CyberB0b
Village Idiot
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Going into the 2014 season, this defense had every excuse to be worse than the record breaking 2013 squad. Gone were future hall of famer DeMarcus Ware and double digit sack producing Jason Hatcher, casualties of the modern NFL and the salary cap. The Other DeMarcus, who was drafted to be a pass rushing specialist, injured himself in July. Anthony Spencer, coming off his second knee surgery in as many years, wasn't expected to contribute much. Journeymen Jeremy Mincey and Terrell McClain were brought in to shore up this line. Many people laughed, including myself, but I am here to tell you that I was wrong.
The heart and soul of the defense, Sean Lee, was done for the year before the team even suited up for the first preseason game. Justin Durant was written off before camp even started, and many people didn't think he would make it to June 1st. Bruce Carter seemed to have lost his way at the Will. Anthony Hitchens was drafted to be a backup, and Kyle Wilbur is just a guy. The wildcatter Jerry Jones took a flyer on Rolando McClain, and it looks like he found some Texas Tea in Tuscaloosa.
Once the season started, the defense had trouble getting its feet under it. It doesn't help when the offense lays an egg. They had a pretty stout defense once the second half started. More excuses came. They only played well in the second half, because the 49ers were in cruise control. I said it, as did many others. They had a decent performance against the Titans, but Jake Locker is a bum, right? They allowed 31 points against a bad Rams team with a 3rd string QB starting, so they were starting to show their true colors, right? Just wait until they face an elite QB, and they will get carved up. Well, not so fast. The Rams scored 1 defensive TD and the Cowboys offense tried to give away the game with turnovers.
Drew Brees and the Who Dat nation roll into town, and get embarrassed and laughed out of town. Well, the New Orleans offense just looks out of sync, the Cowboys defense didn't do much. They only held New Orleans to 17 points and forced 3 turnovers, really the only defensive stats that matter.
After edging out a 3-1 Texans team at home, and losing their number 1 draft pick from 2012, they seemed to be playing well, but again the excuses popped up. Fitzpatrick is a bum and the Texans are a bad team that just happened to have a soft schedule to open the season. The classic trap game, and the Cowboys were able to edge them out, despite having a home field disadvantage. This defense hasn't been tested yet.
Going up to Seattle would be a real test, but there is no way this offense can match up against the LoB. Lynch is going to run over this bunch of scrubs and the Cowboys would be exposed for who they are. I guess that wasn't in the cards.
The Cowboys had every excuse going into this game to lose and pulled out another victory. They have proven that this is a league of parity, and there is no reason why they can't win the division. I thought Rod Marinelli was a big part of the problem last year, but he seems to have the guys playing pretty solid football. They fly to the ball and don't allow a ton of big plays, which is the cornerstone of this defense.
The heart and soul of the defense, Sean Lee, was done for the year before the team even suited up for the first preseason game. Justin Durant was written off before camp even started, and many people didn't think he would make it to June 1st. Bruce Carter seemed to have lost his way at the Will. Anthony Hitchens was drafted to be a backup, and Kyle Wilbur is just a guy. The wildcatter Jerry Jones took a flyer on Rolando McClain, and it looks like he found some Texas Tea in Tuscaloosa.
Once the season started, the defense had trouble getting its feet under it. It doesn't help when the offense lays an egg. They had a pretty stout defense once the second half started. More excuses came. They only played well in the second half, because the 49ers were in cruise control. I said it, as did many others. They had a decent performance against the Titans, but Jake Locker is a bum, right? They allowed 31 points against a bad Rams team with a 3rd string QB starting, so they were starting to show their true colors, right? Just wait until they face an elite QB, and they will get carved up. Well, not so fast. The Rams scored 1 defensive TD and the Cowboys offense tried to give away the game with turnovers.
Drew Brees and the Who Dat nation roll into town, and get embarrassed and laughed out of town. Well, the New Orleans offense just looks out of sync, the Cowboys defense didn't do much. They only held New Orleans to 17 points and forced 3 turnovers, really the only defensive stats that matter.
After edging out a 3-1 Texans team at home, and losing their number 1 draft pick from 2012, they seemed to be playing well, but again the excuses popped up. Fitzpatrick is a bum and the Texans are a bad team that just happened to have a soft schedule to open the season. The classic trap game, and the Cowboys were able to edge them out, despite having a home field disadvantage. This defense hasn't been tested yet.
Going up to Seattle would be a real test, but there is no way this offense can match up against the LoB. Lynch is going to run over this bunch of scrubs and the Cowboys would be exposed for who they are. I guess that wasn't in the cards.
The Cowboys had every excuse going into this game to lose and pulled out another victory. They have proven that this is a league of parity, and there is no reason why they can't win the division. I thought Rod Marinelli was a big part of the problem last year, but he seems to have the guys playing pretty solid football. They fly to the ball and don't allow a ton of big plays, which is the cornerstone of this defense.
