Have Cowboys done enough to help the Defense?

[Cowfan75]

We didn't necessarily scrape the bottom of the bargain bin for defensive help like we normally do, but, no, I don't think we have done enough on defense yet. Of course if LVE returns healthy, Gregory returns and DLaw plays like he did before cashing his check, who knows? Maybe we have the talent and just needed to add actual coaching to the mix.

 

[CouchCoach]

When acquiring FA talent, my first question is always why doesn't his present team want him? I wasn't aware of a race to get Dix, McCoy, Poe or Smith. The best pass rusher is gone but he wasn't a great run defender. The best DB is gone but he wasn't a good ball skills defender. The D is more team reliant than the O and now they've introduced new moving parts at half the positions and will need a rookie CB to step up.

The DC is a journeyman ex everything and spent the last 5 years as a LBC on O teams and does not have a great resume or track record. The DC is the glue on a good D and the talent level of this D is unknown and it is that guy's job to max it out and minimize the weaknesses and he's not shown that. And every new DC says the same thing about increasing turnovers, including the last one.

There's a lot of change on a mediocre D and it is unknown what it will look like at this time. Maybe Lawrence should rename his group "Old Boyz" or "The Traveling Wilburys"?

I am not raining on them but this D was the problem last season and I've yet to see solutions. The Cowboys have ridden the offense for so long, I am used to it and I think they will only go as far as that can take them. This team is going to need to average 30 a game and that doesn't mean 6 at 45, 4 at 30 and 6 at 15. That average score can be a tricky stat.

 

[quickccc]

-Rebuilding the Defense is going to take time, cannot be accomplished in 1 off-season.
-So far they addressed the CB position with much needed ball hawks.
-This is a year of evaluation to see what holdovers are apart of the long-term plan.
-Do believe they have taken a small step back, but will take a further leap when some of these pieces are developed.
-Lve should return to full health this season, he was a true playmaker in his rookie season.
-More size up front will allow our run and hit linebackers to become more effective.
-DLaw should be better this season as he was coming off of shoulder surgery last year.
-If Gregory/Aldon do get reinstated, they will probably be brought along slowly and have a bigger impact late in the season.
-Having a more aggressive scheme could lead to more splash plays, more turnovers, but also more big plays given up
-Front Office needs to find long-term answers at the RDE and SS positions.

- and how many years have we been saying "it takes more than one year ", ..over the years now ?

- and not adding middle ground impact players like Calabis Campbells or Earl Thomas to the defense doesn't matter - and the more holes and weaknesses
you have, the more difficult it makes for us to solidify that goal of having a championship caliber defense ?

- and holes and weaknesses includes coaching too. We wasted way too much time on Rod Marinelli and we've had too many issues
with asst coaches and coordinators that crippled the develop and progress of this team as well, Joe baker keeping Jones at safety, LB coach
Ben Bloom fighting rebelling against his defensive boss Richard, expelled from team, etc. coaching mutiny, etc.

- and management needs to take a blame for some of the coaching derailment too. If you recruited to believe you want a Seahawk style defense, let
him take over the entire defense instead of sharing the defense trying to loyally stay married to Marinelli. ..not allowing Richard to
hire his own LB coach which eventually led to desension vs Richard.

- Coaches best develop and place players in the best position to excel, ..sounds like an often -used cliche, but if you look at the examples, you see how
that plays out to be true. For better or for worse.

- More size upfront with Poe, but what if Poe gets hurt ? Who then becomes the size factor then ? Woods ? Hill ? Gallimore ?
These leftover guys are in the same 305-309 lb area, and we are particularly back to the Marinelli movement type than big space eaters type.

- It seemingly taking more yeas because we still didn't do it enough the prior years and we still have the same FA approach.
We cannot build a defense with these one solo drafts.
That's why you need more than just one solid draft to allevate this defensive unit, we want to do it per money ball approach
and that's why i still question how Stephen chooses to build the defense THIS way.

 

[quickccc]

\

It is an assumption that on passing downs McCoy will be next to Lawrence since we have a new coaching staff but I'm pretty sure that was how they did it last year but granted it could be a whole new story this year. And he doesn't actually have to be right next to Lawrence to benefit from his influence, Quinn wanted to stay here because of Lawrence taking some of the attention.

Dix is an upgrade from Heath for the same reason I mentioned with Jones, he has twice as many interceptions in one less year than Heath 16 Vs. 8. The logic on Wilson is the same as the DEs, we had them last year and they didn't do much, players usually make the biggest improvement their second year if they're going to hence the possible upgrade.

I'm excited to see Anae get on the field, I had him ranked around 115.

i keep hearing some crediting Dlaw with the success of Quinn,. and i'm just not in agreement with that. Quinn was taking on pro bowl talent
(ala saints pro bowler LT Jerom Bushrod) and singlehandingly dominating him badly that the double team had to be assigned to Quinn's side.

People keep forgetting that Quinn was a former All pro player himself and he once collected an astounding 19 sacks in a single season.
Until the back issues occurred and a move to 3-4 OLB may have not further help matters (and which he will be playing in a 3-4 in Bears land)
Singlehandedly dominating a pro bowl OT like Bushrod had nuthin' to do with Dlaw on the other side.

With Wilson, some times that depends upon the coaches at hand. Some coaches are more conservative than others.
they prefer the vets - even the lesser talented ones over the rookies because they fear inexperience and confusion will come into
play, maybe more too often than they prefer to chance.

 

[J-man]

We improved the run defense for sure. And considering the few games we've been shellacked in over the past 2 seasons were because of our weak run D, I'd have to say yes. Is it where I want it to be? No not yet, but it's moving in the right direction.

 

[Cowboyny]

- and how many years have we been saying "it takes more than one year ", ..over the years now ?

- and not adding middle ground impact players like Calabis Campbells or Earl Thomas to the defense doesn't matter - and the more holes and weaknesses
you have, the more difficult it makes for us to solidify that goal of having a championship caliber defense ?

- and holes and weaknesses includes coaching too. We wasted way too much time on Rod Marinelli and we've had too many issues
with asst coaches and coordinators that crippled the develop and progress of this team as well, Joe baker keeping Jones at safety, LB coach
Ben Bloom fighting rebelling against his defensive boss Richard, expelled from team, etc. coaching mutiny, etc.

- and management needs to take a blame for some of the coaching derailment too. If you recruited to believe you want a Seahawk style defense, let
him take over the entire defense instead of sharing the defense trying to loyally stay married to Marinelli. ..not allowing Richard to
hire his own LB coach which eventually led to desension vs Richard.

- Coaches best develop and place players in the best position to excel, ..sounds like an often -used cliche, but if you look at the examples, you see how
that plays out to be true. For better or for worse.

- More size upfront with Poe, but what if Poe gets hurt ? Who then becomes the size factor then ? Woods ? Hill ? Gallimore ?
These leftover guys are in the same 305-309 lb area, and we are particularly back to the Marinelli movement type than big space eaters type.

- It seemingly taking more yeas because we still didn't do it enough the prior years and we still have the same FA approach.
We cannot build a defense with these one solo drafts.
That's why you need more than just one solid draft to allevate this defensive unit, we want to do it per money ball approach
and that's why i still question how Stephen chooses to build the defense THIS way.

-We got to look forward, not in the past, where many mistakes were made.
-Year 1 with any new staff is an evaluation year, find players who are apart of the long-term plan and ones's who need to be replaced.
-MM and his staff stated that they were looking for good football players, not scheme specific ones like Marinelli targeted.
-Nolan is going to run more of a complex scheme in which with be opponent specific.
-It appears this draft they trusted their scouting department more, perhaps this is what MM wanted.
-I'm expecting a major overhaul to take place after next season, with many upcoming fa's.

 

[Verdict]

We have done enough to win a Super Bowl. Now we just need to actually go out and win it.

I expect to see a Cowboys/Chiefs Super Bowl.

 

[Verdict]

Robinson may end up being a better corner longer term than Diggs. We will see.

 

[ChronicCowboy]

Gregory/Smith are right now being counted on as big contributors to the pass rush. Probably unwise to do so, but it may work out.

As long as LVE comes back healthy I’m ok with our back end. The secondary at least has some depth.

I certainly wouldn’t expect huge things out of this defense next season. The offense will need to carry the team again.

 

[morasp]

i keep hearing some crediting Dlaw with the success of Quinn,. and i'm just not in agreement with that. Quinn was taking on pro bowl talent
(ala saints pro bowler LT Jerom Bushrod) and singlehandingly dominating him badly that the double team had to be assigned to Quinn's side.

People keep forgetting that Quinn was a former All pro player himself and he once collected an astounding 19 sacks in a single season.
Until the back issues occurred and a move to 3-4 OLB may have not further help matters (and which he will be playing in a 3-4 in Bears land)
Singlehandedly dominating a pro bowl OT like Bushrod had nuthin' to do with Dlaw on the other side.

With Wilson, some times that depends upon the coaches at hand. Some coaches are more conservative than others.
they prefer the vets - even the lesser talented ones over the rookies because they fear inexperience and confusion will come into
play, maybe more too often than they prefer to chance.

I think Maurice Linguist was Wilson's coach in college.

It's a fun philosophical discussion on the Lawrence topic but hard to prove one way or another. McCoy had five sacks last year in an odd front so if he gets more this year was it Lawrence or Scheme or coaching or the weight he took off. Either way I'd be happy if he could collapse the pocket and get 6-8 sacks along the way.

 

[DuncanIso]

Bend but dont break isnt a scheme

get it.

Nolan and Marinelli still use it.

a lot.

 

[Established1971]

-Ha ha is a monster upgrade over Heath. That isn't even debatable
-McCoy is much better than Collins
-Poe is a monster upgrade over Covington
-Diggs is a downgrade for now, but if he can pick 3 passes that will be huge
-I will take Gregory, Aldon, Crawford all day long over Quinn. All Quinn did was bail out on the run and rush the passer so he could get his stats up. The guy was as bad as it gets against the run. HE is a specialty pass rusher, nothing more.

Then you have the coaching upgrade and scheme upgrade.

excellent post

 

[cern]

Other than safety, we added some upgrades.

 

[johneric8]

So after the NFL draft and free agency additions, what are your expectations for the Cowboys defense this year ?

- we've added byron jones replacement in Travon Diggs - i expect him to start at some early point if not game one

- we've added a heir apparent 3 tech in DT Gallimore who can develop as he finds rotation time behind McCoy (Team decided not to chance waiting on Trysten hill)

-Dunno what becomes of less heralded CB Reggie Robinson and edge rusher Anae - as they find a role and assuming they make the team.

- McCoy and Poe and Ha Ha Clinton Dix - they are stopgap -decent players, they are not pro bowlers anymore at this point, but the hope is they have enough left to allow us to change how we play defense and give us enough to operate and get by while we develop better players long term.

- frankly i dunno what will become of a significantly heavier Alden Smith from 260 to 285 lbs, as
well as a guy that has been out of football for 4 years.
That time away is quite a bridge of a challenge. and i've no idea how DC Nolan will package
and use him in the scheme.

- Gregory is still only age 27, and though he's missed time himself in a year away,
he may offer a quicker bridge back vs Alden - he has a faster get off than Alden..
and like Smith, he's exceptionally agile and wiry. and now with new CBA theres not the worry
of long term suspension should there be another " hiccup" to marijuana addiction.

Theres the hope that Dlaw has had key time to fully receover from his post-shulder surgery, where he simply was not right all year long. We need his
12-14 sack ability,

Do we get the return of a healthy LVE ? never seem the same all year and it's obvious that
had to be about that neck condition that eventually IR'ed him/ and who is our depth help should he
go out again ? Joe Thomas ? switching Lee to WLB ? i really prefer way stronger LB depth than
Thomas, Gifford and Covington.

Pass rush, run defense and more turnovers will be front liner headlines for this defense
- i'm still not sure we did enough for the defense in this off season.

Well you asked a question so let me answer it.. Getting new coaching alone was enough to make this defense good enough to win a championship in my opinion.. Too many of you think we need pro bowlers at every position to win because that is what Garrett needed.. Truth is, we have enough talent, and had enough talent.

 

[Williamsboys]

Dallas better hope that Demarcus Lawrence doesn't go from a War Daddy to a Sugar Daddy after signing that big contract.

 

[kskboys]

Possibly. If Gallimore can play, if HAHA can still play, if Poe and McC can still play, if we have two starting quality CB's, if we finally have the guys who can collapse the pocket. Many unknowns at this point.

 

[black label]

not yet,Safety is huge concern and so is our LB situation.

exactly

 

[Idgit]

Yep

 

[GORICO]

So after the NFL draft and free agency additions, what are your expectations for the Cowboys defense this year ?

- we've added byron jones replacement in Travon Diggs - i expect him to start at some early point if not game one

- we've added a heir apparent 3 tech in DT Gallimore who can develop as he finds rotation time behind McCoy (Team decided not to chance waiting on Trysten hill)

-Dunno what becomes of less heralded CB Reggie Robinson and edge rusher Anae - as they find a role and assuming they make the team.

- McCoy and Poe and Ha Ha Clinton Dix - they are stopgap -decent players, they are not pro bowlers anymore at this point, but the hope is they have enough left to allow us to change how we play defense and give us enough to operate and get by while we develop better players long term.

- frankly i dunno what will become of a significantly heavier Alden Smith from 260 to 285 lbs, as
well as a guy that has been out of football for 4 years.
That time away is quite a bridge of a challenge. and i've no idea how DC Nolan will package
and use him in the scheme.

- Gregory is still only age 27, and though he's missed time himself in a year away,
he may offer a quicker bridge back vs Alden - he has a faster get off than Alden..
and like Smith, he's exceptionally agile and wiry. and now with new CBA theres not the worry
of long term suspension should there be another " hiccup" to marijuana addiction.

Theres the hope that Dlaw has had key time to fully receover from his post-shulder surgery, where he simply was not right all year long. We need his
12-14 sack ability,

Do we get the return of a healthy LVE ? never seem the same all year and it's obvious that
had to be about that neck condition that eventually IR'ed him/ and who is our depth help should he
go out again ? Joe Thomas ? switching Lee to WLB ? i really prefer way stronger LB depth than
Thomas, Gifford and Covington.

Pass rush, run defense and more turnovers will be front liner headlines for this defense
- i'm still not sure we did enough for the defense in this off season.

i know Aldon smith and Gregory will make up the 11 sacks we lost losing #58....and with free agent tackles we brought in with bradlee Anae and also Gallimore from OU...we will have top 5 defense along with top offense in league

 

[GORICO]

Defensive End:
Robert Quinn vs Randy Gregory - It's a downgrade even if Gregory is re-stated but Gregory has sky high potential.
Kerry Hyder vs Tyrone Crawford - Lets see if Crawford is healthy and even makes the team
Michael Bennett vs Aldon Smith - If Smith is 285lbs I think he could be a tweener edge/tackle
Bradlee Anae vs Jalen Jelks - I think Anae beats out Jelks at the bottom of the roster

It's probably worse but we don't know that for sure. The potential is sky high. Plus Lawrence was hampered by injury so I expect we might get more out of him.

Defensive Tackle:
Dontari Poe vs Christian Covington Huge upgrade at 1T
Gerald McCoy vs Maliek Collins: I think McCoy is better, more versatile
Neville Gallimore vs Daniel Ross: Huge upgrade in the rotation

It's a heap better across the board. More talent, more versatility, better depth.

LB: No change
It's the same. LVE neck will decide things

CB:
Trevon Diggs vs Byron Jones: Lost a pro-bowl caliber CB
Reggie Robinson vs CJ Goodwin: minimal impact

Diggs is likely to be a sizable downgrade for 2020. Goodwin only played a handful of plays on defense so that change is probably minor.

Safety:
Haha Clinton-Dix vs Jeff Heath: Similar but I see it as a small upgrade
Maurice Canady vs Kavon Fraizer: Minimal impact

I think it slightly improved considering Fraizer was injured a fair chunk of the season. Canady is a DB change (not really safety) that more effects special teams.

Overall:
I think it's better mostly off the back of the DT's but we need to see if Diggs can hit the ground running and what we have at RDE. We could use an edge rusher but that could also just be throwing away money if Smith/Gregory pay off and play to their potential.

Dan---i really feel our "D" with all players we brought in free agency and draft and with McCarthy and Nolan as our D coor we will be much improved...that along with our improved offense....we will win the East and put real hurt in playoffs