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

[aikemirv]

Yes it is and despite what many seem to say around here, our secondary is not playing well either. The skins game was a nightmare for the secondary and while the NY game was good some of the time, the 3 easy drives were pretty poor play. The only reason we are winning is because we are limiting the opposing teams possessions.

And I remember the thread after week one which said TOP really had no meaning!!!!

 

[Trouty]

Nahh, not anymore weapons then the Gents and Skins have, they actually both have more. Now Burfict and company? Another story!

Burfict is a monster, but he better keep his head up and stay away from those helmet to helmet hits against our Boys. Dude can lay the wood, tho.

 

[Section446]

Much like the team overall, the defense is just average.

 

[Diehardblues]

Yes it is and despite what many seem to say around here, our secondary is not playing well either. The skins game was a nightmare for the secondary and while the NY game was good some of the time, the 3 easy drives were pretty poor play. The only reason we are winning is because we are limiting the opposing teams possessions.

And I remember the thread after week one which said TOP really had no meaning!!!!

Actually our secondary appears to be our strength thus far as many predicted . Which could be more of a reflection how bad the rest of the defense is.

 

[Diehardblues]

Much like the team overall, the defense is just average.

Our offense is ranked in top ten. Defense is below average ranked 22nd which lowers the overall ranking to about 16th.

 

[aikemirv]

Actually our secondary appears to be our strength thus far as many predicted . Which could be more of a reflection how bad the rest of the defense is.

We average giving up 6.2 yards per play. We have the second best TOP but we are still 22nd in yards allowed. I am not sure what games people have been watching to say our secondary looks strong, I think it is the 2-1 record that is causing these rose colored glasses!

 

[Diehardblues]

We average giving up 6.2 yards per play. We have the second best TOP but we are still 22nd in yards allowed. I am not sure what games people have been watching to say our secondary looks strong, I think it is the 2-1 record that is causing these rose colored glasses!

I didn't say our secondary was strong . I said it was the strength of our defense . Meaning it's not as bad as our Front 7.

 

[Sasquatch]

Nope. We're average. And we'll be a little better with Lawrence back. Hopefully, we've got the run fits sorted out a little better now, too.

Only problem is we need better than average to advance in post season.

Agreed. Average is better than bad but is unlikely to produce victories when the offense is misfiring.

 

[Stash]

It's possible

So is winning the lottery.

 

[TheCoolFan]

Need more turnovers...lots and lots of them! I know we're averaging one per game right now but we'll need more because this defense is going to give up a lot of yards. They haven't surrendered a ton of points yet but I feel like that will come eventually.

 

[xwalker]

Hearing a couple of other conversations around here I got to thinking is our defense really that bad? After all they are 10th in points suggesting they are a bend but don't break type of team. To which many say, that's just because they control the ball so well, which is also true, they are #1 in both plays and time per drive (which I really like moving forward BTW, yes it's because there aren't any deep completions but I love controlling the ball). In fact the Cowboys offense is dominant in pretty much every per drive stat (except for TDs which I think getting Romo back well help a lot with, not to mention Dak getting more experience).

So I started looking at the defensive per drive stats that supposedly the Cowboys are so bad at... And outside of yards I didn't see anything that horrifying. 18th in points, 14th in takeaways, 13th in points per red zone appearance. In terms of what I see mattering the most, points and takeaways (in that order) we are really pretty average, maybe slightly below. This is being done without our best pass rusher in DLaw who was averaging a sack a game at the end of last year and seemed to be getting regular pressure throughout the game.

While some might argue that this is because we played 3 bad teams... The Skins and Giants really aren't that horrible on offense, both are middle of the pack. The Bears are horrible sure, but then again we probably had better stats against the Giants and Commanders because we gave up so much against the Bears in garbage time.

Is there room for improvement, sure. I think getting the aforementioned DLaw back will help a lot there. Could this be a top 10 defense by the end of the year... Probably not. Could they perform our defense from two years ago... Probably. I think our secondary is there, we need a LB to go with Lee and we really really need a pass rusher. Maybe Durant and DLaw? Maybe?

P.S. the most telling stat for me our offe

Hearing a couple of other conversations around here I got to thinking is our defense really that bad? After all they are 10th in points suggesting they are a bend but don't break type of team. To which many say, that's just because they control the ball so well, which is also true, they are #1 in both plays and time per drive (which I really like moving forward BTW, yes it's because there aren't any deep completions but I love controlling the ball). In fact the Cowboys offense is dominant in pretty much every per drive stat (except for TDs which I think getting Romo back well help a lot with, not to mention Dak getting more experience).

So I started looking at the defensive per drive stats that supposedly the Cowboys are so bad at... And outside of yards I didn't see anything that horrifying. 18th in points, 14th in takeaways, 13th in points per red zone appearance. In terms of what I see mattering the most, points and takeaways (in that order) we are really pretty average, maybe slightly below. This is being done without our best pass rusher in DLaw who was averaging a sack a game at the end of last year and seemed to be getting regular pressure throughout the game.

While some might argue that this is because we played 3 bad teams... The Skins and Giants really aren't that horrible on offense, both are middle of the pack. The Bears are horrible sure, but then again we probably had better stats against the Giants and Commanders because we gave up so much against the Bears in garbage time.

Is there room for improvement, sure. I think getting the aforementioned DLaw back will help a lot there. Could this be a top 10 defense by the end of the year... Probably not. Could they perform our defense from two years ago... Probably. I think our secondary is there, we need a LB to go with Lee and we really really need a pass rusher. Maybe Durant and DLaw? Maybe?

P.S. the most telling stat for me our offense starts the average drive up 4.69 points, 5th in the league. Our defense might not be doing that good but our offense is picking up the slack in a big way.

Edit: stats were found at http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/drivestatsoff2016

nse starts the average drive up 4.69 points, 5th in the league. Our defense might not be doing that good but our offense is picking up the slack in a big way.

Edit: stats were found at http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/drivestatsoff2016

They have potential to get a little better.

Irving is limited by a groin issue and is very young.

Mayo is coming off a knee injury and missed most of training camp. He is young.

M. Collins is just getting started. He is very young.

Davis might come on with more scheme knowledge.

Nacho looked like stud physically in the preseason. He is very young.

Jones is already making a huge difference and he is very young.

Thorton seems to be adjusting to the scheme. He was terrific player last season in the Eagles-Cowboys games. He challenged Martin quite well.

 

[Verdict]

I really don't care that much about the stats. I care about the eyeball test. We are an average defense with a below average pass rush and very little linebacker depth, so far. Lawrence may help more than some think he will as the whole is more than the sum of the parts. We need Tapper which is why they haven't IR'ed him yet.

The linebacking corps is THIN. We are OK there for now, and get a boost if Nzoacha comes back fully healthy. If we don't get help from Nzoacha, then we will likely have to find some help there before the year is over. If we are still in the playoff hunt late in the year, look for Jerry to rent a player for a late round pick on an expiring contract.

 

[DallasDomination]

Ok Packers I agree with but the Bengals?? AJ Green and who else?? The Red Rifle? Lol

Hill ran very well against the Broncos which have the best defense in the league. We have proved to be unable to stop the run in all 3 games. AJ Green is dropping a lot of passes but we don't have the no fly zone secondary either.. aj won't be seeing ghosts out there with our secondary.

Bottom line it's going to be very tough. Not just them but stopping everyone else too. We don't have the defense like Philly to stop the Steelers either. Too many potent offenses.

 

[KJJ]

There's a number of issues with the defense but one of the biggest issues is the lack of a 4th quarter pass rush when games are on the line.

 

[Sydla]

FWIW, the Cowboys Pass D is rated 19th based on opposing QB ratings. Now part of that is the fact the front seven cant sniff a QB.

 

[endersdragon]

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.

The QBs we have played have a combined 2 Super Bowl rings (okay... okay... that's just Manning but still).

 

[KJJ]

We haven't played a good QB yet.

Eli is a good QB.

 

[ConceptCoop]

Nope. We're average. And we'll be a little better with Lawrence back. Hopefully, we've got the run fits sorted out a little better now, too.

Only problem is we need better than average to advance in post season.

I personally disagree. We're second in time of possession on the offensive side of the ball. Our defense is playing 5 minutes less than the average unit. Not only does that limit the time the opposing team has to accumulate stats, it keeps the defense fresh and rested. If our offensive line and Dak's effecient play didn't keep our offense on the field as much as they do, I think our defense would be exposed and the numbers would more accurate reflect their ability.

We're bad at stopping the run and have one of the very worst pass rushes in the league. Our secondary is playing pretty well, but I have a hard time calling them anything but slightly above average as a group. We have a very weak front 7 and a slightly above average secondary. That's not an average NFL unit, IMO.

Week 1 we gave up 207 yards and 3 TDs in the air and 4.7 YPC in just 23:17.
Week 2 we gave up 364 yards and a TD to Kirk Cousins, who missed another 80+ yards and 2 TDs, and 4.8 YPC.
Week 3 we played the Bears' B-Team.

 

[Doomsday101]

Until Dallas can generate a pass rush the secondary will be at a big disadvantage. Anytime a WR and QB can get a lot of time to operate they will connect I don't care who is playing in the secondary. An NFL QB will find the open man given time

 

[ConceptCoop]

Yes it is and despite what many seem to say around here, our secondary is not playing well either. The skins game was a nightmare for the secondary and while the NY game was good some of the time, the 3 easy drives were pretty poor play. The only reason we are winning is because we are limiting the opposing teams possessions.

And I remember the thread after week one which said TOP really had no meaning!!!!

I agree with just about everything, but your comment on the seconday. The secondary has been hung out to dry by the pass rush. They'd look much better with even an average pass rush.