Is there any question we need secondary help?

[GimmeTheBall!]

From the 50,000-watt beacon of truth, logic and the Armenian Way, Air Cowboys America in Farmers Branch, where fine Irving folk come to vacation and visit the World of RotoTilling Exhibition Hut.

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Yes, it was the HOF-bound Tom Brady slicing and dicing the Cowboys secondary. To say, "Well it was Tom Brady what did we expect" is not good enough.

Whether it's Rex Grossman or Tom Brady, we need to keep the secondary skill level high for any team.

Clearly we need help from FA and the draft.
And, still I hear yearnings for a McFadden who won't be there for us on the board.

A cornerback and a safety with the first three picks next year, I say.
I say it as emphatically as Ernest Borgnine calling for his linguini.
More emphatically than Madonna looking at her wrinkles in the mirror. With more urgency than Coach Fran tearing up that mailing list.

I say, unto yew, get a blue chip CB with the second pick in the first round and a blue chip Super Safety with the second-round pick. Pair that with veterans Newman and Williams and help from a yet young and evolving front line, you have a Super Bowl-winning defense.

Brady and Belichek super-exposed the Dallas secondary and to win we'll need lots more help in that area, be it from FA or blue chips draftees.

Other than that, no need for the Boys to hang their heads. They played hard and that that is appreciated.

 

[RomoFan4ever]

Yes-we've been hurt by injuries in the secondary. Look at the talent-laden deep Eagles-beyond Lito and Dawkins, they have NOBODY else on the depth chart.

I agree, we need to draft secondary guys with our Cleveland pick, but you have to admit that with Newman/Henry missing time, it's affected us somewhat.

 

[canters]

Hopefully we will not play another team with 3 good/great receivers. Clearly we cannot cover all 3 at one time.

 

[eduncan22]

I've been saying this since last season.

Our Pass D was actually exposed during the Saints game last year.

 

[jswalker1981]

I wouldn't mind drafting a stud CB in the draft. In fact, why not just let Jones go, move Barber to the feature back, and have Tyson Thompson be our "julius jones". This way we don't have to draft or sign a RB. I definitely think we need to get a better secondary, we need to have a defense that can really shut down opponents WRs. I don't think that the Pats would slice up Denver's secondary for 5 td passes.

 

[lspain1]

I've been saying this since last season.

Our Pass D was actually exposed during the Saints game last year.

I think our pass defense is considerably better than last year although Henry being out hurt us. The Patriots we almost flawless on offense yesterday and, while the Patriots were clearly the better team, the officials didn't do the Cowboys any favors. That being said, could the trio of Newman, Henry and Reeves been better?....I think so because Welker hurt us badly.

It looks to me that the best defense yesterday would have been a better offense. Our guys were clearly gassed in the fourth quarter and needed a breather they didn't get. Even with the penalties and the bad calls, I think we were outmanned yesterday.

 

[BrAinPaiNt]

I think our pass defense is considerably better than last year although Henry being out hurt us. The Patriots we almost flawless on offense yesterday and, while the Patriots were clearly the better team, the officials didn't do the Cowboys any favors. That being said, could the trio of Newman, Henry and Reeves been better?....I think so because Welker hurt us badly.

It looks to me that the best defense yesterday would have been a better offense. Our guys were clearly gassed in the fourth quarter and needed a breather they didn't get. Even with the penalties and the bad calls, I think we were outmanned yesterday.

That happens when a team wins the Time of Possession battle in the fashion the patriots did.

We also seem to be a team that does not run the ball as much as we should.

It is funny but at times last year we all complained that bill was calling for the ball to be ran too many times. However this year it seems we should be running it a tad more.

There is a delicate balance there that we need to find.

I know there are times you need to pass to open the run game. I know there are times when you have to play catch up.

However I also feel there are times when we abandon the run too early and get a little pass happy.

Even if the run is not always working you can not just completely abandon it.

Just as a passing game can help open up the running game, the running game can help open the passing game.

I wonder how many times we could get some good shots down field if we ran the ball enough to make teams respect the play action.

 

[ZeroClub]

The top two teams in the NFL (Colts and Patriots*) have near perfect passing games. It isn't an accident.

The NFL is now a passing league. Under today's rules, an outstanding passing attack has the advantage over a strong pass defense.

So first, IMO, the Cowboys need to get even better through the air. The Cowboys offense was unable to score with the Patriots offense and that was the main difference yesterday. It wasn't like the Patriots defense was playing outstanding shutdown football or something. The Cowboys offense was short a couple of weapons.

Upgrading the secondary would be good too, of course, but I think the Cowboys must add weapons on offense.

 

[CF74]

All the passes were dink and dunk, you make it sound like Brady completed 20+ yarders all day. Henry was hurt but had he played we may have gotten a pic. I've been calling for more depth at corner for 2 seasons now, I feel ya but don't make it sound like it was something it wasn't...

 

[Hoofbite]

The secondary can go 3 weeks without giving up a TD but as soon as they face the best offense in football and get lit up, the worlds coming to an end.

 

[Dave_in-NC]

The secondary can go 3 weeks without giving up a TD but as soon as they face the best offense in football and get lit up, the worlds coming to an end.

I don't think any one is saying the world is going to end. We have some tough games ahead. Tougher than the first five, yes the Giants game is the second time and we won the first but Eli lit us up.
5-1 is great but we will see in the next few weeks who we really are.

 

[bysbox1]

I wouldn't mind drafting a stud CB in the draft. In fact, why not just let Jones go, move Barber to the feature back, and have Tyson Thompson be our "julius jones".

Tyson Thompson can drive you crazy because he puts the ball on the ground too much and he misses blocks.

I think you still have to either draft or bring in a RB through FA or the draft. McFadden would be nice, but with the way Cleveland is playing, that draft pick won't be in the top 5 and we need a lot of other pieces anyway (CB, WR, DLine) It could even be someone like a Michael Turner from San Diego. He may even be available next year (he's in his 4th year) and he's young.

 

[BrAinPaiNt]

The secondary can go 3 weeks without giving up a TD but as soon as they face the best offense in football and get lit up, the worlds coming to an end.

Looking at the game yesterday and what we need to get to is the point.

If you want to make a run at the playoffs. And we still are very much in the run at this point to make the playoffs. We need a secondary that can hang.

Hopefully by that time we have henry back and Newman is healthier.

Point is though when we played an elite team we had troubles in the secondary. Does anyone here think we will be playing a bunch of scrubs in the playoffs?

We still have time to work on things but we still have to keep in mind that we do have to work on things.

 

[sago1]

I guess the big question is do we want to win SBs or will we be content to win maybe 10/12 games and hope lightning will strike in a bottle so we could make the SB where we will lose to either the Colts or the Pats.

I want the Cowboys to become an elite team and changes must be made to reach that goal. We must upgrade our secondary. I'm tired of seeing our defense constantly on the field cause they can't stop opposing good QBs (we don't face that many in the NFC) for variety of reasons. Count me on board with spending high draft picks on a CB & FS cause I don't think Hamlin warrants re-signing although I'd play him at SS & sit Roy Williams on obvious passing downs.

We also must upgrade our offense. The Pats have 3 quality WRs against our TO, Crayton & Hurd. That's not a match we can win with if we want another SB. They've also got a pretty good TE but no where near as good as our Witten. So count me in on the need to use a high draft pick on a WR. I liked what I saw from MBIII and even JJ played well. Must admit I'd like to see lot more of JJ catching passes to get him into the open field where he could really use his speed or at least rushing on the outside. Please no more up the middle stuff cause he's wasted there. So either we use JJ better or a RB in the draft is needed. BTW: We really miss Terry Glenn's speed. I was watching last year's Thanksgiving game and loved to watch Romo throws to a deep Glenn. Can't wait til he gets back on the field but reality is we don't know how long he or TO have left and we aren't prepared at WR. We need to know before the end of this year where Stanbach is in his development. If he is legit speed/hands to become #1 or #2 WR, okay but otherwise still need spend high pick on WR.

Also believe there is a need to upgrade the middle of our linebacking core--particularly Ayodele. I need he makes a lot of tackles but how good really is he in pass coverage. Didn't hear much from Bradie James yesterday but could have missed that. Unless Kevin Burnett/Bobby Carpenter has the tools to beat out Ayodele, we need to add a high motor ILB whose could against the run and in pass coverage.

Our DL did a pretty good job early on but the whole defense wore out. The return of Ferguson next year will help but hopefully Tank Johnson can be a major addition either at DT and occasionally at DE. Still love Ratliff but Pats were attacking our middle late in the game.

Cowboys need to take a cold hard look at which of our FAs we should re-sign.

Major needs in 08 draft/FA in no particular order: CB, FS, WR, RB, ILB.

Finally I love Romo and he indeed the real thing and our next great QB. Everything he is learning in his first year as a starter will be a major benefit for him the rest of this season and beyond. But any talk he should get anywhere near the money either Brady or Manning get should end. Romo certainly should get Bulger money or a little more but not break the bank. That should leave us enough money to sign a FA ILB familiar with the 3-4.

 

[Dave_in-NC]

Nice post sago

 

[Oh_Canada]

I don't think the secondary is nearly as bad as everyone thinks, but totally agree we will need to find a corner next offseason....in fact I would add a second through free agency...Drayton Florence comes to mind. This league is becoming increasingly more pass oriented by the second, so one or two solid corners doesn't cut it anymore.

They also clearly need more receivers. Bernard Berrian would be the free agent I would target followed by Keary Colbert and Brandon Stokley. While Colbert and Stokley won't make anyone forget about Jerry Rice, both can be effective. Failing this, a deal might have to be made as I have no faith a rook can come in and make an impact.

And no...I am not giving up on the season, just think we need some tweaking to make the final step.

 

[YosemiteSam]

I think there was a lot of coverage breakdowns. I saw what appeared to be new looks from the defense and what also appeared to be confusion when trying to apply those looks. The results were not good. I don't think the Cowboys were prepared enough for those new defensive looks. I figured they would be better prepared for this game, then they were for the Chicago game.

I like what I'm seeing from Reeves. Yes, he still has some issues, but he is coming around. He will be *the* starting CB one day. Nate Jones has coverage issues, but man I love it when he blitzes. The problem is, once Henry comes back, he won't see the field much and if a team does see him, they should fully expect him to blitz.

What I want to see next off season. Sign Larry Fitzgerald, draft a running back and a CB in the first round. Of course, draft the CB higher than the RB.

 

[YosemiteSam]

I don't think the secondary is nearly as bad as everyone thinks, but totally agree we will need to find a corner next offseason....in fact I would add a second through free agency...Drayton Florence comes to mind. This league is becoming increasingly more pass oriented by the second, so one or two solid corners doesn't cut it anymore.

An incredible pass rush can do wonders for a secondary. Here is hoping that Tank can be a beast at NT and allow us to move Ratliff back to DE.

 

[Oh_Canada]

An incredible pass rush can do wonders for a secondary. Here is hoping that Tank can be a beast at NT and allow us to move Ratliff back to DE.

I agree....the Boys desperately needed a pass rush in the seond half and it never materialized.

 

[PullMyFinger]

An incredible pass rush can do wonders for a secondary. Here is hoping that Tank can be a beast at NT and allow us to move Ratliff back to DE.

I thought our pass rush did fine, we sacked Brady 3 times.