Pass defense in '08

[sonnyboy]

I know you only want us to improve Playmaker, but you're far to critical of our pass defense efforts.

Couldn't have said it better than Dallasfanatic in posts 18 and 19.


You have to look at everything in its proper context. Stats don't mean everything, but they do have meaning.

To properly evaluate the effort of something such as our pass defense in a particular game, you need to look at stats, the game film and the situation.

Now when you take a larger sample, such as a whole season, the stats tend to have more meaning. However they are still effected by the rest of the team.

So where does that leave us? It leaves us with a pass defense that ranked in the top 5-10 in the most important statistical areas, but probably deserved a ranking more in the range of 8-12.

Here's the good news. An 8-12 is darn good for your teams weakest area. And there is no doubt we are improved in this area. We've improved so much so that I'll guess our pass defense ranks 1-4 in 2008.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

Some people are just going to ***** and moan unless we win every game 50-0.

And even then, it would probably be "Yeah, but they almost scored except for that dropped pass."

 

[Clove]

From my eyes (not stats). I would like to see more constant pressure from the front 7 most noticably, Ellis' position. I LOVE sacks, but I'd rather have pressure every down, of course unless I'm going to have sacks every passing down.

 

[playmakers]

Guys, Im not trying to be negative Im just saying they were good last season but not great. To be quiet honest with you, I say half the reason why they werent as dominate was too many soft zones being called. I love our players in the secondary but when the call is to play 10 yards off, the quarterback can find holes easily. I think a prime example of that was the drive right before halftime against the Giants. On paper, I would go on record and say were the best in the league. Last year was a C plus/ B minus to me but this year we could be an A.

 

[percyhoward]

It depends on how many pass plays our opponents run this season. Net yards per game isn't important. Net yards per play is.

How about net passing yards allowed per possession?

 

[BuckyG]

How about net passing yards allowed per possession?

Or opponents' pass rating, where Dallas finished fifth best in the league (75.1), which is a much better indicator of the Boys' performance than the amount of yards allowed. Even there, if you discount the games Newman and Henry missed, Dallas rises to tenth in the league in yards per game (just under 207 per game). In yards per attempt, Dallas finished tied for sixth. And the pass D depth has been seriously upgraded with Adam Jones and Mike Jenkins.

The pass defense was excellent last year. The overall defense was excellent. So was the offense. The problems tended to fall when both units didn't show up for the same game. The offense played well enough to beat New England, but the defense got torched. Against the Giants in the playoffs, the Cowboys' defense pretty much dominated, but the offense wasn't able to make plays when they needed to. This year, with one of the youngest teams in the league having another year of experience behind them and an infusion of both young and veteran talent, I expect those hiccups to be less common.

 

[percyhoward]

Or opponents' pass rating, where Dallas finished fifth best in the league (75.1), which is a much better indicator of the Boys' performance than the amount of yards allowed.

I agree 100% with everything you just said.

I was just curious to know from Adam where we stood in per possession.

 

[sago1]

Our pass coverage was more exposed because our offense put so many points on the board that almost all our opponents ended up throwing the ball so much in the 2nd half. OTOH, if our offense didn't put up lots of points, we'd have lost a lot more games & our defense would have looked even worse in pass coverage.

Parcells said it best when he was asked about the Cowboys in November when we were piling up the wins -- "if Romo wasn't playing as good as he's been playing Cowboy fans wouldn't be very happy". On another occasion he said there wasn't much difference between the 34 the Cowboys played when he was HC & the 43 as played by Wade. Now the Cowboys did increase their sack/QB pressure but were not consistent enough for our defense to become the dominate defense it must be if we are to win the playoffs/SB.

Hopefully the addition of Pacman, Jenkins & Scandrick to our secondary combined with healthy play from Newman & Henry (?) allows our front 7 the time it needs to get to the QB while also playing better against the run. Hopefully the addition of Thomas will shore up our pass coverage in the middle of the field against those pesky TEs we will face. Cause he sure caused Romo problems getting the ball to Witten in the Dolphins game.

 

[TwentyOne]

It depends on how many pass plays our opponents run this season.

I will make a bold statement here: team won't pass against us coming season. not even a frickin' swing pass to the rb.

 

[AsthmaField]

Our pass defense wasn't perfect last season, for sure... that's why we got Pacman and drafted Jenkins and Scandrick. It's also why we said goodbye to N. Jones and J. Reeves.

There should be no comparison between last years coverage and this years. Particularly if Newman and Henry stay healthy.

Last season if we went with 4 CB's we had to use Newman, Henry, Reeves and Jones. That is unless it was when either Newman or Henry was hurt, in which case we couldn't even go with 4 CB's. This year, that mix will be Newman, Henry, Pacman and Jenkins.

No comparison.

Just look at using Henry to cover the TE's instead of Roy Williams... that should tell you how improved the coverage will be.

 

[LeonDixson]

Someone above mentioned the soft zones that were called (Playmaker, I think). I agree that we were in too many soft zones. However, I think our single biggest problem, on a very good defense, was Jacques Reeves. Anytime an opposing qb needed 7 or 8 yards he could get it by throwing to whomever Reeves was covering. New England and the Giants in the playoff game exploited him big time.

Our next biggest problem was injuries to Henry and Newman that kept us scrambling to put the same defense on the field from game to game.

Just my opinion.

 

[AdamJT13]

How about net passing yards allowed per possession?

That's still skewed by the opponent's run/pass ratio. You can have the best pass defense in the NFL, and if your opponents try enough pass plays, you could allow more passing yards (total and per possession) than the worst pass defense. It would have nothing to do with you being weak at pass defense and everything to do with your opponents trying so many pass plays.

 

[percyhoward]

That's still skewed by the opponent's run/pass ratio.

Got it. How about net total yards allowed per possession, then? Run and pass.

We're 13th in that, but in yards per play we're 6th.

I remember you saying something to the effect that yards/points per possession is the truest indicator of a defense.

 

[AdamJT13]

Got it. How about net total yards allowed per possession, then? Run and pass.

We're 13th in that, but in yards per play we're 6th.

I remember you saying something to the effect that yards/points per possession is the truest indicator of a defense.

Anything on a per-play or per-possession basis would be better than a raw total. And yes, I consider points per possession, adjusted for starting field position, a better indicator of a defense's strength than any type of yardage stat.

 

[ThreeSportStar80]

With the amount of money and draft picks invested in that secondary I expect it to be one of the best in the NFL with or without Roy Williams...

 

[percyhoward]

Anything on a per-play or per-possession basis would be better than a raw total. And yes, I consider points per possession, adjusted for starting field position, a better indicator of a defense's strength than any type of yardage stat.

Do you agree, then, that defensive points allowed per play is a better measure of a defense than defensive points allowed per possession?

 

[AsthmaField]

Someone above mentioned the soft zones that were called (Playmaker, I think). I agree that we were in too many soft zones. However, I think our single biggest problem, on a very good defense, was Jacques Reeves. Anytime an opposing qb needed 7 or 8 yards he could get it by throwing to whomever Reeves was covering. New England and the Giants in the playoff game exploited him big time.

Our next biggest problem was injuries to Henry and Newman that kept us scrambling to put the same defense on the field from game to game.

Just my opinion.

Nate Jones absolutely killed us against the Pats. Henry didn't play against New England, so Newman took his place at RCB. Reeves was playing Newman's normal LCB spot and Nate Jones was the Nickel Back.

Belichick knew to simply throw it to whomever was being covered by Nate (usually Welker) or Reeves.

That's why Welker ate our lunch... Nate Jones was in coverage on him all day long.

This year Newman would likely be covering the slot instead of Nate Jones. And instead of Reeves, we will have Pacman. Jenkins might be in there too if Henry is playing nickel safety.

HUGE difference.

 

[fRESH88]

I see my Commanders fell just shy of 300 yrds passing per game against your D.

seeing how half our team was sitting out, its hard to believe you guys almost got 300.

 

[theogt]

Nate Jones absolutely killed us against the Pats. Henry didn't play against New England, so Newman took his place at RCB. Reeves was playing Newman's normal LCB spot and Nate Jones was the Nickel Back.

Belichick knew to simply throw it to whomever was being covered by Nate (usually Welker) or Reeves.

That's why Welker ate our lunch... Nate Jones was in coverage on him all day long.

This year Newman would likely be covering the slot instead of Nate Jones. And instead of Reeves, we will have Pacman. Jenkins might be in there too if Henry is playing nickel safety.

HUGE difference.

:yousuck:

 

[LeonDixson]

Nate Jones absolutely killed us against the Pats. Henry didn't play against New England, so Newman took his place at RCB. Reeves was playing Newman's normal LCB spot and Nate Jones was the Nickel Back.

Belichick knew to simply throw it to whomever was being covered by Nate (usually Welker) or Reeves.

That's why Welker ate our lunch... Nate Jones was in coverage on him all day long.

This year Newman would likely be covering the slot instead of Nate Jones. And instead of Reeves, we will have Pacman. Jenkins might be in there too if Henry is playing nickel safety.

HUGE difference.

You're right. I had forgotten that we had to play Nate Jones in the slot against NE. I'm glad they are both gone. Both of them were exploited too easily.