News: You May Not Realize It But The Cowboys Defense Keeps Getting Better

[jazzcat22]

A lot of members been posting the exact opposite of this the last few weeks.

They aren't going to like this article one bit.

Well, I been saying what that article is about, for the past 2 months or so.
But I agree with you, some won't like it or will tear it down.

 

[J_Allen]

I have a feeling this defense will surprise a lot of people.

 

[silver]

It takes impact players to have top notch defense. We just don't have any on defense. Can't make chicken salad out of chicken crap.

 

[jazzcat22]

It takes impact players to have top notch defense. We just don't have any on defense. Can't make chicken salad out of chicken crap.

Learn how to cook better...

 

[LandryFan]

It takes impact players to have top notch defense. We just don't have any on defense. Can't make chicken salad out of chicken crap.

Apparently, you've never watched "Chopped" on the cooking channel.

 

[RS12]

News: You May Not Realize It But The Cowboys Defense Keeps Getting Better

You are right, I dont.

 

[TX Cowboy]

Let's see hmm

* no defensive ends

* 1 LB Sean Lee

* secondary useless

time to rethink the argument wouldn't you say?

 

[DallasDomination]

I have a feeling this defense will surprise a lot of people.

We've been saying that for a long time now.. Every year it seems our defense will surprise people. It has surprised us in that they are bad every year and every other year they break a record for worst or top 2 of all time.

Unless Tony and his band of outlaws can save this little town of defense, it'll burn like every other year

 

[DeaconMoss]

ur right. I havent realized it. Nor have I seen much improvement.

 

[big dog cowboy]

Let's see hmm

* no defensive ends

* 1 LB Sean Lee

* secondary useless

time to rethink the argument wouldn't you say?

Clearly you didn't read one word of the article.

 

[JDSmith]

We had only 11 takeaways last season. That tied the 1982 Colts for the fewest in a season in history...but the Colts did it during the '82 strike season.

I think it's fair to say the defense is every bit as bad as we think it is.

They've been running this defense for 3 years. They had 28, 34 and 11 turnovers. Which do you think is the anomaly?
The scheme preaches and is predicated on turnovers, for whatever reason last year we didn't get them. So what happened the previous two years under this regime? Were they just really lucky those years?

 

[JDSmith]

We were the worst team at taking the ball away in the history of the sport. I'd say that trumps anything that happened 2-3 years ago.

I'd say you're wrong. When they take it away ~30 times this year (again) you'll be singing a different tune.

 

[coogrfan]

I'd say you're wrong. When they take it away ~30 times this year (again) you'll be singing a different tune.

No pass rush, 1 legitimate NFL LB, and a substandard secondary. I'll take that bet.

 

[Paniolo22]

As much as I don't care for Hardy, he was double teamed a ton last year. I think that had a little to do with the improvement, finally someone to game plan for.

 

[Toruk_Makto]

Yards allowed is not the best way to judge the defense.

PPG
2013 - 26th
2014 - 15th
2015 - 16th

Turnover Differential
2013 - 10th
2014 - 9th (T)
2015 - 32th

Neither are those.

You need to look at per play efficiencies.

 

[jday]

They've been running this defense for 3 years. They had 28, 34 and 11 turnovers. Which do you think is the anomaly?
The scheme preaches and is predicated on turnovers, for whatever reason last year we didn't get them. So what happened the previous two years under this regime? Were they just really lucky those years?

I'd imagine our average score per game might provide some clues. Turnovers tend to happen when teams are forced to play from behind. QB's take more chances with the football down the field. Etc.

 

[rpntex]

Well, you can look at it one of two ways. We were ranked 12th and 2nd in takeaways in 13' and 14', respectively. Then in '15 we dropped to last in the league. So either '13 and '14 were outliers and the D showed their "true colors" last year, or '15 was an outlier and we'll we should bounce back to a respectable number in '16.

If you look at stats like yards per play, points per possession, etc., you see that this defense actually performed marginally better in 2015 than it did in 2013 and 2014. BUT...2015 was still a defensive disaster due to the lack of turnovers.

The difference was the putrid performance by the Cowboys' offense. When opposing teams aren't having to play from behind, they're not taking unnecessary risks, which contributes to turnovers. Therefore, IMO, 2015 WAS the outlier, but nit necessarily for reasons you can pin solely on the defense.

 

[big dog cowboy]

No pass rush, 1 legitimate NFL LB, and a substandard secondary. I'll take that bet.

You are seriously discounting our defensive personel.

 

[coogrfan]

You are seriously discounting our defensive personel.

That'll happen when a team goes 4-12.

 

[Richmond Cowboy]

I expect the secondary to be superior to last year:

Scandrick > no Scandrick
B. Jones year 2 >> JJ Wilcox
Mo last year > Mo any previous year