How is this defense so bad?

[crashintonickdm]

I'm not saying they're loaded with talent but you'd think a team with Brandon Carr, sean lee, Demarcus ware, jason hatcher, Bruce carter and Orlando scandrick would be better than 32nd and historically bad.

Its just so embarassing to watch every week

 

[neosapien23]

I'm not saying they're loaded with talent but you'd think a team with Brandon Carr, sean lee, Demarcus ware, jason hatcher, Bruce carter and Orlando scandrick would be better than 32nd and historically bad.

Its just so embarassing to watch every week

They are bad because the Dline lacks talent. The Dline is not pressuring the quarterback anymore and other than Hatcher we have no passrusher. Dallas needs to drop all 4 picks in the draft on the Dline next year to see what maranelli can really do.

 

[CyberB0b]

Too many overrated guys. They simply aren't that good.

 

[Disturbed]

The defense is on the field too long due to the offense going "3 & out" too often. This wears them down and ultimately everything fails.

The defense is not aggressive enough during key moments of game. They sit back and wait for the action to come to them instead of dictating the action....too passive. And the defense, like the offense, does not seem to have a sense of urgency. Oblivious to key plays or moments in the game.

Some players getting old, young guys struggling, an others can't stay healthy...whatever reason the Cowboys are their own worst enemy.

 

[HeavyBarrel]

Jeff Heath should not be on this roster, there is no way in hell he is better than any number of guys on the street, you wanna practice squad him fine but no way should he be a starter in this league. Not that Heath is the only problem.....

 

[CyberB0b]

Jeff Heath should not be on this roster, there is no way in hell he is better than any number of guys on the street, you wanna practice squad him fine but no way should he be a starter in this league.

Just think, maybe one of these days the Great White Hope Matt Johnson might actually see the field without hurting himself. The late 4th rounder no one ever heard of is our savior at safety.

 

[StarBoyz83]

Horrible outdated scheme
horrible dc
Terrible fs
1 terrible cb
Bad lb's besides lee (when he plays)
Terrible d line

That's why!!

 

[HeavyBarrel]

Just think, maybe one of these days the Great White Hope Matt Johnson might actually see the field without hurting himself. The late 4th rounder no one ever heard of is our savior at safety.

Yep, this is Jerry's mentality instead of just taking the best player on the board at whatever position they want to fill, he reaches for small school project guys......IT'S NOT WORKING JERRY, CHANGE DAMNIT!!!!!

 

[chicago JK]

What is really frustrating is you hoped Carter and Claiborne would become core players. I hated the trade up for Claiborne but I thought worse case is he would be a good starter. He has not shown that yet and really has had minimal impact on defense when he plays. I thought Carter would be excellent in this 4-3 defense. Fact is he has been not very good. Outside of about a half year of excellent play last year, he really has not been a very good player here. I know most fans think both as building blocks, but their play on the field so far do not show that yet. That is not good when you consider those two players cost two second round picks and a first rounder.

I think this years draft is solid (not great as some say, but a solid draft), but the talk that they have drafted much better the last few years is a little weak. No one can draft as bad as Jerry did in the 90's but I would say their last few drafts are not much better than league average. With the mismanagement from 2007-2009 drafts, this team really needed to hit 3 home run drafts in a row. Unfortunately, that has not happened yet.

 

[Future]

I wish Scandrick wasn't getting a pass. The guy simply has 0 ball skills.

 

[17yearsandcounting]

Bears were missing 6 defensive starters last night. Just sayyyyyin.

 

[CanadianCowboy2]

This team was sunk when they moved to a 4 -3 defense with two undersized defensive ends in ware and Spencer as and wilber too then had Crawford go down with an aging Ratliff.

More importantly they had poor drafts equals no talent.

It was shocking to see how easy it was for Chicago to catch passes. I really think the football IQ in the secondary is concerning.

 

[chicago JK]

Bears were missing 6 defensive starters last night. Just sayyyyyin.

Yeah the whole injury excuse is weak. Every team has injuries. I know some Patriots fans who have no idea who some of their players are due to injuries. I would guess most teams have guys who were not on their roster at the beginning of the season who are getting plenty of playing time now. It is the state of the NFL now. The Broncos have a lot of injuries. Heck, every team has a rush of injuries. Some prove very costly but teams who build their rosters correctly can find ways to patch holes with their depth.

 

[Risen Star]

I'm not saying they're loaded with talent but you'd think a team with Brandon Carr, sean lee, Demarcus ware, jason hatcher, Bruce carter and Orlando scandrick would be better than 32nd and historically bad.

Its just so embarassing to watch every week

Because they field one of the worst DL depth charts from a non expansion that I've ever seen. It's embarrassing to see the stiffs we trot out there to win the line of scrimmage.

Forget about Ware. He's hurt and in decline. Only Hatcher has been a player.

Of course it doesn't help that we moved back to a 4-3 and with a coach who is probably losing his mind.

 

[Crown Royal]

The defensive line cannot get push. It lacks the strength to attack blocks and the quickness to attack gaps. We can only exploit the worst offensive lines in the league, and are bricked by lines with talent.

Our LB core has regressed. Carter is horrible, Lee cannot stay healthy and Sims is worse than horrible. Lee is the only player we have as a LB. Wilber and Durant are OK but Sam LB in the 4-3 is to defense what a fullback is to offense.

Church is a good safety. he understands his assignments and is an excellent tackler. Wilcox is still learning and needs some film study and weight room training. Heath is a very rangy athlete but is too green and too poor a tackler to be a trustworthy safety.

Our non-db safeties are competent cover corners, but struggles against larger receivers. Without the benefit of a pass rush of any kind, coverage is hamstrung in today's NFL.



We can discuss scheme and philosophy all day, but we did not do well in a 'complicated' rob ryan 3-4, nor a simplistic kiffin 4-3. Personnel matters,and while you can overcome deficiencies, you cannot overcome your entire front being outmatched.

 

[TwoCentPlain]

Well, we were missing CB Claiborne ...
Or it may have been a lot worse with him

Just kidding. Trying to keep the spirits up. The big money players are not delivering on defense. Ware, Carr, Spencer, RATliff, and Claiborne, have done jack squat all year. Off the top of my head, those players account for about $40M of the $130M cap. And LB Carter has been abysmal. And LB Durant was a wasted FA signing. Devonte Holloman showed some flashes in camp but can't stay healthy as it seems like he caught the injury bug from Sean Lee.

In short, big money players stink up the joint this year, new scheme, new defensive coaches, and a DL decimated with injuries are the reason for this epic failure on defense. The ridiculous two-year cap hit took a toll also.

Having said all that, we are still in the playoffs if we win out the last 3 games (I think). We are basically going through the worst possible scenario on defense and still have a chance.

 

[Common Sense]

This defense sure does have an awful lot of players who suddenly "regressed" this year. I wonder what the cause of that could be?

 

[Nova]

The defense needs to be overhauled.

All the coaches need to go, even though I'd hate to see Marinelli leave.

Definite keepers: Lee and Scandrick (on the condition he's only ever asked to be a slot corner)

Salvageable: Crawford, Carr, Wilcox, Selvie (depth), Church

Tradeable: Carter, Claiborne for picks and DL depth.

We need to find a way to move Ware or ask for a pay cut and make him a situational rusher. Sad to say, but he's just given everything he's got to this organization already. For that I appreciate him, but it's time to move on.

 

[NumOneQB]

Ware is older, fighting nagging injuries, and it shows. He's turned into an average player. Everyone else is just overrated, talent wise. Combine that with the continuous flow of ex-Home Depot workers as defensive starters and a defensive coordinator whose best years were a decade ago and you get the ridiculous play we've witnessed for 2013. It's kind of a perfect storm all brought to you by good ol' Jerruh. Bad personnel decisions and coaching moves are just coming to a head....

 

[Falcon554]

Screw marinelli, really. He is only here because of Kiffin, kick them both out