Moore: Cowboys in serious bind at DE after whiffing on Chris Long

[Alexander]

No worries. Ryan Russell has got this.

 

[KJJ]

Yep. Our whole season depended on Chris Long.

Right, a player who's missed 14 games the past 2 seasons due to injury and has only produced 4 sacks over that period. If anyone thought highly of him he wouldn't have had to settle for a one year deal.

 

[darthseinfeld]

Right, a player who's missed 14 games the past 2 seasons due to injury and has only produced 4 sacks over that period. If anyone thought highly of him he wouldn't have had to settle for a one year deal.

I was just gonna say if missing out on Long effects our draft then the organization is worse off then we imagined

 

[KJJ]

I was just gonna say if missing out on Long effects our draft then the organization is worse off then we imagined

Those who are making a big deal about us not signing Long shows just how desperate we are at DE. Had we signed in it certainly wouldn't have stopped us from drafting a DE. Had we signed him it wouldn't have stopped us from drafting one.

 

[KJJ]

Had we re-signed Ware we wouldn't be in a bind at DE. He's still a great player and now 2 years later we're in desperate need of a DE. Ware's had 17.5 sacks during the regular season since he left the Cowboys and had 3.5 sacks in the playoffs last season including 2 in the Super Bowl. Since Ware was released our sacks and pressures have gone down. Those who said the Cowboys made the right decision releasing Ware can't provide a single fact to prove it but his play in Denver and the boat we're in now proves we made the wrong decision.

He was released because Jerry thought he was done. He said the first thing to go are the legs when talking about the reasons he released Ware. He's had over 20 sacks during the regular season and playoffs the past two seasons sure doesn't appear he's lost his legs.

 

[sideon]

Yeah because we sure know how to fill needs in the draft...

You mean like offensive line?

Had we re-signed Ware we wouldn't be in a bind at DE. He's still a great player and now 2 years later we're in desperate need of a DE. Ware's had 17.5 sacks during the regular season since he left the Cowboys and had 3.5 sacks in the playoffs last season including 2 in the Super Bowl. Since Ware was released our sacks and pressures have gone down. Those who said the Cowboys made the right decision releasing Ware can't provide a single fact to prove it but his play in Denver and the boat we're in now proves we made the wrong decision.

He was released because Jerry thought he was done. He said the first thing to go are the legs when talking about the reasons he released Ware. He's had over 20 sacks during the regular season and playoffs the past two seasons sure doesn't appear he's lost his legs.

Let's see how effective Ware would be without Von Miller, it's real easy to forget how invisible Ware was the last 2 seasons before he was cut.

 

[KJJ]

Let's see how effective Ware would be without Von Miller, it's real easy to forget how invisible Ware was the last 2 seasons before he was cut.

He produced 17.5 sacks his last 2 seasons in Dallas how is that being invisible? He was off to one of the best starts of his career in 2013 with 4 sacks and an INT in the first 3 games until he was injured. He was hampered all season by that injury but to his credit he tried to play through it. He wasn't done he was hurt but many on the board acted like he was finished. He was far from finished and proved that in Denver. Sure having Von Miller on the other side has helped him but his presence also helped Miller have an MVP performance in the Super Bowl.

 

[sideon]

He produced 17.5 sacks his last 2 seasons in Dallas how is that being invisible? He was off to one of the best starts of his career in 2013 with 4 sacks and an INT in the first 3 games until he was injured. He was hampered all season by that injury but to his credit he tried to play through it. He wasn't done he was hurt but many on the board acted like he was finished. He was far from finished and proved that in Denver. Sure having Von Miller on the other side has helped him but his presence also helped Miller have an MVP performance in the Super Bowl.

How many of those sacks were just filler? And he was no longer the guy who could carry a defense, he needed help which Spencer was suppose to provide but he was too inconsistent. Take Miller off the Broncos and Ware looks exactly how he did here his final 2 years.

 

[KJJ]

How many of those sacks were just filler? And he was no longer the guy who could carry a defense, he needed help which Spencer was suppose to provide but he was too inconsistent. Take Miller off the Broncos and Ware looks exactly how he did here his final 2 years.

He was the only player on our defense who put fear in anyone he had to be accounted for every week. Some of his sacks didn't contribute to wins because he was a diamond amongst trash and we didn't have many good teams during his career with the Cowboys. Every opponent's game plan each week was to try and take him out but he still produced despite the lack of help he received. You can try and spin it anyway you want but he still produced despite all the double teams he faced. One great player doesn't make a great unit.

Take Miller off the Broncos defense and Ware would still produce because Denver's defense has a number of good players. Granted their D wouldn't be as good without Miller but they would still be solid and Ware would still be productive provided he's healthy. The Cowboys had virtually nothing around Ware and he still made plays. Look at his sack totals compared to the rest of our pass rushers it's not even close. He provided most of our pressures and sacks.

 

[KJJ]

It was a mistake to let Ware go it's come back to haunt us and anyone who doesn't agree is in denial. He's been productive ever since he left and contributed to the Broncos #1 defense and Super Bowl championship. While he's riding a mile high in Denver celebrating their championship we're sitting here at 4-12 licking our wounds still trying to replace him.

 

[Oh_Canada]

It was a mistake to let Ware go it's come back to haunt us and anyone who doesn't agree is in denial. He's been productive ever since he left and contributed to the Broncos #1 defense and Super Bowl championship. While he's riding a mile high in Denver celebrating the Broncos championship we're sitting here at 4-12 still trying to replace him.

No it wasn't, he is a bad fit in the 4-3.

 

[KJJ]

No it wasn't, he is a bad fit in the 4-3.

Looking at our defense everyone we have looks like a bad fit for the 4-3. Why change to the 4-3 what good did it do? Despite all the DC and scheme changes we continue to see the same problems.

 

[birdwells1]

Let's see how effective Ware would be without Von Miller, it's real easy to forget how invisible Ware was the last 2 seasons before he was cut.

No it wasn't, he is a bad fit in the 4-3.

Excuses excuses, sometimes you just let a guy go too soon and he ends up in a good spot for him and that's what happened in the Ware situation. We thought that he was done and his play has proven he wasn't. He's been far better than anything we have rushing the passer since he left. His numbers have proved it and the biggest proof is he's a Super Bowl Champion and if it weren't for Miller he would have won MVP imo.

 

[robjay04]

It was a mistake to let Ware go it's come back to haunt us and anyone who doesn't agree is in denial. He's been productive ever since he left and contributed to the Broncos #1 defense and Super Bowl championship. While he's riding a mile high in Denver celebrating their championship we're sitting here at 4-12 licking our wounds still trying to replace him.

We are 4-12 last season with or without Ware just like we were 12-4 the year before with or without Ware.

It's so hard to look back and make assumptions...would we have drafted Lawrence if we retained Ware? Resigned Dez? So many different variables. I miss Ware but letting him go is not a huge deal. In Denver, he is a situational player. He was hurt and missed a lot of time last season, the defense in general was fine without him. He was a big part of the playoffs, mainly because he was fresh because he was injured. At this point in their careers, I would take Lawrence over Ware.

 

[KJJ]

We are 4-12 last season with or without Ware just like we were 12-4 the year before with or without Ware.

It's so hard to look back and make assumptions...would we have drafted Lawrence if we retained Ware? Resigned Dez? So many different variables. I miss Ware but letting him go is not a huge deal. In Denver, he is a situational player. He was hurt and missed a lot of time last season, the defense in general was fine without him. He was a big part of the playoffs, mainly because he was fresh because he was injured. At this point in their careers, I would take Lawrence over Ware.

Had we had Ware in 2014 his pass rush may have gotten us past the Packers in the playoffs. It was the lack of a pass rush on a one legged Aaron Rodgers that ultimately cost us that game and prompted Jerry to go after Hardy. The loss of Ware led to drafting DLaw and because of his lack of production as a rookie it led to the Cowboys gambling on Gregory in the second round last year. The loss of Ware resulted in some moves we may not have made had we kept him. The jury is still out on DLaw who has yet to show up the first half of his first 2 seasons. There's games where he's invisible. Gregory's future doesn't look very bright he's a pot head who had a bad rookie season and one more drug suspension will get him released. It's easy to look back and make assumptions on a great player you let go who continues to be very productive and just contributed to a championship in Denver.

It makes no difference that Ware is a situational player in Denver how many DE's can you name that have produced over 20 sacks during the regular season and playoffs in just 2 seasons? Due to the lack of talent on the Cowboys defense Ware had to be on the field practically all the time. The team commented many times they were looking to spell him but we needed him on the field. Ware had an injury last season but most players who come back from injury don't make the impact he did in the playoffs and SB. Naturally at this point in their careers DLaw looks like a better option than Ware because he's a much younger player but the jury is still out on DLaw who was receiving a lot of criticism last season for his lack of production the first half of the season. He was looking like a bust until he came on the second half of the season so I'm still not 100% sold on him.

 

[robjay04]

Had we had Ware in 2014 his pass rush may have gotten us past the Packers in the playoffs. It was the lack of a pass rush on a one legged Aaron Rodgers that ultimately cost us that game and prompted Jerry to go after Hardy. The loss of Ware led to drafting DLaw and because of his lack of production as a rookie it led to the Cowboys gambling on Gregory in the second round last year. The loss of Ware resulted in some moves we may not have made had we kept him. The jury is still out on DLaw who has yet to show up the first half of his first 2 seasons. There's games where he's invisible. Gregory's future doesn't look very bright he's a pot head who had a bad rookie season and one more drug suspension will get him released. It's easy to look back and make assumptions on a great player you let go who continues to be very productive and just contributed to a championship in Denver.

It makes no difference that Ware is a situational player in Denver how many DE's can you name that have produced over 20 sacks during the regular season and playoffs in just 2 seasons? Due to the lack of talent on the Cowboys defense Ware had to be on the field practically all the time. The team commented many times they were looking to spell him but we needed him on the field. Ware had an injury last season but most players who come back from injury don't make the impact he did in the playoffs and SB. Naturally at this point in their careers DLaw looks like a better option than Ware because he's a much younger player but the jury is still out on DLaw who was receiving a lot of criticism last season for his lack of production the first half of the season. He was looking like a bust until he came on the second half of the season so I'm still not 100% sold on him.

We can agree to disagree. As I said, I miss Ware but the team still lacks talent. If Ware was here, he would still be getting tons of snaps and not being productive. He is a situational pass rusher at this point in his career. Dallas wouldn't have the luxury to have him that role.

As for Gregory? We drafted him because he was the BPA by a mile, not because we weren't sold on Lawrence, maybe we weren't sold on Hardy.

 

[HanfordDixon]

Agreed. However, the fact remains that all the talent in this year's draft is at D-Tackle. It is a poor draft for D-Ends. That's just the luck of the draw. Mincey, Crawford aren't improvements as they contributed to a feeble pass rush on a 4-12 team. Add in our new thrifty approach to free agency, and frustration at how big a backwards step the team took last season after finally seeing some light at the end of the tunnel, and fans have a right to be concerned.

No point in jumping off the cliff in the middle of March. It is far too early to panic. But, if things do go badly again next season, Jerry and Stephen have some massive changes to make. After last year, they must have very little confidence in Garrett. If they fail to upgrade the back-up QB and running back and pass rush, then not only should the staff be terminated, but the Cowboys fan base has to start organizing some sort of protest aimed at Jerry and Stephen. It is unforgiveable for the richest team in sports and all the resources that goes with it to be this inept for this long. It isn't like we share a division with the Patriots. All the organizations in our division have made questionable decisions in the recent past. There are no excuses for not winning this division. None.

Hopefully a healthier season, and some quiet additions like Thornton, add up to be greater than the sum of its parts.

A "poor draft for DEs?" Or a poor draft for speed rushers? Because there are two very legit DEs who are top 6-8 talents. But they are more of the 7-9 sack a year guys who play strong vs. the run. That might not get fans excited who want 15 sacks a year, but Vernon is a strong run player/8 sacks a year and he just got $17-18 million per -- so there must be SOME value in that.

 

[ErikWilliamsHeadSlap]

Fair point. But speed is lacking on this team in multiple positions. And I don't mean O-Line.

 

[BlueNSilver88]

No worries. Ryan Russell has got this.

I like his attitude, though. Even if he doesn't become a star, that's the mentality the whole team needs to have.

 

[kiheikiwi]

When we drafted Lawrence we moved up, and gave up 2 premium draft picks - because he was the last WDE in that draft. Right ? We all remember Jerry saying that after the pick. Then we drafted Gregory and put Lawrence on the strong side.
I have no problem taking either Bosa or Buckner to play SDE and putting Lawrence back on the weak side, with Gregory backing him up, till and if we can ever trust him.
Yes its not the splashy QB or RB or even Safety/Corner. But you know what, it will give us a stronger front, both Buckner and Bosa would give us more pressures and flush the opposing QB's toward Lawrence or our interior guys.
And quite frankly, Dallas has forced their own hand in this draft.