News flash... defensive letdown

[btcutter]

We simply don't have a world champion type defense. What is it? It really can't be the coaching. We gone through difference coaches already so it's got to be the players, right? Well, we got some pretty good ones but they still can't play that well. Today, they can't stop both the run or the pass. It was pretty pathetic. You can't have a superstar at every position. Why does this D give up more passes than other teams. :bang2: :bang2: :bang2:

Tank got pushed around and was abused by Peterman (we gave up on him). The D line over commits and allow cutback lanes to be wide open. Don't try to defend them. Did you see Greg Ellis yelling at the line? It's about leverage and who wanting it more in the trenches and our DL didn't really show up. We really miss Fergie more than we know. Sure Ratliff is great but he wears down and he is better playing rushing DT or DE (Marcus Spears' replacement). We are missing interior bulk and pressure up the middle badly. It allows too many QBs to step up and avoid the pass rush from the ends.

The O is really bailing out the D. I am worried about every single team we will face in the playoffs. I hope our team is too.

 

[Doomsday]

Im not too worried about the run defense, I am willing to write that off as a bad game as the run D has been good all year. The pass defense is the same as it has been pretty much all year. No they arent giving up big plays down field but they are getting killed underneath. Like others have said when it is 3rd and 8 you just expect the defense to give up a first down more times then not.

You have to wonder if scheme isnt part of the problem. Wade seems to be aggressive with the front 7 but not the secondary. They finally came up and pressed them on that final drive and got the stop. I dont see how you can sit back and let WRs run up on your DBs play after play and expect good things to happen.

 

[BlueStar22]

we sure do have a world champion offense!

 

[theebs]

we need more threads on why the defense "sucks" and is not "championship"
level.

I can only imagine the "is witten really that good threads" had he not been able to make the big play in the end.

 

[03EBZ06]

The team is 12-1, the defense did have a bad first half but they played much better in second half.

 

[zack]

The team is 12-1, the defense did have a bad first half but they played much better in second half.

Sure it isn't perfect, but they had a let down today. They will be back next week, trust me. They will be ready for the playoffs as well.

 

[btcutter]

yes, we have a Great offense. I am looking ahead to the playoffs when we'll face much better QB's so is our D going to step up????

 

[peplaw06]

Indy didn't have a world champion defense last year until the playoffs.

 

[panther1012]

we sure do have a world champion offense!

DEFENSE wins championships, not offense!!

 

[LowTech]

This thread makes me want to uke:

 

[theebs]

yes, we have a Great offense. I am looking ahead to the playoffs when we'll face much better QB's so is our D going to step up????

We beat the 9 win giants twice, the second time we beat them with this same defense. We beat the 11-2 packers with this defense and because they forced turnovers and pressure.

This is the nfl, the lions have been tough against everyone there.

Dont overreact to one game. and yes a veteran quarterback in this league, like hassleback, manning, favre or garcia are going to make plays on our defense in the playoffs. The question is can they make enough? I wouldnt go panicking just yet.

There is virtually no difference in what we did today and what the pats did last monday night in baltimore. They got pushed around all day, watched the other team celebrate every first down like they won the superbowl and then when push came to shove the defense made a play and got a stop and that allowed us to get the ball in number 9's hands. and much like brady he is deadly.

Are we going to have struggles in the playoffs, yep. Does that mean we cant win? absolutely not.

 

[03EBZ06]

DEFENSE wins championships, not offense!!

In the years past, yes but not now. The good defense is obviously a good thing but nowaday, offense is playing a bigger role in winning. Having a great defense no longer guarantees a win as we've witness #1 offensive team (Patsies) thrashing #1 defensive team (Steelers).

 

[theebs]

oh and the steelers ahem number 1 defense looked great today didnt it? against that "finesse" offense and "finesse pats team" today.

You can play smash mouth and play field position, but all the good teams in this league throw the ball to put points on the board and then run after that.

Defense wins championships, but there are no great defenses in this league right now. I keep repeating this here tonight and I will again, feel free to tell me to stop, the defense that can force the other team to kick field goals in the red zone is going to be the team that wins and so far this year that has been what we have done!

 

[FLcowboy]

Im not too worried about the run defense, I am willing to write that off as a bad game as the run D has been good all year. The pass defense is the same as it has been pretty much all year. No they arent giving up big plays down field but they are getting killed underneath. Like others have said when it is 3rd and 8 you just expect the defense to give up a first down more times then not.

You have to wonder if scheme isnt part of the problem. Wade seems to be aggressive with the front 7 but not the secondary. They finally came up and pressed them on that final drive and got the stop. I dont see how you can sit back and let WRs run up on your DBs play after play and expect good things to happen.

I suspect you are right regarding the scheme. I don't think the run defense is that bad, and I suspect the Cowboys were so geared to defense the pass that they were caught off guard with the run.


But, it wasn't just the defense. The offensive line played the worst it has all season. They gave up three sacks. Owens struggled to get open, and was pretty much covered up by two defenders all night. I don't know why Witten was open like he was, a lot of the passes he caught seemed to be in good coverage, yet he was able to pull them in.

Romo wrote a whole new chapter to his magical season. His ability to focus, to take each play as it unfolds, and to forget the bad plays is just amazing. How he can tell Witten to not worry about the fumble, that there is still another chance, and then to make it happen is beyond words.

I've not been to quick to claim Romo as the best ever, but he is writing a lot of new chapters in the Dallas Cowboys history book. To me, longevity at a high level marks greatness. Romo, at this point in time, is looking to be one of the best. And the oddity is, he doesn't appear to be pressing, he just goes out there and does it.

 

[kramskoi]

don't overreact is correct...BUT and this is a big one...if the Dallas secondary is so hobbled, which i believe Newman and Henry still are, that it's limited to soft zone coverages against max protect then we have to call a spade a spade...if your DB's outnumber the receivers then it seems that third down defense should be better...especially third and long...all of us should have seen enough this year and last to realize this...

This is a dangerous trend for the Cowboys to take into the playoffs...if other teams decide to go max protect and dink-dunk the back seven then what?...i do think that having Hamlin will keep the secondary stable down the stretch but what about the playoffs?...

That said, i do like the defense i saw in the first half of the GBay game...now THAT was championship!...so these guys seem to have it in them...

 

[kramskoi]

oh and the steelers ahem number 1 defense looked great today didnt it? against that "finesse" offense and "finesse pats team" today.

You can play smash mouth and play field position, but all the good teams in this league throw the ball to put points on the board and then run after that.

Defense wins championships, but there are no great defenses in this league right now. I keep repeating this here tonight and I will again, feel free to tell me to stop, the defense that can force the other team to kick field goals in the red zone is going to be the team that wins and so far this year that has been what we have done!

exactly!...and i'll let you tell it!...offense wins the superbowl this year...NE, Indy, Dal and GBay are the four teams with the best offenses and therefore the best chance to score the trophy...if your defense can bend and not break you have as good a chance as any. If you can't move the ball "consistently" and put drives together [ending in touchdowns] then your defense will crack.

Pittsburgh has a league average offense and it showed today...prolific offenses put such pressure on the opposing defense that sooner or later it breaks down, no matter how good...players get tired of rushing the passer, tackling and covering...it becomes a demoralizing exercise in futility...you could see in the fourth quarter that the demeanor of the Steeler defense was one of complete surrender...they were beaten soundly.

funny thing is those coldhardfootballfacts guys, with their average points per game crap, was all over Pittsburgh as having a defense that rivaled the "Steel Curtain" editions of the seventies...does anyone think that now?...did'nt think so...they just had'nt faced a potent offense, same as GBay last week...now they know just how good they are.

Points per game averages don't win football games. Execution does.

 

[windward]

DEFENSE wins championships, not offense!!

I like cliches much more than informed analysis.

 

[windward]

We beat the 9 win giants twice, the second time we beat them with this same defense. We beat the 11-2 packers with this defense and because they forced turnovers and pressure.

This is the nfl, the lions have been tough against everyone there.

Dont overreact to one game. and yes a veteran quarterback in this league, like hassleback, manning, favre or garcia are going to make plays on our defense in the playoffs. The question is can they make enough? I wouldnt go panicking just yet.

There is virtually no difference in what we did today and what the pats did last monday night in baltimore. They got pushed around all day, watched the other team celebrate every first down like they won the superbowl and then when push came to shove the defense made a play and got a stop and that allowed us to get the ball in number 9's hands. and much like brady he is deadly.

Are we going to have struggles in the playoffs, yep. Does that mean we cant win? absolutely not.

Nope. All hope is lost.

 

[thekavorka]

Indy didn't have a world champion defense last year until the playoffs.

That's when they got Bob Sanders back. You could say we need Anthony Henry to be healthy, but I don't know how much of a difference a 100% Henry would make compared to now.

 

[kowboyMarlon]

I am new to the zone however I have been a cowboy all my life. I am a former OT in college and its clear to me that the cowboys have 3 major problems on Defense.

1st. Problem.... The DL lacks a True 2 gap nose Tackle.. IE Williams(chargers) or Wilfolk(Pats). Ratliff is a good penitrator and so is Tank Johnson, but they're 3 technique type DT's who who need to play shaded to 1 side of the Offensive lineman. Not having a true 2 gap Nose allows the OL to get up to level 2 in run blocking. The main goal of the DL is not to make plays but to protect level 2 and allow the LB's to scrape up and down the line clean and fill.

2nd Problem is that We can't play solid pass defense from Base personell. We give up alot of underneath routes because we try to hide Roy Williams in Zone Coverage. Hiding a player is difficult. Every player has to be responsible for something either as a passrusher or hook-to-curl...flats or deep 3rd zone. Its almost like the QB looks to see were he is, then locate the FS to see if he is on the hash or off the hash, this indicates what type of coverage we are in then they simply pick on him (Roy).

3rd problem is that Marcus Spears is just out there. Although the DL is not focused on making plays. Bowen and Hatcher make more plays than he does in probably half the snaps. We should release him during the offseason and bring in a proven 2 gap NT. I wouldn't be opposed to sticking with Ferguson, but at age 33 I don't think he is the long term solution and we seem to have the cap money available to go after a young stud NT.

Here is how I see the DL next year.... Ferguson unless we can upgrade via Free angency during the offseason. I will look at the crop of DT's projected for FA in spring of 2008. College ranks look week at NT, Dorsey and Ellis are both 1 gap 3 techniques and won't fit in here.

DE..................NT.....................DE
Ratliff...........Ferguson .............Canty
Hatcher..........Tank..................Bowen

Long as the offense dominates and keeps a lead alot of the defensive deficiencies are masked because a lead dictates how the opponent must call plays. Detroit had the entire playbook available because they had the lead. The only sack of the game came during the 18 seconds we had the lead.

Leads = must pass to get back in the game. Must pass = Sacks and Forced Fumbles.