Pretty sure cowboy fans will be pleasantly surprised by this defense

[CCBoy]

Demarcus Lawrence, Ryan Russell, Thornton and Byron Jones may very well be the key components to facilitate an improvement if there is one. Lawrence isn't a new name on the DL and the other two at least have a year's worth of experience or more and Marinelli seems convinced they'll be worthy of a spot. Granted, that's not too much to go on, but I'm hoping (really hard) that it's better than nothing -- lol. Oh, yeah and Jones has got to be an improvement over that safety who always seems to say "which way did he go, George?" They should be better, even if not by much.

Bullflop, I trust in football players that are dedicated and also take it onto the carpet. They don't first have to disprove a bunch of negatives, to be an aggressive force.

 

[Silverstar]

I think the defense is going to be much improved especially against the run.

 

[jazzcat22]

Hard to tell when backups are playing backups. A ton of guys look good in preseason and do nothing in the regular season.

Hard for most fans, but it's invaluable for the coaches. Does the player do what he is supposed to do. I don't care if it's a 4th team guy against a 1st team guy. Does he stay in his assignment.
This is for the coaches. For us fans, it's for the entertainment and to win. So some think a player can be good, others will blow it off as scrubs against scrubs.
Truth is, we just don't know.

 

[cross]

The first preseason game is part of the evaluation. No one has ever suggested it isn't at least part of the valuation. But the OP said we will learn a lot after Saturday night.

No you won't. You won't learn a ton, at least when it comes to key personnel who may only play a quarter or so. And as pointed out, it's not rare, frankly it happens a lot, that a guy looks great in preseason and doesn't amount to much come the regular season.

For me, the only thing I really worry about in preseason is............. don't get any key players hurt.

I don't know about your evaluation, but I'm quite sure I will know a lot more Sunday morning than I know now. I respectfully disagree with this post.

 

[Alexander]

I think the defense is going to be much improved especially against the run.

No Hayden will help that piece out in my opinion.

It is hard to fathom how he was grading well and kept around for three years.

 

[jazzcat22]

Thanks big dog, I believe so. I appreciate the scepticism from others as well. But something feels different now. Again, I can not wait til Saturday night, I will learn a lot from this game, talent will shine, even if it's diluted in starters vs 2nd and 3rd string. We will know more Sunday morn. Thanks big dog!

We can win the SB and there will be skeptics still. We will get how the other team lost it, and not that we won it.

Anyway, some very good posts. And I beleive this D will come out and surprise some people. It will be like in 2014. In the off season it was one of the worst times i seen this forum. So many haters and negative nancies...then in 2014 they all disappeared, or a majority of them. some even changed their tune somewhat. Same going into 2015...then the injuries derailed the season. As t would for most teams in losing their QB.

However, they all came out of the word work spouting the same garbage, like the team sucked for years, never mind we didn't have a QB being the main reason.

So here we go again. Can't wait for the 2016 forum extermination starts win the winning starts.

 

[CCBoy]

We can win the SB and there will be skeptics still. We will get how the other team lost it, and not that we won it.

Anyway, some very good posts. And I beleive this D will come out and surprise some people. It will be like in 2014. In the off season it was one of the worst times i seen this forum. So many haters and negative nancies...then in 2014 they all disappeared, or a majority of them. some even changed their tune somewhat. Same going into 2015...then the injuries derailed the season. As t would for most teams in losing their QB.

However, they all came out of the word work spouting the same garbage, like the team sucked for years, never mind we didn't have a QB being the main reason.

So here we go again. Can't wait for the 2016 forum extermination starts win the winning starts.

Wait right there...if a Lombardi is won, does Jimmy Johnson still get the credit?

 

[jazzcat22]

So we will be pleasantly surprised by scrubs attempting to make the team against LA's scrubs? Ok. Puff puff pass please. If it's that good, I want a sample.

That 3rd team scrub may be on the PS, and then in 2017 he may be knocking Eli into the dirt...then will you say, well, he's a scrub still...
That preseason look good moment this week, can be huge for their confidence of bigger and better things.

 

[CCBoy]

That 3rd team scrub may be on the PS, and then in 2017 he may be knocking Eli into the dirt...then will you say, well, he's a scrub still...
That preseason look good moment this week, can be huge for their confidence of bigger and better things.

Not to mention that a snap shot moment is the only way for those players to make any roster...

 

[AbeBeta]

A lot hinges on McClain staying healthy, but I agree. If you get McClain to stay healthy, Thornton, McClain, Crawford are a pretty good trio. There are some really good duos out there though. Just in our division, Logan and Cox are a great DT combo.

Cox is a nightmare. He's the best DT in the NFC East for sure.

That said, we sure did a good job containing him last year

 

[big dog cowboy]

I think this year's version of our defense will be improved over 2015, if for no other reason than it more than it likely won't be worse.

Take off Hayden and Wilcox as starters and add OScan and those 3 changes alone makes our defense better.

 

[CCBoy]

No Hayden will help that piece out in my opinion.

It is hard to fathom how he was grading well and kept around for three years.

Sometimes, a grizzled veteran is all that a team has. He did catch on with another team...wish him luck there.

As you state, upgrade is nice.

 

[CCBoy]

Cox is a nightmare. He's the best DT in the NFC East for sure.

That said, we sure did a good job containing him last year

Handle the best and one becomes the best...

 

[jazzcat22]

We need to have a playoff caliber defense-- and they were unable to slow Rodgers down 2 years ago. Even setting aside the issues with suspensions, discipline, and accountability-- there are still too many holes and question marks.

You can't argue from silence. The pieces we have now are all unproven and untested. Too many issues for me to feel good about this D. Do they have potential? Yes. Are they ready to compete with the best offenses in the NFL? No.

This defense is better than that D in 2014. Better, by having better players. Mo is back and is playing better. We have Thornton over Hayden. We have a true FS in Jones, therefore allowing others to do their jobs better. DLaw WILL be back so that helps the pass rush. People are acting as if we will have no one at all to rush the QB...we will after 4 games, unless someone steps up and surprises us in those 4 games.
T. McClain finally healthy, and if he can stay healthy.

 

[Denim Chicken]

Something to think about that 2014 season that we love to reference:

Dallas ended up with the easiest schedule in all of football for 2014. The Cowboys were projected to have the 18th-hardest schedule in the league, but the Cowboys' opponents last year ended up finishing 114-142. They played five teams with winning records, including the Texans, Seahawks, Cardinals, Eagles (twice) and Colts. Give Dallas credit for winning all but one of those games but everything broke their way in terms of opponents.

 

[big dog cowboy]

We can win the SB and there will be skeptics still.

There is no question that when we win another Super Bowl we will have members in here complaining about something. I've never been as sure of anything in my life as that.

 

[Hawkeye19]

If we end the season ranked as high as 12th (playoff level) in both points per drive and defensive passer rating, it would be the first time since 2005.

Rankings and stats are overblown. We need to be better on defense. Period.

In 2014 we were #2 in forced turnovers. But not when it mattered. We couldn't make plays when we needed to. GB did though. The Murray fumble was a backbreaker. NE won the SB that year with a perfectly timed INT in the end zone. Those kinds of clutch plays on D are rare for Dallas.

Good teams find a way to make big plays and win in the playoffs. I could care less what our rankings are. I want to see us field a defense that is fundamentally sound, plays solid team defense, makes clutch plays when they need to, and keeps teams out of the end zone.

 

[cross]

The first preseason game is part of the evaluation. No one has ever suggested it isn't at least part of the valuation. But the OP said we will learn a lot after Saturday night.

No you won't. You won't learn a ton, at least when it comes to key personnel who may only play a quarter or so. And as pointed out, it's not rare, frankly it happens a lot, that a guy looks great in preseason and doesn't amount to much come the regular season.

For me, the only thing I really worry about in preseason is............. don't get any key players hurt.

Agree with no injuries is most important, that's given, it does not support my belief, that you learn a lot after the Rams game, we will see what we have, that's for sure.

 

[Bleu Star]

That 3rd team scrub may be on the PS, and then in 2017 he may be knocking Eli into the dirt...then will you say, well, he's a scrub still...
That preseason look good moment this week, can be huge for their confidence of bigger and better things.

Wake me when it's over.

 

[Hawkeye19]

This defense is better than that D in 2014. Better, by having better players. Mo is back and is playing better. We have Thornton over Hayden. We have a true FS in Jones, therefore allowing others to do their jobs better. DLaw WILL be back so that helps the pass rush. People are acting as if we will have no one at all to rush the QB...we will after 4 games, unless someone steps up and surprises us in those 4 games.
T. McClain finally healthy, and if he can stay healthy.

Mo had a great preseason last year too-- got hurt and then went back to being average. Jones is a stud and Thornton is a nice addition as well. While we have gotten better in terms of talent and upside at safety and DT-- DE, and LBer are huge holes and we seem to have regressed in terms of accountability and discipline.

We lead the NFL in suspensions and we count too much on poor character guys you can't count on (Hardy, Gregory, and McClain). Throw in a serious lack of depth at LBer and DB along with a propensity for guys to get hurt a lot-- and I don't see much improvement overall. Just more of the same.

This team will go as far as the offense is able to take them.