Vela on scrimmage, high praise offense, crushes the D Line

[Risen Star]

I love Martin -- he looks like he is going to be a very good guard, however, I really question the team not investing a bit more into the front 7 on defense at this point.

I know... hindsight is 20-20...

I don't second guess the Martin pick. He made sense there. Don't force need.

Our DL is in the situation it's in today because of years and years of gross mismanagement from the only constants with this team in a generation.

 

[BoysFan4ever]

Defense is going to be just as bad as last year.

That's a scary thought.

 

[pgreptom]

I agree - it will be ugly early. But once Spencer and Lawrence come back - our pass rush will come back. I say we will be tip top shape(and by that I mean a low #20th ranked PPG defense) by mid-to-end of season. You can't expect much pass rush when Spencer and Lawrence are out. Maybe Crawford and Melton will generate some inside pressure. I dunno... we'll see.

I do know one thing - if we can't generate pass rush consistently, our offense won't be able to stick with the running game. We'll be back to trying to drop 50 points while still losing.

 

[Alexander]

I agree - it will be ugly early. But once Spencer and Lawrence come back - our pass rush will come back..

You seriously believe both are going to return and be at a high level?

 

[DFWJC]

Rookie pass rushers rarely make huge sack contributions. If they get 5-6 sacks, that is considered a very good rookie year.

 

[bayeslife]

Hard to argue against this point.

How is a 2nd and 3rd round "all of their eggs?"

 

[Alexander]

How is a 2nd and 3rd round "all of their eggs?"

All of their eggs means taking one true pass rushing end in the draft. And yes, I know we drafted Gardner, but anyone who has watched him play realizes he is not cut from that cloth.

 

[bayeslife]

I love Martin -- he looks like he is going to be a very good guard, however, I really question the team not investing a bit more into the front 7 on defense at this point.

I know... hindsight is 20-20...

They were going to pick Donald if he was available. You can't fix a front 7 this bad in one year. Remember how bad our offensive line was two years ago?

 

[Alexander]

They were going to pick Donald if he was available. You can't fix a front 7 this bad in one year. Remember how bad our offensive line was two years ago?

And if Shazier were available, the OL could have been about the same. That was not necessarily the true design.

 

[5Stars]

The defense is not the best, the players are not the best, but they will do what is necessary to help this team win games.

They will not be last in the league and they won't have all pros like everyone wants! The roster is not even set and we have the psudo-GMs and their great knowledge saying "no chance" already because they could have done better!

 

[JBS]

The dline has no talent.

Who would have guessed.... Stunning turn of events

 

[Cowboy06]

they aren't pass rushers. Dlaw is the only quick twitch guy who can get to the qb.

Plus a lot of my optimism died with Lee.

I agree, but I never believe Lee would be there all year. I absolutely love him when he's on the field...WHEN he's on the field.

 

[AsthmaField]

Honestly, the defensive line won't be as bad as he's making it out to be. The offensive line is going to be really good and frankly, they should be winning against the defensive line.

The strength of the defensive line is going to be in the waves of guys Marinelli throws at the offense. They're not going to send a couple of super stars after the QB... they're going to send fresh, aggressive, capable guys after the passer and regardless of what this article says (I have a lot of respect for Vela), the DL is going to be better than last year's version.

He can remember back to 2005 Ware and Ratliff all he wants, but 2013 Ware just wasn't very good and 2013 Ratliff was MIA. Last year's DL really consisted of Wynn's, Nevis', and Brown's more than Ware's, Ratliff's, and Hatcher's. The dropoff from Ware (even last year's decrepit version) to Wynn, and Brown was precipitous. There were a ton of plays where Wynn, Nevis, etc. were what Dallas had to put pressure on the opposing QB. That just isn't good... even with an old, broken down Ware on the sideline.

This year's version with Mincey, Melton, Bishop, Coleman, etc. may not be the '85 Bears DL... but it is definitely better than what they rolled out there last season. The depth, IMO, is the key. There isn't going to be plays where the OL can take it easy because there isn't a decent guy in front on that snap.

Not to mention that it will be year two running a 43, which as everyone will tell you, typically results in a very big jump. Plus, Marinelli having control over the whole defense should improve it as well.

There are a lot of reasons why we should see an improvement along the DL in 2014. There are also reasons why it might not be great either, and I understand that... but none of them have anything to do with how good Ware and Ratliff were in 2005.

 

[PA Cowboy Fan]

I agree, but I never believe Lee would be there all year. I absolutely love him when he's on the field...WHEN he's on the field.

The only surprise with Lee is that he got hurt before the season. Very Sad.

 

[Alexander]

they're going to send fresh, aggressive, capable guys after the passer.

I understand the fresh legs concept. Just trying to see who the "capable guys" are, especially outside.

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

Hard to argue against this point.

Not really. If you take the logical extension of had they drafted say Ealy and then kept their third there is no evidence they would have picked a DL. To the contrary there were reports they had their eye on a OG.

I think there are some unrealistic expectations as to what can be accomplished in a single draft.

Further, people ignore the FA and other draft picks they used on DL.

If you thought that they team could fix their defensive issues in a single offseason especially when Mack and Barr went top 10, you are kidding yourself.

Cowboys fans seem to be all about unrealistic expectations though so it is little surprise.

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

I read the report of Vela and I have to say that it was disappointing. I don't like that he s down on them. He is one of my preferred reporters/analysts.

I remember him talking about Ratliff back in the day. He talked about how he would take a knee when they read a double team and hold the point of attack. Bishop was getting some pressure using his quickness to attack a gap. He got a lot of snaps and the OL double teamed him at least three times. He took his knee and they could not move him.

I have to be honest. Vela has not been writing reports for the last week really. I am beginning to wonder if he is even out there. He is awful short on the particulars his analysis is known for.

 

[Alexander]

Not really. If you take the logical extension of had they drafted say Ealy and then kept their third there is no evidence they would have picked a DL. To the contrary there were reports they had their eye on a OG.

I think there are some unrealistic expectations as to what can be accomplished in a single draft.

The argument is not that it could have been fixed in one draft.

The argument is that it could have been fixed in an offseason in totality.

And since we could "do whatever we wanted in free agency", we decided to just throw everything in the Lawrence basket?

That means not only hitting on the player but also gambling a premium choice in the process. A very tall order, hence the "all eggs in one basket" commentary.

The reality is what few wanted to admit around here in the offseason.

They could not do "whatever they wanted" in free agency and made a cheap stab at replacing Ware and did a lot of finger crossing.

 

[jterrell]

You let a Hall of Fame DE walk and you didn't immediately replace him with another hall of fame caliber player?
SHOCKING!!!

It is clear the team decided to go with pressure by committee.
They probably won't have a single double digit sack guy but they may have 5 or 6 guys with 4 plus sacks and a handful more chipping in a couple.

We should see a lot more blitzing and man coverage.

If this is a 4-3 cover 2 defense it will finish last in the league. The personnel fit would be absolutely atrocious for that.

BUT if it is a more Rob Ryan type variable defense with lots of pressure it could finish middle of the league.

 

[speedkilz88]

Odd that everyone else in the media seem to be under the impression that the defense played well in the scrimmage. I doubt we see many high cut DTs in this defense. They prefer the short quick twitch guys.