I'm still, to this day, trying to figure out where this hang up is on interceptions. Byron doesn't deserve a second contract because he doesn't create turnovers..yet a quick glance at DBs who consistently create turnovers has given me a very small pool to pick from.
Marcus Peters and Richard Sherman seemed to be the only consistent DBs with turnovers.
So, yourself saying we can just pick a few kids out of college that can reproduce Byrons season last year? And take the gamble of them paying off, not only being a **** down corner but also a ballhawk?
My apologies if I'm coming off crass, I'm just trying to find a basis for the "needs turnovers for contracts" argument.
I agree that you do want top shutdown coverage first.. and – turnovers 2nd
… but you also want to be convinced that it wasn’t just a year wonder. As it’s been several CBs in the past that have had stellar year followed up by subpar year(s) ( And the Cowboys have rode that prove- it- another- year bike ride before)
As far as turnovers (and ball hawks that get turnovers) - Less turnovers by defenses means lesser chances to get the Give-Takeaway ratio tipped in our favor.
For all the expectation and hype around Xavier Woods , he’s going to be eventually measured by his ability to drive and take the ball away on INTs.
There has been evidence of defenses that won Super Bowls despite yielding a certain amount of yards per game because of their opportunistic penchant for forcing turnovers. (ala Saints and Green Bay) Turnovers are game changers, they are back killers, and completely turn the complexion of the game.
- If KC Chiefs were not offside and flagged ( Dee Ford) … they would have been in the Super Bowl, because of an potential game sealing INT vs Brady on that play in the most critical game of the year.
- look how Jordan Lewis’ INT turnover immediately halted Saints potential game drive to win.
Maybe when you start looking the top CBs around, you see that they have BOTH top coverage skills as well as the ball hawk ability to get the INTs you mention
past guys like Sherman, Peters (who was lousy in a new coverage scheme BTW) take a look at the up comers like Marshon Lattimore, Xavier Howard, Darius Slay, Kyle Fuller
Having ball hawks playmakers consistently capable of generating those kind of turnovers makes it a staple of your defense, that halts drives, that changes field position, it immediately
places your offense in a more favorable scoring position for your team,.
Byron Jones year was a marvel. As I’ve never heard of a player making the All pro list and yet never came up with a single INT. and if you thought that on paper, you’d be thinking teams stayed away from him, which they didn’t because they knew he wasn’t a threat to INT the ball.
In short;
- if the Cowboys do re-sign Jones as one of the highest paid CBs in NFL, then that will be both an level of impression to retain his skills and the fear of not being able to replace him
will come into play in keeping him.
- If the Cowboys allow him to walk in free agency, as Byron will surely have some NFL team that will overpay for him – then that will cement their impressions that he is not elite core player
that is a must- to keep and they think they can trust McClay group to draft a capable CB to replace him.
