Everybody Predicted The Cowboys Defensive Line Would Be Terrible, Everybody Was Wrong

[waving monkey]

The best laid plans often go awry, but sometimes they go exactly to plan, and that was certainly the case on Sunday when the Cowboys had their most impressive overall team performance since 2014. Coming into the season everybody knew the Cowboys defense was not the most talented, especially along the defensive line. Despite suspensions to Demarcus Lawrence and Randy Gregory the team did not do much to address the defensive end position aside from signing little known free agent Benson Mayowa, a player with only two career sacks over three seasons, and drafting Charles Tapper at the top of the fourth round. The defensive tackle position was more stable with veterans Tyrone Crawford, Terrell McClain, and Cedric Thornton, although McClain was coming off a 2015 season where he only played two games while rookie Maliek Collins had missed almost the entire offseason with a foot injury. Orlando Scandrick was the team leader in career sacks coming into the season and it wouldn’t have been a stretch to say that the Cowboys had one of the five worst defensive lines in the league.

With that said, the Cowboys were confident in their defensive line for two reasons: Rod Marinelli’s ability to get the most out of his players and develop an effective rotation where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, and the potentially dominant offense and running game on the other side of the ball, which would hopefully build leads and shield the defense. The faces weren’t all the same on Sunday with Tony Romo and Dez Bryant out but that plan worked to perfection, and with the return of Lawrence it certainly looked like the decisions made by the Cowboys front office and coaching staff during the offseason were at least somewhat validated.

link/http://www.bloggingtheboys.com/2016...marcus-lawrence-cedric-thornton-benson-mayowa

 

[theebs]

defensive line. I thought the linebackers were slow and not very good either..sans lee.

I still don't think this is a very good front 7 and lacks an elite player of any kind for the first time in as long as i can remember.

 

[TwoDeep3]

So far.

 

[CATCH17]

Waaayyyyy too early to pat yourself on the back.

I think a lot of us had the DT position being pretty good considering what we have trotted out there in years past.

 

[waving monkey]

remember 2014 don't forget the magic

 

[DBOY3141]

I'll wait till Dec before I forum an opinion.

 

[Future]

It's been pretty bad until last week.

 

[zrinkill]

When they start getting steady pass rush ...... I will believe it ....... QB's still have way to much time.

 

[ActualCowboysFan]

defensive line. I thought the linebackers were slow and not very good either..sans lee.

I still don't think this is a very good front 7 and lacks an elite player of any kind for the first time in as long as i can remember.

Lee is part of the front 7.

 

[Baileyneverfailey]

This D-Line hadn't really played a good game until Cincinnati. Maybe Lawrence coming back is going to mean getting pressure now. We can hope it continues. Up to this point the secondary has been bailing them out in a big way, and the line needs to be more stout against the run.

 

[kiheikiwi]

It's still more about what the offense does than what the defense is. Perfect storm so far, with time of possession etc. This last game was a good step in right direction - but far from a pat your self on the back moment.
To be a better balanced team we need more talent on Defensive side of the ball. They can punch above their weight class this year - momentum, but we need more talent.

 

[yimyammer]

 

[JoeyBoy718]

It wasn't very good up until this last game. You have to look at each player.

1) Thornton was expected to be an immediate impact player. He started off slow but looked much better this past game. Still hasn't lived up to what we were expecting from him.

2) D-Law was suspended so it's hard to judge. The D-line seemed to do much better once he came back. We'll see if it was a fluke or if he transformed the line.

3) McClain exceeded everyone's expectations. The best and most consistent player on the D-line so far this year.

4) T. Crawford was a bit of a disappointment early on at DT. Jury's still out on whether or not he'll be a good DE.

5) Irving hasn't been anything special this year.

6) J. Craw is J. Craw.

7) Collins has impressed. Not many people expected him to replace T. Craw as the starting DT.

8) Mayowa sucked early on. Doesn't seem to be a reliable starter. Maybe he's better off as a backup.

So basically, the two big free agent signings (Thornton and Mayowa) have been slight disappointments and haven't proven they could be quality starters. But rookie Collins and especially McClain have been the biggest surprises and have made DT look pretty good. Still haven't shown much at DE. Hopefully Lawrence and T. Craw can turn that around.

 

[Denim Chicken]

Easy to be good when your up a few TDs.

Lets see them preform in close games or trailing.

 

[theebs]

Lee is part of the front 7.

uh yea i am aware.

 

[Risen Star]

We're actually attempting to brag about our defensive line?

 

[zrinkill]

We're actually attempting to brag about our defensive line?

Yea I don't get it.

 

[DenCWBY]

The best laid plans often go awry, but sometimes they go exactly to plan, and that was certainly the case on Sunday when the Cowboys had their most impressive overall team performance since 2014. Coming into the season everybody knew the Cowboys defense was not the most talented, especially along the defensive line. Despite suspensions to Demarcus Lawrence and Randy Gregory the team did not do much to address the defensive end position aside from signing little known free agent Benson Mayowa, a player with only two career sacks over three seasons, and drafting Charles Tapper at the top of the fourth round. The defensive tackle position was more stable with veterans Tyrone Crawford, Terrell McClain, and Cedric Thornton, although McClain was coming off a 2015 season where he only played two games while rookie Maliek Collins had missed almost the entire offseason with a foot injury. Orlando Scandrick was the team leader in career sacks coming into the season and it wouldn’t have been a stretch to say that the Cowboys had one of the five worst defensive lines in the league.

With that said, the Cowboys were confident in their defensive line for two reasons: Rod Marinelli’s ability to get the most out of his players and develop an effective rotation where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, and the potentially dominant offense and running game on the other side of the ball, which would hopefully build leads and shield the defense. The faces weren’t all the same on Sunday with Tony Romo and Dez Bryant out but that plan worked to perfection, and with the return of Lawrence it certainly looked like the decisions made by the Cowboys front office and coaching staff during the offseason were at least somewhat validated.

link/http://www.bloggingtheboys.com/2016...marcus-lawrence-cedric-thornton-benson-mayowa

See if this is applicable and post it after the last game of the season. Just sayin.

 

[BrAinPaiNt]

The D line has had one really good game vs the Bengals. Let's not go crazy.

We are 18th in total yards given up.
21st against the pass
12th against the rush
9th in points

WHAT has helped more than anything, IMO, is our offenses time of possession keeping the D off the field. One of the main reasons for taking Zeke in the first place.

 

[Alexander]

One game against a team like the Bengals which has shown they have issues protecting their QB means our DL is good now?

Seriously?