Haze thanks so much for providing a non Dak thread - that we can get away from and discuss other Cowboys related players and team items:
Frankly i like and strongly prefer a defense that does not have to Bltiz to provide sacks and pressures. - some or most teams have to blitz
because their base defense just cannot provide the rush
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To answer your intial question - building a great DL that is effective both vs run and the pass., is most important.
to a certain degree a DL can greatly help out an average secondary, but solid secondary cannot hold coverage if rush cannot
get to the QB - -- And LBs need interference work from the DL .
- Imo, it's not about HOW MUCH you blitz... more than it is HOW you Blitz, ..how you design the blitz... how you disguise,
- .how you overload and fake the blitz,
- .keep teams guessing if you intent to blitz but back off in coverage
- if you'll have ends dropping in pass lanes at last min.on occasions,
- mix blitz twists and stunts around the line
Flat and plain - some teams both know how to scheme and design blitzs- and they have personnel to do so.
- If they don't success with blitzes that leaves their defense that much more vulnerable and open to big plays
Supposedly that was the breach that had ex DC Kris Richard fired in Seattle. i don't want us being in that position.
- i like a pressurized defense - but so long as it starts upfront - edge rushers and interior havoc.
can we get edge from DLaw, Gregory, Anae ..while we finally get it from Gallimore, Hill?
We need depth and i'm not confident with vet McCoy and his troublesome quad. Woods is suited for rotation than starter but
who knows how this summer will turn out with him.
- The 1 tech is gonna be that run stuffer so ot thinking much rush from him,.
- Jaylon is just not a effective blitzer- and we know his other game suffers too. but management is gonna force him down new defensive coaches
throat. and we'll pay the price for it too
- i think LVE could be one, but will he even be able to stay healthy to do so. ?
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We all know the old joke- “Why are they called the ‘Allas Cowboys? Because there’s no ‘D’ in Dallas.” And for too long it has been sadly true. But the serious question is,
what’s the fastest way to turn this defense around into at least something decent?
The short answer may be to simply improve the defensive line’s play. Why? Let us look at their performance the last two seasons:
- In the 2020 season last year, the Cowboys finished tied for 20th in the NFL with 31 sacks.
- They were even worse last year with QB pressures, finishing 25th with just 132.
- Last year, we ranked 27th in tackles for loss with only 54. We all know how bad this D was against the run, and the 2020 D gave up the most points in franchise history. Ouch.
- Compare all that to 2019, when Dallas had 8 more sacks than 2020, 17 more pressures and 22 more TFLs. And our defense wasn’t that great in 2019.
The good news is if we can get more aggressive defensively with the front 7, our numbers can improve quickly. For example, with new D coordinator Dan Quinn, I’m hoping we get more aggressive than with Mike Nolan and Rod Marinelli, who almost never blitzed. That needs to change.
How little has this team blitzed?
- The Cowboys in 2020 blitzed only 23% of the time, the same % as 2019. Last year, we ranked 27th in number of blitzes.
- Only the Eagles, Bears, Browns, Colts and Chargers blitzed less in 2020.
I realize that merely blitzing more doesn’t guarantee success, but offenses preparing for the Cowboys defense the last few years rarely had to worry about some exotic blitz package coming at them, much less regular pressure. The result was our secondary was often expected to cover receivers far too long.
Dan Quinn has said he wants to “simplify the scheme and play faster and more aggressively”. That should help. But this team also needs to upgrade the talent plus see what we have in Neville Gallimore and Trysten Hill. I expect to see a DL or two drafted although there’s supposedly not much impactful talent in this year’s draft.
Here’s hoping the play of our DL will start the process of making this defense more aggressive on the front end, making it easier on the secondary. Easier said than done of course.
