Running game is why the defense looks better

[JD_KaPow]

There are a number of things here that are getting mixed together.

Is the offense helping the defense?
How could the offense help the defense? Two ways I can think of. (1) Longer offensive drives means fewer defensive drives per game, which, all else being equal, should translate to fewer points allowed per game. (2) Fresher defense, which, if true, should translate into fewer yards, points, 1st downs given up when the opponents do have the ball.

What do the numbers say? The opponents are indeed running fewer drives, about one drive per game fewer, than last year. This is despite the fact that we've turned the ball over at a higher rate this year. So yes, our increased time of possession seems to be translating into fewer defensive drives. Also, the drives the opponents do have are shorter (5 fewer yards per drive) and less productive (0.6 fewer points per drive). So that's happening too. Which leads to the next question:

What is the defense doing better this year?
They're not giving up fewer yards per play: in fact, that number hasn't changed. We're actually worse on starting line of scrimmage, meaning the opponents haven't had as far to go to score. But despite the yardage numbers, we've allowed fewer first downs and fewer points per drive. Part of that is that we get takeaways at a little big higher rate. But most of it is just stopping the other team from converting 1st downs. Which leads to the final question:

Is it sustainable?
I tend to doubt it. I don't think we can keep up giving lots of yards/play and yet continue to make the timely stops that end drives. We know that third-down stats that are way out of whack with 1st- and 2nd-down stats tend to regress to meet them over time. I don't believe the team has some special ability to give up lots of yards and yet clamp down "when it matters". Too many teams have seemed to be like that, only to have that special ability disappear, because it wasn't really an ability to begin with. I expect that discrepancy to fade away.

On the other hand, the defensive talent may improve with guys coming back, so maybe we'll actually start playing better and everything will balance out.

 

[RonSpringsdaman20]

its all synergy...
field position and rest means a lot in this game.

 

[JD_KaPow]

This entire thread is based on the premise that a defense has no control over how many plays the opposing offense runs.

Thread fail.

That's true. They do have little or no control over the number of drives the opposing offense has, though (well, I suppose it's a slightly inverse relationship: a defense that gives up a lot of long drives will also give up fewer drives).

 

[Sportsbabe]

No, I don't really get much of anything you ever try and say, honestly.

Noted.

 

[blindzebra]

All this per play talk is silly.

It comes down to possessions and points.

TOP limits both teams possessions not just our opponent.

This year's D is 2% better on 3rd down but has also caused 2% more 3rd down plays, which means teams are not getting first downs before third down either. They are not giving up points at the same rate either.

The facts are that our offense is shortening the game and scoring, and our defense is doing their part by reducing the number of successful possessions that the other team gets.

 

[5Stars]

its all synergy...
field position and rest means a lot in this game.

I don't think a lot of posters know what synergy is...or the meaning of team.

Stop confusing everyone!
(stupid cowboy fans)

 

[Idgit]

Last I checked, touchdowns at the end of 10 pay drives count the same as the ones at the end of 1 play drives, don't they?

Obviously, you want to be looking at points/defensive possession here and not per play.

 

[percyhoward]

Drive Success Rate
(the percentage of down series that result in a first down)
DEFENSE
2014 - 67.8% (7th)
2013 - 74.3% (32nd)

Last year, about 3/4 of every series of downs ended up with another first down.

This year, it's about 2/3.

Because of that, the opposing offense doesn't have the ball as long...

Time of Possession per Drive
DEFENSE
2014 - 2:32 (6th)
2013 - 2:41 (21st)

Doesn't run as many plays...

Plays per Drive
DEFENSE
2014 - 5.5 (6th)
2013 - 6.1 (28th)

And doesn't score as many points.

Points per Drive
DEFENSE
2014 - 1.73 (9th)
2013 - 2.31 (30th)

 

[RonSpringsdaman20]

Last I checked, touchdowns at the end of 10 pay drives count the same as the ones at the end of 1 play drives, don't they?

Obviously, you want to be looking at points/defensive possession here and not per play.

I believe thats how the Saints did it in 09'

 

[jday]

I just had this discussion with a co-worker. I disagree. Man this Fantasy Football world we live in today is something else. This defense is better because of two MAJOR things: stopping the opponent on situational 3rd downs and stopping the opponent from scoring in situational football period. People are so wrapped up in numbers it skews their logical thinking.

You can run the football all day long. When you eventually give the ball back to the opponent, if the defense can't stop them, then it's a wrap.

Good points here. Another aspect to your argument that the OP doesn't consider is that this defense is bend don't break by design. The Cowboys are allowing alot of the underneath stuff forcing teams to play perfect football all the way down the field. The idea is to try and force them into a mistake or create a turnover. If all else fails, they sell out to force the field goal. For this defense teamed with the Cowboys offense, forcing a field goal is considered a successful series.

 

[5Stars]

Last I checked, touchdowns at the end of 10 pay drives count the same as the ones at the end of 1 play drives, don't they?

Obviously, you want to be looking at points/defensive possession here and not per play.

You really cannot look at numbers and make sense of any statistics out there.

Football is not static. It is dynamic. There are too many fluctuations in the equation. Just one fraction of a inch will lose the game.

 

[blindzebra]

Drive Success Rate
(the percentage of down series that result in a first down)
DEFENSE
2014 - 67.8% (7th)
2013 - 74.3% (32nd)

Last year, about 3/4 of every series of downs ended up with another first down.

This year, it's about 2/3.

Because of that, the opposing offense doesn't have the ball as long...

Time of Possession per Drive
DEFENSE
2014 - 2:32 (6th)
2013 - 2:41 (21st)

Doesn't run as many plays...

Plays per Drive
DEFENSE
2014 - 5.5 (6th)
2013 - 6.1 (28th)

And doesn't score as many points.

Points per Drive
DEFENSE
2014 - 1.73 (9th)
2013 - 2.31 (30th)

Game, set and match for this thread.

 

[Brooksey]

There was some debate in another thread as to what the actual impact is of time of possession and controlling the clock thus limiting the number of plays the other offense has.

There was also some debate as to whether this defense is improved, and if so, that the improvement is more of a reason as to why we are top 10 in time of possession vs the offense controlling the clock.

So I looked at some stats, per play stats for the defense. Total yardage, points, first downs etc are really meaning less. You need to compare play to play.

But to really demonstrate this point I will list our rankings for Totals:
Total 1st Downs: 1
Total 3rd Downs: 6
Total Points: 10
Total Yards: 14

Looks awesome right? Pretty dominant, top 10 kind of defense. But not so fast.

We are also leading the league in Defensive Plays per game. (56.7) Let's see how we look at a play per play basis:
1st Downs per play:10
3rd Downs per play:19
Points per play:18
Yards per play:27

Not so hot anymore. Let's also throw in 18th for 3rd Down Conversion %. Do these numbers really support the idea that the defense is getting a lot of 3 and outs? Stopping the offense? And speaking of opposing offenses, aside from New Orleans and Seattle ( 7 and 8 respectively) the other 5 opponents are as follows:
NY: 15
San Fran: 21
St Louis: 23
Houston: 24
Tennessee: 29

Now let's compare our offense and defense to that of Philly, because Philly is a fast past offense and we will be playing them soon. Philly is ranked 31st in TOP, we are ranked 2nd. Philly is ranked 3rd in number of plays, we are ranked 7th. Philly averages 22.82 seconds per play (32nd), we average 30.80 (1st).

Philly's defense is also ranked 31st in Defensive Plays per game. 15.1 more plays per game than Dallas.

What would our defense look like from a Totals perspective if they had to be on the field 15.1 more plays a game?
Total 1st Downs: 25
Total 3rd Downs: 19
Total Points: 27
Total Yards: 32

Looks very much like last year.

What's saving us is that we are running the ball. We are #1 in the league in rushing attempts per game (33.6) That's up from only 21 attempts per game last year. We are up on number of offensive plays per game 65.9 compared to 59.8. We average 30.8 seconds per play, up from 29.11. We are controlling the ball 4 minutes and 40 seconds longer this year than last year.

So yes, the running game is helping the defense, very much in fact. And no, the defense is not really much better than last year and should still be a big concern, especially come playoff time.

Not really, we overpassed last year at a historic 65% clip vs 35% run. We are more balanced this year and our defense is playing better. Other reasons include its our second year in the system, Marinelli is DC and Rolando McClain.

Our offense was so unbalanced last year our defense struggled especially in a new system.

The Point is if we were'nt so pass happy last year our defense wouldn't have been the worst, IMO.

 

[gmoney112]

Drive Success Rate
(the percentage of down series that result in a first down)
DEFENSE
2014 - 67.8% (7th)
2013 - 74.3% (32nd)

Last year, about 3/4 of every series of downs ended up with another first down.

This year, it's about 2/3.

Because of that, the opposing offense doesn't have the ball as long...

Time of Possession per Drive
DEFENSE
2014 - 2:32 (6th)
2013 - 2:41 (21st)

Doesn't run as many plays...

Plays per Drive
DEFENSE
2014 - 5.5 (6th)
2013 - 6.1 (28th)

And doesn't score as many points.

Points per Drive
DEFENSE
2014 - 1.73 (9th)
2013 - 2.31 (30th)

I like how I posted the numbers for this year previously, and I neither got a "like" nor a "Game. Set. Match".

 

[jday]

There are a number of things here that are getting mixed together.
Is the offense helping the defense?
How could the offense help the defense? Two ways I can think of. (1) Longer offensive drives means fewer defensive drives per game, which, all else being equal, should translate to fewer points allowed per game. (2) Fresher defense, which, if true, should translate into fewer yards, points, 1st downs given up when the opponents do have the ball.

What do the numbers say? The opponents are indeed running fewer drives, about one drive per game fewer, than last year. This is despite the fact that we've turned the ball over at a higher rate this year. So yes, our increased time of possession seems to be translating into fewer defensive drives. Also, the drives the opponents do have are shorter (5 fewer yards per drive) and less productive (0.6 fewer points per drive). So that's happening too. Which leads to the next question:

What is the defense doing better this year?
They're not giving up fewer yards per play: in fact, that number hasn't changed. We're actually worse on starting line of scrimmage, meaning the opponents haven't had as far to go to score. But despite the yardage numbers, we've allowed fewer first downs and fewer points per drive. Part of that is that we get takeaways at a little big higher rate. But most of it is just stopping the other team from converting 1st downs. Which leads to the final question:

Is it sustainable?
I tend to doubt it. I don't think we can keep up giving lots of yards/play and yet continue to make the timely stops that end drives. We know that third-down stats that are way out of whack with 1st- and 2nd-down stats tend to regress to meet them over time. I don't believe the team has some special ability to give up lots of yards and yet clamp down "when it matters". Too many teams have seemed to be like that, only to have that special ability disappear, because it wasn't really an ability to begin with. I expect that discrepancy to fade away.

On the other hand, the defensive talent may improve with guys coming back, so maybe we'll actually start playing better and everything will balance out.

As I stated in a post a moment go, what is lost in your argument is the fact that the Cowboys are allowing the opposition to move the ball to certain extent by design. They are bending not breaking forcing the opposition to play perfect football for an extended drive. If they can't force the opposition into a mistake or a turnover they try to force the field goal, because they are hedging their bets that the opposition will be bringing field goals to a touchdown fight.

 

[jday]

I like how I posted the numbers for this year previously, and I neither got a "like" nor a "Game. Set. Match".

I gave you a "like." Better late than never, right?

 

[Outlaw Heroes]

I like how I posted the numbers for this year previously, and I neither got a "like" nor a "Game. Set. Match".

Sorry. For my part I've corrected my oversight by liking the post you reference. And yes: your post also signalled game, set, match. It's just that I missed it, consumed as I was at the time trying to interpret the OP's own numbers.

 

[percyhoward]

.

I like how I posted the numbers for this year previously, and I neither got a "like" nor a "Game. Set. Match".

Duly liked.

I confess to merely reading the OP, skimming the rest, then copying and pasting from previously extinguished fires.

 

[JD_KaPow]

As I stated in a post a moment go, what is lost in your argument is the fact that the Cowboys are allowing the opposition to move the ball to certain extent by design. They are bending not breaking forcing the opposition to play perfect football for an extended drive. If they can't force the opposition into a mistake or a turnover they try to force the field goal, because they are hedging their bets that the opposition will be bringing field goals to a touchdown fight.

I get the idea. I just don't believe that that's what's really happening.

 

[jday]

I get the idea. I just don't believe that that's what's really happening.

The whole thought process behind the Tampa 2 / attacking 43 is Bend, don't Break. What do you think "bend, don't break" means? I assure you, it has nothing to do with remaining healthy.