Help with a pre - parcells secondary tendancy

[Galian Beast]

Why is it our corners are always playing like 10-15 yards off their receivers? And how come our linebackers can't cover tight ends and running backs if their lives depended on it?

 

[LeonDixson]

And why can't I remove that tag from my mattress?

Just kidding. It bugs me too that the corners play so far off. Even when they do move up they don't disrupt the receivers' routes. I'd like to see a good hard bump or push on the receiver at the line.

 

[pgreptom]

Why is it our corners are always playing like 10-15 yards off their receivers? And how come our linebackers can't cover tight ends and running backs if their lives depended on it?

Okay.. I'll try to address this, without throwing any insults around.

The Cowboys are ranked:

8th in total defense
4th in run defense
13th in pass defense
3rd in sacks.

I would guess a lot of teams try to get the quick pass off on us... we really play the deep ball well, and it leaves a lot of passes underneath open. I'd rather give up the dinks of 3-6 yards, as opposed to the bombs for 60. Additionally, our run defense is pretty freakin' stout... so teams have to pass from not really being able to run. On top of that, 5-step drop backs are a scary thing for opposing quarterbacks.. our pass rush is simply too good. The 3-step drops are going to be quick passes to WR's/TE's, and if they have enough time, they dump it off. If you watch games, you'll see most of what I'm saying. Depending on what kind of person you are, you'll focus on the negative(ie, why can't we cover the rb's, te's), instead of focusing on the positives(we have a pretty good defense, the amount of sacks we get, etc.)

I would imagine the corners play 10-15 yards off to stop the deep pass. It's not really that bad, the most I've ever seen is about 10 yards... it's usually a nice cushion of about 6-10 yards or so. I guess if you're crying now, I can only imagine how bad you'll cry if Henry got beat on a 60 yard bomb for playing bump coverage. Additionally, playing a little bit off the ball will give our defense a second or two more for that precious sack that I bet you adore so much.

Just remember, schemes are put in place for a reason - these people know more about football than you know about your wife. They wouldn't do it if they wasn't a reason for it.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

Mainly because they haven't trusted Jacques Reeves (and sometimes Nate Jones) to play man coverage. If you bump and run and the WR gets by you off the line, it can be a huge play even with the QB taking a short drop (in which case the pass rush doesn't have time to get there). We play a lot of single free safety looks, and there wouldn't be time for him to get over to help on a sideline route.

 

[theogt]

Why is it our corners are always playing like 10-15 yards off their receivers? And how come our linebackers can't cover tight ends and running backs if their lives depended on it?

We don't "always" play like that. Against the Eagles we played almost exclusively press coverage, and it was probably one of our best games in terms of pass defense all season. It also happened to be one of the few times we had both corners healthy. I can only imagine what this defense would have been like statistically with two healthy starting corners all season.