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

[LocimusPrime]

Are people seeing Collins get pressure? I'm just not noticing it, personally. He's made 2 or 3 nice plays down the field and that's nice. But I'm nost not seeing much push, personally. That said, I haven't gone back to look, so it could just be that I didn't notice.

People wanna see good in anything with the rookies. Just hoping. People said Russell looked good but I didn't see a dang thing. Same thing w Mayowa.

 

[perrykemp]

I think overall they are middle of the Pack.

Pass coverage is better than we've seen in a while thanks to the emergence of Jones and Claiborne continued improvement.

The pass rush is bad. The thought of Aaron Rodgers having forever and a day to pass in two weeks is scary thought.

 

[Tenkamenin]

I think a ton depends on DLaw, if he's the beast he was at the end of last year, considering how this secondary is performing... We could actually be a top 10 defense (I know I just said probably not to that)... If his last 2 months from last year are a fluke... We won't improve that much. With that being said, in this wide open NFC, I think that we could advance with an average defense as every team with the exception of the Eagles (man it pains me to say that) has an average something, and I don't think that the Eagles will last (there all better lol).

D-Law was a beast at the end of last year, but how much of that was the result of G-Hardy commanding attention?

 

[big dog cowboy]

Our defense might not be doing that good but our offense is picking up the slack in a big way.

That was pretty much what everone thought during the offseason.

 

[ISUFan22]

It's not as bad. The site gets dominated at times by the cry-whiners. These are types of individuals that only feel better about themselves by ripping on the team they love. They are happier when they can find fault in their favorite time - because it somehow elevates their meager individual existence. Just the reality.

That said, anyone with a pulse and eyeballs can see the defense is neither good nor bad - it is an average unit. I like our secondary for the most part - some good young pieces. Improved play from Claiborne and really like Jones. Our LBs just lack depth, we'd be really strong there with an active healthy focused McClain. It's no secret we are not good against the pass up front, can't get any real consistent pressure and that was a known going into the season. No one should be sniveling about it other than to blame the guys that got themselves suspended. Completely different story with Lawrence and Gregory.

I think the defense has been a bit better than I expected, so far. We've not really played an offense I fear that much yet. Giants aren't bad, but not an offense like what we will face coming up. Good thing we'll have Lawrence back and hoping M.Collins can continue to grow.

I will say I've expected to see more from Irving. Loved him last season, yet have not seem him be active this season. Perhaps playing out of position with the absences up front.

 

[Denim Chicken]

Individual performance especially from a QB has a great affect on team performance which is why QBs are drafted so high. Eli wins games and has been a SB MVP which is why he's been a starting QB for so long. Brian Hoyer has been mostly a career backup because he's not consistent, the Bears are Hoyer's 6th team. Can't believe you want to argue Hoyer vs Eli. lol

I can't believe you're here defending ELI, lol. 200 + picks.

 

[KJJ]

I can't believe you're here defending ELI, lol. 200 + picks.

I'm saying he's a good QB and a lot better than Brian Hoyer who you seem to think is comparable to Eli. lol

 

[Techsass]

Stats aside our Defense is not very good right now. Ro & Gregory really hurt us this year. They weren't going to put us in the upper tier, but their replacements are definitely less talented. We've picked up a lot of good role players, but we still need a few more difference makers. Hopefully some of these guys will grow into it, but that's more next season than this season.

The changes Rod's made on the coaching staff seems to be helping. I think that's a big part of why we're seeing the improvements in the secondary,

Maybe next year will be that long awaited defensive draft. I know we picked up quite a few guys this past draft, but I'm talking at least 1st & 2nd round. The offense can wait for the later rounds without us tanking the season.

 

[TwoDeep3]

When Dallas eventually isn't playing Sister Mary's School of TV Repair for the Blind, it will become evident, this defense and a colander are similar.

 

[rwalters31]

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

No, we are far worst!! Until the Cowboys have a great front four, the very best we can be is average. Jerry needs to understand that if you win in the trench you win. However, history says he gets CBs, WR, and TEs.

 

[endersdragon]

No, we are far worst!! Until the Cowboys have a great front four, the very best we can be is average. Jerry needs to understand that if you win in the trench you win. However, history says he gets CBs, WR, and TEs.

First, English please. Second how do you figure Jones always gets CBs and WRs? Other than Dez I can't remember the last time he drafted a WR in the first 2 rounds, same with Mo and Jones and CBs. Gregory, Lawerence, Ellis, Ware, Spears, Spencer, etc. were all drafted in the first two rounds... all were DEs in college and at some point in the pros. Then there is the Martin, Fredbeard, and Smith combo on the o-line. You can complain about the picks, but Jones does like to pick in the trenches in the first two rounds.

 

[endersdragon]

D-Law was a beast at the end of last year, but how much of that was the result of G-Hardy commanding attention?

I am not sure it that was that much... because everyone knew DLaw was a beast and Hardy was a nobody, especially by mid-December. He averaged 4.6 tackles and 1 sack in the last 5 weeks last season, that is crazy for a DE. Do I suspect that might go down a bit, yes... but not that much.

 

[Redball Express]

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

I think it maybe worst.

The better teams coming up are going to feast on us.

We have no pass rush..

we are allowing a lot of deep passes..

we are not controlling the run..

our LBers are struggling and no players are coming back from suspension to help us.

Unless you think RoMac in the 14th game returning is going to change anything.

So you tell me.?

It looks like DAK is going to have to score 30+ pets a game to overcome all that.

 

[Techsass]

If the front 7 doesn't start to get it together, 30 points a game may not be enough. It's still early, but we may need to go 10-6 with 4 division wins to clinch this year. The NFCE doesn't look the same as it did last season.

 

[AdamJT13]

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.

Overall time of possession is a combination of offense and defense -- it's not just an offensive stat.

Our offense is actually the best in the league at time of possession -- our average possession lasts 3:37. The next-best is the Jets, at 3:24.

But our defense also has been pretty good at getting ITSELF off the field. Our opponents' average possession lasts only 2:30, which puts us ninth-best in the league. Our opponents have had only two possessions all season that lasted at least four minutes (our offense has had 14). Out of 30 total possessions by our opponents, 13 of them have resulted in one first down or no first downs, ending either in a punt or turnover.

As others have mentioned, our lack of a pass rush shows up mostly in the fourth quarter, when teams have generally abandoned the run against us (we've faced only 15 fourth-quarter runs, 25th in the league, compared with 50 pass plays, fourth-most in the league). Almost 40 percent of the yardage we've given up has come in the fourth quarter of games (the league average is 26 percent). In the first three quarters of games, our defense is actually eighth-best in total yards allowed. In the fourth quarter, we're second-to-last. We need a pass rush to help fix that.

 

[CowboyChris]

Overall time of possession is a combination of offense and defense -- it's not just an offensive stat.

Our offense is actually the best in the league at time of possession -- our average possession lasts 3:37. The next-best is the Jets, at 3:24.

But our defense also has been pretty good at getting ITSELF off the field. Our opponents' average possession lasts only 2:30, which puts us ninth-best in the league. Our opponents have had only two possessions all season that lasted at least four minutes (our offense has had 14). Out of 30 total possessions by our opponents, 13 of them have resulted in one first down or no first downs, ending either in a punt or turnover.

As others have mentioned, our lack of a pass rush shows up mostly in the fourth quarter, when teams have generally abandoned the run against us (we've faced only 15 fourth-quarter runs, 25th in the league, compared with 50 pass plays, fourth-most in the league). Almost 40 percent of the yardage we've given up has come in the fourth quarter of games (the league average is 26 percent). In the first three quarters of games, our defense is actually eighth-best in total yards allowed. In the fourth quarter, we're second-to-last. We need a pass rush to help fix that.

so with all that said...how good is this defense?

 

[Techsass]

They're still trying to find their footing. Sort of on a bubble - they could go either way. But even if everything goes right, I don't see them taking over any games. We'll need them, but the offense is what is going to win all of our games for us.

 

[DallasCowboys2080]

Overall time of possession is a combination of offense and defense -- it's not just an offensive stat.

Our offense is actually the best in the league at time of possession -- our average possession lasts 3:37. The next-best is the Jets, at 3:24.

But our defense also has been pretty good at getting ITSELF off the field. Our opponents' average possession lasts only 2:30, which puts us ninth-best in the league. Our opponents have had only two possessions all season that lasted at least four minutes (our offense has had 14). Out of 30 total possessions by our opponents, 13 of them have resulted in one first down or no first downs, ending either in a punt or turnover.

As others have mentioned, our lack of a pass rush shows up mostly in the fourth quarter, when teams have generally abandoned the run against us (we've faced only 15 fourth-quarter runs, 25th in the league, compared with 50 pass plays, fourth-most in the league). Almost 40 percent of the yardage we've given up has come in the fourth quarter of games (the league average is 26 percent). In the first three quarters of games, our defense is actually eighth-best in total yards allowed. In the fourth quarter, we're second-to-last. We need a pass rush to help fix that.

thank you for that. i appreciate you being able to synthesize those stats and filter it out this way. i didn't know our defense was actually doing this good sans the 4th qtr stuff.

 

[Jake]

The Cowboys are 11th in 3rd down conversion rate, allowing teams to convert only 32% of the time. Dallas has allowed 20 points per game, good for 10th in the NFL.

The defense is not great by any measure, but it's not "OMG, the worst defense of all time!", either.

 

[LocimusPrime]

No, we are far worst!! Until the Cowboys have a great front four, the very best we can be is average. Jerry needs to understand that if you win in the trench you win. However, history says he gets CBs, WR, and TEs.

Good post! Winning in the trenches is the key! We need to spend 3-4 1st rd picks on the D and add 2-3 difference making, game changing, play making free agents in the off-season