CFZ Improving the run defense

[quickccc]

Adding CB Stevon Gilmore was a huge addition to our defense. Opposing team should no longer be able to have a field day feast opposite Diggs as they
did vs Anthony Brown.

- I still worry about teams be able to " Out-physical " us ..it was our obvious weakness last year- We're tops as pass rushers
And what if Philly drafts RB Bijah Robinson with their first of two 1st rd picks
to add to their already potent run attack ?

Here's a look what and whom i thinks plays factor in our run struggles and who/what can be done to improve in this area.

DT
DE
LB

* DT-
- Opposing teams could impose their will against us -though trade for vet Jon Hankins addition certainly helped, but we need depth in event of a Hankins injury.
and he needs more able bodies to help him.
- We need improvement from young interior guys such as Osa, Gallimore and Gholston ... there has to be someone to replace rotation vet guy Watkins,
this will come per draft or post-draft per vet help, imo.
BTW, Quinton Bohanna was not happenin, imo. at season's end i thought he was JAG. Need upgrade here.

* DE - Armstrong, Fowler, Williams have to be better vs run. better fending the edges, outside. RBs took us in that area. DLaw is older but
he still be productive in that area.

* LB- LVE struggled mightily early, vs head on,.. mis-directions,. mis-guessing lanes and gaps, late-arrivals and poor tackling .. but had an improving rebound 2nd half.
He seems much better in coverage, space than vs run. Vet LB Anthony Barr was slooooow and only had a couple of plus games. Will not return.
Clark flashed but struggled his rookie year which he missed early season games. Not- we have zero key depth at LB. Cox is useless.

- Parsons is solid vs run - especially in both traffic and in pursuit, but we cannot keep pairing him vs 340 OTs in a down by down basis.
I'd like to see him in more of a Von Miller/ Hasson Riddick role to better preserve long term.

Safeties- Kearse/Donovan - i could mention them but i believe the best run defense work most effective with their front seven first off, the safety support
is your 8th man up.

 

[baltcowboy]

Adding CB Stevon Gilmore was a huge addition to our defense. Opposing team should no longer be able to have a field day feast opposite Diggs as they
did vs Anthony Brown.

- I still worry about teams be able to " Out-physical " us ..it was our obvious weakness last year- We're tops as pass rushers
And what if Philly drafts RB Bijah Robinson with their first of two 1st rd picks
to add to their already potent run attack ?

Here's a look what and whom i thinks plays factor in our run struggles and who/what can be done to improve in this area.

DT
DE
LB

* DT-
- Opposing teams could impose their will against us -though trade for vet Jon Hankins addition certainly helped, but we need depth in event of a Hankins injury.
and he needs more able bodies to help him.
- We need improvement from young interior guys such as Osa, Gallimore and Gholston ... there has to be someone to replace rotation vet guy Watkins,
this will come per draft or post-draft per vet help, imo.
BTW, Quinton Bohanna was not happenin, imo. at season's end i thought he was JAG. Need upgrade here.

* DE - Armstrong, Fowler, Williams have to be better vs run. better fending the edges, outside. RBs took us in that area. DLaw is older but
he still be productive in that area.

* LB- LVE struggled mightily early, vs head on,.. mis-directions,. mis-guessing lanes and gaps, late-arrivals and poor tackling .. but had an improving rebound 2nd half.
He seems much better in coverage, space than vs run. Vet LB Anthony Barr was slooooow and only had a couple of plus games. Will not return.
Clark flashed but struggled his rookie year which he missed early season games. Not- we have zero key depth at LB. Cox is useless.

- Parsons is solid vs run - especially in both traffic and in pursuit, but we cannot keep pairing him vs 340 OTs in a down by down basis.
I'd like to see him in more of a Von Miller/ Hasson Riddick role to better preserve long term.

Safeties- Kearse/Donovan - i could mention them but i believe the best run defense work most effective with their front seven first off, the safety support
is your 8th man up.

The problem is the NFL is slowly becoming flag football. What team really runs the football that we have not stopped? We stuffed the Eagles and San Francisco with Hankins. The best teams in the NFL throw the football. You have to be able to rush the passer and cover on the back end. Teams are not patient enough to run the ball for a three yard average.

 

[quickccc]

The problem is the NFL is slowly becoming flag football. What team really runs the football that we have not stopped? We stuffed the Eagles and San Francisco with Hankins. The best teams in the NFL throw the football. You have to be able to rush the passer and cover on the back end. Teams are not patient enough to run the ball for a three yard average.

You have to stop the run first, and force opposing teams to become more one dimensional.
That makes them much more easier to defend, and places more game pressure on the QB to bail that team out. per throwing the ball.

The 2nd Eagles game was without Hurts (injury) ... playing backup Ginew is a huge difference.
Yes, we did well for most of the playoff game vs Niners, until our defense which was forced to play way too much, eventually gassed out and gashed up.
But hopefully that was a building block vs the run.

 

[ThatJerryKid]

The problem is the NFL is slowly becoming flag football. What team really runs the football that we have not stopped? We stuffed the Eagles and San Francisco with Hankins. The best teams in the NFL throw the football. You have to be able to rush the passer and cover on the back end. Teams are not patient enough to run the ball for a three yard average.

Agreed. People forget what we did to the 49ers potent run game in the biggest game of the season. We shut them down and dominated their run game.

 

[quickccc]

i could've brought up the Bobby Wagner wish list, that would have helped our run defense - that would have put the final perfect kubosh on this "surprising" productive
Cowboys offseason working.

Thought Wagner would have brought leadership and playmaking to the defense, while LVE handles the other LB role. Plus Wagner/Quinn had great familiarity with each other
from the Legion of Boom Seattle dayz.
(sigh) But what's done is done.

Maybe Quinn has a plan to revise Parsons into more of the Von Miller, Hasson Riddick off the ball role that helps take far less pounding and wear/tear
of playing DE so much ?

 

[CATCH17]

It’s not 1992.

Defense is all about turnovers and keeping points low.

If we wanted to stop a teams run game we did it.

Dallas has an elite defense by todays standards and that’s all you can ask for.

Offense wins championships in this era.

 

[baltcowboy]

You have to stop the run first, and force opposing teams to become more one dimensional.
That makes them much more easier to defend, and places more game pressure on the QB to bail that team out. per throwing the ball.

The 2nd Eagles game was without Hurts (injury) ... playing backup Ginew is a huge difference.
Yes, we did well for most of the playoff game vs Niners, until our defense which was forced to play way too much, eventually gassed out and gashed up.
But hopefully that was a building block vs the run.

The reality is you rather give up the run then the pass in today’s NFL. Flag football is here to stay. The Ravens and Tennessee are changing their offenses. That should tell us something.

 

[thunderpimp91]

It’s not 1992.

Defense is all about turnovers and keeping points low.

If we wanted to stop a teams run game we did it.

Dallas has an elite defense by todays standards and that’s all you can ask for.

Offense wins championships in this era.

Agreed, not saying they can't get even better, but looking back at 2022 it was pretty obvious that the Cowboys had the ability to stop the run throughout the season (Especially after they brought in Hankins), but at a certain point DQ was playing for the post season. Quinn told us multiple times that he was testing guys and seeing what they are capable of, we just didn't believe it to be true.

Early in the season when the defense had to be lights out they were. Then come playoff time they were just as dominant. The only real disappointment I had with this defense was the Green Bay game. There were some other poor performances but looking back DQ was really just letting his guys play, challenging them to win 1V1 battles that he typically wouldnt let guys have, etc.

 

[Creeper]

Why is everyone so worried about the Eagles drafting Robinson. The Giants drafted arguably a much better RB in Barkley. I would actually be shocked if the Eagles draft a RB at #10. I think they will go offensive or defensive line. More likely a DE.

 

[jazzcat22]

I will wait until the draft. If they take a DT early it will show us they are finally serious about this. If they take a DT later on, it tells us they believe they can find the next Hill / Bohanna, and spin it as they got a bargain in the draft.

Then tell us how a very strong secondary will help the pass rush, so they can focus on stopping the run, or something like that which sounds good to appease the masses.

No matter what we will have to wait to see how they change things up in TC to see if any improvement, no matter what they do. Until then it is all speculation to debate. But that is what we are here for.

 

[jazzcat22]

Why is everyone so worried about the Eagles drafting Robinson. The Giants drafted arguably a much better RB in Barkley. I would actually be shocked if the Eagles draft a RB at #10. I think they will go offensive or defensive line. More likely a DE.

Right they lost so much more on defense than they did on offense. So yes, this makes sense. And if the theory some of our fans use, you can draft a RB anywhere to be productive. So why does that not apply to the Eagles as well. If they take Robinson at #10, therefore their FO sucks.

 

[blueblood70]

Adding CB Stevon Gilmore was a huge addition to our defense. Opposing team should no longer be able to have a field day feast opposite Diggs as they
did vs Anthony Brown.

- I still worry about teams be able to " Out-physical " us ..it was our obvious weakness last year- We're tops as pass rushers
And what if Philly drafts RB Bijah Robinson with their first of two 1st rd picks
to add to their already potent run attack ?

Here's a look what and whom i thinks plays factor in our run struggles and who/what can be done to improve in this area.

DT
DE
LB

* DT-
- Opposing teams could impose their will against us -though trade for vet Jon Hankins addition certainly helped, but we need depth in event of a Hankins injury.
and he needs more able bodies to help him.
- We need improvement from young interior guys such as Osa, Gallimore and Gholston ... there has to be someone to replace rotation vet guy Watkins,
this will come per draft or post-draft per vet help, imo.
BTW, Quinton Bohanna was not happenin, imo. at season's end i thought he was JAG. Need upgrade here.

* DE - Armstrong, Fowler, Williams have to be better vs run. better fending the edges, outside. RBs took us in that area. DLaw is older but
he still be productive in that area.

* LB- LVE struggled mightily early, vs head on,.. mis-directions,. mis-guessing lanes and gaps, late-arrivals and poor tackling .. but had an improving rebound 2nd half.
He seems much better in coverage, space than vs run. Vet LB Anthony Barr was slooooow and only had a couple of plus games. Will not return.
Clark flashed but struggled his rookie year which he missed early season games. Not- we have zero key depth at LB. Cox is useless.

- Parsons is solid vs run - especially in both traffic and in pursuit, but we cannot keep pairing him vs 340 OTs in a down by down basis.
I'd like to see him in more of a Von Miller/ Hasson Riddick role to better preserve long term.

Safeties- Kearse/Donovan - i could mention them but i believe the best run defense work most effective with their front seven first off, the safety support
is your 8th man up.

first off NO DES we are loaded with depth there none, not one used in the draft, sorry we dont need any right now. Sam, Armstrong, and Fowler all depth to take snaps from Parsons add Takk and others

secondly yes DT needs improving , sure But you do realize, maybe you missed fit,.


I wouldn't call what our group at DT was last year as scrubs or trash.. sure the right NT/DT1 come up grab him But,

we were top 7 last year on defense, even with all those injuries and ended up graded better then then the eagles in the run game. Our run defense was 4.4 YPC, theirs was 4.6, we gave up 9 rushing tds, they gave up 14, yards about the same.

I realize the need but we had a very good defense against the run at times, especially the playoffs. pretty much fully controlled the run in the playoffs.

the eagles value the DT so much it keeps being talked about, but our D ended up closely ranked EVEN with some of those bad games in the middle of the season.

 

[xwalker]

Adding CB Stevon Gilmore was a huge addition to our defense. Opposing team should no longer be able to have a field day feast opposite Diggs as they
did vs Anthony Brown.

- I still worry about teams be able to " Out-physical " us ..it was our obvious weakness last year- We're tops as pass rushers
And what if Philly drafts RB Bijah Robinson with their first of two 1st rd picks
to add to their already potent run attack ?

Here's a look what and whom i thinks plays factor in our run struggles and who/what can be done to improve in this area.

DT
DE
LB

* DT-
- Opposing teams could impose their will against us -though trade for vet Jon Hankins addition certainly helped, but we need depth in event of a Hankins injury.
and he needs more able bodies to help him.
- We need improvement from young interior guys such as Osa, Gallimore and Gholston ... there has to be someone to replace rotation vet guy Watkins,
this will come per draft or post-draft per vet help, imo.
BTW, Quinton Bohanna was not happenin, imo. at season's end i thought he was JAG. Need upgrade here.

* DE - Armstrong, Fowler, Williams have to be better vs run. better fending the edges, outside. RBs took us in that area. DLaw is older but
he still be productive in that area.

* LB- LVE struggled mightily early, vs head on,.. mis-directions,. mis-guessing lanes and gaps, late-arrivals and poor tackling .. but had an improving rebound 2nd half.
He seems much better in coverage, space than vs run. Vet LB Anthony Barr was slooooow and only had a couple of plus games. Will not return.
Clark flashed but struggled his rookie year which he missed early season games. Not- we have zero key depth at LB. Cox is useless.

- Parsons is solid vs run - especially in both traffic and in pursuit, but we cannot keep pairing him vs 340 OTs in a down by down basis.
I'd like to see him in more of a Von Miller/ Hasson Riddick role to better preserve long term.

Safeties- Kearse/Donovan - i could mention them but i believe the best run defense work most effective with their front seven first off, the safety support
is your 8th man up.

Defensive Tackle
Bohanna was trending up until the knee injury.
- He tried playing afterwards but was ineffective.
- He was already dealing with a shoulder injury from earlier in the season.

I see hope for Bohanna but not for Gallimore.

I thought Golston was passing Gallimore late in the season.

They could get a run downs only 1-tech later in the draft.
- What they really need is more size at 3-tech.
- A player that can play some snaps at 1-tech.
- i.e. A bigger, stronger, quicker version of Watkins.
- Keeanu Benton is that player.

Linebacker
- LVE looked better later in the year because Quinn changed his role and made changes to the scheme.
- The changes came after they gave up 240 and 207 rushing yards to the Bears and Packers.
- Early in the season Quinn had LVE playing as a stack-and-shed LB.
- After the changes LVE went back to a Run-and-Hit role similar to what he played under Marinelli.

 

[CouchCoach]

PHL is more likely to take Carter at 10 instead of Robinson.

 

[Creeper]

Right they lost so much more on defense than they did on offense. So yes, this makes sense. And if the theory some of our fans use, you can draft a RB anywhere to be productive. So why does that not apply to the Eagles as well. If they take Robinson at #10, therefore their FO sucks.

Also, the Eagles have not drafted a RB in the first round since 1986.

 

[thunderpimp91]

Defensive TackleI

- What they really need is more size at 3-tech.

This doesn't get talked about much at all, but is something to keep an eye on. This is the Gallimore role that he never really stepped up into. Dallas already has two massive human beings who if healthy should step right into the 1T in Hankins and Bohanna. Bohanna is one that I think fans are sleeping on too, and get the feeling the Cowboys are high on him. For that reason I'm not sure there is room on the roster for another true 1T except for a late round flier or leftover FA to bring into camp.

You're right though. I'm a huge fan of OSA & Golston, but neither have shown themselves to be complete players and lack a little in the run game. If they do look at a DT in the draft, especially with this years class look for the heavier 3T.

 

[CowboysFaninHouston]

Adding CB Stevon Gilmore was a huge addition to our defense. Opposing team should no longer be able to have a field day feast opposite Diggs as they
did vs Anthony Brown.

- I still worry about teams be able to " Out-physical " us ..it was our obvious weakness last year- We're tops as pass rushers
And what if Philly drafts RB Bijah Robinson with their first of two 1st rd picks
to add to their already potent run attack ?

Here's a look what and whom i thinks plays factor in our run struggles and who/what can be done to improve in this area.

DT
DE
LB

* DT-
- Opposing teams could impose their will against us -though trade for vet Jon Hankins addition certainly helped, but we need depth in event of a Hankins injury.
and he needs more able bodies to help him.
- We need improvement from young interior guys such as Osa, Gallimore and Gholston ... there has to be someone to replace rotation vet guy Watkins,
this will come per draft or post-draft per vet help, imo.
BTW, Quinton Bohanna was not happenin, imo. at season's end i thought he was JAG. Need upgrade here.

* DE - Armstrong, Fowler, Williams have to be better vs run. better fending the edges, outside. RBs took us in that area. DLaw is older but
he still be productive in that area.

* LB- LVE struggled mightily early, vs head on,.. mis-directions,. mis-guessing lanes and gaps, late-arrivals and poor tackling .. but had an improving rebound 2nd half.
He seems much better in coverage, space than vs run. Vet LB Anthony Barr was slooooow and only had a couple of plus games. Will not return.
Clark flashed but struggled his rookie year which he missed early season games. Not- we have zero key depth at LB. Cox is useless.

- Parsons is solid vs run - especially in both traffic and in pursuit, but we cannot keep pairing him vs 340 OTs in a down by down basis.
I'd like to see him in more of a Von Miller/ Hasson Riddick role to better preserve long term.

Safeties- Kearse/Donovan - i could mention them but i believe the best run defense work most effective with their front seven first off, the safety support
is your 8th man up.

we need a big 1-tech DT, that can hold the LOS, move along the line and not hit the wrong gaps and be able to push the pocket at times. we don't need pass rushing DT, as we have a few 3-tech that can do that. too often our DTs got pushed out of the way, into the wrong holes and provided lanes for RBs, given lack of MLB play, it allowed the RBs to get into secondary easily. we also failed often to maintain and contain outside runs, as DEs crashed inside, the run went outside. we looked undisciplined. not smart. not good.

 

[nalam]

It’s not 1992.

Defense is all about turnovers and keeping points low.

If we wanted to stop a teams run game we did it.

Dallas has an elite defense by todays standards and that’s all you can ask for.

Offense wins championships in this era.

well said, competitive defense plus explosive offense will win most games. We could have pulled it off in the SF game if offense didnt turn the ball over so many times ( whosever fault those INTs were )

Since we are addressing the run D aspect I believe this is one area still not addressed sufficiently, hopefully we will unearth a Gem in the draft.

 

[JayFord]

Why is everyone so worried about the Eagles drafting Robinson. The Giants drafted arguably a much better RB in Barkley. I would actually be shocked if the Eagles draft a RB at #10. I think they will go offensive or defensive line. More likely a DE.

the eagles could get a 5th string punter and our fans would worry about it and then praise the eagles for smart moves

 

[visionary]

Sign Robinson in FA
Draft Benton at 58
Draft or FA thumper at LB

Problem solved