Why is a defensive tackle so important to this team right now?

[Fredbeard]

Hopefully the cowboys are starting to realize that their defense needs a quality starter at dt.
They have invested early round draft picks at almost every other position on the defense but rely on pillaging other teams practice squads
Or later round draft picks to fill their needs at dt . except for woods and mcclain, that approach has largely failed.hopefully the signing of Christian Covington is a good sign of a changing philosphy.

 

[cowboyec]

why???
fat-bellies rule the line of scrimmage....they either extend a drive or end them.

 

[Floatyworm]

The rams violated our d-line. They easily got to the second level and violated vander esch and jaylon. It was difficult to watch. The wolf pack was dazed and confused by the collapse of the d-line in front of them. Where's the beef???

Not to make excuses....but that scheme we played in that game...was something we hadn't done all season. That was a Marinellie Detroit Lions 0-16 special right there. You can't tell me other wise...While Richards was interviewing for coordinator jobs...someone had to come up w/ that lame *** plan.

 

[kskboys]

Sometimes it's just nice to talk General football. Without having a main topic. Why is a defensive tackle so important to this team right now. What is the offense going to look like. More balance. Can Prescott be the main focus.

Up front disruption/dominance is how you beat playoff teams/QB's.

 

[johneric8]

Sometimes it's just nice to talk General football. Without having a main topic. Why is a defensive tackle so important to this team right now. What is the offense going to look like. More balance. Can Prescott be the main focus.

DT shouldn't be important but it is because our coaching schematically sucks. The rams game was on the coaches! You don't go from manhandling the seahawks to having the kind of performance where you struggle against the rams.... Coaching didn't have the right gameplan nor did it feel it needed to adjust.

 

[Little Jr]

But when you begin breaking down / pushing back the blocking, requiring two on one, doesn't that open lanes for the speedier guys? How can this not be important to any scheme?

It's a one gap, rush the QB and play the run on the way to the QB. The 1 will take the doubles most of the time just from alignment. That's why the 3 is important. Having a 1 that is a fat guy who stops the run does no good, especially in today's in NFL. They'll just spread you out and get him off the field or pass, knowing he's not any issue getting to the QB.

 

[DandyDon52]

Because an injured RB and an overweight RB gashed us for 273 yards in the most important game of the season and we couldn't get our defense off the field.

LOL that answers the question simply!

 

[DandyDon52]

Yep, the coaching staff was so worried about stopping the passing game that they were unprepared when the Rams decided to go run heavy. The Colts game caught the coaches and players by surprise. The Colts were predominantly a ZBS team, but chose to go primarily man block scheme against us which caught the coaches and players totally by surprise. The players weren't seeing what they expected to see and what they had practiced for and the coaches struggled to adjust. Both times players weren't prepared or ready when a team changed it's approach.

good post, ol garrett just doesnt prepare for everything, and we all know they need a week to adjust, so no in game adjustments.
The Rams also used LB tendecys to get them to move where they wanted them to move, then they ran the other way.

Also I have to say CJ is pretty good if they get him some holes, he had some good games with denver too.
The rams messed up in SB by trying to use gurley and not CJ.

 

[Typhus]

Sometimes it's just nice to talk General football. Without having a main topic. Why is a defensive tackle so important to this team right now. What is the offense going to look like. More balance. Can Prescott be the main focus.

Because this team needs serviceable DL talent right now, not asap.

 

[Hadenough]

A defensive tackle is imo the most important part of a defensive yes that includes the middle linebacker

A strong DT can take over a game without registering one tackle or a sack

If he causes other teams to double him the ends can’t be doubled and have the freedom to pin their ears back. He also keeps the guard and center off of the linebackers so they can flow easily from sideline to sideline and he also clogs up the middle so you have to run side to side which makes the offensive rushing attack predictable

Without a good DT your defense will falter, you may get away for a while but not for long

Bingo! A strong DT can disrupt everything the Oline is trying to do when he can get push.

 

[Roadtrip635]

good post, ol garrett just doesnt prepare for everything, and we all know they need a week to adjust, so no in game adjustments.
The Rams also used LB tendecys to get them to move where they wanted them to move, then they ran the other way.

Also I have to say CJ is pretty good if they get him some holes, he had some good games with denver too.
The rams messed up in SB by trying to use gurley and not CJ.

I'm not a big Garrett fan, but I can't put the blame on him for the defensive game plan and adjustments. That falls on Marinelli and Richards and unfortunately they just didn't have the answers. The Rams motion offense really played havoc with our LBs and alignments, not just the DL. Our defense isn't as bad as it looked, the Rams did a great job of scouting and implementing a game plan to attack our defense.

 

[John813]

Zach Thomas survived and thrived in this league at 5'11, 230lb cause the Dolphins always had good to great DT's for most of his career. Daryl Gardner, Tim Bowens, and Larry Chester to name 3.

Brian Urlacher had good DT's in front of him that ate up the blockers allowing him lanes to the RB.

Good DT's allow your linebackers the ability to make plays against the run without having to take on a 300lb OL as much. Both our linebackers are great athletes but could improve more at shedding blocks. They are young, and LVE for example could add more strength/muscle.

And in the passing game a good DT can command double teams making the offensive line have to request a TE or RB to help block, lowering their total amount of receivers for a play. Not to mention good passrushers up the middle can easily fluster a QB.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

The defensive adjustments had nothing to do with Garrett, that's all on the defensive staff. The motion and RPO offense had the defense off balance, some of that is on the players(especially since we have since a young defense) and partly on coaches preparing them beforehand on what they would see and how to react. The Rams have used that motion heavy offense for 2 seasons to pretty good effect just because of the confusion and mismatches it creates. Just because Richards is yelling at the players doesn't mean he was yelling the right things at them.

Garrett is the head coach, all of it is on him but yeah, we offered Richard the DC job because he was yelling the wrong things to the Defense. Does any of that sound probable to you?

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

Depends on the dt you're talking about. A 3tech is very important. A 1 tech is the 2nd least important position in this defense . Everyone wants the big fat run stuffing 1tech but they dont for this scheme and would be taken off the field as much as the slb which is the least important position in this defense.

I can't believe I'm reading this.

 

[Ekspozed]

Put guys in the middle who are hard to move and require multiple people to push them means less hands on the the lbs, easier lanes to the rb.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

Every team wants dominating DT's but there just aren't many. Dallas is not the only team that doesn't put a premium on the DT position, few DTs get taken high in drafts in general, just like guards aren't taken high either. It may sound like an excuse, but it still is true that we had pressing needs in other areas. Last year's draft first 3 picks, LB, OL, WR, I would say all these were more pressing needs. 2017 draft, 2 CBs and DE, again those were all greater needs, 2016 RB, DT (there's your DT). Last season we had Gregory coming back, Irving, Tank, Collins Crawford and looked very solid on the DL and did play very solid, but major holes in other parts of the team.

It's true Dallas doesn't value the DT position as much as they should. I always prefer building a team in the trenches first, get the OL and DL set first, teams that can control the LOS on either side usually have a better chance to win. The problem comes when trying to evaluate production and value when trying to decide between players at different positions and it's harder finding a DT that can truly impact a team the way other positions can.

This argument would be much more effective if it wasn't so many years between spending a high pick on the position. The last DT we took high in the draft was Russell Maryland in 1991. I mean, they are not that hard to find, unless you aren't looking for them in the first place.

 

[Little Jr]

I can't believe I'm reading this.

Believe it. Run stuffing 1 tech is not valued or needed in this defense. They're just like a slb in this scheme, they'll be limited on the snaps theyll take. If you can find one who is a run stuffer but can also put pressure on the QB, that's fine but that seldom happens.

 

[DRella]

Zach Thomas survived and thrived in this league at 5'11, 230lb cause the Dolphins always had good to great DT's for most of his career. Daryl Gardner, Tim Bowens, and Larry Chester to name 3.

Brian Urlacher had good DT's in front of him that ate up the blockers allowing him lanes to the RB.

Good DT's allow your linebackers the ability to make plays against the run without having to take on a 300lb OL as much. Both our linebackers are great athletes but could improve more at shedding blocks. They are young, and LVE for example could add more strength/muscle.

And in the passing game a good DT can command double teams making the offensive line have to request a TE or RB to help block, lowering their total amount of receivers for a play. Not to mention good passrushers up the middle can easily fluster a QB.

I agree with this 125%. I do not buy that DT is not important. Our DT right now as we stand aren't getting the pressure needed on the QB to counter what some are saying. So if we are going to have someone that doesn't strictly put pressure on the QB as some suggest, then why not have someone that stuffs the run and frees up our LB's like some the best that have been mentioned???

Right now we have neither!!!

Get a DT that demands a double team that stuffs the run. This opens lanes for our big quick LB's that can disrupt the opposing offence. Anything other then this is a poor game plan by the Cowboys coaching staff. Covington signing though is a step in the right direction. Im hoping for either another signing or high draft pick at this position. Because what we have right now doesn't cut it.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

Believe it. Run stuffing 1 tech is not valued or needed in this defense. They're just like a slb in this scheme, they'll be limited on the snaps theyll take. If you can find one who is a run stuffer but can also put pressure on the QB, that's fine but that seldom happens.

Yeah, this is so wrong, at it's very core. I mean, any DT who can play gap control and create any push is an asset to the Defense. You are framing this discussion in such a way as to be advantageous to your position. I mean, I get that, but lets be honest here. What you are describing, is not even what we currently have on the team today. You say a run stuffing 1 tech is not valued but we don't even have that. We don't have DTs who are generating pressure and we don't have DTs who can play gap control. So how is what we are doing now better?

Honest question, who are the best Defensive Coaches in the League?

 

[HungryLion]

Because an injured RB and an overweight RB gashed us for 273 yards in the most important game of the season and we couldn't get our defense off the field.

Glad to see this is the first response of the thread. Perfect.