The 3-4 solution

[waldoputty]

You can get a great player at any draft position...its more about who is making those picks. Defensively, thats been a killer in Dallas.

yes and no.
how many DEs were drafted at 28 -4 or 5 or 6?
how many OLBs - of those picked, davis is not even the blitzing type leaving you with reddick and harris, and dallas actually considered him as a DE rather than an OLB.
so basically 1 OLB was picked before Dallas - and we could have picked Watt.

1Browns Garrett, Myles DE 6'4" 272 Texas A&M 7.6
3(3) 49ers (From Bears) Thomas, Solomon DE 6'3" 273 Stanford 6.8
13(13) Cardinals Reddick, Haason LB 6'1" 237 Temple 6.3
14(14) Eagles (From Vikings) Barnett, Derek DE 6'3" 259 Tennessee 6.1
17(17) Commanders Allen, Jonathan DE 6'3" 286 Alabama 6.8
21(21) Lions Davis, Jarrad LB 6'1" 238 Florida 5.9
22(22) Dolphins Harris, Charles OLB 6'3" 253 Missouri 6.0
26(26) Falcons (From Seahawks) McKinley, Takkarist DE 6'2" 250 UCLA 6.2

 

[Alexander]

Ha! The fans have been battered for 20+ yrs...its understandable..

Well the 20+ years had 4-3 failures just as much as the scheme. I know the four man front makes people dream of Haley, Lett, Casillas, Hennings, Maryland, Jeffcoat, and Jimmie Jones. That will never happen again.

 

[haleyrules]

Well the 20+ years had 4-3 failures just as much as the scheme. I know the four man front makes people dream of Haley, Lett, Casillas, Hennings, Maryland, Jeffcoat, and Jimmie Jones. That will never happen again.

Why?

 

[waldoputty]

I am perjudiced...all the Cowboy SB's were on th 4-3.

lol ok. that is a good reason though dont you miss D Ware?

 

[waldoputty]

Have to give these young ladies some time!!

oh i will.
this thread is IF taco and tapper and other bomb this year.
we can easily shift to a 3-4 until next draft anyway.

the key is with our O, we dont need a top 5 defense.
we just need to be able to blitz and get there to disrupt say 50% of the time.
assume the O will score/make big play 50% of the time when we dont get there.

 

[Alexander]

Why?

Is this a serious question?

For the sake of indulging you, I will say that trading for an elite pass rusher for cheap and the abolition of free agency make it unlikely.

 

[The Natural]

lol..

 

[Hawkeye0202]

Here's a question ( or two lol ) for posters bashing the OP ideal. What's the answer to getting more sacks or qb pressures in 4-3 / Tampa 2 scheme? We've not seen high level pass rush or pressure since 2012, a year BEFORE DeMarcus Ware was released ( last year under the 3-4 ). Not sure how many remember, but according to Jason Garrett, we fired Rob Ryan and brought in Monte Kiffin and Tampa 2 before the 2012 season for one reason ....... create more turnovers. Ware struggled his first and only year in the 4-3 and of course was released. Fast forward to 2014 playoff loss against the Packers ( one-legged Rogers ate defense alive ) and note Stephen Jones even said immediately after the loss, finding a pass rusher will be a top priority for 2015. Hell Jerry even admitted in an article earlier this year, finding an ELITE pass rusher is hard coz they're hard to draft ( outside top 10 picks ) and teams do not trade or release the good ones. As we all know -and mention by the OP- one main reason Parcell favored the 3-4 they are easier to draft. If you go back look at last pre-draft evaluations, most of the pass rush specialist were in the 250ish range ( exact range for Ware and Von Miller ). Without putting words in the OP mouth, I think the main point(s) he's trying to make is we are now in 2017, FOUR YEARS into the 4-3 /Tampa 2 and are no closer to having the answer than before we left the 3-4. .

Many posters say a move back ISN'T the answer and I tend to agree, somewhat but then what is? Trade? Pressing your luck drafting one at the bottom of earlier rounds? Remember any top 4-3 DE is coming off the board within the first 10 picks, a range we hope to be nowhere near. Free agency? ( highly unlikely to find an elite and if we do, I don't see Stephen spending $75-100M to sign one).

The point is many are dismissing even the thought what the OP is saying but it's a fact this defense has struggled to find consistent sacks and pressure since leaving the 3-4. Of course not saying it CAN'T be done. Just for whatever reason, coaches and FO have struggled to fix this unit.

 

[haleyrules]

Is this a serious question?

For the sake of indulging you, I will say that trading for an elite pass rusher for cheap and the abolition of free agency make it unlikely.

Interesting. The Broncos and Seahawks both developed outstanding defenses in recent yrs by drafting..signing...etc. The Cowboy OL is a testament to what can be done with the determination of a FO. The Cowboys could be capable of making a trade or two. No, its entirely "possible" to obtain a top defense. It gets back to the skills of the FO...I mean when it comes to finding offensive talent..it seems astute. It could well be done on the other side of the ball.

 

[haleyrules]

oh i will.
this thread is IF taco and tapper and other bomb this year.
we can easily shift to a 3-4 until next draft anyway.

the key is with our O, we dont need a top 5 defense.
we just need to be able to blitz and get there to disrupt say 50% of the time.
assume the O will score/make big play 50% of the time when we dont get there.

I must say...that Defenses win...or lose...the big games! take the great defense over the great offense everytime.

 

[waldoputty]

I must say...that Defenses win...or lose...the big games! take the great defense over the great offense everytime.

right, but if u loved the 1992-95 teams, it was the dominant O that carried the day.
of course the D was good, but not as dominant as the O that pressured the other O to try to score on every possession.

 

[Jake0]

I think we should wait at least 2 years for the revamped secondary to develop and see how things go before even considering switching defensive schemes. We were playing with man corners the whole time. If after 2 years the defense still looks like complete crap, then Rod Marinelli is likely canned and a new guy can come in and install a new system. There are a lot of resources being spent on the defense lately after going heavy offense for a bit.

 

[waldoputty]

Here's a question ( or two lol ) for posters bashing the OP ideal. What's the answer to getting more sacks or qb pressures in 4-3 / Tampa 2 scheme? We've not seen high level pass rush or pressure since 2012, a year BEFORE DeMarcus Ware was released ( last year under the 3-4 ). Not sure how many remember, but according to Jason Garrett, we fired Rob Ryan and brought in Monte Kiffin and Tampa 2 before the 2012 season for one reason ....... create more turnovers. Ware struggled his first and only year in the 4-3 and of course was released. Fast forward to 2014 playoff loss against the Packers ( one-legged Rogers ate defense alive ) and note Stephen Jones even said immediately after the loss, finding a pass rusher will be a top priority for 2015. Hell Jerry even admitted in an article earlier this year, finding an ELITE pass rusher is hard coz they're hard to draft ( outside top 10 picks ) and teams do not trade or release the good ones. As we all know -and mention by the OP- one main reason Parcell favored the 3-4 they are easier to draft. If you go back look at last pre-draft evaluations, most of the pass rush specialist were in the 250ish range ( exact range for Ware and Von Miller ). Without putting words in the OP mouth, I think the main point(s) he's trying to make is we are now in 2017, FOUR YEARS into the 4-3 /Tampa 2 and are no closer to having the answer than before we left the 3-4. .

Many posters say a move back ISN'T the answer and I tend to agree, somewhat but then what is? Trade? Pressing your luck drafting one at the bottom of earlier rounds? Remember any top 4-3 DE is coming off the board within the first 10 picks, a range we hope to be nowhere near. Free agency? ( highly unlikely to find an elite and if we do, I don't see Stephen spending $75-100M to sign one).

The point is many are dismissing even the thought what the OP is saying but it's a fact this defense has struggled to find consistent sacks and pressure since leaving the 3-4. Of course not saying it CAN'T be done. Just for whatever reason, coaches and FO have struggled to fix this unit.

i think most of the problem with those posters is that they assumed it is a Taco bash OP.
this is not.
i want taco to succeed and really would not judge him until later.

the fact the thread raises the issue of what to do if taco/tapper/misc fail does not mean we want them to fail.
who wants to waste 2017?
ideally, we get adequate pressure to make our run.

 

[J817]

We shouldn't even be discussing Taco because he shouldn't have been the pick.
Huge reach
We will be lucky if he turns out to be another Anthony Spencer or at best a Greg Ellis.

Or at best a Greg Ellis? We better pray Taco turns into a Greg Ellis, Tony Tolbert type player.

 

[waldoputty]

I think we should wait at least 2 years for the revamped secondary to develop and see how things go before even considering switching defensive schemes. We were playing with man corners the whole time. If after 2 years the defense still looks like complete crap, then Rod Marinelli is likely canned and a new guy can come in and install a new system. There are a lot of resources being spent on the defense lately after going heavy offense for a bit.

i am willing to wait 1 year, but if there are no signs of progress by the end of the season, Marinelli needs to be canned, imo.

 

[haleyrules]

right, but if u loved the 1992-95 teams, it was the dominant O that carried the day.
of course the D was good, but not as dominant as the O that pressured the other O to try to score on every possession.

That club had the #1 defense one of those years and all Championship defenses were outstanding...there are no SB's without that defense and especislly Haley. Its a certainty that the OL was the greatest l ever watched and not a man on it taken before the 3rd rd. We get back to the skills of the people picking the players or signing FA or making trades...not draft position. The Triplets, and God bless, make the highlight reels...but, they didn't win the SB's. Defense did...like always.

 

[waldoputty]

That club had the #1 defense one of those years and all Championship defenses were outstanding...there are no SB's without that defense and especislly Haley. Its a certainty that the OL was the greatest l ever watched and not a man on it taken before the 3rd rd. We get back to the skills of the people picking the players or signing FA or making trades...not draft position. The Triplets, and God bless, make the highlight reels...but, they didn't win the SB's. Defense did...like always.

the defense with you in there was key, but i still think the D played off the O.
that O was absolutely dominant.

 

[haleyrules]

Or at best a Greg Ellis? We better pray Taco turns into a Greg Ellis, Tony Tolbert type player.

Heck, l would settle for Tolbert!!

 

[Alexander]

Interesting. The Broncos and Seahawks both developed outstanding defenses in recent yrs by drafting..signing...etc. The Cowboy OL is a testament to what can be done with the determination of a FO. The Cowboys could be capable of making a trade or two. No, its entirely "possible" to obtain a top defense. It gets back to the skills of the FO...I mean when it comes to finding offensive talent..it seems astute. It could well be done on the other side of the ball.

The Broncos played a 3-4. It could be argued the Seahawks play a 3-4 variant with a Leo-type rusher.

 

[fishspill]

At the risk of sounding like a homer, Byron Jones is a heck of a football player. We'd like to see him force more turnovers, but he erases opposing tight ends in coverage and has done a lot of good things his first two years. I hope he's ready for a breakout season.

With respect, he hasn't erased TEs to the degree I would expect a 1st rounder to do. And against scrubs in the latest preseason game he looked average. Great athlete, bad football player.