I'm not sure how much I blame Kiffin

[Galian Beast]

Half this defense's money and focus was in the defensive line. That is a really key part of Kiffin's defense. We never really had the corners for the system he wanted to play. Claiborne was always a piece of glass soft corner. And I think both Carr and Claiborne hang their hats more on man coverage than zone and without a pass rush they're going to get eaten alive, which is exactly what it happening.

When you go into the season expecting to have Ware, Ratliff, Hatcher, and Spencer, and for large parts of the year only having Hatcher... your defense isn't going to function.

Kiffin didn't draft these players, he came in with them here. We all had high hopes for Bruce Carter, but he has been awful. Not really going to put that on Kiffin, though I'm not sure why we kept Eberflus who was a 3-4 guy.

This secondary was never going to be any good without a solid pass rush, and we just don't have that. We never get after the Quarterback. Regardless of whether Kiffin is here or not next year, we'll have to address the defensive line. I've been saying it for a while that DeMarcus Ware needs to be gone. It's time to move on from him. He is a crutch that isn't supporting this defense. High priced defensive players who don't produce to their compensation kill defenses. Because not only are they not meeting their expectations, other positions are worse off. It's all about opportunity cost. And you are only going to win if you can get after the qb. Your secondary is only going to be as good as your pass rush. And it's time to completely start over in that regard, but there is no need to do it piecemeal like the offensive line. 4 new starters on the defensive line next year. Period.

Hope that we can salvage something out of Bruce Carter next year, especially since it will be a contract year for him.

The secondary is based entirely on whether we can get pass rush, which is exactly why it makes no sense to keep paying Brandon Carr. The guy is not an elite corner, and without a pass rush, we're just throwing money at him. You cut him in June and you save 7.5 million next year, and you break even the year after that. Put that 7.5 million towards the defensive line.

You cut DeMarcus Ware in june and you save 12.25 million next year, and another 12.2 million the year after that. That's an additional 19.75 million you can spend towards the defensive line. You can probably get 2 or 3 strong defensive linemen with that, maybe even 4. You draft a couple defensive linemen early, and you've reformed that defensive line, and as a result the entire defense in just one year.

You're probably thinking that leaves Claiborne and Scandrick as the starters. First of all I would have suggested cutting Morris Claiborne as well, except for the fact that his entire contract is guaranteed, but I'd rather start Claiborne and Scandrick with a pass rush than Carr and Claiborne/Scandrick without one.

Fixing the defensive line primarily in free agency allows us a lot more flexibility in the draft. Flexibility that we're absolutely going to need. Even if we're able to keep Brian Waters on for another year instead of him retiring, it would be wise to draft another guard early. Worst case scenario they can replace Leary, and allows you to cut Bernadeau who is going to be getting a huge pay increase next year if the team keeps him. Cutting Bernadeau frees up 2.75 million, which is important given that we're already beyond the current cap next year. So it's paramount that we draft a guard early, and it is much more difficult to do that if we have to focus entirely on defensive line in the draft, and we'd have to unless we address it in free agency, and to do that you have to make room.

So yes, the era of DeMarcus Ware has to end. I wouldn't even suggest resigning Hatcher. I think it would be wise to cut Brandon Carr. And hell maybe even Scandrick, depending on what the market for corners looks like. The cap hit for Scandrick is 5.6 million next year, that is up from 2.8 million this year. I'd be much more comfortable getting some bargain bin corners as long as we have a great pass rush. Cutting Scandrick in june saves us 3.5 million dollars next year, and another 3.5 million the year after. Again, money that can go generally towards the defensive line.

So yeah, you basically need to blow up the secondary and blow up the defensive line. Can't really do much with the linebacker situation right now, but hopefully that settles itself.

 

[TimHortons]

I think cutting Scan would be taking it too far. Carr had a bad game against the Bears, but overall he has been solid this year. I understand that he's making alot of money, but you need some kind of stabilizing force back there. You can't cut everyone at the same time.

 

[RS12]

I'm not sure how much I blame Kiffin

True. Kiffinn didnt hire himself, change schemes without the personnel to do so, sign every scrub without a job for the roster, or draft mostly offense in the draft.

 

[bayeslife]

I just don't know who the play maker on defense is. Do we even have one? Sean Lee can't stay on the field. Ware is done. Hatcher is probably the closest we have to being that on defense, and that's not saying a whole lot.

 

[Rockport]

Half this defense's money and focus was in the defensive line. That is a really key part of Kiffin's defense. We never really had the corners for the system he wanted to play. Claiborne was always a piece of glass soft corner. And I think both Carr and Claiborne hang their hats more on man coverage than zone and without a pass rush they're going to get eaten alive, which is exactly what it happening.

When you go into the season expecting to have Ware, Ratliff, Hatcher, and Spencer, and for large parts of the year only having Hatcher... your defense isn't going to function.

Kiffin didn't draft these players, he came in with them here. We all had high hopes for Bruce Carter, but he has been awful. Not really going to put that on Kiffin, though I'm not sure why we kept Eberflus who was a 3-4 guy.

This secondary was never going to be any good without a solid pass rush, and we just don't have that. We never get after the Quarterback. Regardless of whether Kiffin is here or not next year, we'll have to address the defensive line. I've been saying it for a while that DeMarcus Ware needs to be gone. It's time to move on from him. He is a crutch that isn't supporting this defense. High priced defensive players who don't produce to their compensation kill defenses. Because not only are they not meeting their expectations, other positions are worse off. It's all about opportunity cost. And you are only going to win if you can get after the qb. Your secondary is only going to be as good as your pass rush. And it's time to completely start over in that regard, but there is no need to do it piecemeal like the offensive line. 4 new starters on the defensive line next year. Period.

Hope that we can salvage something out of Bruce Carter next year, especially since it will be a contract year for him.

The secondary is based entirely on whether we can get pass rush, which is exactly why it makes no sense to keep paying Brandon Carr. The guy is not an elite corner, and without a pass rush, we're just throwing money at him. You cut him in June and you save 7.5 million next year, and you break even the year after that. Put that 7.5 million towards the defensive line.

You cut DeMarcus Ware in june and you save 12.25 million next year, and another 12.2 million the year after that. That's an additional 19.75 million you can spend towards the defensive line. You can probably get 2 or 3 strong defensive linemen with that, maybe even 4. You draft a couple defensive linemen early, and you've reformed that defensive line, and as a result the entire defense in just one year.

You're probably thinking that leaves Claiborne and Scandrick as the starters. First of all I would have suggested cutting Morris Claiborne as well, except for the fact that his entire contract is guaranteed, but I'd rather start Claiborne and Scandrick with a pass rush than Carr and Claiborne/Scandrick without one.

Fixing the defensive line primarily in free agency allows us a lot more flexibility in the draft. Flexibility that we're absolutely going to need. Even if we're able to keep Brian Waters on for another year instead of him retiring, it would be wise to draft another guard early. Worst case scenario they can replace Leary, and allows you to cut Bernadeau who is going to be getting a huge pay increase next year if the team keeps him. Cutting Bernadeau frees up 2.75 million, which is important given that we're already beyond the current cap next year. So it's paramount that we draft a guard early, and it is much more difficult to do that if we have to focus entirely on defensive line in the draft, and we'd have to unless we address it in free agency, and to do that you have to make room.

So yes, the era of DeMarcus Ware has to end. I wouldn't even suggest resigning Hatcher. I think it would be wise to cut Brandon Carr. And hell maybe even Scandrick, depending on what the market for corners looks like. The cap hit for Scandrick is 5.6 million next year, that is up from 2.8 million this year. I'd be much more comfortable getting some bargain bin corners as long as we have a great pass rush. Cutting Scandrick in june saves us 3.5 million dollars next year, and another 3.5 million the year after. Again, money that can go generally towards the defensive line.

So yeah, you basically need to blow up the secondary and blow up the defensive line. Can't really do much with the linebacker situation right now, but hopefully that settles itself.

Kiffin's only mistake has been accepting the job. Jerrah's the real culprit. The sooner people realize this, the better.

 

[Galian Beast]

I just don't know who the play maker on defense is. Do we even have one? Sean Lee can't stay on the field. Ware is done. Hatcher is probably the closest we have to being that on defense, and that's not saying a whole lot.

When you put a lot of money into a playmaker, and they don't make plays, the team suffers tremendously. You get a bunch of solid players who aren't necessarily spectacular but play their part, and you have a much stronger team, without a great deal of weaknesses like we have now.

True. Kiffinn didnt hire himself, change schemes without the personnel to do so, sign every scrub without a job for the roster, or draft mostly offense in the draft.

I know you blame Jerry and to an extent so do I given that ultimately the blame is his, but I put this mostly on Jason Garrett. He's been completely against the idea of bringing in any coaches that could challenge his job, and he never had the experience to do it. We drafted mostly offense because we thought that the defensive line would be able to perform. That obviously didn't happen, and many people were worried about their ages, and they were right.

I think cutting Scan would be taking it too far. Carr had a bad game against the Bears, but overall he has been solid this year. I understand that he's making alot of money, but you need some kind of stabilizing force back there. You can't cut everyone at the same time.

Like I said if you look at his price, I don't think it's going too far. Not sure what Scandrick stabilizes in the back half... and Carr has had plenty of terrible games this year.

 

[Galian Beast]

Kiffin's only mistake has been accepting the job. Jerrah's the real culprit. The sooner people realize this, the better.

But why did we hire Kiffin over any of the other up and coming 4-3 defensive coordinators? Because Garrett knows Kiffin will never be head coach... No threat to him at all.

 

[Zordon]

larry lacewell and jerry jones made this hire. jason had very little to do with this.

 

[Deep_South]

Is there any defense that won't work if the team using it has a disruptive pass rush? No need to tie our future to Kiffin and the Tampa 2, IMO. I really don't understand how anyone could want more of what we saw last night. Let's draft some players who can give us the pass rush and block for Tony, and go back to the 3-4. We haven't made any personnel changes that would preclude us from doing that, unless J.J. Wilcox and B.W. Webb would feel uncomfortable with the change.

I do realize that Jerry will never admit he was wrong to the extent necessary for him to go back to the 3-4. Just wanted to get my recommendation in the record.

 

[dallasdave]

Half this defense's money and focus was in the defensive line. That is a really key part of Kiffin's defense. We never really had the corners for the system he wanted to play. Claiborne was always a piece of glass soft corner. And I think both Carr and Claiborne hang their hats more on man coverage than zone and without a pass rush they're going to get eaten alive, which is exactly what it happening.

When you go into the season expecting to have Ware, Ratliff, Hatcher, and Spencer, and for large parts of the year only having Hatcher... your defense isn't going to function.

Kiffin didn't draft these players, he came in with them here. We all had high hopes for Bruce Carter, but he has been awful. Not really going to put that on Kiffin, though I'm not sure why we kept Eberflus who was a 3-4 guy.

This secondary was never going to be any good without a solid pass rush, and we just don't have that. We never get after the Quarterback. Regardless of whether Kiffin is here or not next year, we'll have to address the defensive line. I've been saying it for a while that DeMarcus Ware needs to be gone. It's time to move on from him. He is a crutch that isn't supporting this defense. High priced defensive players who don't produce to their compensation kill defenses. Because not only are they not meeting their expectations, other positions are worse off. It's all about opportunity cost. And you are only going to win if you can get after the qb. Your secondary is only going to be as good as your pass rush. And it's time to completely start over in that regard, but there is no need to do it piecemeal like the offensive line. 4 new starters on the defensive line next year. Period.

Hope that we can salvage something out of Bruce Carter next year, especially since it will be a contract year for him.

The secondary is based entirely on whether we can get pass rush, which is exactly why it makes no sense to keep paying Brandon Carr. The guy is not an elite corner, and without a pass rush, we're just throwing money at him. You cut him in June and you save 7.5 million next year, and you break even the year after that. Put that 7.5 million towards the defensive line.

You cut DeMarcus Ware in june and you save 12.25 million next year, and another 12.2 million the year after that. That's an additional 19.75 million you can spend towards the defensive line. You can probably get 2 or 3 strong defensive linemen with that, maybe even 4. You draft a couple defensive linemen early, and you've reformed that defensive line, and as a result the entire defense in just one year.

You're probably thinking that leaves Claiborne and Scandrick as the starters. First of all I would have suggested cutting Morris Claiborne as well, except for the fact that his entire contract is guaranteed, but I'd rather start Claiborne and Scandrick with a pass rush than Carr and Claiborne/Scandrick without one.

Fixing the defensive line primarily in free agency allows us a lot more flexibility in the draft. Flexibility that we're absolutely going to need. Even if we're able to keep Brian Waters on for another year instead of him retiring, it would be wise to draft another guard early. Worst case scenario they can replace Leary, and allows you to cut Bernadeau who is going to be getting a huge pay increase next year if the team keeps him. Cutting Bernadeau frees up 2.75 million, which is important given that we're already beyond the current cap next year. So it's paramount that we draft a guard early, and it is much more difficult to do that if we have to focus entirely on defensive line in the draft, and we'd have to unless we address it in free agency, and to do that you have to make room.

So yes, the era of DeMarcus Ware has to end. I wouldn't even suggest resigning Hatcher. I think it would be wise to cut Brandon Carr. And hell maybe even Scandrick, depending on what the market for corners looks like. The cap hit for Scandrick is 5.6 million next year, that is up from 2.8 million this year. I'd be much more comfortable getting some bargain bin corners as long as we have a great pass rush. Cutting Scandrick in june saves us 3.5 million dollars next year, and another 3.5 million the year after. Again, money that can go generally towards the defensive line.

So yeah, you basically need to blow up the secondary and blow up the defensive line. Can't really do much with the linebacker situation right now, but hopefully that settles itself.

Plenty of blame to go around, this was a disgraceful defense.

 

[dupree89]

Plenty of blame to go around, this was a disgraceful defense.

This is what I was about to say.

 

[Tabascocat]

No DC could make this defense anywhere close to serviceable. The switch to the 4-3 was the main mistake(wrong personnel for it) and whoever pushed for that is at fault.

That being said, they need to go back to the 3-4, drafts for it, with a new DC.

 

[Galian Beast]

Not sure why we would ever go back to the 3-4...

 

[Soth]

Kiffin needs to be fired ASAP. This is not just a bad defense. It is the worst defense in Cowboys history. The stats below are from before the Chicago game... All of them are the worst in team history. I have a picture of this from the broadcast, but I can't post it here (it only let's me post links).

Total yards per game: 432
Pass yards per game: 299
Completion percentage: 64.6
Yards per rush: 5.05
1st downs per game: 25

I understand that we have many injuries, but worst defense in Cowboys history? How is that acceptable? We did not force a single punt the entire game against Chicago.

There is no doubt in my mind that it's not just the players, the injuries, etc. Kiffin simply does not know what he is doing. He is done. It's not just the Cowboys, he was doing the same thing at USC. This is from a bleacher report article (I know the site is not good, but they are talking about facts):

Well, duh. Yes, Monte Kiffin absolutely does need to retire. Shall we count the reasons why?

USC’s loss to Oregon on Saturday set two dubious records.

1. It was the first time 62 points had been hung on USC EVER. Let’s digest that for a moment. This is a program that has been in operation since the 1880s.
2. Oregon’s 730 yards of offense were the most EVER allowed by a USC defense. See my previous comment about how long the history of the Trojan football program is. We're talking roughly 130 years, folks.

See a pattern here? Worst ever defensive performance at USC.... worst ever defense at Dallas... I mean seriously, how can anybody defend this move by now is beyond me.

 

[Soth]

Some more quotes from USC articles:

In a loss to Oregon on Nov. 3, USC had the worst defensive game in the history of a school that began playing football in the 19th century, giving up a school record-worst 62 points, 730 yards and nine touchdowns. A week earlier, USC yielded 613 yards in a 39-36 loss to Arizona.

UCLA then embarrassed its crosstown rivals with 513 yards of offense during a 38-28 victory on Nov. 17 — including Johnathan Franklin's 171 yards rushing, the Bruins' most in the rivalry game in a quarter-century.

http://collegefootball.ap.org/aggiesports/content/monte-kiffin-resigns-sons-usc-coaching-staff

It's over for Kiffin. This has been one of the worst moves by Jerry and Garrett so far (firing Ryan and hiring Kiffin).

 

[kevm3]

What do you expect from a defensive scheme predicated on pass rush and yet that is our greatest weakness on the D? We're running cast-offs from other teams in a position that must be a strength in order for our scheme to work correctly. Firing Kiffen won't fix the problem, just like Rob Ryan getting fired didn't fix the problem. You get a new HC in here, let him pick his staff and get a GM in here. It won't happen, but it's what must be done. Instead, we'll be treated to more snake oil and flying monkey shows courtesy of Jerry Jones. "Look one, look all! Over here we have a championship team!" "Heh heh, there's a sucker born every minute."

 

[Redball Express]

Not sure why we would ever go back to the 3-4...

We aren't.

Kiffin and Marinielli have done everything possible given the personnel problems.

I think them blameless.

Never did I think simply changing to the 4-3 was going to solve all the Ryan mistakes.

It's going to take several drafts and stable defensive leadership to succeed here now.

Our DL is shredded and deeply wounded.

The CB issues will sort themselves out if the pass rush is shored up.

The Lber problem will get better if we sign/draft and get them all on the same page.

That all having been said..the fact that both Kiffin and Marinelli have been around so long and their schemes so copied and dissected...

..it's not hard to imagine most teams understand how to attack it and beat it.

Unless their defense gets modernized somehow..

..I think it is doomed to stagnation and defeat.