Is Barry Church Underrated?

[Temo]

We've had 3 starting players in the secondary miss time this season.

I sorted all the games the Cowboys have played this year by Football Outsider's Pass DVOA and highlighted the games played by each of the three players. In general, Church played in all of our good games and missed 4 of our worst games.

By the way -- I do think week 4 (SF), week 3 (CHI), and week 5 (CIN) deserve some asterisks. CHI and CIN did most of their damage after being down a lot, and the SF game was Gabbert completing a few big passes early in the game and then just not passing later in the game.

 

[Clove]

Pretty much.

 

[JBell]

Good stuff. I noticed Church gets to roam around the box quite often while we play single high. We all know his man coverage isn't great, but he's good at anticipating and using his instincts in the pass game.

Not sure if we win the game vs. GB earlier in the year without him. He caused two of the Packers 4 turnovers.

 

[LittleD]

Church is a good not great or catalytic player. He's better in the box than in coverage but,
his years of experience tend to get him by on assignments. He's not Pro Bowl or All Pro but,
you need some of these types of players cause you can have All Pro's at every position.

 

[Proximo]

I'd say yea, he's underrated.

Rarely do you see or hear anyone talk him up, and he's been a very good player and I believe a leader on the defense.

I don't think many people outside of Cowboys fans even know who he is.

 

[CWR]

Our entire defensive is underrated. Hell even Sean Lee shouldve been locked in as a probowler on the initial ballot.

 

[gmoney112]

You noticed the back end improved a lot, Barry included once they got a little talent at FS.

Underrated, not really. The most underrated aspect of him that fans don't see is probably his locker room/off field stuff. There's a reason why he's been voted team captain a few times.

I think when it's all said and done he'll be here over JJ next year.

 

[JIMMYBUFFETT]

The entire Cowboys secondary is underrated. They've been the most consistent positions group this season. They won't be overlooked after this weekend though. Rodgers is going to wish he was at home snuggled up with Jordy under an ugly green and yellow blanky that smells like crappy beer and smelly cheese while rehearsing State Farm commercials.

 

[d_dub88]

He can be good in coverage depending on the situation. I don't know if most who aren't Cowboys' fans know how smart he is on the field and he can sucker QBs into bad passes, like when he got Cousins early this season. I like him because he's a tackling machine and essentially an extra LB.

 

[Future]

I think he's rated pretty accurately.

Solid player but has shortcomings.

 

[big dog cowboy]

No he isn't underrated. He is an average player. Doesn't do anything real well. He can make a couple of plays every game but also give up a couple of plays every game. I've wanted him replaced with a better more impactful player for a while now.

 

[conner01]

I think he is an above avg player
Don't know about rating but he is solid and plays hard as well as being a good leader
He's not a pro bowler and never will be but he gets the job done to the best of his ability

 

[T-RO]

Church is a good not great or catalytic player. He's better in the box than in coverage but,
his years of experience tend to get him by on assignments. He's not Pro Bowl or All Pro but,
you need some of these types of players cause you can have All Pro's at every position.

Agree. He's smart, tough and seems to know his responsibilities. He's not a superior athlete nor does he have the preternatural instincts that the very best safeties seem to have.

 

[CCBoy]

I would say that as a strong safety, Church is good at what he does. What he brings is a ton of tackles. Mix him with Sean Lee and you have what shows up for our Cowboys...a strong run defense. That pushes an opponent into a corner...and some teams actually resort to a dominant tight end.

He meshes well in a group, secondary. Some of his end product, is the way Marrinelli schemes him to play. The box area is his stomping grounds, but that is by design as well.

I've liked Church and he has grown with his experience...I like him in the secondary. Safety is no longer a dirty word for the Cowboys. Church is part of that.

 

[HomeBiscuit]

Every player in the history of the Dallas Cowboys is underrated I think. Starting with Matt Johnson.

 

[Proof]

I think he's definitely underrated. Not because o think he's great, but because he's been marginalized and written off almost his whole tenure, but has been pretty much the leading tackler and named team captain for years running now. Also because the defense suffered when he went down. Sometimes you need an injection of talent, sometimes you just need a guy to do his job unsung and Barry church does his job

 

[KJJ]

Church dropped what would have been a couple of INT's off Eli in our second loss to the Giants. Crap like that isn't going to help raise his rating.

 

[Idgit]

I think Barry's a good player for what he does, but has been in a position where he's been more exposed than he should have been for most of his career. Now that he's got a bit more support, he's showing better. Good intangibles, too. He just can't be put in some of the coverage positions he's been in in the past.