Defensive Prediction

[Fletch]

If Bradie James can get his guys lined up properly in this new Rob Ryan defense, as well as Gerald Sensebaugh in the secondary, we're going to be a force on defense to reckon with each and every game.

I am going to predict that by game one, vs. the Jets, defensively we will be about 85% ready, but flying to the football and giving 110% effort.

By game 3, the Cowboys will be dang near 100% and ready to inflict serious damage and pain on opposing defenses. Under Garrett and Ryan, each week you will see improvements on both sides of the ball. This ain't your cousin's, best friend's baby sister's Cowboys any longer. This team in my opinion will be a contender. Damn the preseason and what you may or may not think!

Cris Carter said it best on NFL Live, "Nobody is talking about the Cowboys. The Cowboys are flying under the radar." The Cowboys were his team to compete and possibly win the NFC East while "Stank" Schlereth picked the Giants.

My not so bold prediction is that the Cowboys will win the East!

 

[realtick]

I'm not as optimistic for the early going. We've got two starting cornerbacks who had abreviated training camp of what was already shortend training camp, trying to acclimate themselves to the defense on the go. Sorry, "mental reps" can only give you so much.

Not to mention an ILB in Brooking who is expected to get a lot of reps in the regular season, despite not having practiced at all.

Add all that to the fact this entire defense is trying to adjust to the new scheme.

 

[pupulehaole]

Abe Elam will be getting people in the right position in the secondary not Gerald.

 

[SDCowboy]

The D will definitely be better but will still be the downfall of this team this season.

 

[TheCoolFan]

Ehh...it's gonna be a work in progress this season. Remember, Wade Phillips ran a really simple scheme compared to this and it was the 4th year of running it yet there were still a bunch of breakdowns and communication problems last year.

Brett Maxie and Dave Campo still overseeing the secondary doesn't make me feel any better either.

 

[RS12]

I predict your defensive prediction is wrong.

 

[Fletch]

I predict your defensive prediction is wrong.

Guess we'll find out rather soon.

 

[Bullflop]

Abe Elam will be getting people in the right position in the secondary not Gerald.

That would seem a more likely scenario to me as well. Not so long ago, Sensabaugh couldn't wait for Elam to arrive so he could pick his brain to discover the intracacies of the Ryan defense.

 

[RastaRocket]

Yep! I completely agree. We will win the East. But we will never be 100% ready in any system. Always looking to improve.

 

[ElGatoGrande]

Insufficient data at this time,,, right now it looks like another weak defensive effort this year but tomorrow nights performance should be a better indicator.

 

[Hostile]

I'm not ready to make a defensive prediction other than to say last year's 400+ points allowed will not happen again. We will make a major improvement over that horrid stat.

 

[RastaRocket]

Anybody know how Kenyon Coleman is doing? I hear nothing about this guy...

 

[spook930]

I think we start of slow with the injuries and all but catch fire and get a wild card....

 

[Chuck 54]

I love my Cowboys, but I am not at all optimistic about our defense. I'm afraid it will still be the weak spot on this team, and I don't see our defense being much better than it was last year. We need some upgrades in the next couple of years.

I hope I'm wrong, but I think teams will run on us and unless we're great with the pass rush, they are going to pass on us too.

 

[gimmesix]

Insufficient data at this time,,, right now it looks like another weak defensive effort this year but tomorrow nights performance should be a better indicator.

Yeah, I was watching last year's preseason game against Houston today (because I'm using that videotape to record tomorrow's game).

The Texans just took it to the first-team defense, running over the Cowboys and passing with ease. And I remember thinking when I first saw this last year that it would get better in the regular season, that we simply weren't showing off the defense because we already knew how good it was.

It's easy for us to say that this year's defense will get better when Newman and Jenkins return (although they were a big part of the atrocious effort last year) and it's easy to say it will get better once the players get Ryan's scheme down, but I'm not going to buy into that this time.

I was pleased with how the first-team defensive line (Spears, Ratliff, Coleman) played the run against the Chargers ... that was an improvement over what we did against the Texans last year. But the lack of consistent pressure and the inability to cover could be the downfall of this defense again.

If we have to blitz to get pressure and our corners can't cover man-to-man, then that combination will handcuff any plans Ryan has for this defense.

I'm still holding out hope, but it looks like it's going to be up to this offense to carry the team.

 

[CCBoy]

Let's see, two seasons ago, the team played a 3-4 defense, and had one of the stingiest it had since 1994. From eight to ten of the current starting defenders were playing in that very defense.

Rob Ryan's defense puts the secondary out on an open space alone. They have been there, and done that...but recently, Scandrick has been shining in the 'new' system. I'm thinking, that both Terrence Newman and Mike Jenkins can handle that part as well. Elam is familiar with the changes, and will be barking out changes that are needed now.

Bradie James is in direct connection with Rob Ryan, and will be barking out the new directions to the upfront people. But even here, he as well as Brooking have been through the use of a Buddy Ryan 4-6. So, I am willing to bet that the personnel change to a fully charged Ryan to Ryan change will be met by all defensive line personnel once they are healthy.

The gun for the start of a season, following last years, will give a jolt and charge to all...including Keith Brookings.

My guess, is that Fletch is on target as to his prediction...but maybe for some additional reasons as well.

 

[coblue]

The D will struggle early and the team may have to outscore teams in the first few games - but the good news is that Dallas does not play any offensive juggernauts till NE after the BYE.

This D will eventually settle into giving up yards due to mental farts and less than stellar coverage in the back 4 but will surrender a lot more field goals than touchdowns - and thats why I think they will be better than many believe. Dallas will score touch downs and give up field goals for the most part.

 

[RastaRocket]

The D will struggle early and the team may have to outscore teams in the first few games - but the good news is that Dallas does not play any offensive juggernauts till NE after the BYE.

This D will eventually settle into giving up yards due to mental farts and less than stellar coverage in the back 4 but will surrender a lot more field goals than touchdowns - and thats why I think they will be better than many believe. Dallas will score touch downs and give up field goals for the most part.

Yep glad we have Sanchez to worry about in the first game. We already have looked solid with our red zone D in the pre season. I believe our starters have stopped 2/3 red zone drives from turning into touchdowns.

 

[Wimbo]

is Campo still here? Then I am pretty sure our DB's will be out of position a lot.

 

[Eskimo]

Our defense should finish around 20th in yards and points allowed by years end but we''ll be near the bottom of the league at the start of the year as players have to learn Ryan's system of the fly.

Our DL is just way too weak to compete in this league. Ratliff looks like a shell of his former self and appears to be wearing down even faster than I thought he would. He should strictly be a nickel player at DT and shouldn't be taking many reps at NT anymore.

Our ILBs are way too slow assuming James and Brooking are still going to get a high number of snaps. Our only hope is that Carter and Lee may be taking a large portion of the nickel snaps before the end of year and the vast majority of all snaps by next year.

We are still quite weak at safety and who knows what kind of CB play we are going to get this year: the good version in 2009 or the horrifically bad version in 2010.

I think we'll see a major personnel overhaul next year at DL and secondary and then things should start to improve.

We'll go as far as the offense can take us this year which will be mostly dependent on how well the young OL holds up.