Those Runs up the Middle

[CouchCoach]

I wanted Parsons because of how he played the run in the Big 10, he was a tackling fool and set the freshman and sophomore tackle records for Penn St.

They have become to enamored with their D Swiss Army knife.

 

[kskboys]

I think when it's all said and done the hated (by a number of idiot fans) Trysten Hill will be the Cowboys best overall DT. He's better at getting into the backfield than all the other DTs on this roster and provides the best combination of run defense and pass rush. I get that the Cowboys wanted to get their shiny new toy Hankins into the fray against a team they knew was going to run at them all day. But putting Bo and Hankins in on first and second downs is such an obvious tell that any good QB will realize that he will have all day to throw the ball on first down and throw it on first down or run it outside all day as all our ends except Lawrence struggle setting the edge and even he had problems with Fields.. Fortunately there aren't a lot of QBs as big and as fast as Fields.

I will re-watch the game at some point focusing on the DT play but it seems like the rotation got beat up yesterday whoever was in. Hopefully being inactive will make Hill mad and he will come back next game and break Rodgers in half. But the bottom line is there is no "great" DT on this team.

I watched closely.

When Hankins was in, they didn't run up the middle and their ground game didn't work near as well. When it was Galley and Osa, they ran up the middle at will. It was those two when they easily ran for 6 yds on 4th and 3.

 

[kskboys]

Good post. I am almost afraid to say Hill is the best of all the Cowboys mediocre DTs because he has such a bad reputation here. Believe me, I am not endorsing him as anything other than the best of a group of JAGs. The Cowboys are weak at DT and Hankins alone is not going to solve the problem. But he is one step towards a solution. I think more aggressive line backing would help solve the problem too.

It looks to me like the Cowboys are trying different combinations to see which one works best.

btw, Ridgeway is playing for Washington and had 3 solo tackles yesterday. Maybe he was the one who had the most potential and they let him get nabbed by a division opponent to say a roster spot for practice squad player Dennis Houston. I have a feeling they may wind up regretting that move.

Hill is very talented. No idea if he'll live up to it. It was funny watching people laughing at me earlier this year for stating so!!!!!!!!!!!!! I got a kick out of it, for sure.

 

[Creeper]

Hill is very talented. No idea if he'll live up to it. It was funny watching people laughing at me earlier this year for stating so!!!!!!!!!!!!! I got a kick out of it, for sure.

I know. I have been saying it since Hill's first year. Too bad he is a free agent after this year. I think his best years will be for another team.

 

[RonnieT24]

Hill is very talented. No idea if he'll live up to it. It was funny watching people laughing at me earlier this year for stating so!!!!!!!!!!!!! I got a kick out of it, for sure.

Hill has always drawn the ire of some fans simply because Rod Marinelli liked him.. Odd the reasons people come up with to dislike players on their own team. He has yet to tap his full potential and he might not ever.. but to refuse to acknowledge the talent is a mystery to me. Who does it harm to say the guy has talent but hasn't put it together on the field yet? I think he's quicker and more explosive than all the DTs except maybe Osa.. He's the only one who consistently plays on the other side of the line of scrimmage. He's stronger than all of them except Bohanna and now maybe Hankins.. and he has that motor.. The kid never quits on a play.. I don't know what's going on between his ears that he can't turn that into high level DT play but the physical tools are pretty apparent to me. Maybe a change of scenery is what he needs?

 

[kskboys]

Hill has always drawn the ire of some fans simply because Rod Marinelli liked him.. Odd the reasons people come up with to dislike players on their own team. He has yet to tap his full potential and he might not ever.. but to refuse to acknowledge the talent is a mystery to me. Who does it harm to say the guy has talent but hasn't put it together on the field yet? I think he's quicker and more explosive than all the DTs except maybe Osa.. He's the only one who consistently plays on the other side of the line of scrimmage. He's stronger than all of them except Bohanna and now maybe Hankins.. and he has that motor.. The kid never quits on a play.. I don't know what's going on between his ears that he can't turn that into high level DT play but the physical tools are pretty apparent to me. Maybe a change of scenery is what he needs?

I find it amusing that people cannot separate talent and production. This last offseason it was Diggs and Joseph. They didn't comprehend that Joseph is more talented than Diggs. He may never play up to it, but the talent is there.

 

[Cowboysheelsreds053]

I watched closely.

When Hankins was in, they didn't run up the middle and their ground game didn't work near as well. When it was Galley and Osa, they ran up the middle at will. It was those two when they easily ran for 6 yds on 4th and 3.

Must have been those 2 in there on the TD run because the middle was open like the parting of the Red Sea.

 

[Chuck 54]

I watched as closely as I could, and every time I saw Galley and Osa in there on those runs up the middle.

Is it really worth it to give up those middle runs just to play lanky guys at DT?

Gallimore is certainly not "lanky"....lol. I think the key is were they playing the run and being manhandled, or were they shooting gaps and running stunts because Quinn expected the Bears to pass? When Hankins was in the game, he obviously was thinking run. It makes a huge difference. We also missed Hill in the game. He has been our best DT so far this year, imo, and I think Hill and Hankins vs the run would be stout enough.

 

[RonnieT24]

Gallimore is certainly not "lanky"....lol. I think the key is were they playing the run and being manhandled, or were they shooting gaps and running stunts because Quinn expected the Bears to pass? When Hankins was in the game, he obviously was thinking run. It makes a huge difference. We also missed Hill in the game. He has been our best DT so far this year, imo, and I think Hill and Hankins vs the run would be stout enough.

Once the offense put the Bears in a hole Quinn assumed they would start passing.. He was wrong.. He stuck with the nickle defense trying to get ready for the passing and it never really came. So with the second and third levels set up for pass and the d-line playing pass you're GOING to get gashed in the run. I am anxious to see who they bring to the game at Green Bay.. I also think Hill has been the best overall DT on the team. I get the sense that not only are they rotating the DTs in game they're also rotating them on the game day roster and this game was Hill's turn to sit. The media will try to make more of it than it is, like they did with Gallimore being down last week.. I just think they're just rotating the guys because they consider them to be roughly equivalent..

 

[Blackrain]

I think when it's all said and done the hated (by a number of idiot fans) Trysten Hill will be the Cowboys best overall DT. He's better at getting into the backfield than all the other DTs on this roster and provides the best combination of run defense and pass rush. I get that the Cowboys wanted to get their shiny new toy Hankins into the fray against a team they knew was going to run at them all day. But putting Bo and Hankins in on first and second downs is such an obvious tell that any good QB will realize that he will have all day to throw the ball on first down and throw it on first down or run it outside all day as all our ends except Lawrence struggle setting the edge and even he had problems with Fields.. Fortunately there aren't a lot of QBs as big and as fast as Fields.

I will re-watch the game at some point focusing on the DT play but it seems like the rotation got beat up yesterday whoever was in. Hopefully being inactive will make Hill mad and he will come back next game and break Rodgers in half. But the bottom line is there is no "great" DT on this team.

Yeah I bet Tristan is just livid he didn't get to play can't wait to see him go all Dick Butkus on Aaron Rodgers.

 

[buybuydandavis]

I noticed Odighi playing DE a couple of times which tells me they wanted to beef up the DE position vs the run.

I didn't notice that but I like it.

 

[Blackrain]

Pretty close to what I was thinking. We desperately need a starting quality UT(Under Tackle) to start next to Hankins. I can't overstate how much difference it would make.

Yes and we have needed it since we traded up to get mostly injured Claiborne instead of trading up and getting Dontari Poe.

I wonder if there is a chance in our lifetime that Jerry may actually use a first-round pick on a giant run stopping defensive tackle.

 

[xwalker]

I didn't notice that but I like it.

They had three 1tech DTs active for the game and all 3 on the field at times.
Hankins
Watkins
Bohanna

Hankins is clearly better than Watkins.

 

[Plankton]

This is going to be unpopular, and this is in no way an endorsement of the DTs on the roster nor the team philosophy about addressing the position, but the issues with the run defense are less about defending the inside run, and more about properly setting the edge on off tackle runs.

The ends are more concerned with getting upfield and creating havoc on the pass rush, and frequently blow their contain/edge setting responsibilities. This happened time and time again on Sunday. Fowler, Armstrong and Lawrence all allowed chunk runs to their sides by abandoning their outside leverage and slanting hard inside. The other issue has been the defense running a big nickel constantly, and sacrificing a LB for playing Kearse/Wilson in that role. It helps with covering TEs, and has enhanced blitz opportunities against the pass, but they have a hard time holding up in the running game.

If the ends can play better with their eyes rather than blindly charging inside off the snap, the run defense will be much improved. To what extent that affects the pass rush would be the resulting question.

 

[RonnieT24]

They had three 1tech DTs active for the game and all 3 on the field at times.
Hankins
Watkins
Bohanna

Hankins is clearly better than Watkins.

I think Quinn was trying to go to a 3-4 look a lot of the time using Parsons and Tank as stand up OLBs but it didn't seem to really work against the Bears. That's the issue when dealing with a superior athlete at QB.. It makes you indecisive as a defender. In reality if the Cowboys had stayed assignment sound the OLBs should have crashed on the back every time they ran at them and the ILBs and/or safeties should have been there for the QB Fields. The issue was that our guys couldn't make up their minds and ended up getting nobody a lot of the time. We absolutely HAVE to figure this out by the time we see Philly again..

 

[Cowboysheelsreds053]

They had three 1tech DTs active for the game and all 3 on the field at times.
Hankins
Watkins
Bohanna

Hankins is clearly better than Watkins.

We knew when we got Hankins, he was hands down the best DT on the team.

 

[Jarntt]

When Hankins was on the field, Bears running backs Khalil Herbert and David Montgomery combined for 11 carries and 39 yards (3.5 average). When Hankins was on the sideline, they totaled 20 carries for 113 yards (5.7) and a touchdown.

His contributions Sunday, clocking up space in the interior, support the statistic.

“For his first outing, he’s square and strong inside,” defensive coordinator Dan Quinn said Monday of Hankins. “I’m certainly glad we have him here. I think he’s going to add a lot to our defense moving forward, especially inside. He’s square and strong and a pro’s pro. In one week’s time, I thought to pick it up and get in and play that many plays shows he’s ready to help contribute to do what we want to do.”

 

[kskboys]

Gallimore is certainly not "lanky"....lol. I think the key is were they playing the run and being manhandled, or were they shooting gaps and running stunts because Quinn expected the Bears to pass? When Hankins was in the game, he obviously was thinking run. It makes a huge difference. We also missed Hill in the game. He has been our best DT so far this year, imo, and I think Hill and Hankins vs the run would be stout enough.

Yeah, we already covered that, dude. Moving on.

 

[kskboys]

When Hankins was on the field, Bears running backs Khalil Herbert and David Montgomery combined for 11 carries and 39 yards (3.5 average). When Hankins was on the sideline, they totaled 20 carries for 113 yards (5.7) and a touchdown.

His contributions Sunday, clocking up space in the interior, support the statistic.

“For his first outing, he’s square and strong inside,” defensive coordinator Dan Quinn said Monday of Hankins. “I’m certainly glad we have him here. I think he’s going to add a lot to our defense moving forward, especially inside. He’s square and strong and a pro’s pro. In one week’s time, I thought to pick it up and get in and play that many plays shows he’s ready to help contribute to do what we want to do.”

Much thanks for the stats!!!!!!!!

 

[kskboys]

We knew when we got Hankins, he was hands down the best DT on the team.

Well, some of us did!!!!!!