I could live with an Iloka and Quinn finish

[LACowboysFan1]

This should be about preserving our young LB's as much as possible as it is to stop run game.

Right, and that's the main reason for Landry developing the 4-3, which the Cowboys run most of the time. You keep the big guys off your linebackers, even a 255 lb. LVE is not a match for a 320 lb OG with a running start....

 

[LACowboysFan1]

Sure but how many years in a row can we demand a better 1T who can do this only to be disapointed again. But a sure tackling SS absolutely helps those times a RB gets to that level...better than missing.

Well it's not necessarily solely a 1T ability player, it's somebody who can give you a bit of a pass rush as well as stopping the run. Aaron Donald not only had 20 sacks he had 41 solo tackles. He's good at both. Of course those guys are rare, and you're not getting one at no. 58 in the draft so we'll not be able to get one even if we wanted to this year...

 

[charron]

Well it's not necessarily solely a 1T ability player, it's somebody who can give you a bit of a pass rush as well as stopping the run. Aaron Donald not only had 20 sacks he had 41 solo tackles. He's good at both. Of course those guys are rare, and you're not getting one at no. 58 in the draft so we'll not be able to get one even if we wanted to this year...

in our scheme the 3t is getting upfield, thats his job while the 1t take on the double team and that is where they open up the running lanes based off those blocks. Most of the year we did ok with our smaller guys playing the 1T, but a few times the lack of size/strength there exposed our front 7. Having 1 guy who is a bit bigger, stronger, who can better help the run game in a rotation can help mitigate that weakness. Because like you said finding a Donald at 58 is unlikely but we can still fill a big need.

 

[Denim Chicken]

Of course they do, that's clear as day. The point I was making is to HAVE to depend on the SS is the problem, and if your d-line can't handle the run game most of the time you need an upgrade there more than at safety.

No team has to rely on their SS. You bring an extra man in the box depending on what the offence does. However, if your extra man can't tackle (Heath) then its a losing proposition. Iloka is an upgrade, IMO because he's shown he can take angles and make tackles.Yes, we also need DL upgrades, but both things can be true, and in our case, they are!

 

[LACowboysFan1]

No team has to rely on their SS

No team has to rely on their SS. You bring an extra man in the box

And who's the best guy for that? SS. If your front 7 can't handle the run, who else do you bring in? A 180 lb cornerback?

My point is that people are expecting Iloka to be a huge difference maker because he's a better tackler, but if you rely on him for that teams will just play action throw to a back out of the backfield or a tight end and your great tackling SS is left playing somebody who doesn't have the ball...

 

[ClappingCarrot]

No team has to rely on their SS. You bring an extra man in the box depending on what the offence does. However, if your extra man can't tackle (Heath) then its a losing proposition. Iloka is an upgrade, IMO because he's shown he can take angles and make tackles.Yes, we also need DL upgrades, but both things can be true, and in our case, they are!

God - watching that at that angle, in slow motion is one of the most painful things I've seen since the Dez catch.

 

[Falco78]

People that are smarter than you have and have concluded Heath is not a very good starting safety in this league.

And people on here smarter than you have concluded he is...

 

[Denim Chicken]

And who's the best guy for that? SS. If your front 7 can't handle the run, who else do you bring in? A 180 lb cornerback?

My point is that people are expecting Iloka to be a huge difference maker because he's a better tackler, but if you rely on him for that teams will just play action throw to a back out of the backfield or a tight end and your great tackling SS is left playing somebody who doesn't have the ball...

If you're forcing a team to abandon the run and work underneath where our dynamic linebackers roam--that's a win.

If you're bringing and extra in the box and they're running down your throat anyway, we'll that's why this is an upgrade.

 

[LACowboysFan1]

If you're forcing a team to abandon the run and work underneath where our dynamic linebackers roam--that's a win.

If you're bringing and extra in the box and they're running down your throat anyway, we'll that's why this is an upgrade.

So you expect the defense to be tons better with Iloka instead of Heath then. Maybe, but that's a big difference for one guy who's not always going to be a run defender, what happens like with Roy Williams? Teams forced him to be a pass defender and he wasn't good at all at that. Don't remember Iloka as being touted as a top run defender and a top pass defender.

But it's always the same, whoever the Cowboys picks up is automatically better than what they have, before he's played a single down, right?

Can't make that assumption, he'll have to prove it, is all I'm saying....

 

[Denim Chicken]

So you expect the defense to be tons better with Iloka instead of Heath then. Maybe, but that's a big difference for one guy who's not always going to be a run defender, what happens like with Roy Williams? Teams forced him to be a pass defender and he wasn't good at all at that. Don't remember Iloka as being touted as a top run defender and a top pass defender.

But it's always the same, whoever the Cowboys picks up is automatically better than what they have, before he's played a single down, right?

Can't make that assumption, he'll have to prove it, is all I'm saying....

The fact that he is a better tackler and has better processing ability will make him an upgrade against the run. While he's played 60% of his snaps as a FS, the other 40% have been near the line.


Even though Iloka has largely played in the free safety role in his previous stops, he projects better as a strong safety for the Cowboys.

Xavier Woods, Dallas' current starting free safety, displays better and more consistent range than Iloka in coverage, as Woods is more aggressive and quicker to process at this point in his career. Jeff Heath, on the other hand, has struggled to be a consistently effective force for the Cowboys defense. Not only has Heath been a liability in coverage, but he's also been a liability against the run, missing more tackles against the run than any safety in the NFL last season, per PFF.

 

[Sydla]

And people on here smarter than you have concluded he is...

The Heath fan club is one of my favorite things about this board.