ESPN: Cowboys' secondary revamp won't happen all at once

[jobberone]

Cowboys' secondary revamp won't happen all at once
6:30 AM HST

Todd Archer ESPN Staff Writer

FRISCO, Texas -- Next Saturday, the Dallas Cowboys will be on a plane for California and the start of training camp.

Expectations are high for a team that went 13-3 last season and has a young core that should improve in 2017, but there are questions. Many center on the pass rush. The Cowboys don't have a DeMarcus Ware type pass-rusher, and they are relying on quantity over quality when it comes to pressuring the opposing quarterback.

There are also major questions in the secondary with the losses of Brandon Carr, Barry Church, J.J. Wilcox and Morris Claiborne. For years, many Cowboys fans lamented the play of those four players, and now many of those same fans don't know how they will get by without them.

To me, the secondary is a bigger question than the pass rush. I believe the Cowboys' pass rush will be OK. Not great. Not bad. Middle of the road. An all-at-once change in the secondary could create issues, but the Cowboys could have long-term solutions in their youth movement.

And that brings us to this week's Twitter question:

Follow
Jeremy Munza @Jmunza

@toddarcher What is the potential for a totally revamped youth movement in the secondary? Awuzie/Brown/Jones/Woods/Lewis #Cowboysmail
9:14 PM - 13 Jul 2017

http://www.espn.com/blog/dallas-cow...boys-secondary-revamp-wont-happen-all-at-once

 

[Bullflop]

I'll bet most members here at The Zone don't seriously expect success immediately from the Cowboys revamped secondary this year. It just wouldn't make sense to expect all of the necessary adjustments to come together and bring us instant success. The many technical factors involved simply make great results too indefinite to predict in advance. I'm guessing most of us are fairly hopeful of finding success no later than midseason or at least, to show fairly satisfactory results by then. Remaining competitive in the Eastern Division would likely make it necessary.

 

[CalPolyTechnique]

I think our secondary will get its baptism vs. Giants (ODB, Marshall and Sheppard).

 

[Bullflop]

I think our secondary will get its baptism vs. Giants (ODB, Marshall and Sheppard).

Yeah, I'd say that's a safe bet -- that's quite a wrecking crew right there that NY has assembled! It'll present a challenge for sure.

 

[jobberone]

Jones and Heath.....we're good
Carroll, Brown and Scandrick......we're good

The rest of the guys will play SPs which is 50% of our base and that will have to do to get them up to speed. At least two I'm very hopeful of and I like the length of the low draft pick.

We just need TOs and some pressure to help them.

 

[Deep_Freeze]

Well I definitely want to keep all of them, not get cute and cut White to try to add him to the practice squad.

 

[Bullflop]

Jones and Heath.....we're good
Carroll, Brown and Scandrick......we're good

The rest of the guys will play SPs which is 50% of our base and that will have to do to get them up to speed. At least two I'm very hopeful of and I like the length of the low draft pick.

We just need TOs and some pressure to help them.

Yep, I hope Carroll is better than some here claim but it shouldn't be too tough to equal what Carr did the last few years.

 

[jobberone]

Yep, I hope Carroll is better than some here claim but it shouldn't be too tough to equal what Carr did the last few years.

He had a DWI so might miss some.

 

[jobberone]

Well I definitely want to keep all of them, not get cute and cut White to try to add him to the practice squad.

Can't keep but 5 maybe 6 CBs.

 

[Bullflop]

He had a DWI so might miss some.

Ouch -- I had almost forgotten about that. Guess we'll have to hope for the best and just ride it out if he's suspended. That complicates things. Maybe Chidobe Owuzie gets an early baptism in that event.

 

[Deep_Freeze]

Can't keep but 5 maybe 6 CBs.

Call Awuzie a safety, don't care how it happens, we need to go long with the secondary.

 

[jobberone]

Call Awuzie a safety, don't care how it happens, we need to go long with the secondary.

Still stuck at 8-10 DBs. 10 means 15 the rest of the defense. That's 8 DL and 7 LB which is short IMO on DL and minimum at LB.

 

[MileyDancer]

Yeah, I'd say that's a safe bet -- that's quite a wrecking crew right there that NY has assembled! It'll present a challenge for sure.

Yeah, but E-verybody L-oves I-nterceptions is throwing the ball.

 

[Deep_Freeze]

Still stuck at 8-10 DBs. 10 means 15 the rest of the defense. That's 8 DL and 7 LB which is short IMO on DL and minimum at LB.

Yeah but I don't mind cutting Blanton or Frazier or both to keep our rookies.

Some might not agree of course, but if this is the best class of DBs in a decade, I would find a way to keep them unless they are horrible on the field.

 

[Stash]

Still stuck at 8-10 DBs. 10 means 15 the rest of the defense. That's 8 DL and 7 LB which is short IMO on DL and minimum at LB.

I'd go 6 CB's and 4 S's. I don't think they drafted 3 cornerbacks just to turn around and cut one of them, they're sincere about revamping their cornerback group.

And, given how little base 4-3 defense is played, I see neither the reason, nor the talent there to keep anything more than 6 at that position.

That would give them 9 defensive linemen at the least, even if they didn't go "short" at a position or two offensively. Factor in Irving's four-game suspension, and they can essentially start the season with 10 DL.

 

[jobberone]

I'd go 6 CB's and 4 S's. I don't think they drafted 3 cornerbacks just to turn around and cut one of them, they're sincere about revamping their cornerback group.

And, given how little base 4-3 defense is played, I see neither the reason, nor the talent there to keep anything more than 6 at that position.

That would give them 9 defensive linemen at the least, even if they didn't go "short" at a position or two offensively. Factor in Irving's four-game suspension, and they can essentially start the season with 10 DL.

That's a reasonable point but it avoids depth. Before going down that path you must make cuts on the DL

Irving-suspended 4 games** DT/DE

DE:

Taco*
Lawrence*
Mayowa*
Moore*
Baron
Jones
Leslie
Neal
Tapper*

DT:

Crawford*
Carroll
Ash
Collins*
Paea*
Thorton*
Ivie

** suspended and DT/DE
* starter/rotation material

53

Tapper, Irving, Mayowa, Lawrence, Taco, maybe Moore
Collins, Crawford, Thorton, Paea

That's 10 maybe 9 without Moore. No Paea then Ivie. Someone may surprise as well to throw another monkey in the wrench.

LBers quickly are Lee, Hitchens, Wilson, Smith, Loti***, and Nzeocha (sic) as a base. Gotta likely keep at least one more.

CBs....Brown, Carroll, Scandrick, two rooks Total 5

S......Heath, Jones, Dixon, and one other. Total 4

That's 16 less the DBs which are 9 for 25 and that's probably the numbers.

 

[Stash]

That's a reasonable point but it avoids depth. Before going down that path you must make cuts on the DL

Irving-suspended 4 games** DT/DE

DE:

Taco*
Lawrence*
Mayowa*
Moore*
Baron
Jones
Leslie
Neal
Tapper*

DT:

Crawford*
Carroll
Ash
Collins*
Paea*
Thorton*
Ivie

** suspended and DT/DE
* starter/rotation material

53

Tapper, Irving, Mayowa, Lawrence, Taco, maybe Moore
Collins, Crawford, Thorton, Paea

That's 10 maybe 9 without Moore. No Paea then Ivie. Someone may surprise as well to throw another monkey in the wrench.

LBers quickly are Lee, Hitchens, Wilson, Smith, Loti***, and Nzeocha (sic) as a base. Gotta likely keep at least one more.

CBs....Brown, Carroll, Scandrick, two rooks Total 5

S......Heath, Jones, Dixon, and one other. Total 4

That's 16 less the DBs which are 9 for 25 and that's probably the numbers.

I've got 6 at DE and 4DT's.

Charlton, Irving(susp), Lawrence, Mayowa, Moore, Tapper at DE.

Collins, Thornton, Crawford, and either Paea or Ivey at DT.

Given Irving's suspension, that's 9 defensive linemen counting against the opening day 53.

After the top three LB's, Lee, Smith, Hitchens, I'm not sure who stays or goes, but I sure don't see any reason for more than 6. Where's the talent? Where's the reason?

That's 15 between those two groups.

Add in 10 defensive backs - four safeties and 6 corners for me, and that brings you to 25.

And that's not even considering that they could go "light" at TE or WR offensively and end up with less than 25 players on that side of the ball.

One more thing, who's "Dixon"?

 

[PJTHEDOORS]

"There are also major questions in the secondary even without the losses of Brandon Carr, Barry Church, J.J. Wilcox and Morris Claiborne."

In other words, there were ALWAYS major questions in the secondary when those guys played.

 

[Stash]

"There are also major questions in the secondary even without the losses of Brandon Carr, Barry Church, J.J. Wilcox and Morris Claiborne."

In other words, there were ALWAYS major questions in the secondary when those guys played.

I thought that this line summed it up perfectly:

"For years, many Cowboys fans lamented the play of those four players, and now many of those same fans don't know how they will get by without them."

There's the truth of it.

And for me, one of the biggest reasons for faith and optimism lies with the current secondary coaching staff. All four of those departed players had the best years in their time in Dallas last year, as well as rookie Anthony Brown doing a great job when called upon.

Does anyone really want to chalk that up to coincidence or a happy accident? Maybe for one player, maybe even two, but everybody? That's not coincidence, that's coaching. And given that those same coaches are still here, I'm confident that this team's secondary will be well-coached and well-prepared, no matter who's out there, be they rookie or veteran.

 

[Frozen700]

You can't get worse than the slow pokes we had last year.

I'm sorry but our secondary was **** last year, and has been **** for sometime now. You just can't get any worse