The weak link that could negate the Cowboys' offensive firepower

[GimmeTheBall!]

From the 50,000-watt pipeline of bold truth, adequate analysis and supreme thought and the Armenian way, from Farmers Branch, where we are just common folk but with bigger trucks than anyone. Next up, Cryogenics Corner with Bud and Alice Frost.

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The Cowboys defense is giving up too many points.
The official DC site has it

Cowboys PF: 227, PA 158

Now, that seems like a comfortable enough cushion:

But consider that yes, the Skins have half as many offensive points but
almost half as many points allowed, 88.

The Eagles have allowed 101 yards and the Giants 149 points All fewer points given up than Dallas.

Now, being as optimistic as the next feller here, I think the defense will get better with the fresh legs of tank and the bye rest period for ellis,newman and the rest of the secondary.

The defense, I hope, will start having some really great games.
With Ware, Spencer, Tank and Newman and Roy all in synch, it could be really good.
And if Canty and Spears ever come around from their reveries, that would be great, but don't hold your breath. Still, their is hope they can be prodded or replaced.

In a nutshell defense is the weak link. So much talent, yet without that spark. The killer instinct.

Good luck with it, Wade and Stewart.

​

 

[BigDFan5]

35 of those points were not given up by the defense

158-35= 123

Skins give up 88-7= 81

42 point difference

They played 1 less game (New England)

After this weekend our defense will be statistically equal to the Skins

 

[GimmeTheBall!]

35 of those points were not given up by the defense

158-35= 123

Skins give up 88-7= 81

42 point difference

They played 1 less game (New England)

After this weekend our defense will be statistically equal to the Skins

And it would go down the line with the other teams as well. The teams' numbers would remain relatively the same.

My point is, too many points being scored on the defense, though the line is solid most of the time.

 

[CowboyWay]

When I read the title of this thread, I thought it was going to be about Julius.

 

[Luther]

Our defense is showing signs of excellence, and then showing glaring holes. It's scary.

Defenses can gain momentum, I think even more than offenses. Here's to hoping that they start coming together late in the season, and become tight for the playoff run.

Our offense looks good. Real good.

 

[sbuscha]

And it would go down the line with the other teams as well. The teams' numbers would remain relatively the same.

My point is, too many points being scored on the defense, though the line is solid most of the time.

It seems to me you miss a key ingredient to this defense...Henry, and Ellis. You cannot expect to plug in a rookie and be a number one "D".

 

[theogt]

35 of those points were not given up by the defense

158-35= 123

Skins give up 88-7= 81

42 point difference

They played 1 less game (New England)

After this weekend our defense will be statistically equal to the Skins

Can you say owned?

 

[Big Dakota]

Stat queens need to follow baseball.

 

[silverbear]

From the 50,000-watt pipeline of bold truth, adequate analysis and supreme thought and the Armenian way, from Farmers Branch, where we are just common folk but with bigger trucks than anyone. Next up, Cryogenics Corner with Bud and Alice Frost.

:starspin :starspin :starspin :starspin :starspin
​

The Cowboys defense is giving up too many points.
The official DC site has it

Cowboys PF: 227, PA 158

Now, that seems like a comfortable enough cushion:

But consider that yes, the Skins have half as many offensive points but
almost half as many points allowed, 88.

The Eagles have allowed 101 yards and the Giants 149 points All fewer points given up than Dallas.

Now, being as optimistic as the next feller here, I think the defense will get better with the fresh legs of tank and the bye rest period for ellis,newman and the rest of the secondary.

The defense, I hope, will start having some really great games.
With Ware, Spencer, Tank and Newman and Roy all in synch, it could be really good.
And if Canty and Spears ever come around from their reveries, that would be great, but don't hold your breath. Still, their is hope they can be prodded or replaced.

In a nutshell defense is the weak link. So much talent, yet without that spark. The killer instinct.

Good luck with it, Wade and Stewart.

​

When you score a lot yourself, you give the other team more possessions, and they pretty much have to open up their offense in response... this can lead to the opponents scoring more...

If we want to keep opponents' scoring down the way the Skins do, all we have to do is call an ultra-conservative game plan, the way they do... of course, we won't often score more than 17 points doing it that way...

Perhaps you should focus more on POINT DIFFERENTIAL, hoss... if you do, the Cowboys suddenly look really good in the NFC East; they're winning their games by an average margin that's nearly twice as high as their closest competition in the East:

Cowboys-- +69 points in 7 games... 9.9 points per game margin...

Giants-- +38 points in 7 games... 5.4 points per game margin...

Skins-- +34 points in 6 games... 5.7 points per game margin...

Eagles-- +15 points in 6 games... 2.5 points per game margin...

You see, there's more to football than playing defense... you kinda need to play offense and special teams to win, too... I'd rather have the Boys average 30 plus points a game and give up 20 points a game, than have them average 20 points a game and give up 14...

 

[Big Dakota]

When you score a lot yourself, you give the other team more possessions, and they pretty much have to open up their offense in response... this can lead to the opponents scoring more...

If we want to keep opponents' scoring down the way the Skins do, all we have to do is call an ultra-conservative game plan, the way they do... of course, we won't often score more than 17 points doing it that way...

Perhaps you should focus more on POINT DIFFERENTIAL, hoss... if you do, the Cowboys suddenly look really good in the NFC East; they're winning their games by an average margin that's nearly twice as high as their closest competition in the East:

Cowboys-- +69 points in 7 games... 9.9 points per game margin...

Giants-- +38 points in 7 games... 5.4 points per game margin...

Skins-- +34 points in 6 games... 5.7 points per game margin...

Eagles-- +15 points in 6 games... 2.5 points per game margin...

You see, there's more to football than playing defense... you kinda need to play offense and special teams to win, too... I'd rather have the Boys average 30 plus points a game and give up 20 points a game, than have them average 20 points a game and give up 14...

Which is what Tuna was all about( score 20 give up 14). The NFL is changing. The best teams are now scoring 25+ and giving up 20. Gone(IMHO) are the days where the best teams score 20 and give up 14.

 

[silverbear]

Which is what Tuna was all about( score 20 give up 14). The NFL is changing. The best teams are now scoring 25+ and giving up 20. Gone(IMHO) are the days where the best teams score 20 and give up 14.

The inescapable consequence of such an approach is that it will be anybody's game in the 4th quarter, most of the time... even if your team is clearly superior to the opposition... that approach keeps lesser teams in ball games they really have no business being in... Skins fans could tell you ALL about that, this year...

 

[Royal Laegotti]

And none of our division opponents have played the Patriots yet, who hung nearly 50 on us.

 

[EPL0c0]

My point is, too many points being scored on the defense, though the line is solid most of the time.

I agree...but then, anything more than zero, in my humble cowboy-lovin' opinion, is too many points! hehe (just joshin')

 

[AdamJT13]

And it would go down the line with the other teams as well. The teams' numbers would remain relatively the same.

When you do that, we jump from 21st in points allowed per game to 15th in defensive points allowed per game (17.57 ppg). We've had a league-high five return touchdowns scored against our offense (three) and special teams (two). Nobody else is close to that.

And has already been pointed out, having already played the Patriots skews our average, compared to teams that haven't played them (or the Colts or even us).

 

[Rack]

From the 50,000-watt pipeline of bold truth, adequate analysis and supreme thought and the Armenian way, from Farmers Branch, where we are just common folk but with bigger trucks than anyone. Next up, Cryogenics Corner with Bud and Alice Frost.

:starspin :starspin :starspin :starspin :starspin
​

The Cowboys defense is giving up too many points.
The official DC site has it

Cowboys PF: 227, PA 158

Now, that seems like a comfortable enough cushion:

But consider that yes, the Skins have half as many offensive points but
almost half as many points allowed, 88.

The Eagles have allowed 101 yards and the Giants 149 points All fewer points given up than Dallas.

Now, being as optimistic as the next feller here, I think the defense will get better with the fresh legs of tank and the bye rest period for ellis,newman and the rest of the secondary.

The defense, I hope, will start having some really great games.
With Ware, Spencer, Tank and Newman and Roy all in synch, it could be really good.
And if Canty and Spears ever come around from their reveries, that would be great, but don't hold your breath. Still, their is hope they can be prodded or replaced.

In a nutshell defense is the weak link. So much talent, yet without that spark. The killer instinct.

Good luck with it, Wade and Stewart.

​

Without even reading the whole thing, let's see where those other three teams stand after playing the Taperiots (who like to run the score up on people).

 

[zrinkill]

Our defense is showing signs of excellence, and then showing glaring holes. It's scary.

Defenses can gain momentum, I think even more than offenses. Here's to hoping that they start coming together late in the season, and become tight for the playoff run.

Our offense looks good. Real good.

I agree ..... I think they will get it together.

 

[baj1dallas]

It seems to me you miss a key ingredient to this defense...Henry, and Ellis. You cannot expect to plug in a rookie and be a number one "D".

Ellis has been excellent, Spencer should keep getting better as the season goes along. Tank will help even if it's just as part of a rotation. The defense may give up yards and points but they also turn the ball over and even score themselves. To me the weakness is the nickle defense. Hopefully that's good when everybody's healthy, or whomever is out there at the end of the year can be alright.

 

[onetrickpony]

Anytime you have a high scoring offense, the opposing team is forced to score to keep pace. You rarely see the #1 scoring offense and the #1 defense against scoring on the same team.

 

[LittleBoyBlue]

A slower, more methodical offensive game plan would limit opposing teams number of opportunities with their offense. I believe that reduces their chances of coming back in 4th quarter.

We score slow and easy. Our defense is fresh and ready to kill by 4th quarter and opposing D's just want the game to end.

 

[JackMagist]

A slower, more methodical offensive game plan would limit opposing teams number of opportunities with their offense. I believe that reduces their chances of coming back in 4th quarter.

We score slow and easy. Our defense is fresh and ready to kill by 4th quarter and opposing D's just want the game to end.

AS long as slower more methodical doesn't include crawling into a shell and going ultra conservative (ala The Big Tuna) to preserve a 3 point lead. I want to get at least a 14 point lead before we slow the game down and then at worst keep pace with anything our opponents score.