I know defense is a huge issue, but we do have some nice young players

[MichaelWinicki]

Instead of what ifs and should haves in past drafts and FA. And we can't do a thing about it but whine and complain which does no good.
I will focus on who we have and look each week on how they improve. I still do not trust this defense and stopping big plays at the right time, or stop game winning drives all the time. But even the best defenses can't do that every time.
However our D has come up with some stops and good plays this year without a pass rush. So I can see some improvement even more once DLaw returns.

I also will not focus on what they need to do in the draft and FA next year. We all know what they need / should do. But let's play out this year first and see what / who develops. It is a long season, so I am going to enjoy the future team unfold this year in Dak & Zeke, and on D the young players already mentioned.
Heck Chaz Green has even given me some hope for a replacement for Doug Free.

Agreed.

You get that Davis kid out there with Lawrence and the team may have something that somewhat resembles a pass rush.

 

[Crown Royal]

Agreed.

You get that Davis kid out there with Lawrence and the team may have something that somewhat resembles a pass rush.

The way the secondary has been playing, you don't need to have a world class pass rush that forces you to release within 2 seconds (although I would gladly take it). You just need to get pressure in 1 in ever 3-5 attempts.

 

[tyke1doe]

They should leave the investigations to law enforcement. Just set NFL punishments for actual legal convictions. There is no way that sports leagues can properly investigate all player's actions.

That's how the legal world works, but that's not how the business world works. Legal convictions are not the standard, particularly when it comes to business ethics.

The NFL is a business, and it must protect its interest - which is why it has a code of conduct, i.e., business ethics.

Sorry, but there's no turning back the clock.

 

[xwalker]

That's how the legal world works, but that's not how the business world works. Legal convictions are not the standard, particularly when it comes to business ethics.

The NFL is a business, and it must protect its interest - which is why it has a code of conduct, i.e., business ethics.

Sorry, but there's no turning back the clock.

Business ethics are things like conflicts of interests. That's not really what the NFL is dealing with.

Obviously they should do their own drug testing; however, domestic violence and that type of thing should be the domain of law enforcement.

 

[Risen Star]

I think they have.

The NFL is closer to a "zero sum game" than it is a place where you're going to weave gold out of straw.

You have 31 competitors and a finite about of talent available with a finite amount of resources to acquire said talent.

You seem to think acquiring talent is as easy as flipping a switch.

LOL. What? You have no shame in defending this team. This defense was bad 5 years ago, it's bad today. In an era of FA and parity it's easier, not harder, to turn things around.

If you can't admit we've done a terrible job with the defense you are literally a lost cause.

 

[dallasdave]

One step at a time? Is this a new regime? How many years until we take that initial step?

Baby steps ?????

 

[dallasdave]

lol. You don't know my woman!! Anybody wants to knock her around better bring their lunchpails.lol.Woman aren't has fragile as you think!! Anyway, that wasn't the meaning of my post. No one knows what goes on in the players lives and its none of my business. If a player comes out Sunday and plays hard thats good enough for me. The media blows all these stories way out of proportion because controversy sells.

 

[dallasdave]

A lot of stuff was kept hush hush back in the day. Now with all the social media and publicity everything gets out.

Can't sweep everything under the rug like the old days !!!

 

[MichaelWinicki]

LOL. What? You have no shame in defending this team. This defense was bad 5 years ago, it's bad today. In an era of FA and parity it's easier, not harder, to turn things around.

If you can't admit we've done a terrible job with the defense you are literally a lost cause.

I think it's a better defense than it's been in several seasons.

 

[tyke1doe]

Business ethics are things like conflicts of interests. That's not really what the NFL is dealing with.

Obviously they should do their own drug testing; however, domestic violence and that type of thing should be the domain of law enforcement.

I understand your point. I think it should be on a case-by-case basis, but I can also understand the desire for the NFL to protect its image.

We can agree to disagree, though.

 

[xwalker]

I understand your point. I think it should be on a case-by-case basis, but I can also understand the desire for the NFL to protect its image.

We can agree to disagree, though.

It's not a fair system because even the NFL does not have the resources to throughly investigate all legal issues.

Nobody to this day knows what happened with the Hardy incident. The EE girl incident shows how a player can be setup and falsely accused. The upside for the women is high (possible million dollar payoff) but there is zero downside (No charges for false reports).

Just because these guys are rich does not mean mean they shouldn't get the benefit of the doubt. The NFL punished Hardy because of an accusation that was never proven.

 

[tyke1doe]

It's not a fair system because even the NFL does not have the resources to throughly investigate all legal issues.

Nobody to this day knows what happened with the Hardy incident. The EE girl incident shows how a player can be setup and falsely accused. The upside for the women is high (possible million dollar payoff) but there is zero downside (No charges for false reports).

Just because these guys are rich does not mean mean they shouldn't get the benefit of the doubt. The NFL punished Hardy because of an accusation that was never proven.

You have to remember Hardy AGREED to the NFL's punishment.
He should have fought it if he thought he was innocent.

 

[xwalker]

You have to remember Hardy AGREED to the NFL's punishment.
He should have fought it if he thought he was innocent.

The year before he came to the Cowboys he was suspended. He did get paid but it was still a significant punishment.

He might not be the perfect example because his current issue is largely due to how he acted while employeed by the Cowboys; although I think he was acting out due to stress from the domestic issue.

 

[Common Sense]

Ah, we're all back to justifying domestic abuse, I see. Should we take this conversation over to the Darren Sharper Fan Club Board while we're at it?

I mean, hey, he came to work every day, or [insert equally idiotic thing to say here].

 

[JoeyBoy718]

It's hard to stay encouraged when it comes to this defense.

Going into last season, the optimist in me thought we might be the most stacked at DE we've been in a long time. We had a potentially bright future in 3 young DEs with elite potential in Hardy, Gregory and Lawrence. A year later, Hardy is out of the league, Gregory is suspended for 14 games and running out of chances, and we're relying heavily on the return of a guy with 8 career sacks in Lawrence.

Going into this season, the optimist in me thought we might be the most stacked at DT we've been in a long time. We had a starting duo of T. Crawford and Thornton, and young backups with a boat load of potential in Collins and Irving. Now, T. Crawford looks to have a low ceiling and might not even be our future at 3-tech, Thornton can't even win the starting job from T. McClain, Irving doesn't seem to have a position and looks to be a career backup, and now we're praying that a 3rd round rookie in Collins can be our savior and future 3-tech.

Heck, the past 2 years, it looked like we could be set at LB. We had Lee, McClain and Hitchens, and we added J. Smith in the draft. Now, Lee is 30+ and our only decent LB, McClain looks to be done with the Cowboys and maybe the NFL, Hitchens looks to have peaked as a rookie and has been a liability since, and our future at LB depends solely on the firing nerves of a red shirt rookie.

The optimistic 2016 Cowboys front 7 (60 sacks):

WDE - Hardy/Gregory
3DT - T. Crawford/Irving
1DT - Thornton/Collins
SDE - Lawrence/Tapper

WLB - Lee/Hitchens
MLB - McClain
SLB - Smith

The actual 2016 Cowboys front 7 (2 sacks):

WDE - J. Crawford
3DT - T. McClain
1DT - Collins
SDE - T. Crawford

WLB - Lee
MLB - Durant
SLB - Wilber

 

[DC Cowboy]

Well, actually, in many cases we DO know. And we SHOULDN'T turn a blind eye to these situations when we find out about them.

The culture was different in the 70s when reporters knew of situations but didn't report them. And it allowed such abuses to continue.

Now, we live in a society that is less tolerant of such abuses and will call people out for them. And by doing so, we put players on notice that they have to be civil human beings in even the personal parts of their lives. Because if they're not and they operate in a dysfunctional manner in their personal lives, then that dysfunction will become public, inviting the public to react and forcing the player to change his ways.

Do you think Ray Rice would be fighting against domestic abuse if his situation weren't exposed? I don't.

And that's MY point.

Funny thing is his original post he didn't mention "abuse", he just said what a player does off the field is their business. You went to the abuse issue.

 

[haleyrules]

Well, actually, in many cases we DO know. And we SHOULDN'T turn a blind eye to these situations when we find out about them.

The culture was different in the 70s when reporters knew of situations but didn't report them. And it allowed such abuses to continue.

Now, we live in a society that is less tolerant of such abuses and will call people out for them. And by doing so, we put players on notice that they have to be civil human beings in even the personal parts of their lives. Because if they're not and they operate in a dysfunctional manner in their personal lives, then that dysfunction will become public, inviting the public to react and forcing the player to change his ways.

Do you think Ray Rice would be fighting against domestic abuse if his situation weren't exposed? I don't.

And that's MY point.

lol. Your kidding right? You know what goes on in other peoples private lives? OK. Then l suppose YOU do have the Right to judge and condemn them and you should!! Oddly, however, in Hardy's battery case the charges were dropped and oddly his case was dismised in court. WTH, facts don't really matter in these cases...the media and the holier than thou types can make it up any way they want...sources don't you know. lol. l mean just recently some young lady filed charges against Elliott..the media loved the short term highlights...luckily for Zeke he had some witnesses

 

[tyke1doe]

Funny thing is his original post he didn't mention "abuse", he just said what a player does off the field is their business. You went to the abuse issue.

But haleyrules mentions Hardy:

I don't know...Haley...Randy White...HARVEY MARTIN and many previous great Cowboys were extreme characters. Not defending Hardy...just saying and yes l liked Hardy!! Saddens me whats happened to him.

From there, the discussion moved to what players do in their private lives is their business and shouldn't factor on the field.

And that led to my comments.

Please forgive this crude analogy, and I am in no way implying a link between the two other than the way I'm using the analogy.

But discussions about Hardy are similar to discussions about Hitler. Whether we like it or not when Hardy's name is mentioned, immediately people who know him think of his domestic abuse case. Whether he was incident or guilty, that is the stigma associated with his name. (Similar to the Holocaust being associated with Hitler's name.) So when you reference Hardy and his "off the field behavior" immediately domestic abuse is linked to his name.

You don't have to mention domestic abuse. If you mention Hardy, off-the-field behavior and extreme character, 10 times out of 10, those who know him and know his situation will think domestic abuse case.

 

[tyke1doe]

lol. Your kidding right? You know what goes on in other peoples private lives? OK. Then l suppose YOU do have the Right to judge and condemn them and you should!! Oddly, however, in Hardy's battery case the charges were dropped and oddly his case was dismised in court. WTH, facts don't really matter in these cases...the media and the holier than thou types can make it up any way they want...sources don't you know. lol. l mean just recently some young lady filed charges against Elliott..the media loved the short term highlights...luckily for Zeke he had some witnesses

With all due respect, you jumped over a key contextual phrase in your desire to rant.

Because if they're not and they operate in a dysfunctional manner in their personal lives, then that dysfunction will become public, inviting the public to react and forcing the player to change his ways.

If a personal/private matter has not reached a dysfunctional or other factors mitigate in such a way that it remains private, no one will know to pass judgment.

But ... if a dysfunction is out of control, it tends to manifest itself in public behavior inviting the scrutiny of others.

Second, we need to dispense with this notion that we should never judge. That notion comes from misinterpreting the Bible passage "Judge not that you not be judged." Of course, the same person - who we can't name around here other than in vanity - said, "Judge not merely by appearance but judge righteous judgments" and said, "By their FRUITS you shall know them."

Humans have the capacity to use their brains to observe, to evaluate and to make decisions based on those evaluations. That is called JUDGING! We also have the ability and capacity to JUDGE right behavior and wrong behavior. We have the capacity to assess situations and make evaluations of those situations to determine whether they are courses of action that will lead to good things resulting or bad things resulting.

So when people make an assessment of Hardy, they're doing so based on the information that has come to their attention, the decisions he made in life and have become public and the decisions he continues to make in life (funny how no team wants him even though he can aid their pass rush).

And then they determine whether they want him a part of their circle of friends, their teams, etc.

This is a function we ALL go through.

 

[jrumann59]

Building through the draft on de will not give returns until year two or three. Ideally I would draft some young gun front 7 and make a top tier FA pass rushing DE my 1st and 2nd priority. A proven commodity can step right in allow the rookies that get drafted to progress.