Is something wrong with this defensive scheme?

[Blackspider214]

So what happened to this vaunted defense all those other years?

I never said it was a vaunted defense. But they year they won it all, the defense played outstanding. Manning played very poorly.

 

[Sarge]

it takes talent to make any scheme work and im not sure the talent they need is there

I'm sure the talent is not there.

 

[Alexander]

I have not seen the game, but did the Chargers punt? At least once!

The stat that should scare you is that I think their QBs had zero incompletions until the 4th quarter I believe.

That tells you all you need to know. Backups or not. "Vanilla" or not. That is shameful.

 

[cowboys1981]

I still need to see

Church-Wilcox

Carr-Scandrick-Mo

McClain

Lawrence-McClain-Melton

Hopefully we see these guys next week.

 

[Little Jr]

Ya their defense was also repeatedly buried, so blame who you want. All I'm saying is they consistently had an average defense, and won one super bowl with arguably the greatest QB ever. Either way our defense still sucks.

Mannings offenses avgs 14ppg in his post season losses.

 

[Alexander]

I still need to see

Church-Wilcox

Carr-Scandrick-Mo

McClain

Lawrence-McClain-Melton

Hopefully we see these guys next week.

Good luck with Lawrence.

 

[Hoofbite]

They have little talent and less depth.

Simple, really.

Far too many hopes and prayers on defense. It's not gonna be pretty.

The defenses best chance is by asking the offense to run as much as possible so they don't have to get on the field.

 

[cowboys1981]

Good luck with Lawrence.

Yeah, we'll have to wait for November on him. Hopefully Wilson and Mincey can hold up.

 

[Alexander]

Yeah, we'll have to wait for November on him. Hopefully Wilson and Mincey can hold up.

What does "hold up" mean?

Sorry we do not have the luxury.

I still am amazed we signed a player like Mincey in free agency and still promote him as more than he is.

 

[AsthmaField]

I'm not exactly thrilled with the defense after last night's game, but we probably shouldn't crucify Marinelli after the first preseason matchup when he didn't have the services of almost all of the starters.

I mean, I can be just as snarky as the next guy... and sure, I love poking fun of my favorite team after a long off season of no football... but maybe they really will improve from the first preseason game. Perhaps San Diego playing way more starters and keeping them in longer had something to do with the outcome, so I'm not gonna call in a prescription for prozac just yet.

I realize that we all expected a little better of the DB we signed the day before the game but as high as our expectations are, Marinelli probably did not expect him to allow a 70 yard TD pass. Maybe somebody who is a little closer to a starter than a 5th string DB who had been a Cowboy for 24 hours would have played that pass a little better, and maybe not... but I'm willing to concede that there is a chance the coverage could improve with a player who had actually looked at the Dallas defensive playbook and who might be a little closer to a starter.

Maybe Hitchens, Bishop, Coleman, Mitchell, Heath, Dixon, etc. have topped out and were as good as they'll get last night... but on the off chance they can improve, (and I know this is an unpopular stance to take) I think I will give them a chance.

At the risk of getting kicked out of the cool kids club, I think I'll wait a little deeper into the preseason before calling the defense an untalented group of nobodies who play a horrible scheme.

 

[honyock]

I agree with this. My guess is what you saw last night was a combination of wild uncontrolled play, not knowing a lot better, and Marinelli wanting to see who could rush the passer. The latter may be more of a part of it although that is speculation. We need a pass rush so badly I suspect he wants to see who can do it separating the wheat from the chaff. We do have guys who can control at least one gap in Bass, McClain, Melton, and Crawford; speaking in general. We might have one or two who can play two gaps.

That's an interesting take on the line play last night. The thing that really jumped out was the horrible gap control and like you say, "wild uncontrolled play", especially by the DT's. It looked like they totally forgot about playing the run on the way to the QB. I guess we'll see the next couple of weeks if this was by design to see who could get upfield, and they start playing with more gap control, or if that was just the best they can do.

 

[Alexander]

I'm not exactly thrilled with the defense after last night's game, but we probably shouldn't crucify Marinelli after the first preseason matchup when he didn't have the services of almost all of the starters.

Kind of hard to do when he has been sold as the man who can get more with less.

Turns out, he needs talent. He is not a miracle worker. And he has no magic wand.

This is what you call backlash. Mainly against people that dismissed the idea he needed talent.

The thought process around here was that he got street players to try hard, and that would translate differently now he had his choice of players.

Well, it looks about the same, actually.

I mean, I can be just as snarky as the next guy... and sure, I love poking fun of my favorite team after a long off season of no football... but maybe they really will improve from the first preseason game. Perhaps San Diego playing way more starters and keeping them in longer had something to do with the outcome, so I'm not gonna call in a prescription for prozac just yet.

Being critical does not mean you are jumping off a bridge.

I am sure it will get better. Because it logically has to.

San Diego did for a fact play their upper tier players against our lower tier.

Now if that is by design, agreement between Garrett and McCoy, who knows.

It is a reason to be concerned, regardless. It just points to what a lot of fears have been, our depth is not ready or simply can't play to begin with.

 

[AsthmaField]

Kind of hard to do when he has been sold as the man who can get more with less.

Turns out, he needs talent. He is not a miracle worker. And he has no magic wand.

This is what you call backlash. Mainly against people that dismissed the idea he needed talent.

The thought process around here was that he got street players to try hard, and that would translate differently now he had his choice of players.

Well, it looks about the same, actually.



Being critical does not mean you are jumping off a bridge.

I am sure it will get better. Because it logically has to.

San Diego did for a fact play their upper tier players against our lower tier.

Now if that is by design, agreement between Garrett and McCoy, who knows.

It is a reason to be concerned, regardless. It just points to what a lot of fears have been, our depth is not ready or simply can't play to begin with.

I knew it... out of the cool kids club.

 

[JoeKing]

Is there something wrong with the D? Are you serious? That's like asking, "does poop stink?". Hell yes something is wrong with the D. Nothing has been righted from last season, injury bug is still loose. An 8-8 season will be an accomplishment for this bunch of Cowboys. It's hard for me to remain a fan these days.

 

[BlueStar22]

Put me in the nothing wrong with the scheme camp. It's the lack of talent and once again, we threw away an early pick to trade up. Gotta learn sooner than later.

 

[BlueStar22]

Why everybody hate Heath so much?

Mainly because he's a good "try hard player" who shouldn't be on the field getting significant playing time. He should be a special team player.

 

[gmoney112]

Yeah. The players.That's what happens when you're starting rookies and backups.

Take our bad defense, gut it of nearly all talent, and that's what was on display last night. You had players that have never played in the NFL before and guys who aren't good. The result isn't too surprising.

If the injury situation doesn't clear up then yeah we're up a creek without a paddle, but judging the defense on last night is just overly dramatic. Look at the list of names who played and look who sat out. Come on, man.

I also think we're going to be scouring cuts for a 1 tech that can just play 2 gaps at an NFL level. The sole anchor on your line cannot get manhandled off the ball.

 

[JoeKing]

You make good points. Almost talking me from the ledge.

 

[cowboys1981]

There's not much to make from last night when we had the majority of our projected starters out.

 

[30yrheel]

Scheme, players coaches- all of the above