Well, Jerry, did you notice the DLine this time?

[cern]

Smash mouth football trumps good defenses. Rams proved it against us. Kicked our defense's butt. Big bodies got to 2nd level and jaylon and lve were lost. Rams best o-line in nfl.

 

[TakedisDAK]

Grady Jarrett please

 

[kskboys]

We need somebody like Poe or Hankins at 1T to plug the middle (sorry Marinelli) & a dominant 3T IMO (think along the lines of a Cox, Atkins, McCoy).
Likely too much to accomplish in one offseason and they will probably sit on their laurels, but the fact remains.

The other year someone proclaimed we couldn't afford one, so I looked up what these guys are getting. 2016, I think:

Peko: 2 yr/7.5 mil
Poe: 1 yr/8 mil
Logan: 1 yr/8 mil
Mebane: 3 yr/13.5 mil
Sylvester Williams: 3 yr/17.5 mil

So, it's not like these guys are breaking the bank. Or, we could try to draft one, but I don't think we understand the skillset required to excel there. We like lanky guys. Yes, those guys might provide a little pass rush the big guys wouldn't, but mostly they'll get beat w/ leverage and washed out against the better teams. Playoffs, for example.

 

[kskboys]

That's my take as well. We weren't as bad as we showed, particularly against the run. Getting schemed is the more reasonable explanation.

Then again, there are reasons why we don't look as good in the playoffs. A dline based on try hard doesn't get it done in the playoffs. I'm not surprised that Lawrence was a non-factor. He faded in the back half of the last two seasons. I was surprised that Gregory was a non-factor.

The complete collapse was getting schemed, but we really don't have the horses on the dline for a playoff run.

He may be fading for the same reason DWare used to fade, overuse.

 

[Dorsett33]

Why is it that when the Cowboys lose or a certain unit has a bad game some think we need replacement. NEWSFLASH...there is another team on the other side of the ball. And that team was pretty good. We just got our butts kicked. Accept it. We're not always going to play a good game. We just had a bad game at the wrong time. You can't have a superstar at every position. We're fine. A few minor tweaks. A couple coaching changes and hopefully the coaches can adjust for the next time we play them.

 

[kskboys]

Why is it that when the Cowboys lose or a certain unit has a bad game some think we need replacement. NEWSFLASH...there is another team on the other side of the ball. And that team was pretty good. We just got our butts kicked. Accept it. We're not always going to play a good game. We just had a bad game at the wrong time. You can't have a superstar at every position. We're fine. A few minor tweaks. A couple coaching changes and hopefully the coaches can adjust for the next time we play them.

Analyzing and assessing.

IDK, why is it when some want to muse about what is needed to go further in the playoffs, some have a problem w/ it?

 

[PAPPYDOG]

You've been claiming that our DLine is fine/great/whatever since Joe Ferguson left, and yet we keep losing at key times because we're weak up the middle. Is there any chance you noticed this one? Or is it more CB's and LB's in the draft so we can beat up on the Buccaneers?

SPOT ON!
Give me Cox DT or Donald and you can keep to yourself any OFF-lineman in the league including ours! Soft up the middle is a understatement as Collins and Woods are average at best! A great defensive line will always win against any offline...

P.S. See I do post without a mention of Dak...you just need to open your eye's!

 

[kskboys]

SPOT ON!
Give me Cox DT or Donald and you can keep to yourself any OFF-lineman in the league including ours! Soft up the middle is a understatement as Collins and Woods are average at best! A great defensive line will always win against any offline...

P.S. See I do post without a mention of Dak...you just need to open your eye's!

I am so proud of you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[buybuydandavis]

He may be fading for the same reason DWare used to fade, overuse.

Most snaps on the dline at 72%, but that doesn't seem that grinding. It was more a lot of weeks, and then only 10% against NY.

I'm thinking Ware was into the 90s.

 

[kskboys]

Most snaps on the dline at 72%, but that doesn't seem that grinding. It was more a lot of weeks, and then only 10% against NY.

I'm thinking Ware was into the 90s.

For one 3-5 year stretch, Ware played the most D snaps in the NFL.

In SEA's super bowl season, no DL played more than 57%. Sure showed in the super bowl.


74% does not seem that bad. I guess teams simply started scheming for him w/ doubles and chips, or he sustained a minor injury that detracted from his pass rush ability.

 

[buybuydandavis]

For one 3-5 year stretch, Ware played the most D snaps in the NFL.

In SEA's super bowl season, no DL played more than 57%. Sure showed in the super bowl.


74% does not seem that bad. I guess teams simply started scheming for him w/ doubles and chips, or he sustained a minor injury that detracted from his pass rush ability.

Yeah, I thought Ware basically was the Witten of the defense. But Ware is a very high standard to hold other players up to.

Interesting point about SEA.

But there was a report this year that Lawrence has been playing through a torn labrum the last two years. Back surgery after 2015, was ineffective all 2016, and I think back surgery again after 2016. Faded in the back half of 2017. Did less in the front half of 2018, and faded again.

I was against signing him long term. Let him show he could last a season and not fade. He lasted, but he faded.

Another thing to consider. He got his elite numbers in 2017 off the first 3 games of 2017, coming off a completely ineffective 2016, i.e., while teams thought he was a scrub. Since he has been treated like a premier player, he has never produced like one.

You've got a point about our dline. We don't have a premier guy. And not as many good ones as it looked like we were going to have.

We've got a solid all around DE in Lawrence and we have to decide if we pay him what would very likely be a bad deal in the long run, given his injury history. Irving is probably gone. Gregory has flashed this year, but he's not there yet, and you never know if he can stay in the league. Taco is flirting with being a bust. Crawford is ok. Woods is fantastic value, but just ok.

We got very lucky with Gregory and Woods. Think of how grim this would look without them.

 

[MRV52]

First of all get rid of that pathetic name Hot Boyz.

 

[John813]

Question for the guys out west. I remember Greg Gaines getting attention back when Vita Vea declared for the draft.
How did he look at DT?

Thought he was a plus run defender and average at rushing the passer

 

[atlantacowboy]

How do we go about upgrading the DT position? Honest question. Collins was solid, woods was solid. Is hankins an upgrade? Do you give Irving another shot?

I feel like we are good enough at the position that without a 1st round pick a true upgrade is near impossible .

Nonsense. We have to evolve. It was pretty much proven by Indy and LA that a zone blocking scheme will blow this DL up. Just replacing Tyron Crawford would upgrade the unit. You can't have a 280 lb DT. and expect to advance any further in the playoffs. This is the best DL draft in a generation and we should be able to upgrade the DL in round 2, if not free agency. There are always veteran players who get cut in cap moves. I doubt we go this route given our history, but it is not "impossible".

 

[LocimusPrime]

What a dilemma. Traditionally a good defense is built strong up the middle : DT, MLB, then safety.
But in today’s NFL the premium players are DEs and corners ( DEs and shutdowns get paid waaaay more).

It seems we were pushed around a bit during the Rams game.

 

[kskboys]

What a dilemma. Traditionally a good defense is built strong up the middle : DT, MLB, then safety.
But in today’s NFL the premium players are DEs and corners ( DEs and shutdowns get paid waaaay more).

It seems we were pushed around a bit during the Rams game.

Not sure what you mean by premium, but your D will suck w/o that middle. And average corners are fine if you're consistently getting a push.