the 1st rounds, albeit a supplementary draft for the Walsh. You saw the Colts make that move, the Giants too. The majority of elite QB go high in the 1st

 

[ConstantReboot]

Yup, we got rid of Ware. Remember?

Oh everyone here was saying he was washed out and not worth paying for.

 

[BAT]

The Cowboys never focused on offense, they took the BPA a approach. They tiij their last two o-linemen in the 1st round because their defensive players were taken. In the past 5 drafts since 2010, they have taken 3 o-linemen and 2 CB's.

Since 2010 the Cowboys have taken 17 offensive players in the draft and 22 defensive players.

That was one of my points,another being that many have states frustration that the Cowboys never built a dominant defense. They certainly did. In 2009 the Cowboys shir out their last two opponents in December, shut down the Eagles in the playoffs but was hung out to dry by 4 turnovers in the divisional playoffs.

The main point I was making is that you cannot go cheap when taking a franchise quarterback in the draft. Unless your coaching staff has a premium ability to develop QB's, youake the commitment to get the best when you have that opportunity.

Even Jimmy Johnson knew that, selecting both Aikman and Walsh in the 1st rounds, albeit a supplementary draft for the Walsh. You saw the Colts make that move, the Giants too. The majority of elite QB go high in the 1st

All true. I only want to point out that the current Cowboys have at least 5 or 6 pro bowl players (6 if Witten returns to form) on offense and a single alternate on D (Sean Lee). Taking BPA is a great idea but the defense has not been as successfully stocked by the Cowboys whether in the draft, FA or trade.

Cowboys already have a franchise QB, WR and 3 OL (very likely 4) on the roster. When are they going to get franchise cornerstone for the D?? After all, DEFENSE is proven to not only win championships, it not only carries poor offenses into the post season, but the truly elite defense's also beat franchise QBs, even NFL MVPs, or sure fire HOFers are not immune.