Twitter: Would you rather have Clowney or Miller

I think if we're looking to bring in any DEs/OLBs, it's because of the pass rush need. Gary is clearly an end more like Clowney and Lawrence. He's a good pass rusher, but not a great pass rusher. We didn't have any great pass rushers last year, so our hopes are basically in Eze improving, Lawrence hitting the ground running and/or Houston earning more snaps than he did last year. I think Miller could fill a subpackage role as a pass rusher.
Do we need a “great pass rusher”?

3 of the top 5 NFL defenses for 2025 didn’t have a pass rusher who exceeded 9 sacks.

And the guy who set the NFL sack record watched from home.

I think teams like Seattle, New England, and Philadelphia show that there’s more than one way to get there.
 
Do we need a “great pass rusher”?

3 of the top 5 NFL defenses for 2025 didn’t have a pass rusher who exceeded 9 sacks.

And the guy who set the NFL sack record watched from home.

I think teams like Seattle, New England, and Philadelphia show that there’s more than one way to get there.
I don't think Miller really is a great pass rusher now, but I don't know if we even have a very good one. I think you've got to have someone who can regularly get pressure and force extra attention. Pressure is more important than sacks, and usually allows other players to get free for sacks.

Dallas had 34 sacks last year compared to 47 sacks for Seattle last year. You've got to create pressure and the less you have to blitz to do that, the better. You want to be creative, but if you have to be creative, you're in trouble.
 
I don't think Miller really is a great pass rusher now, but I don't know if we even have a very good one. I think you've got to have someone who can regularly get pressure and force extra attention. Pressure is more important than sacks, and usually allows other players to get free for sacks.

Dallas had 34 sacks last year compared to 47 sacks for Seattle last year.
And New England had the same number and still finished top 5.

And you specifically mentioned a great pass rusher. Singular.

You've got to create pressure and the less you have to blitz to do that, the better. You want to be creative, but if you have to be creative, you're in trouble.
No argument there. And that’s why they traded for Gary, drafted Lawrence, drafted Ezeiraku last year, and brought in BT Jordan, who helped coach the league-leading Broncos.
 
And New England had the same number and still finished top 5.

And you specifically mentioned a great pass rusher. Singular.


No argument there. And that’s why they traded for Gary, drafted Lawrence, drafted Ezeiraku last year, and brought in BT Jordan, who helped coach the league-leading Broncos.
Sorry, great probably wasn't the right word. You've got to have someone who's a serious threat to open things up for others. And maybe we have that in Quinnen. Leonard Williams served that role for the Seahawks. He was a handful up the middle against the run and pass, so teams had to give him extra attention.

Then, when you have that guy who is going to get double-teammed, you've got to have someone who can regularly beat one-on-one blocking. If the offense can block your pass rushers down to down and only sometimes give up pressure, then that's what they are going to do. They are going to count on winning that one-on-one more often than not and not have to keep an extra blocker in.

Gary is a solid pickup in that DeMarcus Lawrence role. Who knows what Malachi Lawrence and Eze are at this point. I'd bring in Miller because he's a known quantity as a pass rusher in a limited role. Lawrence and Eze may not prove worthy of the picks that were used on them. Having Miller take the place of someone like Sam Williams isn't going to do anything to hurt the team and may help since he's still a very good pass rusher.
 
Sorry, great probably wasn't the right word. You've got to have someone who's a serious threat to open things up for others. And maybe we have that in Quinnen. Leonard Williams served that role for the Seahawks. He was a handful up the middle against the run and pass, so teams had to give him extra attention.
Williams has been able to do that before.

Then, when you have that guy who is going to get double-teammed, you've got to have someone who can regularly beat one-on-one blocking. If the offense can block your pass rushers down to down and only sometimes give up pressure, then that's what they are going to do. They are going to count on winning that one-on-one more often than not and not have to keep an extra blocker in.
And that’s why the outside linebackers will be lining up out wide. To allow them to better utilize their speed and flexibility. That’s where Ezeiraku thrived at Boston College.

Gary is a solid pickup in that DeMarcus Lawrence role. Who knows what Malachi Lawrence and Eze are at this point. I'd bring in Miller because he's a known quantity as a pass rusher in a limited role. Lawrence and Eze may not prove worthy of the picks that were used on them. Having Miller take the place of someone like Sam Williams isn't going to do anything to hurt the team and may help since he's still a very good pass rusher.
I think we can keep 6 OLB’s.

Gary
Ezeiraku
Lawrence
Sam Williams
James Houston
Von Miller
 
Williams has been able to do that before.


And that’s why the outside linebackers will be lining up out wide. To allow them to better utilize their speed and flexibility. That’s where Ezeiraku thrived at Boston College.


I think we can keep 6 OLB’s.

Gary
Ezeiraku
Lawrence
Sam Williams
James Houston
Von Miller
I'm OK with not keeping Sam Williams. I just think we've seen what he brings, and it's not a lot.

I do hope to see improvement from Eze and Lawrence can hit the ground running, even though the odds are against great things as a rookie. I liked what I saw from Eze against the run last year and think that he will be out there opposite of Gary when we are in our 3-4 sets. Depending on the down and distance, I expect Gary to play inside in clear passing situations, which means we need someone to be disruptive off the edge. Maybe Eze can, maybe Lawrence can, maybe Houston can. I believe Miller certainly can.
 
Miller definitely all-time great, but don't know how to classify Clowney. I wouldn't call him a bust as he's had a good, but unspectacular career. You could say he underperformed draft expectations despite having a solid career.
Yep. He is probably the 20th or 30th best player to come out of his draft class, he's just not the 1st.

If we want to talk busts, we could spend an hour typing out names of top 10 draft picks that straight-up couldn't play.
 
I don't think Miller really is a great pass rusher now, but I don't know if we even have a very good one. I think you've got to have someone who can regularly get pressure and force extra attention. Pressure is more important than sacks, and usually allows other players to get free for sacks.

Dallas had 34 sacks last year compared to 47 sacks for Seattle last year. You've got to create pressure and the less you have to blitz to do that, the better. You want to be creative, but if you have to be creative, you're in trouble.
The Pats had 35 sacks and got to the SB
think on that
 
The Pats had 35 sacks and got to the SB
think on that
That's a simplified way to look at stats. 35 sacks does not equal no pressure. The Patriots had two of the best pressure defensive tackles in the league in Milton Williams and Christian Barmore.

According to Patriots.com’s Next Gen Stats breakdown, Barmore led all defensive tackles with a 16.1% pressure rate, while Williams ranked fifth at 13.5%. The same report noted that both ranked in the top 11 among interior rushers in ESPN pass-rush win rate, with Barmore ranking second at 19.2%.

Interior pressure means more players have to stay in and block. Interior pressure means QBs can't step into throws. Think on that.

I'd be fine if our DTs duplicated that and our DEs were only as good as Claisson and Harold Landry ... and I'm not sure any of our ends are as good as Landry.
 
Do we need a “great pass rusher”?

3 of the top 5 NFL defenses for 2025 didn’t have a pass rusher who exceeded 9 sacks.

And the guy who set the NFL sack record watched from home.

I think teams like Seattle, New England, and Philadelphia show that there’s more than one way to get there.
The last time the Cowboys did win it all they had a HOF pass rusher. Do it your way is my opinion. Make that your DNA Cowboys. Works for teams thay consistently win. Find your DNA!

Stop trying to be other teams and be who YOU are, Cowboys. You win how you win. Copying other teams for 30 years hasn't worked.

Just my thoughts, Stash. Every time Jwrry tries to catch a wave the Cowboys drown over rhe last 30 years. Remember the 2 TE sets the Pafs ran and Jerry decided that was the move? Lol...be you.

If it works...amazing! But, why should I believe they get it right now?
 
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