I'm predicting...

[burmafrd]

The ideal NT is about 6'1" and 320 lbs. AND very strong. He stacks the center up and forces the O to double him on every play. Your DE's should be around 300 or so and also very strong- they need to tie up the guards and at least one of the tackles on every play. IDEALLY you want your D line to have at least 4 of the O line completely occupied- if you got the talent to keep all 5 tied up you win big time- since that leaves all 4 LB's to seek and destroy. The NT is critical; even more so then the DE's.
I personally would love to have a couple of 340-350 lbers and rotate them every few plays to keep them fresh. NT's are not that hard to find if you work at it- but they are hard to find on short notice.

 

[Mike 1967]

The ideal NT is about 6'1" and 320 lbs. AND very strong. He stacks the center up and forces the O to double him on every play. Your DE's should be around 300 or so and also very strong- they need to tie up the guards and at least one of the tackles on every play. IDEALLY you want your D line to have at least 4 of the O line completely occupied- if you got the talent to keep all 5 tied up you win big time- since that leaves all 4 LB's to seek and destroy. The NT is critical; even more so then the DE's.
I personally would love to have a couple of 340-350 lbers and rotate them every few plays to keep them fresh. NT's are not that hard to find if you work at it- but they are hard to find on short notice.

In your opinion...are prototype NT's harder to find than prototype 4-3 DE's ?

 

[Mike 1967]

The key to not having a Haley is to have 4 solid players across the line and adequate depth behind them. In fact Haley was Haley because of that depth.

If the 3-4 was the end-all and so easy to aquire the proper personnel, why isn't it the common defense in the NFL?

Because the position even harder to fill than 4-3 DE is dominate NT and without one, teams will run the ball all day long.

That is actually what will be our problem, we will have a VERY SMALL 3-4. Ferguson is not a big NT and Glover is even smaller, Ellis is small and Canty is basically the same size at this point. Burnett and Singleton are smaller than Parcells likes, Shanle and Dat are both 240.

As we stand right now Spears and Ware are the only ideal-sized 3-4 players likely to start.

It's hard to be aggressive and get after the QB, when teams are running it down your throat.

If NT's are such a hot commodity....then why don't they command the kind of salaries that a 4-3 DE commands ? Or perhaps I'm misguided and the pay scales are the same. I have the perception that NT's don't command the same pay scale as DE's....but I could be wrong.

Can anyone answer this question ?

 

[JackMagist]

I think we might get off to a rough start but I do believe that by the end of the year we will be clicking on both sides of the ball and be ready for a run in the playoffs should we be fortunate enough to make into the playoffs. It will all depend on how long it takes for the team to come together.

 

[Banned_n_austin]

..... a rough year.

Our defense is simply to young and we are installing a brand new scheme.

The defense perfomance will be up and down this year.

Although I think we do have a good chance to finish above 500 and possibly make the playoffs.

IMO....next year is the year that things really start to turn around.

So which is it, Mike?

Do we make the playoffs or not?

You're not exactly predicting anything in this statement ... football is a rough game ...

But it is good to see you around. I was going to start a "have you seen these people" thread and ask where you were?

A couple of others are missing as well.

 

[Banned_n_austin]

I agree 100%.

It will be exciting to watch this defense build and develop.

- It will be exciting to see the potential of some of our new young athletic defensive players.
- It will be exciting to watch an attacking defense
- It will be exciting to watch a master of the 3-4 (Tuna) mold this unit into a winner.

I am getting very very excited about this teams future over the second half of this decade :- )

Yeah - I'm getting excited about the teams future too!

It seems we are staying pretty conservative with our cap spending and adding talent at the same time - albeit raw. We've kept a pretty good philosophy in terms of goals and working with what we have with our personnel.

Some of the personnel we have actually have potential to be something really special -i.e.- Julius Jones and Jason Witten. Players that have a tremendous upside and players that can change games single handedly.

We played the draft like a poker game and it payed off tremendously. The draft was exciting, but the draftees are young, so I understand your concern here. But I think we have drafted well in terms of young guys who have the mental capacity to play at the NFL level.

That's what I see when I look at this team. Tons of potential with the ability to learn the game and even excel at the NFL level.

If you look at Ware, that's the rap on him.

I think the Cowboys have actually studied thier picks from a mental stand point and scrutinized the draftees as much from there as they have physically.

I think we're gearing up to compete. And I see this defense clicking faster than some people think. Of course, there'll be problems. But that comes with every defense - young and old.

And I think the offense has to do it's part, but the offense IMO is going to surprise a lot of people. I just cross my fingers Glenn, Key and Witten can stay healthy. Injuries, just like with any team can/will be an issue.

But barring a tremendous amount of bad luck and a mental meltdown from the rookies, I think we do make the playoffs. And I say that with confidence.

 

[Banned_n_austin]

Don't get me wrong....I believe that this team will be exciting to watch.

We are much more athletic at many positions. We will want to keep our eyes glued to the screen this year because at any point we could see JJ breaking one or the defense creating a turnover or Bledsoe throwing to a deep Witten or Glenn.

I think the entertainment level is going to go up tremendously this year. Especially if JJ can stay healthy.

Exciting is an understatement!

 

[Banned_n_austin]

Not to sound too homeristic, but given good health the running game could be simply outstanding this season.

That will take a lot of pressure off a young defense (not to mention an old QB).

Not predicting SB by any means, but I think we are so used to seeing the team go however the defense goes around here, we may lose sight of the fact we could be actually looking at a year where the offense and TOP will in many cases determine whether we win games (in a good way!).

Here's another one of those guys who got lost for a while ...

Good to see you back, Wilee.

 

[Banned_n_austin]

We have an O-line, no disgruntled RBs

Boo-yow!!!!

 

[Banned_n_austin]

Those great players under 1994 also played in good schemes that were implemented by previous coaches

Have you read that recent Ring of Honor article on the triplest. All 3 of them stated that Norv was a key piece to the SB's. I think Aikman even said that they would not have won without Norm. And Norm = Scheme.

In my opinion a bad scheme could be either of the following:
(1) Bad X's and O's (i.e. bad strategy)
(2) Good X's and O's...but does not match the existing personnel.

I would also say that a good scheme should only have the wrong personnel when it is being newly implemented (i.e. coach or coordinator is inheriting pre-existing personnel.) Otherwise, you have a situation whereby organization is not selecting the correct personnel.

So....three things are actually important. (In order of importance)

(1) Good Personnel
(2) Scheme fits the personnel (organization selects the correct players)
(3) Scheme is a sound one

I do agree that if given the option to choose 1 of the 3...that good personnel would be the one to choose. But...the odds favor the team that has all 3.

A.K.A. - New England Patriots

Excellent post, Mike1967.

Hey, I like this thread. It's been a hit.

:laugh2:

 

[Nors]

'quOTE=Mike 1967]Perhaps we where a victim of our own success in the 90's.

Back then we had so much talent that is did not matter if the other team knew what we were going to do [/QUOTE]

I think having Aikman, Smith, Irvin, Novacek, Johnston and that Oline made the defense "appear" better than they really were.

 

[Hollywood Henderson]

Thanks Mike, Nors & others for schooling BZ again...

By the way BZ, I have never heard that quote that zimmy wuss was too agressive before?

One also has to be able to coach well in any scheme. Parcells knew zimmy wasn't and scrapped his crap...

We will now go after QB's...
Our offense can now dictate to teams what we can do, when we want to...

We can be agressive and create confusion, something as many have noted zimmy NEVER did...

Passive & predictable is out!

You can be agressive and unpredictable & still play solid D you know BZ?

Thats the huge Diff vs our teams in the past, we now have the right scheme, players and coaches to take our players to the next level!

Todd Bowels was a HUGE hire...Imagine, a DB's coach who can actually coach & develop...What a development we have here in Dallas now!

11-5...WE can shock the world!

 

[Nors]

bz slinks away..........smart move.

 

[PaEagleHater]

How can the defence be any rougher then last year? I think we will be better then last year, how much will have to be proven.

 

[Seven]

On a side note but semi-related......
Here's to hoping BP lets the younguns run rampant IF that works. So what I'm saying is, if the defense has to break the scheme a little and it's working I'm hoping BP doesn't have a fit cause someone didn't do what was drawn out on the chalk board. Run with it.................
And let the fellas have some fun with it.................

 

[blindzebra]

bz slinks away..........smart move.

I did not slink anywhere I had to work.

And we do have a smallish 3-4, that just might get ripped versus the run.

Regards,

zebra

 

[Waffle]

Thanks Mike, Nors & others for schooling BZ again...

Don't mean to burst anyone's bubble, but I didn't see anybody getting "schooled" in this thread. Just a simple difference of opinion, that's all.

(I stress the word "opinion".)

 

[blindzebra]

Thanks Mike, Nors & others for schooling BZ again...

By the way BZ, I have never heard that quote that zimmy wuss was too agressive before?

One also has to be able to coach well in any scheme. Parcells knew zimmy wasn't and scrapped his crap...

We will now go after QB's...
Our offense can now dictate to teams what we can do, when we want to...

We can be agressive and create confusion, something as many have noted zimmy NEVER did...

Passive & predictable is out!

You can be agressive and unpredictable & still play solid D you know BZ?

Thats the huge Diff vs our teams in the past, we now have the right scheme, players and coaches to take our players to the next level!

Todd Bowels was a HUGE hire...Imagine, a DB's coach who can actually coach & develop...What a development we have here in Dallas now!

11-5...WE can shock the world!

Hmmm, straight from Parcells:

Cowboys | Parcells not Sure what He has
Fri, 22 Jul 2005 22:39:27 -0700

Stephen Hawkins, of the Associated Press, reports despite a rash of offseason spending and the selection of draft picks that fit his scheme, Dallas Cowboys head coach Bill Parcells isn't sure what he has with his team. "I don't know what kind of heart this team is going to have," Parcells said. "On the outside, it looks like we are going to have more depth, more competition. But I don't know what's inside. I don't know what kind of chemistry we are going to have. I don't know what kind of mental toughness we are going to have. I don't know what we are going to do when we get hit in the mouth for the first time." Parcells will find out soon as training camp opens for the Cowboys Saturday, July 30.

Who was schooled again?

 

[Kilyin]

Nothing there indicating a reluctance to blitz the quarterback. That's typical Parcells jargon.

 

[billknows]

That we will not play as much 3-4 as it appears!

We will field a very good 4-3 TRUST