How did our inside backers get so old so quick?

[vaturkey]

Watched the game and saw two very slow linebackers who no longer have the skills to cover anything over the middle. Like both guys (honestly) because they seem to be pro's and work hard and carry themselves well. However, reality is father time has rendered them ineffective to be anything other then role players. Simply put, this is now a passing league and both Brookings and James can't play man to man and sure can't play zone either. I think when Lee gets back and Carter gets acclimated to the different schemes they will get the bulk of the playing time and Brookings and James will be relegated to secondary roles and be gone at the end of this season.

 

[Patton]

Bradie James hasn't covered anyone in years and Keith Brooking was on fumes when he got to Dallas. They weren't suddenly going to get better.

 

[JohnsKey19]

They've been old and slow. We were fortunate that Lee emerged this season and helped cover up for both Brooking and James. Now that Lee is out, we're back to being very vulnerable down the middle and some in the running game.

 

[noshame]

Been slow, now they've been fully exposed. No point keeping them really.

There is no such thing as a situational LB, if they can't cover, you can bet it's going to be a pass no matter what.

 

[Frozen700]

Dude with Lee out we are ****ed.

Like i said a million times, I don't think we can get any worse putting a safety at ILB and inserting Bruce.

James and Keith, cant cover, suck at pursuit, and now they can't tackle. What do we need them for?

 

[JoeCorrado]

By the end of the season we will see Carter and Lee paired up out there and you will see that we are young at the position.

We have been drafting to upgrade there and the Brooking / James tandum is no suprise for anyone.

 

[TheCount]

Lee played like crap before he went out as well. We just got our butts kicked, we looked completely unprepared.

 

[Galian Beast]

Linebackers were exposed in 2009, we just have taken forever to replace them.

If you look at all our of failures as a team, it comes from exposed weaknesses that aren't shored up.

Inside linebackers and offensive line.

 

[JohnsKey19]

Lee played like crap before he went out as well. We just got our butts kicked, we looked completely unprepared.

Agreed. The game was essentially over before the opening kickoff. Their gameplan was two steps ahead of us. What's shocking is Ryan never adjusted. Giving up 15-20 yds on nearly every pass attempt is just as bad or worst than giving up the occasional 30-40 yarder.

 

[dboy214]

Watched the game and saw two very slow linebackers who no longer have the skills to cover anything over the middle. Like both guys (honestly) because they seem to be pro's and work hard and carry themselves well. However, reality is father time has rendered them ineffective to be anything other then role players. Simply put, this is now a passing league and both Brookings and James can't play man to man and sure can't play zone either. I think when Lee gets back and Carter gets acclimated to the different schemes they will get the bulk of the playing time and Brookings and James will be relegated to secondary roles and be gone at the end of this season.

open your eyes. both of them have been so bad for years.

i dont understand why i took yesterday for so many of you to have a come to ***** moment that bradie james is in fact terrible and has been for years.

 

[DOUBLE WING]

Brooking had one solid year for us and that was it. James has been regressing for years. Everyone realized this except out genius braintrust.

 

[Patton]

Brooking had one solid year for us and that was it. James has been regressing for years. Everyone realized this except out genius braintrust.

Don't forget the Bradie James DOEZ DA DIRTY WERK crowd on the board who thought he was still effective. Delusional bunch.

 

[SilverStarCowboy]

open your eyes. both of them have been so bad for years.

i dont understand why i took yesterday for so many of you to have a come to ***** moment that bradie james is in fact terrible and has been for years.

Yeh these exact same LBs were questionable when Dallas signed Brooking 3-4 years ago. At that time we knew the end was near.

On the inside Practice Squad LB Orie Lemon is better than Brooking and maybe better than James.

Meanwhile you see OLB Albright out there playing STs, Lemon might be better at that too.

Some of the Roster decisions on this team have to be Jerry decisions.

 

[NoLuv4Jerry]

what on earth makes you think this happened overnight? Because at the end of the game the boxscores said they had X amount of tackles? Watch the game! If you understand what you are watching...your eyes will never lie.

 

[dboy214]

Yeh these exact same LBs were questionable when Dallas signed Brooking 3-4 years ago. At that time we knew the end was near.

On the inside Practice Squad LB Orie Lemon is better than Brooking and maybe better than James.

Meanwhile you see OLB Albright out there playing STs, Lemon might be better at that too.

Some of the Roster decisions on this team have to be Jerry decisions.

i tend to agree with you. i would like to see orie get a shot. nobody is worse than these two. but like you said something things are in jerry's hands. bradie still has a lot of clout in the locker room, is a big media guy, and does a lot of work for DC in the community, so he is an asset for Jerry off the field. politics.

 

[visionary]

Watched the game and saw two very slow linebackers who no longer have the skills to cover anything over the middle. Like both guys (honestly) because they seem to be pro's and work hard and carry themselves well. However, reality is father time has rendered them ineffective to be anything other then role players. Simply put, this is now a passing league and both Brookings and James can't play man to man and sure can't play zone either. I think when Lee gets back and Carter gets acclimated to the different schemes they will get the bulk of the playing time and Brookings and James will be relegated to secondary roles and be gone at the end of this season.

RU serious?

how many years ago was it that kitna said that this defense is too slow at the linebacker position (after they.. the lions, picked it apart with passes in the middle)

so what do we do, go out and find an even older and slower LB (brooking)

way to go

the problem with this team is not that players get old but that the GM has no plan, no method, and lacks football IQ so we are reactionary rather than proactive. a problem really has to hit us in the face several times before we will recognize it

just par for the course for our GM (the longest tenured GM in the league) who was hired by "the best owner in the NFL"

 

[dboy214]

RU serious?

how many years ago was it that kitna said that this defense is too slow at the linebacker position (after they.. the lions, picked it apart with passes in the middle)

so what do we do, go out and find an even older and slower LB (brooking)

way to go

the problem with this team is not that players get old but that the GM has no plan, no method, and lacks football IQ so we are reactionary rather than proactive. a problem really has to hit us in the face several times before we will recognize it

just par for the course for our GM (the longest tenured GM in the league) who was hired by "the best owner in the NFL"

bingo.

WAKE UP PEOPLE!

OUR OWN BACKUP QB TOLD US YEARS AGO THAT OUR INSIDE LINEBACKERS WERE TRASH.

EVEN WADE PHILLIPS, THE ONE WHO NEVER CRITICIZES ANYONE, SAID IT ABOUT BRADIE JAMES.

how are you guys just now noticing it? do you not watch other nfl games where 3-4 defenses have their linebackers flying all over the place???

 

[Cowboyz88]

They didn't get old over night.

James has been a JAG for years, regardless of what his fans think.

They'll throw out things like tackle stats (same argument used to defend Roy Williams), "dirty work," "lunchpail," "leader rolleyes," "2008 (one above average season in his career!), " etc., but all that is just a nice way of saying he's OK.

He's been a huge liability for this defense for years.

 

[dboy214]

They didn't get old over night.

James has been a JAG for years, regardless of what his fans think.

They'll throw out things like tackle stats (same argument used to defend Roy Williams), "dirty work," "lunchpail," "leader rolleyes," "2008 (one above average season in his career!), " etc., but all that is just a nice way of saying he's OK.

He's been a huge liability for this defense for years.

thank you.

i gotta say man, where were you guys when i was getting bombarded for calling out bradie james 2 years ago.

http://cowboyszone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=194640

 

[Cowboys&LakersFan]

They've been old. Prior to this game they had been decent to run, but they've always struggled in coverage. Time to insert Bruce Carter and pray to God that Sean Lee is ok.