Is our defense as bad as most around here say it is?

[MichaelWinicki]

It's not as good as the 10th in points allowed.

But it's 16th in yards given up per attempt which is the best mark they've had since 2009.

I think 16th is about right.

In the last two games they've had at least one defensive breakdown that allowed a bunch of yards.

And the Bears were playing catch-up while the defense went into a soft zone which gave up a chunk of yardage.

The biggest problem is the lack of QB pressure.

The biggest plus is the secondary which is playing very well.

 

[tm1119]

We have a lot of Madden junkies on this board and since we don't have any highly rated Madden players with the
possible exception of Sean Lee we must suck. We are average right now and should improve a bit as the year
moves on. We are working with young players who need time to develop and I'm sure more resources will be
used over the next few years to improve the pass rush. Takes time to find the right guys.

It's really not a debatable fact that our front 7 is 1 of the worst in football.

 

[punchnjudy]

Football outsiders has them ranked 26th in yards allowed per drive, and 18th in points allowed per drive. It's a bit early for those stats to mean a lot, but I prefer drive stats to totals. The lack of a pass rush is the big concern.

 

[boysfanindc]

The O is protecting this D a whole lot by winning the TOP battle by a large margin, they will need to continue to do that and the D will need to get better (Lawrence back, OSCAN getting healthy, Davis maybe, Durant staying healthy, Collins continuing to improve, Tyrone taking to DE & Nacho showing something) if this team is going to beat the better teams.

 

[LittleD]

It's really not a debatable fact that our front 7 is 1 of the worst in football.

Really, have you looked at Tampa Bay, Cleveland & New Orleans lately? We are somewhere in the middle and if you ask
Marinelli, teams should be only ranked on defense for points allowed...not yardage.

 

[kevm3]

Our defense hasn't been nearly as bad as I thought, especially given the level of talent that's on the field, but on the other hand, they've been helped by the offense being on the field for sustained periods of time.

 

[Denim Chicken]

We haven't played a good QB yet. With our pathetic "pass-rush", we have been reliant on the opposing QB's inaccuracy and poor decisions. When we play a competent QB we will not have the same luxury.

 

[Vinnie2u]

I don't think that there are many dominating Defenses. Denver and Seattle lead the pack. Free agency and salary cap spread the talent pretty thin. We're average. Just like 80 % of the league. Injuries and coaching is the difference.

 

[Sydla]

Are we the worst in the league? Nope. Are we good on defense? Nope.

If you want to be optimistic, probably in the 16-19 range. Pessimistic? 23-25 range. So if you want to split the difference, we are probably in that 18-22 range.

They do (or better yet don't do) two things that is going to really haunt them against better teams. They can't rush the passer consistently and they are on pace to generate more turnovers than last year (which was abysmal) but less than they did in 2014.

You have to hope Lawrence is healthy and Davis can provide some additional pass rush help because I have my doubts that if this team can't still get a little pressure on the QB, their turnover numbers are not going to be enough over the long haul of a season to allow teams to churn up yards on them. You also have to hope that with Collins getting more action and McClain staying healthy and Crawford providing more size on the edge, that they will at least be able to control opposing teams' run game.

This defense puts a lot of pressure on the offense to be nearly on point every game. The defense needs a lead and is not a type of defense you can rely on over the course of a full season to get you a couple of stops late in the 3rd Q, 4th Q to give you a shot to win a game.

 

[Trouty]

It's not as good as the 10th in points allowed.

But it's 16th in yards given up per attempt which is the best mark they've had since 2009.

I think 16th is about right.

In the last two games they've had at least one defensive breakdown that allowed a bunch of yards.

And the Bears were playing catch-up while the defense went into a soft zone which gave up a chunk of yardage.

The biggest problem is the lack of QB pressure.

The biggest plus is the secondary which is playing very well.

Which is why last season it appeared we had an improved pass D, teams simply didn't have to gun it against said soft coverage. We were often behind and they just needed to run out the clock

I'm liking the secondary, namely Jones and Clai. LBs are hit and miss, depending on the play/drive. Enough has been said of our anemic pass rush and run D (tho Marinelli is scheming that now [rush D], it appears, by changing around personnel).

But on the plus, we are seeing some of that advtangaeous, bend-don't-break D we love-hated in 2014. Here's to more timely turnovers and keeping us around the middle of the pack. Maybe it might be enough to at least give us a taste of that glorious postseason (not that we will go far once we're in, short of Jerry selling someone else's soul -- his was sold in '91)

 

[Sydla]

Football outsiders has them ranked 26th in yards allowed per drive, and 18th in points allowed per drive. It's a bit early for those stats to mean a lot, but I prefer drive stats to totals. The lack of a pass rush is the big concern.

Yeah, they have them 23rd overall in the DVOA rankings for defense, I believe. But obviously that's without Lawrence so throw him into the mix and get Scandrick back and I suspect we are probably in that 18ish range in defense. The lower end of average.

 

[Stash]

Defense is very important. I like how the Broncos are still rolling and the Vikings are looking great even with Bradford.

Wish we could build a defense like Denver. Heck I'd settle for the Giants D right now.

It truly is clearly showing how great defense is winning right now. Denver loses both quarterbacks from their Super Bowl team and doesn't miss a beat, while half of Minnesota's team is in IR, including virtually every key component of their offense, and they simply keep winning.

But it's taken both of them year's and great drafts and free agency moves to build those defense's. Even if we go all defense next draft, we're probably still looking at a few years to field a really good unit.

 

[Risen Star]

Yes. This defense is really bad. I suspect the coaching but certainly the players. We lack talent on all three levels of the defense.

 

[Oh_Canada]

Overall it's weak, but no one can say the secondary has been poor given how much time they are asked to cover wr's.

 

[Stash]

Exactly. When the normal injuries start kicking in the lack of talent and depth will really hurt!!

A scary thought. Take a look at the players having the best season so far at all three levels of this defense:

Terrell McClain on the defensive line
Sean Lee at linebacker
Mo Claiborne in the secondary

All three are among the worst in terms of history of injury.

 

[Stash]

I found this in the news forum.

Question: The Cowboys offense should be OK, but can the defense contain quality teams for Dallas to make a playoff run?

Gosselin: No. The Cowboys are 2-1 against middle-of-the-pack teams. The Giants gained 390 yards in just 24 minutes against this defense. The Commanders gained 432 yards in 27 minutes and the Bears 316 yards in 23 minutes. 49 passes by the Bears last night and no sacks. The Cowboys made no real investment in this defense in the offseason and it shows. Getting DeMarcus Lawrence back will help. But one man isn't going to turn this thing around.

http://cowboyszone.com/threads/dmn-...as-dealt-bad-hand-but-hes-doing-right.357860/

And there's the real truth of it.

 

[Stash]

He doesn't know what we'll look like week 17. None of us do. Players develop and teams get lucky.

Why? Who's coming in off the street to suddenly change things? Is one of these linemen suddenly, magically, going to get that much better?



His thinking, supported by facts, looks a lot more rational than the alternative.

 

[PA Cowboy Fan]

We'll find out how bad this defense is after the 49ers game when our schedule gets better.

 

[LittleD]

It truly is clearly showing how great defense is winning right now. Denver loses both quarterbacks from their Super Bowl team and doesn't miss a beat, while half of Minnesota's team is in IR, including virtually every key component of their offense, and they simply keep winning.

But it's taken both of them year's and great drafts and free agency moves to build those defense's. Even if we go all defense next draft, we're probably still looking at a few years to field a really good unit.

I agree with you that it's going to take time and identifying the right guys in future drafts to make a truly great defense. One problem,
Jerry loves offense and offense sells tickets not defense. If he has his way, he will always reach for that WR, TE or RB who can
generate buzz and get the mediots crowing. That's what NFL is all about, the continuing stream of profits and money for projects
like the STAR.

 

[Stash]

Overall it's weak, but no one can say the secondary has been poor given how much time they are asked to cover wr's.

I think the secondary is the strength of this defense currently.