How bad is our secondary?

[Galian Beast]

Looking at the numbers it's nearly impossible to ascertain how bad the secondary is without taking into account the lack of pass rush, but here is a simple attempt to do so.

The Cowboys gave up 66.5 percent of pass attempts on them. This made us 29th in the NFL.

This has a lot to do with pass rush though, as way too often QBs were given too much time.

We were also 26th in yards, but that too, I think has too much to do with completion percentage, which has a lot to do with pass rush.

So let's look at a few positives and negatives that I think correlate more with how good or bad the secondary actually was.

We were 6th in passing touchdowns allowed.

We allowed 1863 yards after the catch... compared to a 1633 that our offense put down. That's terrible, especially for a team that was lauded for ganging up on receivers and runners. Way too many tackles missed. Nearly half the yards we gave up came AFTER the pass...

We gave up 45 passes over 20+ yards. 8th in the NFL. Though we gave up the 3rd most over 40 yards...

In terms of average yards per catch, we were 13th in the NFL.

I'd say with a pass rush we could be significantly better in coverage, but we still need to be much better in tackling after the catch. Not only did the secondary not tackle well, but they allowed too much separation. Again, that might have to do with the lack of pass rush, but I think looking at this off season, we shouldn't forget the shortcomings of our secondary.

Investing in the defensive line will pay dividends, but we need to match the investment in the secondary if we're going to see wholesale improvement.

 

[CT Dal Fan]

Excellent post. Agreed that it's difficult to judge this secondary's play since the pass rush ranked in the bottom third in the NFL (28 sacks).

It's the old "chicken or the egg" question- does a good pass rush help the secondary; or does good coverage help the pass rush? I tend to believe it's the former. Give the Cowboys Seattle's front seven and Carr and Co. look a lot better.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

It is bad.

No getting around.

This team hasn't fielded a good secondary in years... And that's going back to when the pass rush was good.

Yeah, the pass rush needs improving, but if the secondary was left as it is, it would simply be a slightly better bad secondary.

Going by the PFF ratings (yeah, not an end-all, be-all) but still indicative of the secondary's suckiness:

Scandrick was rated 10th corner out of 108 rated corners
Sterling Moore was rated as the 22nd corner
Brandon Carr was rated as the 90th corner
Claiborne was rated as "horrible" before he was injured
Barry Church was the 55th rated safety out of 88
Wilcox was rated 77th out of the 88

So there you have it:
10th
22nd
90th
"horrible"
55th
77th

Those are very bad numbers and it suggests that at least 1/2 the secondary be replaced.

 

[Mansta54]

Our secondary isn't bad at all, they're a strong reflection of our pass rush. No secondary can cover all day, they need help from the front seven. Pass rush is our issue.

 

[xvendettax914]

Hmm, did our LBs have more picks than the secondary this year?

 

[CT Dal Fan]

It is bad.

No getting around.

This team hasn't fielded a good secondary in years... And that's going back to when the pass rush was good.

Yeah, the pass rush needs improving, but if the secondary was left as it is, it would simply be a slightly better bad secondary.

Going by the PFF ratings (yeah, not an end-all, be-all) but still indicative of the secondary's suckiness:

Scandrick was rated 10th corner out of 108 rated corners
Sterling Moore was rated as the 22nd corner
Brandon Carr was rated as the 90th corner
Claiborne was rated as "horrible" before he was injured
Barry Church was the 55th rated safety out of 88
Wilcox was rated 77th out of the 88

So there you have it:
10th
22nd
90th
"horrible"
55th
77th

Those are very bad numbers and it suggests that at least 1/2 the secondary be replaced.

I thought Claiborne would rank 109 out of 108 corners rated....

 

[Tabascocat]

Hmm, did our LBs have more picks than the secondary this year?

Carter had more picks than the secondary! Heh, prob not but I bet it was close

 

[Craig]

Which teams were worse? Pittsburgh was one i assume.

 

[HeavyBarrel]

My eyes tell me they can't play the ball in the air well (passes defensed) if the stats prove out otherwise I'd be shocked

 

[KingintheNorth]

JJ Wilcox has potential at Strong Safety.

Barry Church is a solid nickel linebacker.

Orlando Scandrick is a very good slot CB.

Sterling Moore is a pretty good 4th CB.

The problem is the roles we have them in versus the roles they are best suited for.

Brandon Carr seems like a good guy and solid teammate. He's making #1 CB money and just isn't playing anywhere near that level. If he was willing to take a HUGE pay cut and stay, it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. He just can't stay with the cap room he takes up.

Morris Claiborne just seems like a total bust at this point. He has one more year to prove that label wrong but his lack of maturity in the past makes me think he won't be turning the corner (pun accidental but I'll take it).

Jeff Heath should never, ever, ever play a meaningful down of defense. Ever.

In free agency and the draft, we must find players that fit the scheme we want to run. We need physical corners and safeties who can cover ground and make good decisions.

 

[Temo]

We need a cornerback and a safety. And a DT and a DE on the D-line.

Yes, I think we need 4 new starters on the defense before I'd say they're a championship caliber defense (top 10). That's a tall order for one offseason, but we've got picks and cap space. Lets get at it.

 

[Doomsay]

Excellent post. Agreed that it's difficult to judge this secondary's play since the pass rush ranked in the bottom third in the NFL (28 sacks).

It's the old "chicken or the egg" question- does a good pass rush help the secondary; or does good coverage help the pass rush? I tend to believe it's the former. Give the Cowboys Seattle's front seven and Carr and Co. look a lot better.

I think that we can agree that both the front and the back are terrible, but they seemed to somehow hold it together down the stretch until the 2nd half of the GB game.

 

[Temo]

Also, I like Wilcox's potential in pass coverage, but he's a terrible open field tackler. A lot of that YAC is on him.

 

[CT Dal Fan]

I think that we can agree that both the front and the back are terrible, but they seemed to somehow hold it together down the stretch until the 2nd half of the GB game.

You're right, this defense thrived on effort, hustle, and an "us against the world" mindset in 2014. Add some talent next year while keeping this attitude, and I like Dallas' chances.

 

[Tabascocat]

Not looking back for the ball drives me crazy! They are always tailing the receiver, usually a few steps behind

 

[Frozen700]

MO and Carr=Reeves, Derek Ross, Lance Frazier, and Ball all in 1

 

[fifaguy]

gotta factor in the pass rush, or lack thereof...

 

[big dog cowboy]

Investing in the defensive line will pay dividends, but we need to match the investment in the secondary if we're going to see wholesale improvement.

Right on the money. Our 2ndary is bad but the entire defense needs fixed. Specifically we need 2 CB's (assuming Carr is gone) and a ball hawking FS.

 

[Doomsay]

Not looking back for the ball drives me crazy! They are always tailing the receiver, usually a few steps behind

Thinking Scandrick last series. SMH

 

[reddyuta]

Tackling has been very poor this season, Marinellis no 1 priority is to correct it,yo u can't play zone and be a poor tackling team.