The defense is players fault more than coaches

[Parcells4Life]

In defense of Aldon and Griffen, those are 4.3 or 4.4 guys. They are made to get upfield in a short amount of time. Both Ingram and Beckham run a 4.3.

Usually I’d agree but in this case the guys had time to create their angle and then make the tackle since they were in the ball carriers direct path. Pro players at least get a hand on the guy. Both times the defenders were set on one side of the hashmark with the ball carrier coming from the other side of the field. It wasn’t a foot race. It’s breakdown your feet and wrap up. Both guys were upright and never adjusted

 

[Parcells4Life]

Is it still possible not having training camp really hurt this d more than we thought? From a players and also learning a new system standpoint. I think we still have talent in the front 7 if we can get LVE back healthy as well thats a plus.

The secondary we know is young, i'm just surprised the front 7 playing so poorly. They were supposed to get pressure, maybe enable the secondary to cause some turnovers while giving up big plays.

That’s 100% why the scheme isn’t taking effect. But even on some basic plays we aren’t seeing fundamental efforts.

Yes we were promised exotic blitzes and turnovers. Without preseason and OTAs you can’t have the exotic looks which are designed to create more turnovers

 

[Haimerej]

Teams that sux have players that sux
That’s very true in general
But great coaches use players in a way to hide their weaknesses. They motivate or intimidate them into playing hard and aggressive
They teach them to get the most out of them
A coach can’t win a super bowl with bums
But good players play better for good coaches

But they're not playing the gap attacking scheme. They're willing to let these guys learn as they go. This is the beginning of a rebuild.

 

[conner01]

But they're not playing the gap attacking scheme. They're willing to let these guys learn as they go. This is the beginning of a rebuild.

I think they sign McCoy and Poe because they thought they with Dlaw, Smith and griffin would be a good Dline
Injuries has destroyed that
But I don’t think rebuilding was the plan or they wouldn’t have tagged Dak
Why tag your QB if rebuilding was the plan

 

[zerofill]

Yeah I said before you can call the worst plays, but they still would work if they executed them properly.

 

[Haimerej]

I think they sign McCoy and Poe because they thought they with Dlaw, Smith and griffin would be a good Dline
Injuries has destroyed that
But I don’t think rebuilding was the plan or they wouldn’t have tagged Dak
Why tag your QB if rebuilding was the plan

They're going to have to rebuild the defense. They may not have planned on it, but it's clearly necessary if they plan on sticking with the new scheme. Crawford and Woods are not holding up. Poe can't anchor anymore.

 

[conner01]

They're going to have to rebuild the defense. They may not have planned on it, but it's clearly necessary if they plan on sticking with the new scheme. Crawford and Woods are not holding up. Poe can't anchor anymore.

We have to add talent to the defense and the only way that’s gonna happen is the draft
The cap is gonna be an issue for next year if not longer
For this year you couldn’t add enough to fix it
We need Nolan to do what he has to the scheme to get the most out of what we have

 

[DanA]

This is why it's the coaches fault

1. Covid 19 has been around since March. Coaches knew it was gonna impact things but we decided to run a a complicated multiple scheme with entirely new verbiage.

2. Coaches have scaled back the defense but it's too late. If you teach a class all semester covering trigonometry, algebra, probability, and calculus, then a couple of days before the exam you tell the students will only be tested on calculus....Are they gonna do as well as if they'd just studied calculus all semester? Hell No!

3. Coaches are creating bad matchups. Against the Giants I saw Armstrong drop into coverage and bite on play-action, it gave Engram a heap of space and an easy catch on a quick out route. Now that's a mistake by the player but how much time has Armstrong spent in coverage? Should we be surprised that he's not got the nuances down? That's just one play but I've seen Lawrence and Griffen in two-point stances, DT's drop in coverage, rookie Diggs regularly on an island, Jaylon regularly covering top TE's in man coverage, 4.7 forty Thompson in single-high asked to cover a heap of space, Lewis against 6'3 receivers, Steele isolated against Miles Garrett. Sure, I've got sympathy for stuff like the Jaylon face mask on 3rd down a couple of weeks ago, Zeke fumbles, Thomas' roughing the passer, and Poe getting pushed back damn near every play. Those are forgivable mistakes largely out of the coach's control. What is in their control is assignments.

4. Bad planning. It seemed to me like Sean McVey played our defense like a fiddle and we had no answer for the screen pass and pre-snap motion. It's Sean McVey....how do you not have a plan for that? How many times are we gonna see Pollard take it out to the 20 because "he got the right look"? Why is ST at 4th and 6 in an obvious go for it moment rushing the ball?

5. Where was the competition in training camp. Chris Jones is averaging the 4th worst average yard per punting...is anyone surprised, but he went uncontested through training camp. Why didn't the coaches demand a competition?

YES, IT IS THE COACHES FAULT!!!

 

[Zman5]

This is why it's the coaches fault

1. Covid 19 has been around since March. Coaches knew it was gonna impact things but we decided to run a a complicated multiple scheme with entirely new verbiage.

2. Coaches have scaled back the defense but it's too late. If you teach a class all semester covering trigonometry, algebra, probability, and calculus, then a couple of days before the exam you tell the students will only be tested on calculus....Are they gonna do as well as if they'd just studied calculus all semester? Hell No!

3. Coaches are creating bad matchups. Against the Giants I saw Armstrong drop into coverage and bite on play-action, it gave Engram a heap of space and an easy catch on a quick out route. Now that's a mistake by the player but how much time has Armstrong spent in coverage? Should we be surprised that he's not got the nuances down? That's just one play but I've seen Lawrence and Griffen in two-point stances, DT's drop in coverage, rookie Diggs regularly on an island, Jaylon regularly covering top TE's in man coverage, 4.7 forty Thompson in single-high asked to cover a heap of space, Lewis against 6'3 receivers, Steele isolated against Miles Garrett. Sure, I've got sympathy for stuff like the Jaylon face mask on 3rd down a couple of weeks ago, Zeke fumbles, Thomas' roughing the passer, and Poe getting pushed back damn near every play. Those are forgivable mistakes largely out of the coach's control. What is in their control is assignments.

4. Bad planning. It seemed to me like Sean McVey played our defense like a fiddle and we had no answer for the screen pass and pre-snap motion. It's Sean McVey....how do you not have a plan for that? How many times are we gonna see Pollard take it out to the 20 because "he got the right look"? Why is ST at 4th and 6 in an obvious go for it moment rushing the ball?

5. Where was the competition in training camp. Chris Jones is averaging the 4th worst average yard per punting...is anyone surprised, but he went uncontested through training camp. Why didn't the coaches demand a competition?

YES, IT IS THE COACHES FAULT!!!

Too be fair, most people didn't know how long Covid would last for sure in March. At that time, many thought it might go away during the summer time and possibly come back in the Fall just like the flu.

All the facts we know about Covid now weren't available to the public back in March.

 

[DanA]

We have to add talent to the defense and the only way that’s gonna happen is the draft
The cap is gonna be an issue for next year if not longer
For this year you couldn’t add enough to fix it
We need Nolan to do what he has to the scheme to get the most out of what we have

We couldn't add enough to fix it?

We could have cut Crawford and traded for Calais Campbell instead of signing McCoy at no extra cost.
We could have signed Byron Jones instead of Brown, Worley, and Griffen at no extra cost
We could have signed Vonn Bell instead of Haha and Poe at no extra cost.
We could have signed a good solid ILB if we cut Lee and didn't sign Erving

Between cap space and the draft, there was plenty of opportunity to fix the defense. We just spent our money badly.

 

[DanA]

Too be fair, most people didn't know how long Covid would last for sure in March. At that time, many thought it might go away during the summer time and possibly come back in the Fall just like the flu.

All the facts we know about Covid now weren't available to the public back in March.

Maybe not in March but they definitely knew before September when they adjusted

 

[Parcells4Life]

This is why it's the coaches fault

1. Covid 19 has been around since March. Coaches knew it was gonna impact things but we decided to run a a complicated multiple scheme with entirely new verbiage.

2. Coaches have scaled back the defense but it's too late. If you teach a class all semester covering trigonometry, algebra, probability, and calculus, then a couple of days before the exam you tell the students will only be tested on calculus....Are they gonna do as well as if they'd just studied calculus all semester? Hell No!

3. Coaches are creating bad matchups. Against the Giants I saw Armstrong drop into coverage and bite on play-action, it gave Engram a heap of space and an easy catch on a quick out route. Now that's a mistake by the player but how much time has Armstrong spent in coverage? Should we be surprised that he's not got the nuances down? That's just one play but I've seen Lawrence and Griffen in two-point stances, DT's drop in coverage, rookie Diggs regularly on an island, Jaylon regularly covering top TE's in man coverage, 4.7 forty Thompson in single-high asked to cover a heap of space, Lewis against 6'3 receivers, Steele isolated against Miles Garrett. Sure, I've got sympathy for stuff like the Jaylon face mask on 3rd down a couple of weeks ago, Zeke fumbles, Thomas' roughing the passer, and Poe getting pushed back damn near every play. Those are forgivable mistakes largely out of the coach's control. What is in their control is assignments.

4. Bad planning. It seemed to me like Sean McVey played our defense like a fiddle and we had no answer for the screen pass and pre-snap motion. It's Sean McVey....how do you not have a plan for that? How many times are we gonna see Pollard take it out to the 20 because "he got the right look"? Why is ST at 4th and 6 in an obvious go for it moment rushing the ball?

5. Where was the competition in training camp. Chris Jones is averaging the 4th worst average yard per punting...is anyone surprised, but he went uncontested through training camp. Why didn't the coaches demand a competition?

YES, IT IS THE COACHES FAULT!!!

What coverage do you call when you’re down to a rookie CB with a bum shoulder, a 5th string CB and another CB who makes plays on the ball every once in a while but otherwise is getting torched or penalized?

Add to that a revolving door at safety as the coaches are having an open competition which you asked for.

 

[KMY_Amber]

There are guys running into empty holes in zones, and the Cowboys are consistently outmanned at the POA (i.e. 5 blockers to 4 defenders).

Coaching is a huge problem on the defense.

Indeed

And when the plan to protect a 1-pt lead is to BBDB, that's coaching.

And when everyone KNOWS that your opponent is going to bootleg 90% of the time on PA in the 1st half, and will do it all game if you don't stop it, only to see the Rams run the bootleg PA pass for a whole half and the defense barely contains it (the ends crash, receivers running across are wide open, etc.). These plays you see on film, so you have to control this play and the runs off of it if you don't control anything else. Just make sure to stop their "bread and butter". Nope. That's coaching.

The players AND coaches need to step their games up, not just the players.

 

[kskboys]

Y'all can argue all day, but this is on Jerry, hands down. His D's always go this way when he takes over.

 

[Cebrin]

100% poorly coached. Constantly running zones, and you can see the kids having no clue which guy they're supposed to bite on, so they get blown constantly. That's a coaching problem no doubt. Watch more tape. The worst NFL player is still better than 99% of college talent. They're not scrubs. This team looks lost every down. We're five weeks in. No excuses at this point.

 

[Cebrin]

There are guys running into empty holes in zones, and the Cowboys are consistently outmanned at the POA (i.e. 5 blockers to 4 defenders).

Coaching is a huge problem on the defense.

Thank you! How is this not obvious?!?

 

[Playmaker3128]

Nolan doesn’t have to get them to be great.... but let’s see if they can improve as the season goes on. Last week I think was an extremely small step.... at least for the front 7.

I think LVE back helps as well. I still think theyres talent out there.... let’s see what they do going forward here.

 

[DanA]

What coverage do you call when you’re down to a rookie CB with a bum shoulder, a 5th string CB and another CB who makes plays on the ball every once in a while but otherwise is getting torched or penalized?

Add to that a revolving door at safety as the coaches are having an open competition which you asked for.

Not one that has Armstrong or Lawrence dropping back...but that’s just me.

 

[Shane612]

Demarcus Lawrence is stealing money should also go on this list....

It isn't stealing if you take what someone gives you.

 

[Parcells4Life]

100% poorly coached. Constantly running zones, and you can see the kids having no clue which guy they're supposed to bite on, so they get blown constantly. That's a coaching problem no doubt. Watch more tape. The worst NFL player is still better than 99% of college talent. They're not scrubs. This team looks lost every down. We're five weeks in. No excuses at this point.

The worst NFL player is still much worse compared to an average NFL starter. The last 3 weeks haven’t featured an average NFL starter anywhere in the secondary since Diggs got banged up. That’s 5 guys who can’t cover. Awuzie isn’t Deion or even Byron Jones but he at least makes his share of deflections.