This defense will surprise people

[birdwells1]

I don't think the defense will be that good even if it is.

Look at the schedule. NY, Washington, Pittsburgh, Cincy, Green Bay, Minnesota, Detroit, Chicago, baltimore.

plus the unknown of philly.

Those teams can score 30 + on good defenses when healthy.

I just want the defense to be good enough to get the stop we need in the fourth quarter and get the ball back to romo to win the game or take the ball and play keep away.

I think its asking too much of this defense against the quarterbacks and offenses we are playing this year. 2014 was a magical year in part because of the bad qb's and offenses we played in St.louis, Jacksonville, titans, Houston plus a giants team learning a new offense and chicago basically in the midst of the bottom dropping out on them.

I am sure the defense will have its moments but I just don't see how they slow this group of teams down and playing at GB, Minnesota, Pittsburgh doesn't help matters.

Minnesota, Detroit, and Baltimore would struggle to score 30 on themselves, those are pedestrian offenses at best.

 

[jrumann59]

Like the 2014 turnover rate was high and last year it was really low I expect the defense to be more middle of the pack for turnovers which would immensely help this group.

 

[stilltheguru88]

Just an observation I have my doubts about Scandrick, he seems to have lots of off field issues going on with his personal life and the number of people who can handle those kind of distractions are few and far between. I hope I am wrong but the writing's on the wall if people choose to look. Adding a injury to this mix makes me very nervous.
I do not think we are keeping any offensive coordinators up at night in the NFC east. IMO

possible, but I'll wait to see if he fell off.

 

[theebs]

Minnesota, Detroit, and Baltimore would struggle to score 30 on themselves, those are pedestrian offenses at best.

I disagree, I think minnesota is going to be a terrific offense this year and baltimore has made changes that should make them a very productive offense. I do agree with you in some aspect on Detroit but I need to see them struggle first, I still think they are very talented.

Minnesota has all the parts plus they get to play inside again and not in the elements.

 

[Floatyworm]

Didn't even bother to read the 7 pages of Bla Bla Bla.....

The real isssue is depth....We have absolutely nothing behind the starters. We have been pretty lucky the last few years w/ major injuries...a couple here and there...If we get hit hard in 2016...we are scraping the waiver wire hard. Not a way to win a SB. SB winners absorb hits like that....we will crater

 

[Rogerthat12]

For more fun, Fisher is hearing M Collins may have some type of foot issue but of course no details yet.

 

[KJJ]

With Collins the Cowboys 3rd round pick breaking his foot which could possibly lead to a redshirt year and the teams 2nd round pick Smith likely not to play at all in 2016 that's going to make it hard for the defense to surprise. When you add DLaw missing the first 4 games along with Gregory and Hardy being gone the offense is going to have to be every bit as good as it was in 2014 to cover up for all the holes defensively.

Romo has got to stay healthy and the running game which should be more efficient than last season is going to have to be more efficient. Dez is going to have to return to the form we saw prior to his foot injury. On paper the defense looks pretty bad and if it plays better than it looks on paper it will be a surprise.

 

[Galian Beast]

The only thing that is hilarious is your unfounded faith in this defense. It has no grounds what so ever. Stop mucking up the board with this kind of nonsense. Maybe we should make a board for overzealous homer rants.

7 pages and 13 likes on the OP later...

Go away...

 

[KJJ]

Heading into the 2014 season the defense looked terrible on paper with Ware, Hatcher and Lee gone but the offense ended up being ranked 7th with the help of Romo and Murray having career years. Our defense had fewer sacks in 2014 than they did in 2013 and 2015 but we were able to mask some of the problems with a strong offense that got opponents behind limiting the defenses exposure. By getting opponents behind and keeping the defense fresh it helped create turnovers.

The same thing has to happen in 2016 because it's going to be very difficult to mount a consistent pass rush with the personnel we have especially the first 4 games with DLaw and Gregory gone. Hardy and DLaw accounted for 13 of our 31 sacks last season so players are going to have to step up. If we have any issues offensively like we had last season the defense is going to get toasted. It's a must that we're solid offensively and we have the personnel to be a strong offensive team if we can stay healthy.

 

[JoeKing]

How can anyone be remotely satisfied with the defense we have right now? Do you like not making the playoffs? If we do luck into a playoff seed the team isn't built to do anything once it gets there. The defense is an eyesore and every offensive coach in the NFL sees it and will exploit it for all it's worth. The silver and blue homers make me sick with their excuses and dismissing of inferior performance. I love the Dallas Cowboys. I want them to have the greatest success again but it won't happen until they devote as much on defense as they have on offense. The offense is built to win.

 

[Irvin88_4life]

With Collins the Cowboys 3rd round pick breaking his foot which could possibly lead to a redshirt year and the teams 2nd round pick Smith likely not to play at all in 2016 that's going to make it hard for the defense to surprise. When you add DLaw missing the first 4 games along with Gregory and Hardy being gone the offense is going to have to be every bit as good as it was in 2014 to cover up for all the holes defensively.

Romo has got to stay healthy and the running game which should be more efficient than last season is going to have to be more efficient. Dez is going to have to return to the form we saw prior to his foot injury. On paper the defense looks pretty bad and if it plays better than it looks on paper it will be a surprise.

Why would Collins redshirt? A broken foot doesn't take a year to heal

 

[Irvin88_4life]

Heading into the 2014 season the defense looked terrible on paper with Ware, Hatcher and Lee gone but the offense ended up being ranked 7th with the help of Romo and Murray having career years. Our defense had fewer sacks in 2014 than they did in 2013 and 2015 but we were able to mask some of the problems with a strong offense that got opponents behind limiting the defenses exposure. By getting opponents behind and keeping the defense fresh it helped create turnovers.

The same thing has to happen in 2016 because it's going to be very difficult to mount a consistent pass rush with the personnel we have especially the first 4 games with DLaw and Gregory gone. Hardy and DLaw accounted for 13 of our 31 sacks last season so players are going to have to step up. If we have any issues offensively like we had last season the defense is going to get toasted. It's a must that we're solid offensively and we have the personnel to be a strong offensive team if we can stay healthy.

You have to remember that guys like Irving, Mayowa, Jack Crawford etc. are young and should improve. Not saying they will hit double digit sacks by who knows. Tapper, Collins and Russell have some upside, rookies don't usually have tons of sacks (I know Russell isn't a rookie) but can they get 3-5 each. ..that's possible. Add in Thornton to help Tyron Crawford and I think the sky is the limit. Getting Dlaw and Gregory back after 4 games will bring a boost and you never know. Possible 35-45 sacks? Yes it's possible but like you said we need guys to step up. .....I think they are developing fine and with this offense should be able to improve much more.

Let's see how it goes

 

[KJJ]

Why would Collins redshirt? A broken foot doesn't take a year to heal

Not saying he will redshirt but he is a rookie who's going to be missing some valuable time. He's going to miss the rest of OTA's and they're saying he "could" be back by the end of training camp, it's all speculative. There's no guarantees he participates in training camp or preseason we'll just have to see. If he's not coming along the way the team had hoped during his rehab period they may not play him in 2016. Chaz Green was injured in June last year and was still expected to play last season. After he underwent hip surgery he was expected to be limited in training camp and ended up being put on PUP.

 

[KJJ]

You have to remember that guys like Irving, Mayowa, Jack Crawford etc. are young and should improve. Not saying they will hit double digit sacks by who knows. Tapper, Collins and Russell have some upside, rookies don't usually have tons of sacks (I know Russell isn't a rookie) but can they get 3-5 each. ..that's possible. Add in Thornton to help Tyron Crawford and I think the sky is the limit. Getting Dlaw and Gregory back after 4 games will bring a boost and you never know. Possible 35-45 sacks? Yes it's possible but like you said we need guys to step up. .....I think they are developing fine and with this offense should be able to improve much more.

Let's see how it goes

Those players should improve we'll just have to see. We'll have not formidable pass rushers especially to start the season the first 4 games and that's bound to be problematic. DLaw has gotten off to slow starts his first 2 seasons and with opponents not having to account for Hardy he'll receive more attention. Hard to count on Gregory with him battling drug addiction, it's up in the air what he'll provide when he returns. The Cowboys knew heading into the 2014 season they would be challenged defensively and were bent on controlling the ball to protect the defense. It's going to be the same approach heading into 2016.

 

[KJJ]

A big part of Marinelli's scheme is rotating players and with DLaw and Gregory out the first 4 games and the possibility that Collins may not be ready well into the season if at all this year the Cowboys simply don't have the depth.

 

[kazzd58]

I find it hilarious how many people are talking about just how bad our defense is, definitely laughable.

The prior year the Panthers made the playoffs with a losing record. They had the 21st ranked defense in the NFL. They had Greg Hardy, but he was suspended for the entire year and they did not re-sign him.

They had the 19th ranked offense in the league.

The next year they were the 1st ranked offense in the league and the 6th ranked defense in the league.

Are there a lot of IFs on this defense? Absolutely, there are, but people are ignoring the investments we've made that have yet to bear fruit.

Second year defensive players - Randy Gregory, Byron Jones. Two players with first round grades and while Randy Gregory is suspended for 4 games, I believe once he returns he will have an impact. I think Jones at safety full time will have a large impact.

Returning players - Orlando Scandrick. I think a couple years ago Scandrick was one of our best players on defense. Probably the second best player on defense behind Sean Lee at the time. His return seriously bolsters the secondary.

I fully expect this defense to look different this year especially given the position the offense will put it in. Despite going 4-12, that defense was ranked 16th in the NFL in points... Certainly not as bad as people would suggest, but that is the narrative people are running with.

Thank u!! Exactly i co sign this! I'm like you i laugh at people thinking we bout to give up 30 pts a gamer something obviously they didn't watch our games last year the defense is better than 2014

 

[big dog cowboy]

On paper the defense looks pretty bad and if it plays better than it looks on paper it will be a surprise.

You probably said the same thing before 2014 also. A lot of people did. A LOT!

 

[KJJ]

You probably said the same thing before 2014 also. A lot of people did. A LOT!

I did, most of us did but our 7th ranked offense led by two MVP candidates helped the defense. The same thing will have to happen this season for the defense to look better than it does on paper.

 

[CowboyRoy]

7 pages and 13 likes on the OP later...

Go away...

LOL.............likes is that all you try for? NO wonder.

Trust me, all I have to do to get likes is post some positive rant about the Cowboys and Cowboy fans are going to like it. Maybe that is exactly why you do it. Does it make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside when you see all the likes?

"The Cowboys will be amazing this year and Elliott will be a stud" like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like................................

 

[Galian Beast]

LOL.............likes is that all you try for? NO wonder.

Trust me, all I have to do to get likes is post some positive rant about the Cowboys and Cowboy fans are going to like it. Maybe that is exactly why you do it. Does it make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside when you see all the likes?

"The Cowboys will be amazing this year and Elliott will be a stud" like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like................................

Some of my posts are positive some are negative... That's life..