How can a defense be this bad?

[Wood]

It baffles me how we just gave 34 points in a half to a QB who doesn't even belong in the NFL. It seems like athletes good enough to make it to the NFL could accidentally make a play here or there.

Its confidence because this defense actually looked good for 1st half. Maybe defense is taking cues from Romo...knowing when to fold.

 

[starfrombirth]

So how did they dominate GB the entire first half and turn into barely a speedbump in the 2nd?

Durant got hurt. Simms got hurt. Selvie got hurt. Even Hayden got hurt. And for some stupid reason (ROMO!) we forgot how to run in the 2nd half.

 

[perrykemp]

Durant got hurt. Simms got hurt. Selvie got hurt. Even Hayden got hurt. And for some stupid reason (ROMO!) we forgot how to run in the 2nd half.

Defense is hurting and you have a huge lead.... the NFL playbook calls for a steady diet of running the ball / ball control.

 

[egn22]

The defense is what they are, a bad defense. and our coach is what he is, a poor coach.
The bad defense can be fixed by drafting talent. The coach on the other hand...

 

[camelboy]

It's simple. Coaching.. and I mention it again. .That Glazer guy of Fox Sports 1 said it after the NO game (i think) that "PLAYERS ON D TOLD HIM (i.e. Kiffin) WE DON'T GET HIM...WE DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT HE IS SAYING"

There you go.....

 

[morasp]

Is our training staff that bad too? How do we have every man on D go down every year?

I hate to compare sports but if you follow the NBA and see what the Phoenix Suns do is astonishing. They keep players healthy and revive the careers of old people who have been hurt many years.

I was watching the Patriots and Dolphins game and they listed all the Patriots Defensive players on IR and it was a long list that added up to over $25 million.

 

[morasp]

Well, we were very bad to start. Once you lose Lee at MLB. Then lose his only true backup in Durant at MLB. And then lose Sims. And Carter. And your'e starting a DE convert and a ST player, behind that patchwork DL...you're pretty much dead. You could see it as soon as Durant went out that we were officially defenseless. But that's all the more reason to have been running the ball some more on those obvious late-game series. We absolutely had to eat the clock.

I can hardly even blame the defensive coaches, honestly. That in itself might get me peppered here, but the offensive play calling was a much bigger problem in the fourth quarter than the fact that we had no players available on defense.

That is exactly right. All the posts I've read and you are the first one to mention this. It's like trying to plug holes in the dike. They finally get the DL stabilized and replace Webb with Moore who did a great job and our linebackers get wiped out.

 

[tm1119]

Sure the injuries aren't helping but I don't think it matters who is on d if the scheme you are running doesn't work. The soft cover 2 simply doesn't work in the modern NFL and the 2 old men of Jerry and Monte don't want to admit it.

 

[BlueStar22]

Because it is full of guys that nobody even wanted on their practice squad and coached by a guy who should be playing shuffle board.

Exactly, the guys we're playing are preseason cuts. They can't play! That's why they weren't in the league. Can't explain Ware, Carr, and Scandrick's poor play yesterday.

 

[BlueStar22]

Sure the injuries aren't helping but I don't think it matters who is on d if the scheme you are running doesn't work. The soft cover 2 simply doesn't work in the modern NFL and the 2 old men of Jerry and Monte don't want to admit it.

The scheme was working in the first half before the injuries wiped out the LBs.

 

[tm1119]

The scheme was working in the first half before the injuries wiped out the LBs.

Oh wow, they stopped Matt Flynn for an entire half of football. Let's throw a parade!

Please, this defense is on pace to be one of the worst defenses in the history of the NFL. Maybe, just maybe, the scheme doesn't work? I know it seems like a crazy idea but just consider it.

 

[JohnsKey19]

Probably have the worst starting safeties in the NFL. The CBs are solid but now struggling. Lee is injured and the front 4 cant get off blocks. And Kiffin should be home watching M*A*S*H reruns.

 

[BlueStar22]

Oh wow, they stopped Matt Flynn for an entire half of football. Let's throw a parade!

Please, this defense is on pace to be one of the worst defenses in the history of the NFL. Maybe, just maybe, the scheme doesn't work? I know it seems like a crazy idea but just consider it.

So there's no chance that with Lee, Durant, and Carter in there they match the first half performance? Come the freak on.

 

[Blast From The Past]

Well, we were very bad to start. Once you lose Lee at MLB. Then lose his only true backup in Durant at MLB. And then lose Sims. And Carter. And your'e starting a DE convert and a ST player, behind that patchwork DL...you're pretty much dead. You could see it as soon as Durant went out that we were officially defenseless. But that's all the more reason to have been running the ball some more on those obvious late-game series. We absolutely had to eat the clock.

I can hardly even blame the defensive coaches, honestly. That in itself might get me peppered here, but the offensive play calling was a much bigger problem in the fourth quarter than the fact that we had no players available on defense.

I thought it was just me who noticed after Durant left the game that the defense changed effectiveness in a hurry.

 

[tm1119]

So there's no chance that with Lee, Durant, and Carter in there they match the first half performance? Come the freak on.

Did it help in the Detroit game? Did it help in the Denver game?

I'm not going to argue with anyones coping mechanicism today though. If the injuries excuse make you feel better than go for it

 

[big dog cowboy]

It seems like athletes good enough to make it to the NFL could accidentally make a play here or there.

There is the problem. Half the guys we dress on the defensive side of the field are not good enough to make it to the NFL.

 

[starfrombirth]

Defense is hurting and you have a huge lead.... the NFL playbook calls for a steady diet of running the ball / ball control.

I agree

 

[Wheeltax]

if Dallas had even a mediocre defense, this division would already be locked up

 

[Mr Cowboy]

The scheme was working in the first half before the injuries wiped out the LBs.

That is partially true, in the first half they were taking chances, blitzing, playing man coverage, and it worked. In the second half, Kiffien decided to go with his stupid Tampa 2, come and get us, defense that he is known for, and they couldn't stop anyone. The players on defense got discouraged and gave up. They took the cue from their coordinator.

I don't know what it is with this coaching staff, when something is working great, they decide to go away from it. On offense, the running was killing GB, and they stopped running in the second quarter. On defense, applying pressure, blitzing and playing man forced 4 punts and 1 intercetion in the first half, so naturally, you go away from it in the second.

I would rather the defense get burned by blitzing and playing aggressive, than sit there and get abused by an Arena League caliber QB.

 

[FLcowboy]

He is an average "rush man" on a bad team... He'll get a big extension in the offseason.

Hatcher said he wants to "test" the market. I had to laugh when I read that. Being the best interior defensive lineman on the Cowboys this year only invites ridicule.