That is the thing that the Rising Star and Alexander's of the world can't see.
Yep, our D was bad last year. Really bad. With Ware. With Hatcher. And with Lee part of the year. What would have been the point of bringing them all back, at a much higher cost this year considering we would have had to pay Hatcher $$$? The guys that do nothing but post sarcastic snarky comments tell us that doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome is moronic, yet it seems that is what they would prefer Dallas to do. We weren't getting it done WITH those guys, and it really wasn't just an issue last year as it has gone on really for the last three years....we haven't had good defenses with Ware, Hatcher and Lee in a long time. In points, our last 4 years we have been 26, 24, 16 and 31. In yards, we have been 32, 19, 14 and 23. That's a pretty bad 4 years defensively.
The last couple of years, we have tried different things in the draft....like building an OL with early draft picks. Adding some red zone weapons in Williams and Escobar. On offense, we still go as Romo goes, but we are building an offense that would be very helpful for a game manager to be effective in....good OL that is able to run and pass protect. So we are building for the future QB after Romo even as we are building a defense.
Our defense has a couple vets that are here to play roles in a defense until we can add the pieces we need. Mincey, McClain and Carr. If Claiborne can prove that he can play, then Carr becomes expendable. If Lawrence is more than just a pass rusher then Mincey is a short term insurance policy. If Crawford shows why the team was excited about him coming into last season, then McClain is just a part of the rotation. If Holloman and Wilcox make a jump in year two...we are that much closer to having a D with young, good talent. There is youth all over the defense...with Wilbur, Carter, Hamilton and a few others whose final outcome hasn't been determined yet. If we can get an unexpected find in Bishop or Gardner, we are one player closer to building a better defense. Hitchens, Dixon and all might be part of the answer.
And yes, we are expecting a lot from Marinelli. He has become the whipping boy for the "likes collector". It's not just fans that think he is a pretty good coach. It's former players and other coaches that speak so highly of his ability to mainly get better production out of guys that maybe haven't lived up to their potential.
Dallas started a rebuilding project when Garrett was brought on board without saying as much. It's clear though....a lot of old talent has gone away. We haven't embraced free agency as a quick fix like we did in the past. We are trying a new way...which is very much like the old way of the last Cowboys dynasty. Great OL, weapons at WR and TE, a good running game and a defense that attacked in waves. It's what the current blueprint looks like but the construction still isn't complete...but it's getting there.
