Richard's audition for DC begins Sunday

[CouchCoach]

So, here we are with exactly the scenario they planned for. Lee is out and the guy they picked to step in when that happened is going to be the main attraction on D, except for Richard.

PHL is ranked 15th in offense but that is misleading because they've been on a steady incline and added Tate, known as a pure Cowboys irritant. ATL and NO rank 5th and 7th.

NO and PHL rank 1st and 2nd in run D so the game plan Linehan wants to employ is a tough one against them. And ATL has been the most improving team week to week in the NFC.

So, what does Richard do with an offense that struggles to get to 20 to cover for his defense? Does he go the Marinelli route with BDBD and hope the other team makes a mistake? Or does he get aggressive and take risks on big plays getting him?

To make this even harder for him, his D is coming off a horrible 11 for 14 3rd down performance against the 30th ranked offense and what looked like a formidable pass rush doesn't any longer without bringing more than 4.

In recent history, any fantasy player would tell you to start your RB against the Cowboys when Lee is out. Has that changed? Have we seen enough to know? I like Vander Esch but he's still a little raw and what Lee brought to the D was his football savvy. Sean Lee is one of the best Cowboys at that we've ever had. That, is not easily replaced and hasn't been in the past.

We assume Richard was brought in to replace a retiring Marinelli. We're going to get a really good look at that over the next 4 games. Because he will be without his on field coach.

I haven't bought into the Richard love because his old team let him walk and that's the most D minded HC in the league; however, he can sure turn me over the next 4 games because this will be a real test. Hell, he does well enough, I might be OK with him as HC. He actually looks like he understands what he's seeing when watching the game.

 

[aria]

So after this game, we will have still barely scratched the surface of playing a top 15 offensive team? Wonderful, our defense has really been tested, well deserved top defensive ranking

 

[Denim Chicken]

Why does it start Sunday, he's been here all year?

 

[G2]

Not until Marinelli is gone.

 

[charron]

Richards hasn't started calling plays for the cowboys, he's been calling them. This started in week 1 and continued. Our secondary has had several games with glaring issues, that's all on Richards not Marinelli.

 

[Clove]

It's Marinelli's scheme, it's Marinelli's players, and it's Marinelli's coaches. None of this is Richard's.

 

[CATCH17]

Richard needs to figure out how to stop mobile QB's.

Everything else is good but mobile QB tear us apart on 3rd down.

 

[erod]

It's Marinelli's scheme, it's Marinelli's players, and it's Marinelli's coaches. None of this is Richard's.

Actually, it is.

Richard plays his corners up tight. He blitzes more, and in more exotic ways.

And he's calling the plays, not Marinelli

Marinelli is basically the defensive line coach right now.

 

[khiladi]

Again..

The role of Richards is probably not any different than Eberflus. These are the problems when narratives get out of control, like the reason Dak sucks is because Mark Sanchez is no longer here to coach Dak, when all the original article basically said was they were close boys.

Eberus also ‘called plays’ at times with Marinelli and that is how the original comparison was made. Nobody has any idea to what extent this actually meant for Eberflus or Richards.

One thing for sure is our secondary looks better than before and I had plenty of reservations around this pick since it was Carroll that let him go and actually fired him.

Against the Titans, it looked like we were basically rushing four the whole time. I could be wrong, but we seemed to blitz a lot less. Who exactly was responsible for it? Who know..

This whole organization is a cluster F right now..

 

[CouchCoach]

Why does it start Sunday, he's been here all year?

Lee is out and he's facing good offenses with the season on the line. I do not think he's had trial by fire yet in Dallas.

 

[Praxit]

well coach, with stats, tracs and who is Eeny and miney. I'm pretty much for tanking the season. Get this over with. I know most players will play their hearts out like usual. And that's ok. Yet we know, this formula does not work.

I would love to have a 2007 NY Giant season, but that cornerstone was Coughlin. That old man knew/knows football. We sell Florsheim shoes for a living.

 

[CouchCoach]

Richards hasn't started calling plays for the cowboys, he's been calling them. This started in week 1 and continued. Our secondary has had several games with glaring issues, that's all on Richards not Marinelli.

I know but he's been calling them against the bottom half of the offenses and now that changes.

The critical factor that pretty well doomed the D was Lee being out and the run D going to hell. That's when Marinelli really went BDBD and was reluctant to blitz.

How much faith does Richard have in this D to handle top 10 offenses? Is he willing to put his future with the Cowboys on the line?

 

[Roadtrip635]

Richard needs to figure out how to stop mobile QB's.

Everything else is good but mobile QB tear us apart on 3rd down.

Actually they haven't done well stopping throwing QBs either, we're 5th worst in opposing QB Rating at 101.1

 

[Roadtrip635]

I know but he's been calling them against the bottom half of the offenses and now that changes.

The critical factor that pretty well doomed the D was Lee being out and the run D going to hell. That's when Marinelli really went BDBD and was reluctant to blitz.

How much faith does Richard have in this D to handle top 10 offenses? Is he willing to put his future with the Cowboys on the line?

This defense hasn't been as good as people think and it's going to start looking worse. Can we still use the Lee is injured excuse?

 

[CouchCoach]

well coach, with stats, tracs and who is Eeny and miney. I'm pretty much for tanking the season. Get this over with. I know most players will play their hearts out like usual. And that's ok. Yet we know, this formula does not work.

I would love to have a 2007 NY Giant season, but that cornerstone was Coughlin. That old man knew/knows football. We sell Florsheim shoes for a living.

Praxy, what would tanking do for this team? Give the Raiders a better pick.

There are questions about this team that they need answered before moving on. What's the fight level in this team and individual players? They've got contract decisions to make about several players.

I have one real problem with any tanking. These players are not paid to win, they are paid to play. Ticket buyers pay to see them play and it is not OK for some player knocking down 100K-1M a game to not give his best. They receive the same game check, win or lose.

The team is in a bad place and I believe about to get worse but the upside of that is that they can find out a lot about coaches and players when it gets to the "lost cause" part of the season.

The Cowboys coaches and players owe it to the fans, league and every team they will face to give everything they've got in every remaining game regardless of the record. It will not matter to the record or season but that will matter to me.

 

[CouchCoach]

Actually they haven't done well stopping throwing QBs either, we're 5th worst in opposing QB Rating at 101.1

Well hell, can't stop them passing or running, what's left?

 

[CouchCoach]

This defense hasn't been as good as people think and it's going to start looking worse. Can we still use the Lee is injured excuse?

They will, they don't lack for excuses.

 

[atlantacowboy]

If we are dumb enough to let Richards walk, it will take him about half a morning to find a DC job somewhere, it not head coach.

 

[CouchCoach]

If we are dumb enough to let Richards walk, it will take him about half a morning to find a DC job somewhere, it not head coach.

I dunno, were there a lot of teams lined up when Carroll let him walk? If this D unravels, why would he be in demand?

 

[cern]

Given our offense no longer moves the chains and controls time of possession, our defense is in the field an inordinately long time. Philly will be creating mismatches against our lb's all night long. Just like the titans did.