What about the defense?

[kevm3]

In order to win, the defense would have had to held the Patriots to 3 points, and that would be with the offense going 3 and out all time. That simply is not within the realms of possibility.

 

[30yrheel]

This has to be the worst tackling defense in all of football.

 

[dallasdave]

Rob Phillips ‏@robphillips3 2h2 hours ago
More Weeden: "Our defense played their tails off the entire night. They were on the field too much in the first half and that falls on us."

 

[RJ_MacReady]

I know the score doesn't reflect it, but the defense did a good job considering how many possessions a Brady led offense had. Normally, we'd chew up TOP and not give Brady 20 possessions a game. Not only that, but they were constantly sitting close to mid-field when they started their drives. It was almost like a Blue and White scrimmage where the end goal being limit their scoring. In the first half, they did an outstanding job. Unfortunately, turnovers, 3 & outs, bad field position and their constant pick-plays made it impossible to keep them out of the endzone forever once they wore down in the 2nd half.

I'll go ahead and homer it up and say that with Romo and Dez in that game, I have little doubt that it would have been way more competitive and probably lean towards our favor.

One thing is for certain, that when Gregory comes back, I don't believe we are going to see another thread about a lack of pass rush. It was a thing of beauty to see Brady get smacked around and buried into the dirt when he did anything other than a quick release.

 

[Zman5]

NE had 13 possessions and their starting position was on their 34. And even that number is brought down by the fact their last possession started on their 6 yard line when we gave up the ball on downs.

You give Brady and crew 13 chances starting at their 34, they are going to score at least 6 times.

 

[kevm3]

The "defense was tired" excuse is convenient when the offense struggles, but it's rarely true.

Yesterday, the defense was on the field for only 55 plays. The offense kept going three-and-out in the first half, but the defense still held its own. Allowing 13 points to New England in a half -- when the Patriots had seven possessions and excellent field position -- was more than adequate.

In the second half, though, the defense allowed an 80-yard touchdown TD drive on the opening possession. There was no reason for ANY defense to be "too tired" immediately after halftime after being on the field for less than 14 minutes and only 31 plays in the first half.

After the Pats' TD, our offense went on a drive that took 8:31 off the clock -- giving the defense PLENTY of time to rest. But what happened? The defense allowed a 90-yard TD drive the next time it took the field.

NEITHER of those second-half drives should be blamed on our defensive players being "too tired." If they were, they simply aren't in good enough condition to play in the NFL.

In order to have won that game defensively, we would have had to have held the Patriots to 3 points. Even if we got a turnover, there's no guarantee we'd do anything more than dink and dunk and possibly kick a field goal. You will NOT win like that against Tom Brady.

 

[cowboys2233]

If you can't understand how the offense going 3 and out all the time and giving the Patriots the ball around their own 40 yard line all day is a major reason the defense isn't able to finish the game strong then you should quit watching football.

Losing T.O.P. in games can absolutely kill you. It often does kill you.

The only way you get away with scoring 6 points and winning is if you have an all-time great defense.

This defense is good. It's not great and it's certainly not all time great.

I think this defense might be better than good, especially when Gregory gets back. But yes, all of your other points are spot on. I can't believe folks still don't understand how inter-related a football team is. Yes, Weeden's ****** play has everything to do with the defensive breakdown. This team looks like a shadow the team that was on the field last year, with most of the same players. Except for the upgrades. This team isn't nearly as bad as its showing, this all comes down to Weeden. Every bit of it.

 

[Craig]

The d was outstanding yesterday until they got burried in a mountain of 3 and outs. No one gets to brady like that.

 

[Craig]

If you can't understand how the offense going 3 and out all the time and giving the Patriots the ball around their own 40 yard line all day is a major reason the defense isn't able to finish the game strong then you should quit watching football.

Losing T.O.P. in games can absolutely kill you. It often does kill you.

The only way you get away with scoring 6 points and winning is if you have an all-time great defense.

This defense is good. It's not great and it's certainly not all time great.

Liking this wasnt enough.

 

[JoeyBoy718]

The "defense was tired" excuse is convenient when the offense struggles, but it's rarely true.

Yesterday, the defense was on the field for only 55 plays. The offense kept going three-and-out in the first half, but the defense still held its own. Allowing 13 points to New England in a half -- when the Patriots had seven possessions and excellent field position -- was more than adequate.

In the second half, though, the defense allowed an 80-yard touchdown TD drive on the opening possession. There was no reason for ANY defense to be "too tired" immediately after halftime after being on the field for less than 14 minutes and only 31 plays in the first half.

After the Pats' TD, our offense went on a drive that took 8:31 off the clock -- giving the defense PLENTY of time to rest. But what happened? The defense allowed a 90-yard TD drive the next time it took the field.

NEITHER of those second-half drives should be blamed on our defensive players being "too tired." If they were, they simply aren't in good enough condition to play in the NFL.

I agree. I thought the defense did as good a job you can expect against the Patriots, and it might've been enough if we actually had a competent offense. I think the defense is solid and has a chance to be very good when everyone returns. But I definitely wouldn't call them elite or dominant. The defense isn't gonna win games for us the way the old Ravens or even the recent Seahawks did. We need an offense or we're gonna be 0-7 without Romo.

 

[JoeyBoy718]

The d was outstanding yesterday until they got burried in a mountain of 3 and outs. No one gets to brady like that.

Yep. They were excellent in the first half. I felt sorry for them when they had a chance to go into the half with a 1-score game and the offense ended up going 3-and-out to give New England just enough time to get the ball back and score again. Really takes the life out of you when the offensive side is so incompetent. But the defense got gashed on a few long scoring drives in the second half. Still can't really blame them though. It's impressive to hold the Patriots to 30 points when you turn it over, give them excellent field position, and go 3-and-out consistently.

 

[CCBoy]

-2: The Cowboys turnover differential on the afternoon, the third time this season they have been on the negative side of the ledger. As the lack of takeaways by the defense has been a dominant narrative the past couple of weeks, only the briefest recap is necessary: in 2013, Monte Kiffin's crew registered 28 takeaways; in 2014, Rod Marinelli's guys added another 31. That's 59 times in 32 games - an average of 1.84 per game - that they stopped an opponent's drive, managed an easy score, or gifted the offense with a short field. Those takeaways were a huge boost to a defense limited by injuries and/ or spotty talent.

Many observers proclaimed this offseason, that the Cowboys would suffer from the dreaded "regression tot he mean" - that such a high level of turnovers wasn't sustainable. The common response was that the Kifinelli defense, by practicing turnovers every day in practice, had discovered what the inimitable O.C.C. recently called the "magic elixir," and would be likely to finish roughly in the same high 20s-low 30s takeaway neighborhood in which they found themselves in 2013-14. With an improved pass rush, some argued, the total was likely to go up.

Instead, the Cowboys have regressed down to and far past the mean. They haven't forced a takeaway in 190 plays, since J.J. Wilcox's interception of a pass tipped by Byron Jones. Here's how bad it is: the Dallas defense failed to collect a turnover only once each of the last two seasons; in the other fifteen games each year, they managed at least one. In 2015's five games, the Cowboys' defense has come away with zero turnovers four times, and go into the bye with a three-game takeaway-free stretch. The last time the Cowboys went three consecutive games without registering a takeaway? The last two regular season tilts and the playoff loss to the Panthers at the end of 2003.

http://www.bloggingtheboys.com/2015/10/12/9501003/patriots-cowboys-the-day-after-by-the-numbers

 

[30yrheel]

We forget how fortunate we were last year with turnovers and injuries.

 

[CCBoy]

• From my seat in the press box, I thought that Rolando McClain was good. What the film showed was that he was much better than that. This defense just has a different attitude when he is playing. It was brilliance from Rod Marinelli playing him in that three-man line, tight to the line of scrimmage. McClain was able to attack the middle of the pocket as a rusher but also handle the point-of-attack runs. I can’t remember the last time this defense was actually able to be competitive on third and fourth down in short yardage situations and that was due to the play of Rolando McClain. He is just so physical in the way he sheds blockers and finishes plays -- which exactly what this defense needed.

http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/2015/10/12/broaddus-re-examining-breakdowns-patriots-tape

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

We haven't invested nearly as much in the defense as we have the offense. How many first rounders are on defense? The offense is the one underachieving. Not the defense.

 

[CCBoy]

We haven't invested nearly as much in the defense as we have the offense. How many first rounders are on defense? The offense is the one underachieving. Not the defense.

The answer here, is that both Hardy and Rolando McClain were high draft acquisitions, and still young. Only they were acquired via free agency and came with strong price tags for any future play now...

 

[ccb04]

- Field position put the D in bad position all day

- The offense did have an 8+ minute drive in the 2nd half...but could only manage a FG to close it & did little else for the game

- The defense got a bad break when they forced a fumble & it bounced to a Pats player...White also dropped a likely pick 6

- They had Tom Brady...we had Weeden

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

The answer here, is that both Hardy and Rolando McClain were high draft acquisitions, and still young. Only they were acquired via free agency and came with strong price tags for any future play now...

This is also their first game back after a long layoff. And we invested nothing in them. Both have 1 year deals. Both can leave us after this year. That offense has a lot of draft picks and long term deals dedicated to it and it hasn't lived up to its potential especially the offensive line.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

- Field position put the D in bad position all day

- The offense did have an 8+ minute drive in the 2nd half...but could only manage a FG to close it & did little else for the game

- The defense got a bad break when they forced a fumble & it bounced to a Pats player...White also dropped a likely pick 6

- They had Tom Brady...we had Weeden

That field goal was so moronic too...... I mean I get it against another team but goodness with this offense and their offense......scoring 3 points every 8 minutes was going to result in a loss.

 

[Alexander]

This has to be the worst tackling defense in all of football.

At least the two worst tackling safeties lately. I don't know what is wrong with the pair of them, but they have missed so many tackles in the last three weeks.

I get that neither can cover. Now they can't tackle either.