Twitter: PFF: DaRon Bland - Highest Graded Defender from Week 13

[Pass2Run]

Bland makes the lack of impact of Joseph so far sting a bit less. He's been fantastic. Most games you don't even hear his name because QBs aren't throwing his way. He'll give up the odd pass but tackles the receiver immediately, and now has 3 picks. What more can you ask for.

The problem is teams will shy away from throwing to the two ball hawks (Bland and Diggs), which means they will keep attacking Joseph when he's on

You're overstating the problem with Kelvin Joseph.

He almost blocked an extra point.

Guy just wants to make a play...And really hasn't been good or bad this year.

On the play he got scored on, his coverage was about as tight as it gets.

He's been great on ST. He's there on almost every play. Fans just don't know what they're talking about as far as the player. They're too hung up on the incident from this offseason.

 

[john van brocklin]

Is that you Jason Garrett?

 

[gimmesix]

One of them is a starter

Right. But 15 passes defensed is the reason that Gardner is drawing a lot of praise. He's been tough to throw against. Didn't think it was fair to just point out that he has fewer interceptions than Bland.

 

[Pass2Run]

Teams won’t shy away from Bland. Those two crappy passes from Ryan won’t scare anyone.

Funny, Bland has great ball instincts. We saw it in the preseason.

It's no coincidence the guy came up with two INTs in the same game, within very little time.

On top of his two picks, he had two passes defended . . . and led the team in tackles with eight.

Bland is the type of player who can flex at corner and safety.

 

[john van brocklin]

Teams won’t shy away from Bland. Those two crappy passes from Ryan won’t scare anyone.

Didn't he give up that 4th down td pass against green bay?
I mean, I like player, but he still has some growing pains

 

[gimmesix]

You're overstating the problem with Kelvin Joseph.

He almost blocked an extra point.

Guy just wants to make a play...And really hasn't been good or bad this year.

On the play he got scored on, his coverage was about as tight as it gets.

The main thing I'm concerned about with Joseph is mental mistakes, like in the one game where he lined up outside of the receiver instead of inside when he had help to the outside but only open field to the inside. Can't remember what game it was, but it resulted in a TD.

He's got the speed and ability, he's just got to do what's expected of him on a given play. I'm glad we've got two lesser foes for him to practice against before we have to play Philly. He should be good enough even with a couple of bad mistakes for us to beat Houston and Jacksonville. And if he's making a bunch of mistakes, we'll know that we need to try someone else probably without being any real danger of losing.

 

[gimmesix]

Didn't he give up that 4th down td pass against green bay?
I mean, I like player, but he still has some growing pains

That was a very tough coverage play. They got him one-on-one with the receiver getting a running start at him.

 

[john van brocklin]

That was a very tough coverage play. They got him one-on-one with the receiver getting a running start at him.

Like I said, I like him, but we are kinda early with the anointing oil.

 

[Havic]

Is that you Jason Garrett?

 

[gimmesix]

Like I said, I like him, but we are kinda early with the anointing oil.

Oh, I agree. We don't know what kind of player either he or Joseph will become. Just nice to see him get off to a good start.

 

[big dog cowboy]

 

[john van brocklin]

I said that in regards to the clapping, lol

 

[john van brocklin]

Oh, I agree. We don't know what kind of player either he or Joseph will become. Just nice to see him get off to a good start.

Agree 1000%
Hope he continues to grow and improve.
We need another quality starting CB.

 

[Jarntt]

Bland makes the lack of impact of Joseph so far sting a bit less. He's been fantastic. Most games you don't even hear his name because QBs aren't throwing his way. He'll give up the odd pass but tackles the receiver immediately, and now has 3 picks. What more can you ask for.

The problem is teams will shy away from throwing to the two ball hawks (Bland and Diggs), which means they will keep attacking Joseph when he's on

So pretend Bland was the 2nd pick and Joseph was the 5th rounder. If that were the case we’d be happy. So we should still be happy. That’s my new fuzzy math and I’m sticking with it…

 

[gimmesix]

So pretend Bland was the 2nd pick and Joseph was the 5th rounder. If that were the case we’d be happy. So we should still be happy. That’s my new fuzzy math and I’m sticking with it…

Parcells had similar thinking. He felt that if you hit on a UDFA but missed on a draft pick that it all evened out. Although we still want to hit on our early-round picks, it certainly helps mitigate the misses when a later-round pick or UDFA plays like an early-round pick. Of course, it doesn't make us not want to hit on both.

 

[AsthmaField]

Like I said, I like him, but we are kinda early with the anointing oil.

Nah. I feel confident that Bland is very good. We’ve seen enough of him to tell that he’s a damn good player. Not good for a 5th rounder… a good player, period.

All corners give up plays now and then. You look at the totality of what he’s done since Dallas drafted him. He’s damn good no matter what the team asks him to do. His coverage is really good. He plays the ball well when it is in the air. He hits and tackles better than most corners. His instincts are very good… when he see it he goes. His “click and close” is instantaneous. And his physical traits are excellent.

He has everything you want a Pro CB to have. He may give up a play now and then, but he’s already a good player… and he will be very good. You can already see that.

He lasted in the draft because he played at a community college and then only 1 year at Fresno State. These days, not many guys slip through the cracks, but Bland did and Dallas benefited.

 

[john van brocklin]

Nah. I feel confident that Bland is very good. We’ve seen enough of him to tell that he’s a damn good player. Not good for a 5th rounder… a good player, period.

All corners give up plays now and then. You look at the totality of what he’s done since Dallas drafted him. He’s damn good no matter what the team asks him to do. His coverage is really good. He plays the ball well when it is in the air. He hits and tackles better than most corners. His instincts are very good… when he see it he goes. His “click and close” is instantaneous. And his physical traits are excellent.

He has everything you want a Pro CB to have. He may give up a play now and then, but he’s already a good player… and he will be very good. You can already see that.

He lasted in the draft because he played at a community college and then only 1 year at Fresno State. These days, not many guys slip through the cracks, but Bland did and Dallas benefited.

I trust your judgment.
Like I said (lol), I like the player, I just think we need to temper our expectations.
Hope he is all you said he is.
We need another quality CB, asap

 

[AsthmaField]

I trust your judgment.
Like I said (lol), I like the player, I just think we need to temper our expectations.
Hope he is all you said he is.
We need another quality CB, asap

Well, speaking for myself, I feel like I have reasonable expectations in place for Bland. Expectations that his play is currently in line with. They are relatively high expectations but I’m not thinking we’re going to get Revis overnight. He learns very quickly though (like, weirdly fast), so we’ll see what he can be in future years.

Now, are other fans expecting too much? That, I don’t know, nor can I control it. They certainly shouldn’t be expecting a pro bowl cornerback in a rookie who has very little experience, even from college. They should expect good though. There is nothing fluke’ish about what he’s doing.

There are people here who get down on Micah though, if he’s not killing it like normal… so I’m sure some fans will complain about Bland.

 

[Pass2Run]

Nah. I feel confident that Bland is very good. We’ve seen enough of him to tell that he’s a damn good player. Not good for a 5th rounder… a good player, period.

All corners give up plays now and then. You look at the totality of what he’s done since Dallas drafted him. He’s damn good no matter what the team asks him to do. His coverage is really good. He plays the ball well when it is in the air. He hits and tackles better than most corners. His instincts are very good… when he see it he goes. His “click and close” is instantaneous. And his physical traits are excellent.

He has everything you want a Pro CB to have. He may give up a play now and then, but he’s already a good player… and he will be very good. You can already see that.

He lasted in the draft because he played at a community college and then only 1 year at Fresno State. These days, not many guys slip through the cracks, but Bland did and Dallas benefited.

Agree. It's nice to read someone who has conviction in their opinion. I always laugh when I read the gutless "wait and see" or "it's yet to be seen" crowd.

I feel like Bland could have started on the outside before preseason.

 

[Bullflop]

I see Bland as likely the future defensive stalwart of the Cowboys defensive secondary. Whether his development corresponds to that or not remains to be seen. The indications now are that he has the talent to make that idea come to fruition. I'm extremely hopeful that will it'll be proven. He's, apparently, well into the process of proving that to be true. Be faithfully enthused and keep tabs on his progress. I'm supremely confident we won't be disappointed. The signs are more than encouraging. I truly believe he's a winner and you probably should, as well. Mine is a strongly-felt opinion that is directed at nobody in particular. Take it for whatever it's worth.