Mazi Smith isn't that great

[Mac_MaloneV1]

My goodness....
Ignoring all other evidence to pimp out rush defense EPA is wild stuff.
Rush EPA is ranked in .0x (hundreds of a point) type numbers and near meaningless when jammed together outside a few outliers.

There are far more meaningful rush stats.
They were 22nd in rushing yards allowed.
They were 17th in yards per carry allowed.
They were tied for a very good 3rd in rushing TD allowed. --defense was really good in red zone all around. This is why EPA is highly rated.
But they were only 19th in 1st downs allowed by rush.
And they were 11th in percentage of rushes that went for 1st downs.

All in all a mixed bag there and anyone with eyes saw them give up too many rushing yards in games where it mattered.
With a healthy LVE and Hankins they were really solid. Without them they were not.
Dallas very much needed a presence inside.

EPA matters because it accounts for game situation, the list you provided does not. It is not meaningless, it shows that basically every run defense is the same as far as how it impacts games, which is why run defense is not important lol. It's not as if there's a huge gap in YPC (which, you also lied about where they ranked). They were t-15 - tied with the Chiefs - and would have been t-6 if they were juts .2 yards per carry better.

How many of those rushing first downs, for instance, were late in multi-score games when Dallas was fine allowing the team to run.

 

[Hawkeye0202]

2. Add a big back who can block and get interior short yardage.

It's odd they still haven't addressed this ..........especially via the draft

 

[Big_D]

Not reading those. They are reactionary to small samples - its why two of them were written two days apart from each other - and are not data driven. They're also dumb because they are reacting to the Chicago game, which Dallas won by 20 points and voluntarily let the Bears run the ball when down by a lot, and GB, which was lost because of offensive turnovers and big plays through the air.

The run defense was fine. 4th in EPA. I'm going to keep repeating it. They were 4th in EPA. Marginal improvements to the run defense will not make a difference to the success of this team.

The best player on the D, coaches, writers, and actual statistics all say otherwise.. but stick to your guns. Rushing defense was bottom half of the league and it had a snowball effect on the rest of a defense who was very good in select areas but not good enough to make up for the inadequacies in that department. It effects everything from play action to the pass rush and it starts with the ability to plug those gaps in the middle. Using just EPA is comical when you’re 22nd in yardage given up and you still don’t see a problem. You could say EPA all you want. It just tells me you weren’t really watching.

 

[Mac_MaloneV1]

The best player on the D, coaches, writers, and actual statistics all say otherwise.. but stick to your guns.

They are wrong, and the statistics prove it.

There is absolutely nothing to suggest that any of their losses were because of run-defense deficiencies. Nothing. 0.

 

[eromeopolk]

He got his *** handed to him vs TCU. What do you think top tier OL in the NFL are going to do him?

You will never be an NFL scout. It was his play in this game that sealed the deal for the Cowboys as he played with an strained/injured hamstring. What was his stats in that game from the DT position with a injured hamstring?

Scout with your eyes and investigate the facts.

 

[kskboys]

Nnadi was not important, Reader could actually penetrate, and LAR did not depend on a player like that when they beat the Bengals...

They shouldn't, because they only averaged 3.5 yards per carry and scored 19 points.

Yes, he was.

Man, you have a lot of stuff floating around in your head that you consider facts that are not facts.

SF rushed for 113 yds against us and that was a big factor in our loss.

 

[Mac_MaloneV1]

Yes, he was.

Man, you have a lot of stuff floating around in your head that you consider facts that are not facts.

SF rushed for 113 yds against us and that was a big factor in our loss.

No, he wasn't. The 49ers had 22-141 rushing - that's 6.4 ypc. He played half as many snaps against Philly and they only averaged 3.6 ypc. Nnadi didn't matter.

113 yards is nothing - especially when it is only 3.5 ypc AND you're not generating anything through the air. Plus, the 49ers averaged 138.8 per game during the regular season, so they were significantly less successful against Dallas than most other teams. The 49ers offense was awful against the Cowboys.

You have actually no facts that prove anything so maybe stop pretending you do.

 

[75boyz]

No, he wasn't. The 49ers had 22-141 rushing - that's 6.4 ypc. He played half as many snaps against Philly and they only averaged 3.6 ypc. Nnadi didn't matter.

113 yards is nothing - especially when it is only 3.5 ypc AND you're not generating anything through the air. Plus, the 49ers averaged 138.8 per game during the regular season, so they were significantly less successful against Dallas than most other teams. The 49ers offense was awful against the Cowboys.

You have actually no facts that prove anything so maybe stop pretending you do.

Yeah,
maybe a better case can be made for the 2022 playoff 49ers run game over Cowboys run defense. But still not my opinion on the real reason why the Cowboys lost overall.

But the 2023 playoff loss to the 49ers?
Run game defense had absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with that loss. 49ers run game totally shut down by Dallas run defense.
Blaming the run defense on that loss is as if they didn't even watch the game.

 

[Mac_MaloneV1]

Yeah,
maybe a better case can be made for the 2022 playoff 49ers run game over Cowboys run defense. But still not my opinion on the real reason why the Cowboys lost overall.

But the 2023 playoff loss to the 49ers?
Run game defense had absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with that loss. 49ers run game totally shut down by Dallas run defense.
Blaming the run defense on that loss is as if they didn't even watch the game.

In 2022, they were still under 4 ypc if you filter out the end around to Deebo. Mitchell only averaged 3.6.

 

[jaythecowboy]

It isn't just about run defense stats but how they got those results. The Cowboys were often very aggressive to stop the run which left them more susceptible to the pass. I think the goal is for Mazi Smith to play the run well enough that they can devote more resources to covering the passing the game. Then the Cowboys also added Gilmore so hopefully both the run and pass defense will be improved.

 

[big dog cowboy]

There are two ways to improve a team. Build upon your strengths or shore up any weaknesses. Dallas was clearly weak in the interior line.
DAL highest rated run interior defender according to PFF was 49th... Chauncey Gholston.

Wanna know the difference between Dallas beating Tampa by 30 versus losing to SF?
Tampa was the worst run offense in football.
Dallas could play pass rush and coverage all day and not allow anything.
SF was the 7th best. --and they were actually better as they added CMC mid-season.
DAL defense was on its heels not knowing what was coming even with a rookie R7 QB that wasn't a rush threat.

More serious truth right there.

GREAT job JT!

 

[Mac_MaloneV1]

It isn't just about run defense stats but how they got those results. The Cowboys were often very aggressive to stop the run which left them more susceptible to the pass. I think the goal is for Mazi Smith to play the run well enough that they can devote more resources to covering the passing the game. Then the Cowboys also added Gilmore so hopefully both the run and pass defense will be improved.

Not really. They surrendered to the run game in order to stop the pass in most of their bad games.

Indy, Chicago, Jax were all just empty rushing yards as Dallas played with a lead.