CCBoy
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 45,513
- Reaction score
- 21,753
Early Cowboys' Camp Reports Giving Reason For Hope On The Defensive Line
Early Cowboys' Camp Reports Giving Reason For Hope On The Defensive Line
The 2016 Dallas Cowboys are a team constructed around an explosive offense, designed to build leads early in games and then hold on to that lead by controlling the ball. On a team like that, the most important tasks for the defensive side of the ball are: a) generate takeaways, and b) rush the passer.
Many data analyses have shown that turnover generation is largely random. But anyone who pays attention to the way defenses practice will know that every bit of those practices has an element designed to encourage the habits that do result in increased takeaway opportunities, with tangible results for the Cowboys shown as recently as 2014. Still, we won't focus on this aspect in this article.
However, over the last few years, and really most of this century outside of a few years in the prime of DeMarcus Ware's career, the Cowboys have not been very good at generating consistent pressure on opposing quarterbacks. At times it has been a result of a lack of talent, and others it's been due to scheme issues, but as an organization they have failed to generate production from their defensive front in terms sacking opposing quarterbacks.
The team has, at various times, including following the heartbreaking loss to the Green Bay Packers in the 2014 playoffs, felt that they needed more from the pass rush to meet their goals. But throughout the 2016 offseason, their actions seemed to show that they felt as though they had enough talent along the front to get production and win. These actions, or more lack-there-of, have led to the ringing of many hands among fans and analyst in Cowboys Nation.
Now that we have a week worth of practice reports, Twitter posts, and "Training Camp Live" feeds to dig through, are there any early signs that may point to hope along the line? It certainly seems that there are, as coaches Rod Marinelli and Leon Lett have begun to mold the raw pieces of clay they have been given.
David Irving: As a player signed by the Cowboys away from the Kansas City Chiefs practice squad shortly after the end of training camp, Irving played a role in the Cowboys rotation in 2015, and showed promise, but lacked high-level production. Like many among the Cowboys' Rushmen, Irving has a very impressive physical profile, and according to observers, has begun to translate those measurables to the field in the team and one-on-one periods. Playing primarily as a left defensive end, Irving has regularly been too much for the Cowboys' right tackles to handle, displaying impressive ability to bend, and convert speed to power, using his remarkable length to control and occasionally dominate his opponents creating havoc in the backfield. If Irving can create some consistency in his technique, while developing the one-handed "long arm" move he's been working on a bit, there's no reason to believe he can't be a guy who can be counted on to produce in 2016...
Early Cowboys' Camp Reports Giving Reason For Hope On The Defensive Line
The 2016 Dallas Cowboys are a team constructed around an explosive offense, designed to build leads early in games and then hold on to that lead by controlling the ball. On a team like that, the most important tasks for the defensive side of the ball are: a) generate takeaways, and b) rush the passer.
Many data analyses have shown that turnover generation is largely random. But anyone who pays attention to the way defenses practice will know that every bit of those practices has an element designed to encourage the habits that do result in increased takeaway opportunities, with tangible results for the Cowboys shown as recently as 2014. Still, we won't focus on this aspect in this article.
However, over the last few years, and really most of this century outside of a few years in the prime of DeMarcus Ware's career, the Cowboys have not been very good at generating consistent pressure on opposing quarterbacks. At times it has been a result of a lack of talent, and others it's been due to scheme issues, but as an organization they have failed to generate production from their defensive front in terms sacking opposing quarterbacks.
The team has, at various times, including following the heartbreaking loss to the Green Bay Packers in the 2014 playoffs, felt that they needed more from the pass rush to meet their goals. But throughout the 2016 offseason, their actions seemed to show that they felt as though they had enough talent along the front to get production and win. These actions, or more lack-there-of, have led to the ringing of many hands among fans and analyst in Cowboys Nation.
Now that we have a week worth of practice reports, Twitter posts, and "Training Camp Live" feeds to dig through, are there any early signs that may point to hope along the line? It certainly seems that there are, as coaches Rod Marinelli and Leon Lett have begun to mold the raw pieces of clay they have been given.
David Irving: As a player signed by the Cowboys away from the Kansas City Chiefs practice squad shortly after the end of training camp, Irving played a role in the Cowboys rotation in 2015, and showed promise, but lacked high-level production. Like many among the Cowboys' Rushmen, Irving has a very impressive physical profile, and according to observers, has begun to translate those measurables to the field in the team and one-on-one periods. Playing primarily as a left defensive end, Irving has regularly been too much for the Cowboys' right tackles to handle, displaying impressive ability to bend, and convert speed to power, using his remarkable length to control and occasionally dominate his opponents creating havoc in the backfield. If Irving can create some consistency in his technique, while developing the one-handed "long arm" move he's been working on a bit, there's no reason to believe he can't be a guy who can be counted on to produce in 2016...