Who are you confident in on defense?

[JoeyBoy718]

We need a lot of work next year. The only superstar we have is Sean Lee and he's played 16 of the past 48 games.

McClain is still young and has freak potential but was inconsistent this year.

I think Crawford broke out this year and showed that he can be a Pro Bowl caliber player next year.

Scandrick is a stud CB. He's not an elite CB but he's one of the better ones in the league.

Carter has potential to be a star but is hot and cold.

Then there are a lot of guys who consistently impressed me this year but are far from superstars: Mincey, Hitchens, Durant.

There isn't much elite talent on this defense. The only one with superstar potential is Lee. There are some who would be solid starters on any team but aren't elite (Crawford, Scandrick, maybe McClain), and a few guys who aren't stars but are great guys to have on your team (Mincey, Hitchens, Durant).

We need a lot of talent. If our window is truly 2-3 years, then we need to add some stars, I'm talking superstars to this defense in the off season.

 

[spook930]

Just Oscan and hitch

 

[CF74]

Sterling Moore needs to swap duties with Carr for starters. Carr has lost a step since his quad or hamstring injury earlier in the season not to mention the passing of his mom. We need a true #1 shutdown corner and a premier pass rusher. We are set at LB's with Lee, Ro Mc, Durant, Carter, and Hitchens. Wilbur is good depth. We also need a DT to go with Crawford, not sure if Brent is that guy but he has potential. DLaw has upside.

Dez was robbed!!!

 

[Pessimist_cowboy]

Crawford
Hitchens
Durant
Lee(when healthy)
Scandrick although he wasn't very good today
Church
Mincey i like his attitude and motor

Showed Flashes :
Wilcox (although he was bad today)
Moore is a good 4th CB ( he was atrocious today)
McClain but I'm not sure he gets resigned
Lawrence played well last two games
Hayden (hes underrated)
Carr played great the last two games

The rest can honestly go

 

[Kaiser]

Good to excellent players

Scandrick
Sean Lee
Rolando McClain
Tyrone Crawford

Solid players who should return

Carr (restructure)
Church
Sterling Moore
Durant
Bruce Carter (at the right price)

Young players that improved and should continue to improve

Wilcox
Hitchens
DeMarcus Lawrence


The defense needs the following:

Lee and McClain back at LB
The last group of Wilcox, Hitchens and DLaw to keep improving
Stud rushing DE and CB from the top of the draft
Rushing DE and Nickel FS from free agency

 

[Tusan_Homichi]

Crawford
Scandrick
Hitchens
Carter (just tore it up down the stretch)
Mincy
Lawrence
Lee (when healthy)
Durant (when healthy)

Other than that? Eh. We have some solid players elsewhere, but those are the guys you need to work with I think.

 

[Toruk_Makto]

Secondary played VERY well.

We got no rush.

So disappointed seeing Rodgers hold the ball for 5 seconds because everyone is covered and nothing...

 

[Tusan_Homichi]

Secondary played VERY well.

We got no rush.

So disappointed seeing Rodgers hold the ball for 5 seconds because everyone is covered and nothing...

You're right. Guys like Sterling Moore and Brandon Carr really held their own down the stretch. Carr isn't gonna be around at his cap number, but he'd be a good value at something lower. And hell, Church is solid. Wilcox had a really up and down season and that deer in the headlights routine today left a sour taste in my mouth, but he's improving.

Even Patmon seemed solid. We HAVE to find a passrush though. If we could by some miracle get Suh in here and then spend draftpicks along the defensive line, wow. We'd be something.

 

[windward]

DL: Mincey was pretty good , Crawford broke out and Lawrence emerged during the playoffs
LB: If healthy, Lee is fantastic. Hitchens looks like a steal. Carter played well down the stretch. Durant was gang busters but hurt too often.
DB: Wilcox made a lot of progress this year. Scandrick is as solid as they come. Carr is overpaid but I'd consider bringing him back if he takes a significant paycut,

Developmental guys: Bishop, Coleman, Gardner and Patmon are all guys I'm interested in seeing how they progress. Plus whoever we acquire in the offseason.

 

[Idgit]

I have confidence in most of the players we have out there. Just like I think almost all of them can be upgraded. Scandrick and Crawford and Lee are the best players we've got on that side of the ball, in my opinion. And we have good talent in the LB corps, overall.

 

[nablives]

Just Oscan and hitch

They're my standouts too.

LB is going to go from a strength this season to a bit of a concern next season with Lee always being injured and 3 productive Cowboys LBs possibly leaving (McClain, Durant, Carter). It'll be interesting to see how the Cowboys address this area.

The secondary isn't that good anyway, so whatever. Stay, go, outside of Scandrick, I don't think it matters much. I mean, Church and Wilcox are okay, but nothing special. Carr is a whipping boy vs. any good WR and/or QB. Mo still looks like an overrated joke. Moore played okay, when all things are considered, but he got picked on a lot too because he's not all that great.

Up front, they need to replace the bodies they'll lose with some guys that can make stuff happen. I love the effort out of guys like Hayden and Selvie, but as they leave this offseason, Dallas needs to upgrade. Same goes for Spencer. I love that he seemed to come to life down the stretch, but Dallas needs a new pass rusher to take his place at DE.

 

[kevm3]

Scandrick and Rolondo when he's on the field. Sean Lee is great when he can actually play. That's about it.

 

[BotchedLobotomy]

A couple of ballhawk type safeties and this team is playing next week

 

[Beast_from_East]

The main thing that has to be fixed is the defensive line, the pass rush is a total joke........................fix the pass rush and the secondary will become a hell of a lot better.

Obviously the quickest fix is free agency with a big name like Suh...................other option is to keep building through the draft, but we probably only got about a 3 year window with Romo so by the time we build the defense through the draft it might be too late if Romo is gone.

 

[Staubacher]

Secondary played VERY well.

We got no rush.

So disappointed seeing Rodgers hold the ball for 5 seconds because everyone is covered and nothing...

Exactly this. Knowing the QB was staying in the pocket and playing from behind and zero rush in the second half. Fix that and we're good

 

[Nova]

Just Oscan, Crawford, Hichens, Lawrence and Durant.

Everyone else, not so much.

Interested to see who comes back and who we bring in

 

[Hook'em#11]

They get a couple more nasties on that DL and they'd be in good shape.

 

[mahoneybill]

Secondary played VERY well.

We got no rush.

So disappointed seeing Rodgers hold the ball for 5 seconds because everyone is covered and nothing...

Agree. We just didn't have that one guy who could break through for the sack

 

[tyke1doe]

Secondary played VERY well.

We got no rush.

So disappointed seeing Rodgers hold the ball for 5 seconds because everyone is covered and nothing...

I'm glad you noticed that too. The secondary actually did an outstanding job in the playoffs, guarding both Tate (his touchdown notwithstanding), Megatron, Nelson and Cobb.
I was looking forward to them matching up well with the Seahawks' nondescript, average receivers. Alas, it wasn't to be.

But the secondary was not the weak link on this defense. The pass rush was. That must be the No. 1 priority in the off-season, aside from signing Dez to an extended contract or franchising him.

IMO, the lack of a pass rush is what kept us from the NFC Championship.

 

[TonyS]

Matt Millen no longer runs the Lions, so this talk of Suh can be shut down for a while. Little chance that he is not at least franchised. They won't let him get away for nothing. Bank on it.

That being said, we need to get lucky in the draft and find a young talent who can fit in and get to the QB when he needs to.

Liked Mincey & Crawford's motors, but they appeared to lose gas in the second half. Don't know if the rotation had anything to do with it, but they didn't get much push. McClain disappointed the last couple games, but sickness and injury are tough to blame someone for. When healthy, he played well in Lee's absence.

Also don't know if Melton going out hurt our ability to bring in another fresh, quality player.