Disappointment of Demarcus Lawrence

[charron]

People have complained about inside DT in the other years as well yet Lawrence produced but not last year, Quinn had no issue putting up 11.5 sacks on the season. You pay a player elite money it comes with expectation that player will continue to produce not fall flat on his face.

That's true people always complain. And I'm not saying we should have signed him at all but that's not at my choice but understand what we got when we did sign he's not evil eat at speed or technique. He is very good but not elite coming off of shoulder surgery that he had way too late which is why I wouldn't have signed him to a big contract. I do expect him to have a better year next year assuming he is healthy however the defense may not be as good finding the talent around him.

 

[Sydla]

Same two knuckleheads were there last year. And in terms of yards per drive and points per drive, the defense was indistinguishable from last year.

With Quinn opposite him Lawrence should have had a *better* year. Quinn took almost as many double teams as Lawrence did.

So good one year, bad another year? And it wasn't just a player here or there that regressed but many of their best players? Lawrence was worse, Smith was worse, LVE was worse, Jones wasn't as good at CB (still decent), Woods showed more two years ago than last year, Awuzie seemingly got worse (if possible).

That's coaching and I am glad those two (and I assume Bloom) are gone. Whether Nolan is the answer? I have no idea.

 

[foofighters]

Of course I'm not saying he's not a good player. He's good not great. He got very full of himself. He's the guy who gave us this Hot Boyz nonsense.

Lawrence, like too many others on this team, needs a wake up call from a real Head Coach.

When you measure his mouth vs his play, he just plain sucks.

 

[Hawkeye0202]

So good one year, bad another year? And it wasn't just a player here or there that regressed but many of their best players? Lawrence was worse, Smith was worse, LVE was worse, Jones wasn't as good at CB (still decent), Woods showed more two years ago than last year, Awuzie seemingly got worse (if possible).

That's coaching and I am glad those two (and I assume Bloom) are gone. Whether Nolan is the answer? I have no idea.

Good post!

 

[buybuydandavis]

Immediately after inking the deal...I want to say that it was a few hours after signing, but if not then it was the next day if I'm not mistaken.

My recollection too. I remember a little bit of noise about the possibility of him playing on it this year, but I thought he went through with the surgery.

 

[texbumthelife]

At this stage really hoping that Nolan and his assistant coaches can light a fire under one of the most disappointing players in 2019, Demarcus Lawrence. He forced a cap hit of 21 million last season and produced 5 sacks on the season? We paid for elite and got trash. 5 sacks, all other top pass rushers in the league even getting double team still produced while Lawrence play was pathetic. He did a lot of jawing during the season yet was never a game changing factor on the season. The man needs to rededicate himself and play to the level of elite

The only real defense I have of Lawrence, other than the **** scheme and coaching he had, is he plays the strong side. Almost every one of your sack leaders play the weak side and usually only need to beat one blocker. He also plays most QBs throwing arm side so he doesn't get those surprise sacks where the QB can't see him. He also played his *** off. He may not have produced splash plays, but it wasn't for lack of effort. He continues to have one of the best and quickest inside moves in the games.

My hope is that Nolan/Tomsula move him around, giving him some reps on the weak/blind side.

 

[quickccc]

I'm giving DLaw the benefit of the doubt in that there had to be some hindering injury that had to be limiting him more than what obviously was being led on.
maybe the same shoulder he received surgery on ?, .still some lingering effects ? .. or a new injury? ...
and of course it doesn't help that he decided to wait so long to have the surgery (for years!) but that's history and done.

sorry I don't buy the excuse of this "double-team " ..as if he wasn't double-teamed the last 2 years with he accumulated double digit sacks before he prove worthy of that big contract.

His recovering health is going to be one thing, ..but should we switch to the base 3-4 scheme (as I tend to believe we will) that would mean DLaw would
have to adjust to being a stand up 3-4 OLB.
And that's just not a given. some players don't always adjust accordingly and are not as natural and effective as they were in the 4-3 scheme.
-Quinn seems a natural as a 4-3 end. and he struggled after being converted to a 3-4 OLB in Miami
-Ditto with Clowney not as natural and who played the 3-4 in Houston for years.
-Mario Williams never seem like the same player when he had to switch to 3-4 OLB.
-Dante Fowler (who i'm hoping Cowboys pursue in FA) successfully made the switch to 3-4 in Wade Phillip's D" scheme.

 

[McKDaddy]

Talks too much. One of the guys who was alwaus saying they were better than they were and who had empty messages. This is one thing from the Garrett era I hated the most....too much talk.

He and several others have really gotten on my nerves with the meaningless talk and acting like there wasn't a problem when they were losing.

 

[quickccc]

The only real defense I have of Lawrence, other than the **** scheme and coaching he had, is he plays the strong side. Almost every one of your sack leaders play the weak side and usually only need to beat one blocker. He also plays most QBs throwing arm side so he doesn't get those surprise sacks where the QB can't see him. He also played his *** off. He may not have produced splash plays, but it wasn't for lack of effort. He continues to have one of the best and quickest inside moves in the games.

My hope is that Nolan/Tomsula move him around, giving him some reps on the weak/blind side.

it was the same **** scheme that saw him collect double digit sacks the previous 2 back to back years (2017 and 2018) en route to finally receiving that big payday contract ..
and Marinelli actually moved him inside on obvious passing downs to get him freed up and a quicker path to the QB,(before M. Bennett arrived) . .. so what happened ?
What's the next excuse being given to Dlaw's disappointing year ?

 

[DJordan23]

My recollection too. I remember a little bit of noise about the possibility of him playing on it this year, but I thought he went through with the surgery.

Yeah, he had the surgery because if you remember...he missed all of camp, and pushed the rehab all the way up to a few weeks before game one.

 

[jrumann59]

People have complained about inside DT in the other years as well yet Lawrence produced but not last year, Quinn had no issue putting up 11.5 sacks on the season. You pay a player elite money it comes with expectation that player will continue to produce not fall flat on his face.

Two to tally different positions. Quinn was only there to rush the pass sucked in run game. Lawrence was.more.disruptive overall than the three guys he started with.

 

[buybuydandavis]

So good one year, bad another year? And it wasn't just a player here or there that regressed but many of their best players? Lawrence was worse, Smith was worse, LVE was worse, Jones wasn't as good at CB (still decent), Woods showed more two years ago than last year, Awuzie seemingly got worse (if possible).

That's coaching and I am glad those two (and I assume Bloom) are gone. Whether Nolan is the answer? I have no idea.

LVE, Smith, and Woods all had significant health issues. Woods still seems to have made a big positive difference. 2-4 without him, 6-4 with him. Byron was about the same. Awuzie did look worse.

Marinelli has probably been the same Marinelli since he got here. He's the guy coaching Lawrence. I don't think anyone was teaching that old dog new tricks. He do what he do.

 

[texbumthelife]

it was the same **** scheme that saw him collect double digit sacks the previous 2 back to back years (2017 and 2018) en route to finally receiving that big payday contract ..
and Marinelli actually moved him inside on obvious passing downs to get him freed up and a quicker path to the QB,(before M. Bennett arrived) . .. so what happened ?
What's the next excuse being given to Dlaw's disappointing year ?

It's not an excuse. I don't need to make excuses. I didn't pay/play/coach the guy. It's an observation.

How many snaps, exactly, did Marinelli move him inside? A handful? Just moving a guy to move him isn't necessarily the best option. It may be the quickest path, but it's certainly not the easiest. As I said, I'd like to see him get more reps on the weak side, like he did his first few years in the league.

Everyone on the defense had a down year. Literally everyone. Not just Lawrence. To me, thats indicative of other, greater issues. Again, not an excuse, an observation. His play was disappointing but it wasn't all his fault.

I'm excited to see what he does with Nolan and Tomsula. But sure, let's just keep spewing the piss and vinegar and vitriol cause that's more fun...

 

[dallasfan4lizife]

Are there any fools on this forum that actually think he's worth his contract? He's always been extremely overrated.

He could NEVER do what Demarcus Ware did. And we cut him while he was still a top 5 rusher. This team is stupid from the top down. Jerry Jones is a half-wit, so contracts like this will continue to hamper the team for as long as that old bag is alive.

 

[PhillyCowboysFan]

He's not trash but the scheme and lack of talent inside made it much easier for offenses to take him away and make him ineffective.

I hear what you are saying but they haven’t been able to do that the last three years when he was contending for sack leader. And that was without real help on the other side, so with Quinn here this year there was no excuse for his lack luster performance. This is the typical “I got paid” attitude....IMHO!

 

[Doomsday101]

The only real defense I have of Lawrence, other than the **** scheme and coaching he had, is he plays the strong side. Almost every one of your sack leaders play the weak side and usually only need to beat one blocker. He also plays most QBs throwing arm side so he doesn't get those surprise sacks where the QB can't see him. He also played his *** off. He may not have produced splash plays, but it wasn't for lack of effort. He continues to have one of the best and quickest inside moves in the games.

My hope is that Nolan/Tomsula move him around, giving him some reps on the weak/blind side.

He had no problems before the contract was signed, Great players make plays. Fact is he didn't. He went from 14.5 sacks and 10.5 sacks to 5. Same defense, same coaches. I will not blame coaches for his play, at some point the player is accountable for their play. Hell no coach on the staff including HC got 21 mill for a season. Players can't all of a sudden not be accountable yet draw the pay they get. You want the money then deal with the expectation that come with it. You want to talk then back it up on the field.

 

[texbumthelife]

Are there any fools on this forum that actually think he's worth his contract? He's always been extremely overrated.

He could NEVER do what Demarcus Ware did. And we cut him while he was still a top 5 rusher. This team is stupid from the top down. Jerry Jones is a half-wit, so contracts like this will continue to hamper the team for as long as that old bag is alive.

He's never been expected to do what Ware did so that's a ridiculous comparison. Ware was an OLB on the weak side of a 34 defense. Lawrence is the strong side guy in a 43. The position is as inherently different as Ware and Tank are. Do a quick search for what other strong side 43 defensive ends did this year.

 

[texbumthelife]

He had no problems before the contract was signed, Great players make plays. Fact is he didn't. He went from 14.5 sacks and 10.5 sacks to 5. Same defense, same coaches. I will not blame coaches for his play, at some point player is accountable to their play. Hell no coach on the staff including HC got 21 mill for a season. Players can't all of a sudden not be accountable yet draw the pay they get. You want the money then deal with the expectation that come with it. You want to talk then back it up on the field.

It wasn't the same defense. They changed from a cover-2 to a cover-1/cover-3. They also stopped playing Lawrence on the weak side completely. Complain all you want about his play, but at least get the facts right. The defense wasn't remotely the same in 19 as it was in 17.

 

[dallasfan4lizife]

He's never been expected to do what Ware did so that's a ridiculous comparison. Ware was an OLB on the weak side of a 34 defense. Lawrence is the strong side guy in a 43. The position is as inherently different as Ware and Tank are. Do a quick search for what other strong side 43 defensive ends did this year.

How is it ridiculous? He's the #1 paid defensive player in the entire NFL. We set a new market for DE's by signing him to that enormous contract.

I can name at least 20 better defensive ends than him. Total reach of a contract. Keep making excuses. DWare was never a top 5 contract like DLaw.

 

[texbumthelife]

How is it ridiculous? He's the #1 paid defensive player in the entire NFL. We set a new market for DE's by signing him to that enormous contract.

I can name at least 20 better defensive ends than him. Total reach of a contract. Keep making excuses. DWare was never a top 5 contract like DLaw.

I think he's first in either annual salary or guaranteed money, but not in the other. Not that it matters because none of us are signing the checks and the Cowboys have plenty of money.

I'm disappointed in his play too. He needs more splash plays. I just choose to actually look at it constructively and analyze the situation, instead of simply whining about something.