The Good, the Bad, the Ugly and the Bottom Line

[AdamJT13]

Sometimes statistics can be very misleading. I think using sacks as the sole barometer of a pass rush is one of these cases.

I've often said that hurries are as important as sacks.

Dallas right now may be getting the sacks but hurries and constant pressure aren't there right now.

The NFL records quarterback hurries in the play-by-play now. In four games, we have 12 sacks plus 10 additional QB hurries. That's 22 times we've put pressure on the QB. Everyone's favorite 3-4 defense, San Diego, has 17 sacks and six additional hurries, for a total of 23. And everyone's other favorite 3-4 defense, Pittsburgh, has 14 sacks and eight additional hurries, for a total of 22.

So, if our sack total isn't a good barometer of our pass rush, it's because our pass rush is BETTER than our sack total would indicate. We've actually pressured the QB just about as much (22 times) as the Chargers (23) and Steelers (22), we just don't have as many sacks. But we still have more than most teams.

 

[joseephuss]

I agree except to add that we pressured him less as the game went on. All three of our sacks were in the first half. Something changed somewhere around halftime.

McNabb completed 6 passes out of 13 attempts in the second half for 191 yards and 2 TDs.

He was pressured on the big 87 yard TD pass and the other TD pass was a 40 yarder off a flea flicker that slowed down the pass rush. That means he was 4 of 11 for 64 yards the rest of the second half. The defense was doing some good things and even on the big TD, was in position to make a play. They just didn't and Watkins blew the coverage.

 

[dr_hefley]

The defense is seventh in sacks per game and in sacks per pass play. And that's against opponents who are all among the top 17 teams in pass protection. (Take away the games against us, and Washington and Tennessee would be the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the league in allowing the fewest sacks per game and sacks per pass play.)

So it's not "every team can generate a pass rush except us" -- very few teams can generate one better than us.

If that was the whole story, the Cowboys would've had seven sacks yesterday. Statistics are kinda like bellybuttons; everyone has one but very few of them are actually important.

The top 17 isn't even the top 1/2 of the NFL. If there were 100 teams in the NFL being in the top 17 might be more impressive. I just don't see an intimidating defense like we've been promised.

The bottom line is that when the Cowboys needed it the most, they couldn't protect their quarterback or get to the oppositions quarterback. Bledsoes completion percentage was less than 50%. That's ridiculous for an NFL veteran.

 

[AdamJT13]

If that was the whole story, the Cowboys would've had seven sacks yesterday. Statistics are kinda like bellybuttons; everyone has one but very few of them are actually important.

The top 17 isn't even the top 1/2 of the NFL. If there were 100 teams in the NFL being in the top 17 might be more impressive. I just don't see an intimidating defense like we've been promised.

It's called perspective. Whining about "every team generating a pass rush but us" is foolish, considering that we have a better pass rush than almost every other team and we haven't even played a team yet that's below-average in pass protection.

Everyone wants seven sacks every game, but people have to realize that it just doesn't happen in the NFL. We're averaging three sacks per game, and that would be our best season in 19 years.

 

[fanfromvirginia]

If that was the whole story, the Cowboys would've had seven sacks yesterday. Statistics are kinda like bellybuttons; everyone has one but very few of them are actually important.

The top 17 isn't even the top 1/2 of the NFL. If there were 100 teams in the NFL being in the top 17 might be more impressive. I just don't see an intimidating defense like we've been promised.

The bottom line is that when the Cowboys needed it the most, they couldn't protect their quarterback or get to the oppositions quarterback. Bledsoes completion percentage was less than 50%. That's ridiculous for an NFL veteran.

What on earth does this all mean? We were averaging 3 sacks per game coming into the game. We got 3 more sacks. That means we are still averaging 3 sacks per game. Do you remember the time, not that long ago, when we averaged about 2 sacks per game and got almost no pressure on the QB? Your bellybutton/statistic cliche-joke reminds me of Jamie Lee Curtis' line from A Fish Called Wanda (I'm paraphrasing here): "Yes, Archie, apes do read philosophy. They just don't understand it."

If you reread Adam's top-17 paragraph you'll see strong evidence that our pass rush has come against good, if not great, offensive lines.

 

[fanfromvirginia]

McNabb completed 6 passes out of 13 attempts in the second half for 191 yards and 2 TDs.

He was pressured on the big 87 yard TD pass and the other TD pass was a 40 yarder off a flea flicker that slowed down the pass rush. That means he was 4 of 11 for 64 yards the rest of the second half. The defense was doing some good things and even on the big TD, was in position to make a play. They just didn't and Watkins blew the coverage.

That goes against my recollection but I'll take your word.

 

[YosemiteSam]

*Julius Jones rolling off 7-9 yards a run. Impressive.

And people keep bashing the offensive line...

 

[iceberg]

What if it was Witten's mistake (he failed to cut to his right on time)?

what if? bledsoe still threw it right to an eagle player. when we say the camera angle from behind drew it was painfully obvious it was a stupid decision from the word go.

witten may have turned *wrong* on the play but bledsoe should damn sure look where he's throwing it to ESP in that situation.

 

[Clove]

1. Ware's return was on a fumble, not an Int.
2. It is amazing to me how little credit Ellis gets on this Board. He made that play (that Ware scored on) and I think generates more consistent pressure than Ware. Ware is better all around though.

Ware is in coverage WAY more than Ellis which means Ellis gets more opportunities. But I agree that Ellis is a stud.

 

[AdamJT13]

2. It is amazing to me how little credit Ellis gets on this Board. He made that play (that Ware scored on) and I think generates more consistent pressure than Ware.

They have the same number of sacks, and the NFL gamebooks and the Cowboys' coaches both have Ware with more quarterback pressures.

 

[YosemiteSam]

26 car 100 yd is not 7-9 yards a run. Its just under 4 according to my math. Thats not bad, and maybe the line is to blame (i wasnt able to see some of 2nd half). Im still happy with julius having said that, but I didnt see anything special against philly.

Particularly when he got tackled in the open field by considine, he looked like no moves TT

He actually had several runs for 7-9 yards a carry. He just had several runs for less than that too.

In BLUE are good runs of at least 5 yards
In BLACK are run normal yardage of 3-4 yards
In RED are when he is stuffed for 2 yards or less

1-10-DAL43 (9:51) J.Jones left guard to PHI 47 for 10 yards (M.Lewis).
1-10-PHI47 (9:24) J.Jones left tackle to PHI 41 for 6 yards (D.Jones).
1-10-PHI27 (8:11) J.Jones left tackle to PHI 23 for 4 yards (J.Trotter).
1-10-PHI13 (6:55) J.Jones left tackle to PHI 9 for 4 yards (D.Jones).
2-6-PHI9 (6:18) J.Jones right guard to PHI 1 for 8 yards (J.Trotter).
1-1-PHI1 (5:38) J.Jones up the middle to PHI 1 for no gain (J.Trotter).
2-1-PHI1 (4:56) J.Jones up the middle to PHI 2 for -1 yards (D.Howard, B.Bunkley).
1-10-DAL40 (1:32) J.Jones left end to DAL 35 for -5 yards (D.Howard).
1-10-DAL25 (9:06) J.Jones up the middle to DAL 30 for 5 yards (J.Trotter, D.Jones).
2-5-DAL30 (8:32) J.Jones left tackle to DAL 34 for 4 yards (S.Barber; D.Howard).
1-10-DAL48 (7:27) J.Jones right tackle to PHI 41 for 11 yards (L.Sheppard, D.Jones).
1-10-PHI41 (6:46) J.Jones up the middle to PHI 40 for 1 yard (D.Howard; T.Cole).
1-10-PHI21 (5:26) J.Jones right end to PHI 17 for 4 yards (M.Lewis; M.Patterson).
1-8-PHI8 (4:09) J.Jones right tackle to PHI 7 for 1 yard (J.Trotter).
2-10-DAL33 (1:12) J.Jones up the middle to DAL 42 for 9 yards (S.Considine).
2-1-DAL46 (13:56) J.Jones right end to DAL 46 for no gain (S.Barber).
1-10-DAL25 (11:11) J.Jones up the middle to DAL 30 for 5 yards (M.Patterson).
2-5-DAL30 (10:36) J.Jones right tackle to DAL 34 for 4 yards (J.Trotter).
2-10-DAL35 (9:10) J.Jones up the middle to DAL 37 for 2 yards (S.Barber; M.Lewis).
1-10-PHI45 (6:41) J.Jones up the middle to PHI 45 for no gain (T.Cole).
2-2-DAL30 (15:00) J.Jones left tackle to DAL 31 for 1 yard (T.Cole).
1-10-DAL44 (13:50) J.Jones up the middle to PHI 47 for 9 yards (D.Jones).
2-1-PHI47 (13:14) J.Jones up the middle to PHI 45 for 2 yards (T.Cole; S.Barber).
2-10-PHI23 (12:03) J.Jones up the middle to PHI 21 for 2 yards (T.Cole).
2-10-DAL27 (3:00) J.Jones right tackle to DAL 33 for 6 yards (S.Considine).

As you can see he gained at least 5 yards 9 times. Problem is 11 times he was stuffed 2 or less yards.

 

[AdamJT13]

He actually had several runs for 7-9 yards a carry. He just had several runs for less than that too.

In BLUE are good runs of at least 5 yards
In BLACK are run normal yardage of 3-4 yards
In RED are when he is stuffed for 2 yards or less

1-10-DAL43 (9:51) J.Jones left guard to PHI 47 for 10 yards (M.Lewis).
1-10-PHI47 (9:24) J.Jones left tackle to PHI 41 for 6 yards (D.Jones).
1-10-PHI27 (8:11) J.Jones left tackle to PHI 23 for 4 yards (J.Trotter).
1-10-PHI13 (6:55) J.Jones left tackle to PHI 9 for 4 yards (D.Jones).
2-6-PHI9 (6:18) J.Jones right guard to PHI 1 for 8 yards (J.Trotter).
1-1-PHI1 (5:38) J.Jones up the middle to PHI 1 for no gain (J.Trotter).
2-1-PHI1 (4:56) J.Jones up the middle to PHI 2 for -1 yards (D.Howard, B.Bunkley).
1-10-DAL40 (1:32) J.Jones left end to DAL 35 for -5 yards (D.Howard).
1-10-DAL25 (9:06) J.Jones up the middle to DAL 30 for 5 yards (J.Trotter, D.Jones).
2-5-DAL30 (8:32) J.Jones left tackle to DAL 34 for 4 yards (S.Barber; D.Howard).
1-10-DAL48 (7:27) J.Jones right tackle to PHI 41 for 11 yards (L.Sheppard, D.Jones).
1-10-PHI41 (6:46) J.Jones up the middle to PHI 40 for 1 yard (D.Howard; T.Cole).
1-10-PHI21 (5:26) J.Jones right end to PHI 17 for 4 yards (M.Lewis; M.Patterson).
1-8-PHI8 (4:09) J.Jones right tackle to PHI 7 for 1 yard (J.Trotter).
2-10-DAL33 (1:12) J.Jones up the middle to DAL 42 for 9 yards (S.Considine).
2-1-DAL46 (13:56) J.Jones right end to DAL 46 for no gain (S.Barber).
1-10-DAL25 (11:11) J.Jones up the middle to DAL 30 for 5 yards (M.Patterson).
2-5-DAL30 (10:36) J.Jones right tackle to DAL 34 for 4 yards (J.Trotter).
2-10-DAL35 (9:10) J.Jones up the middle to DAL 37 for 2 yards (S.Barber; M.Lewis).
1-10-PHI45 (6:41) J.Jones up the middle to PHI 45 for no gain (T.Cole).
2-2-DAL30 (15:00) J.Jones left tackle to DAL 31 for 1 yard (T.Cole).
1-10-DAL44 (13:50) J.Jones up the middle to PHI 47 for 9 yards (D.Jones).
2-1-PHI47 (13:14) J.Jones up the middle to PHI 45 for 2 yards (T.Cole; S.Barber).
2-10-PHI23 (12:03) J.Jones up the middle to PHI 21 for 2 yards (T.Cole).
2-10-DAL27 (3:00) J.Jones right tackle to DAL 33 for 6 yards (S.Considine).

As you can see he gained at least 5 yards 9 times. Problem is 11 times he was stuffed 2 or less yards.

You left out an 8-yard run (the final play of the third quarter). Also, gaining 2 yards or less 11 times in 26 carries (42 percent) is just about the NFL average -- or a little less.

 

[dbair1967]

The defense did put pressure on McNabb. They sacked him 3 times and pressured him several times during the game. On the long play to Smith and the TD to Basskett, the defense was forcing McNabb to move around. .

I'm sorry, but again this shows how soemtimes stats arnt indicative of something...we did get 3 sacks and the best defensive play we've had all yr (IMO anyway, the Ellis sack/Ware TD was awesome) but that all came in the first half...in the 2nd half we didnt sack him one time and other than one play I dont recall any legit pressure put on McNabb...McNabb didnt move around alot, on most plays he just dropped back, stood there and decided when and where he wanted to throw with no worries whatsoever from our pass rush

there was no pass rush whatsoever on two of the three long plays we gave up...none

David

 

[joseephuss]

I'm sorry, but again this shows how soemtimes stats arnt indicative of something...we did get 3 sacks and the best defensive play we've had all yr (IMO anyway, the Ellis sack/Ware TD was awesome) but that all came in the first half...in the 2nd half we didnt sack him one time and other than one play I dont recall any legit pressure put on McNabb...McNabb didnt move around alot, on most plays he just dropped back, stood there and decided when and where he wanted to throw with no worries whatsoever from our pass rush

there was no pass rush whatsoever on two of the three long plays we gave up...none

David

That isn't true. On the long pass to Smith, McNabb was flushed by Ellis. If Watkins/Roy does their job, McNabb has nowhere to throw the ball. On the long TD to Basskett, McNabb is again flushed by Ellis and once again, if Watkins does his job, McNabb has nowhere to throw the ball. The other big pass play came off a well designed flea flicker. That type of play slows down most pass rushes. He completed only 6 passes in the second half. You are just a little bit over critical of the defense.

 

[kartr]

Exactly. Why can't Bledslug do that?

Because Bledsucks is not a starting quality qb like McNabb. McNabb makes mistakes, but makes plays when you pressure him, Bledsoe makes a mess,fumbles,crumbles and tumbles down hill, then makes excuses.

 

[zrinkill]

Because the Eagles barely beat us at their house, in the most important game in their history ...... we now suck.



Give me a break.

 

[fanfromvirginia]

Because the Eagles barely beat us at their house, in the most important game in their history ...... we now suck.



Give me a break.

Agreed.