ClappingCarrot
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Today's recap from the Whispers segment. I thought most of this was good info, though JJT mentioned during the show how hard it is to be a football insider right now when there aren't any damn minicamps.
To get us through to another week, here we go:
1. JJT decided to dig a little bit into this Jamal Adams drama, and he felt the need to report on this because the Cowboys tried to make a play for him at the deadline last season, and they've been linked heavily to him this year. If you all remember, the Jets wanted the whole farm for Adams, and offered up suggestions like two firsts, or a first and Zack Martin, and other crazy propsects, which is why the deal didn't materialize. Supposedly, the consternation surrounding the whole Adams drama is that the Jets just haven't been straight up with him and his patience is running out with them. They initially told Jamal he'd have an extension at the end of last season and it never happened. They then told him to wait until the start of the league year, and as we know, that hasn't happened either. Had the Jets done the noble thing and told him that they were going to wait until after year 3 to get a deal done, I think this situation would play out a little differently because Jamal would at least have some transparency. Now - the Jets have themselves into a dilemma where their leader on defense is more or less demanding a trade.
As JJT noted though, you can bet the house that Jamal Adams isn't going anywhere because the Jets have his rights for a few more years, and you can take it to the bank that they aren't getting rid of him unless they get exactly what they want for him.
2. DeMarcus Ware said that Tank Lawrence has been reaching out to him and inquiring about rushing the passer from a two point stance. We've heard all offseason that Dallas is playing a 4-3 defense, with "3-4 principles", but this definitely raised eyebrows. We were told in 2017 that we didn't draft a monster like TJ Watt because there was no tape of him rushing with his hand on the ground. To all of our dismay, we took Soft Taco Charlton. JJT alluded to a guy like Herschel Walker. Johnson County High School, I-Formation, could not be stopped. University of Georgia, I-Formation, couldn't be stopped. New Jersey Generals, I-Formation, couldn't be stopped. Dallas Cowboys, I-Formation, couldn't be stopped. Minnesota Vikings, split backfield, just a guy. Why are we even entertaining the idea of experimenting with arguably our best defender? JJT hopes that we can see Tank rushing standing up in practice before we ever unveil that on the field, because Tank has never done it before. It is easier on the body if you make these adjustments with aging pass rushers, but Tank is only 28.
JJT did note that Greg Ellis made the switch at age 31, and moaned and groaned and complained about it publicly and even more about it privately, saying the Cowboys were setting him up for failure. He had 52 sacks as a 4-3 DE, but what's interesting is that he had 25 sacks in 38 games and 6 forced fumbles after he switched to a 3-4 LB under the Parcells tutelage. He only had 5 seasons with 8 sacks or more, 2 of them were with Parcells in a 3-4. Additionally, his only Pro Bowl, where he amassed 12.5 sacks, was also with Parcells running a 3-4. So there is some evidence of success there historically.
3. Dived a little bit into analytics in this piece. Most of the top teams in the past decade have had, big time QB play. The Cowboys offense has been top 11 five times in the past 9 years, being top 10 in scoring 4 times. The defense has not nearly produced that type of consistency, being only top 10 3 times, and all of those were recently with Marinelli and Richard running a soft and predictable unit. I think it's backwards thinking, but this is why the Cowboys chose to draft a guy like CeeDee. They're fully vested in their offense, so they thought it was better to make their strength even stronger. As a team source put it, yeah that could've drafted a guy like Chaisson, but with the style of defense that the Cowboys want to play he would at best be a rotational guy for a few years. McCarthy likes to play 3 WRs and 1 RB, and CeeDee has the talent and ability to contribute immediately. So they wanted to fortify their offense rather than try and plug holes on defense.
That's all fine and dandy, and I like CeeDee and like the pick, but you absolutely have to invest in the defense too because that's what wins playoff games. Teams need some balance, and I hope that trotting out another "elite offense" in the 2020 playoffs (assuming we make it there) pays dividends. But we've been there before, and I'd really hate to see Aaron Rodgers send us packing again on a converted 3rd and 20 against soft coverage with a mediocre defense.
And that's all I got folks. Enjoy your weekend!
To get us through to another week, here we go:
1. JJT decided to dig a little bit into this Jamal Adams drama, and he felt the need to report on this because the Cowboys tried to make a play for him at the deadline last season, and they've been linked heavily to him this year. If you all remember, the Jets wanted the whole farm for Adams, and offered up suggestions like two firsts, or a first and Zack Martin, and other crazy propsects, which is why the deal didn't materialize. Supposedly, the consternation surrounding the whole Adams drama is that the Jets just haven't been straight up with him and his patience is running out with them. They initially told Jamal he'd have an extension at the end of last season and it never happened. They then told him to wait until the start of the league year, and as we know, that hasn't happened either. Had the Jets done the noble thing and told him that they were going to wait until after year 3 to get a deal done, I think this situation would play out a little differently because Jamal would at least have some transparency. Now - the Jets have themselves into a dilemma where their leader on defense is more or less demanding a trade.
As JJT noted though, you can bet the house that Jamal Adams isn't going anywhere because the Jets have his rights for a few more years, and you can take it to the bank that they aren't getting rid of him unless they get exactly what they want for him.
2. DeMarcus Ware said that Tank Lawrence has been reaching out to him and inquiring about rushing the passer from a two point stance. We've heard all offseason that Dallas is playing a 4-3 defense, with "3-4 principles", but this definitely raised eyebrows. We were told in 2017 that we didn't draft a monster like TJ Watt because there was no tape of him rushing with his hand on the ground. To all of our dismay, we took Soft Taco Charlton. JJT alluded to a guy like Herschel Walker. Johnson County High School, I-Formation, could not be stopped. University of Georgia, I-Formation, couldn't be stopped. New Jersey Generals, I-Formation, couldn't be stopped. Dallas Cowboys, I-Formation, couldn't be stopped. Minnesota Vikings, split backfield, just a guy. Why are we even entertaining the idea of experimenting with arguably our best defender? JJT hopes that we can see Tank rushing standing up in practice before we ever unveil that on the field, because Tank has never done it before. It is easier on the body if you make these adjustments with aging pass rushers, but Tank is only 28.
JJT did note that Greg Ellis made the switch at age 31, and moaned and groaned and complained about it publicly and even more about it privately, saying the Cowboys were setting him up for failure. He had 52 sacks as a 4-3 DE, but what's interesting is that he had 25 sacks in 38 games and 6 forced fumbles after he switched to a 3-4 LB under the Parcells tutelage. He only had 5 seasons with 8 sacks or more, 2 of them were with Parcells in a 3-4. Additionally, his only Pro Bowl, where he amassed 12.5 sacks, was also with Parcells running a 3-4. So there is some evidence of success there historically.
3. Dived a little bit into analytics in this piece. Most of the top teams in the past decade have had, big time QB play. The Cowboys offense has been top 11 five times in the past 9 years, being top 10 in scoring 4 times. The defense has not nearly produced that type of consistency, being only top 10 3 times, and all of those were recently with Marinelli and Richard running a soft and predictable unit. I think it's backwards thinking, but this is why the Cowboys chose to draft a guy like CeeDee. They're fully vested in their offense, so they thought it was better to make their strength even stronger. As a team source put it, yeah that could've drafted a guy like Chaisson, but with the style of defense that the Cowboys want to play he would at best be a rotational guy for a few years. McCarthy likes to play 3 WRs and 1 RB, and CeeDee has the talent and ability to contribute immediately. So they wanted to fortify their offense rather than try and plug holes on defense.
That's all fine and dandy, and I like CeeDee and like the pick, but you absolutely have to invest in the defense too because that's what wins playoff games. Teams need some balance, and I hope that trotting out another "elite offense" in the 2020 playoffs (assuming we make it there) pays dividends. But we've been there before, and I'd really hate to see Aaron Rodgers send us packing again on a converted 3rd and 20 against soft coverage with a mediocre defense.
And that's all I got folks. Enjoy your weekend!