Lawrence could star for Cowboys

[CyberB0b]

I keep hearing the defense was the worst in the league in Total Defense and we were close to that. I've seen a lot of fancy stats but we were near the bottom period. We were 26th in points. How we managed that giving up about 410 yds a game is astounding IMO.

I still think we'll finish somewhere around 20 give or take 4-5 positions. It's crowded in the middle any way so TOs make a huge difference in how a team finishes in stats.

The one thing they did well was generating a lot of turnovers.

 

[jobberone]

The one thing they did well was generating a lot of turnovers.

I'll take +8 over what we have had on average recently. I'd like even more but I can be greedy at times.

 

[Rogerthat12]

I love the kid already, Mickey was doing an interview with him right after he was drafted, DL said "I just wanna kill the QB", we need that type of aggression around here on defense!

 

[KJJ]

Was listening to Charlie Casserly's review of Lawrence after the draft and he said after watching a lot of tape on him he wasn't very impressed. He said he does play faster than his 40 time indicates but he didn't see him make a lot of plays. He said he thought he could be a good situational player but that's about it. Granted it's only one experts opinion only time will tell. Jerry did admit the Cowboys over paid to move up for Lawrence. He was a need pick which can lead to a reach we'll just have to wait and see how he develops.

 

[KJJ]

The kid is gonna be special under Marinelli.

Kiss of death.

 

[KJJ]

The kid is gonna be special under Marinelli.

What makes you think that? His last 4 years in Chicago 3 of which he was the DC he never had a player produce more than 11.5 sacks and that was Julius Peppers. Peppers and Israel Idonije who are both approaching their mid 30's are the only defensive players that provided more than 8 sacks in a season in the 4 years Marinelli was in Chicago. What young pass rushers have developed under him since he left Tampa in 05? Lawrence will be judged on sacks just like Ware or any edge rusher.

 

[jobberone]

What makes you think that? His last 4 years in Chicago 3 of which he was the DC he never had a player produce more than 11.5 sacks and that was Julius Peppers. Peppers and Israel Idonije who are both approaching their mid 30's are the only defensive players that provided more than 8 sacks in a season in the 4 years Marinelli was in Chicago. What young pass rushers have developed under him since he left Tampa in 05? Lawrence will be judged on sacks just like Ware or any edge rusher.

That's a good point. But I hope people are going to look at his run defense as well as his pass rush. I love sacks but we need pressure. A team can game plan for a rusher as well as a significant pass rush. But they have to do that at an expense. They will have to get the ball out quickly, throw some away, and it takes some longer developing routes out of the game plan not to mention helps the DBs and LBers immensely. So to me pressure is what counts although I do love me some sacks.

 

[speedkilz88]

They gave him some high praise today on talkin' cowboys. (38:00-41:00)
http://www.dallascowboys.com/multim...Addition/54aef80f-061b-4278-99b3-b64eed76047b

 

[KJJ]

That's a good point. But I hope people are going to look at his run defense as well as his pass rush. I love sacks but we need pressure. A team can game plan for a rusher as well as a significant pass rush. But they have to do that at an expense. They will have to get the ball out quickly, throw some away, and it takes some longer developing routes out of the game plan not to mention helps the DBs and LBers immensely. So to me pressure is what counts although I do love me some sacks.

You would hope people will look at everything but most fans get fixated on the number of sacks pass rushers get. It's something that shows up in the stat column every week and DE's and OLB's will always be judged on their sack totals not just by the fans and the media but by their own team. Let's not kid ourselves Clowney went #1 overall to get to the QB. Sacks equate to success as an edge rusher because they're put in a position to pin their ears back and get to the QB. With all the passing offenses are doing defenses are loading up on pass rushers and sending them after the QB. Ware has been judged on his sacks the past 2 seasons which is one of the main reasons he's no longer here. His sack totals that had been declining the past 2 seasons no longer warranted the money he was making. He brought a lot more to the table than just sacks. He was good against the run and even last season while playing injured he provided some pressure on the QB.

Pressures can impact a game just as much if not more than a sack because they cause int's and errant throws that stop drives. Once a pass rushers sack totals start to decline that player is viewed as being in decline. Like Ware Jared Allen's sack totals declined the past 2 seasons causing Minn to move on from him. The same happened to Dwight Freeney his sack totals declined 3 straight seasons and the Colts moved on from him. Usually when a players sacks start to decline so do their pressures because the two go hand in hand. If they're not getting as many sacks they're probably not providing the same amount of pressure they once did. Lawrence will be put in a position to get to the QB and he's going to be judged on his sack totals. Maybe not so much his first year because he's a young player but his future will depend on how often he plants the QB.

 

[jobberone]

We moved on from Ware because we weren't going to throw that much money at someone with health issues who's going to be 32 yo when the season starts.

But I agree many just count sacks although I think lots of football fans appreciate pressure. I think most teams understand pressure and sacks well.

 

[burmafrd]

I'll take +8 over what we have had on average recently. I'd like even more but I can be greedy at times.

It is VERY unlikely we can do that much better; that recovered fumble % was not far I believe from an NFL record. The chances of that happening again? Slim to none.

 

[KJJ]

We moved on from Ware because we weren't going to throw that much money at someone with health issues who's going to be 32 yo when the season starts.

But I agree many just count sacks although I think lots of football fans appreciate pressure. I think most teams understand pressure and sacks well.

We moved on from Ware due to his injury issues that were causing him to lose his effectiveness/production which made the Cowboys look harder at his age. His production had been declining the past 2 seasons due to not being able to stay healthy and he's going to be 32. He put up 4 sacks and an int in his first 3 games last season before the injury bug bit him again. Jerry resigned Lee despite an injury history dating back to college that had him missing 13 games in his first 3 seasons with the Cowboys now that contract has blown up in his face.

I stated on this board prior to Lee's season ending ACL that I didn't like the idea of resigning him. I would have waited until he played out his contract to see if he could stay healthy. No team would have offered Lee the farm with him missing games every season. It was his injury history that caused him to fall in the draft and the injuries he's had as a pro would have kept teams away from him in free agency.

 

[jobberone]

It is VERY unlikely we can do that much better; that recovered fumble % was not far I believe from an NFL record. The chances of that happening again? Slim to none.

I agree.

 

[Floatyworm]

What people need to keep in mind is D-Law was drafted to take over for Spencer ...not Ware. If people expect him to come in here and put up 18-20 sacks....they are gonna be disappointed. IMO we'll get Ware's replacement in next years draft.....It's loaded w/ DEs.

 

[noshame]

He'll be a super edge rusher but as always, it will be how he plays the run that makes him super or a situational player. As far as turnovers go, this aggressive defense will do well, but being young, we'll give up some big plays in the process. I do think this defense has the potential to become a top 10 before the season's over. I think if we had continued the aggressive play last year, even with all the injuries, we could have finished in the top 20, a swarming defense can cover a lot of flaws. But that's all on Monty, that's why he got the boot.

 

[dogunwo]

NFL.com (and likely others) default ranks by yardage and I doubt many people look beyond what pops up first.

I'm not sure why they do that. I guess maybe yardage is directly attributable to the defense where points can be scored when the defense is on the sideline.

Points-wise Dallas raked 26th but I'd wager a few teams behind Dallas had more points scored where the defense wasn't on the field. Did Dallas have any scores against them through Special Teams and offensive turnovers?

Points against can also be misleading. Suppose Tony throws a pick at our own 30 yard line. The defense then holds the other team to three and out and no yards gained. Then they hit a 47 yard FG. Should the defense really be held accountable for those points? It's best to look at all measures in context.

 

[Hoofbite]

Points against can also be misleading. Suppose Tony throws a pick at our own 30 yard line. The defense then holds the other team to three and out and no yards gained. Then they hit a 47 yard FG. Should the defense really be held accountable for those points? It's best to look at all measures in context.

Agreed.

 

[burmafrd]

He'll be a super edge rusher but as always, it will be how he plays the run that makes him super or a situational player. As far as turnovers go, this aggressive defense will do well, but being young, we'll give up some big plays in the process. I do think this defense has the potential to become a top 10 before the season's over. I think if we had continued the aggressive play last year, even with all the injuries, we could have finished in the top 20, a swarming defense can cover a lot of flaws. But that's all on Monty, that's why he got the boot.

take off the rose colored glasses and drink some water.

 

[jobberone]

What people need to keep in mind is D-Law was drafted to take over for Spencer ...not Ware. If people expect him to come in here and put up 18-20 sacks....they are gonna be disappointed. IMO we'll get Ware's replacement in next years draft.....It's loaded w/ DEs.

He was drafted as a WDE not SDE AFAIK. Crawford, Bass, Spencer can play SDE IMO.

 

[Doomsday101]

That's a good point. But I hope people are going to look at his run defense as well as his pass rush. I love sacks but we need pressure. A team can game plan for a rusher as well as a significant pass rush. But they have to do that at an expense. They will have to get the ball out quickly, throw some away, and it takes some longer developing routes out of the game plan not to mention helps the DBs and LBers immensely. So to me pressure is what counts although I do love me some sacks.

I agree we will face seahawks, 9ers, Texans, Bears and Eagles all teams who are good at running the ball. Being a top defensive player is more than sacks alone.