Your opinions please!

[50cent]

Believe what you want I'm not going to argue over something as stupid as this.

Ba-bye!

 

[ZeroClub]

Taking into consideration that Ratliff shouldn't play this week with almost 3 weeks of rest and Tank coming in after the midseason point. Do you think the Cowboys would be better off with Ratliff starting in place of Spears and playing Tank at NT for the playoffs? I truly believe for us to be a dominating defense, Spears has to be somewhere on the sideline and Ratliff at his natural postion of DE.

Tank should be fresh enough to play major snaps in the playoffs. Spears just isn't getting it done from a pressure stand point. I think his lack of pressure will be the downfall of this team getting over the hump. Ratliff is even better than Spears in the run game. It's overdue if you ask me, that Spears should get just enough snaps to keep guys like RAtliff and Tank fresh.

Whacha think?

On a limited basis (a few snaps here and there), sure. Wade likes the idea of mixing it up. Nothing wrong with that.

And if it worked really well, we'd see more of it.

IMO, Ratliff is a better NT than Tank and I agree that Ratliff may be a better DE than Spears. But I have more overall confidence in Spears than in Tank at this point, so I'm just as happy with Spears getting more snaps than Tank.

 

[YosemiteSam]

Taking into consideration that Ratliff shouldn't play this week with almost 3 weeks of rest and Tank coming in after the midseason point. Do you think the Cowboys would be better off with Ratliff starting in place of Spears and playing Tank at NT for the playoffs? I truly believe for us to be a dominating defense, Spears has to be somewhere on the sideline and Ratliff at his natural postion of DE.

Tank should be fresh enough to play major snaps in the playoffs. Spears just isn't getting it done from a pressure stand point. I think his lack of pressure will be the downfall of this team getting over the hump. Ratliff is even better than Spears in the run game. It's overdue if you ask me, that Spears should get just enough snaps to keep guys like RAtliff and Tank fresh.

Whacha think?

So, you want to take your dominating cog in the center of the defense and put him at the end position. You do understand that your NT is the key to run defense correct? While Tank has been playing better of late, he isn't Ratliff and he isn't Ferguson against the run either. His best trait is his ability to apply pressure in the passing game. You want to move your center cog to DE and remove probably the best run stopping DE we have to replace him with someone better suited to apply pressure in the passing game. What do you do on running downs?

While I, like everyone else; would like more production out of Spears, he isn't a defensive liability in any fashion and shouldn't be thought of that way.

 

[50cent]

On a limited basis (a few snaps here and there), sure. Wade likes the idea of mixing it up. Nothing wrong with that.

And if it worked really well, we'd see more of it.

IMO, Ratliff is a better NT than Tank and I agree that Ratliff may be a better DE than Spears. But I have more overall confidence in Spears than in Tank at this point, so I'm just as happy with Spears getting more snaps than Tank.

Accepted, I just don't like how Spears plays at the POA! He prances around instead of attacking like the rest of the guys. It's really a shame I feel this way, but I have more confidence in Tank in his 5 weeks than I do in Spear in his 3 years. I just don't see it getting any better for Spears.

 

[50cent]

So, you want to take your dominating cog in the center of the defense and put him at the end position. You do understand that your NT is the key to run defense correct? While Tank has been playing better of late, he isn't Ratliff and he isn't Ferguson against the run either. His best trait is his ability to apply pressure in the passing game. You want to move your center cog to DE and remove probably the best run stopping DE we have to replace him with someone better suited to apply pressure in the passing game. What do you do on running downs?

While I, like everyone else; would like more production out of Spears, he isn't a defensive liability in any fashion and shouldn't be thought of that way.

Spears is the best run stopping DE we have? Oh really! I thought that honor went to Canty. I also think Ratliff is a better Run stopper than Spears at DE.

 

[YosemiteSam]

Tank is a natural NT!

No he isn't. His natural position is tackle in a 4-3 defense.

 

[YosemiteSam]

Spears is the best run stopping DE we have? Oh really! I thought that honor went to Canty. I also think Ratliff is a better Run stopper than Spears at DE.

Nope, Spears is the better run stopper. He has better leverage than Canty. Canty is the better pass rusher. Ratliff is playing NT so I didn't even consider him as a DE.

 

[Maikeru-sama]

NYC, please stop it, you are making too much sense .

50Cent, we understand some of your frustration with Spears, but he is playing better and there really isn't any need to change what we are doing at those positions.

In Wade we trust

 

[joseephuss]

So you say that Ratliff gets moved to starting DE and Tank gets inserted as the starting NT. Who becomes the back up NT? Would Spears be an adequate backup DE if these moves were made? He may become disinterested having his role suddenly reduced. There is a good rotation going on in Dallas right now. Why mess that up now?

There have been some tweaks occurring on the defense the last few weeks. Different packages with different players. I expect more of that kind of small stuff to keep occurring in the playoffs, but not huge changes. Nothing that is going to threaten the chemistry of the defense.

 

[Hostile]

Taking into consideration that Ratliff shouldn't play this week with almost 3 weeks of rest and Tank coming in after the midseason point. Do you think the Cowboys would be better off with Ratliff starting in place of Spears and playing Tank at NT for the playoffs? I truly believe for us to be a dominating defense, Spears has to be somewhere on the sideline and Ratliff at his natural postion of DE.

Tank should be fresh enough to play major snaps in the playoffs. Spears just isn't getting it done from a pressure stand point. I think his lack of pressure will be the downfall of this team getting over the hump. Ratliff is even better than Spears in the run game. It's overdue if you ask me, that Spears should get just enough snaps to keep guys like RAtliff and Tank fresh.

Whacha think?

Did you mean Hatcher starting in place of Spears? Or am I missing the point of resting Ratliff yet still playing him?

I thought Canty would be the DE I would rest given he got hurt vs. Philly, but played at Carolina.

No matter what though I'd play Tank a lot, Spears a lot, Hatcher a lot, and Bowen a lot. I'd try and rest Ratliff and Canty a little bit. They'd see action, but not major amounts. I'd also like to see a lot of Burnett, Carpenter, Spencer, and Rogers at LB.

 

[joseephuss]

Did you mean Hatcher starting in place of Spears? Or am I missing the point of resting Ratliff yet still playing him?

I thought Canty would be the DE I would rest given he got hurt vs. Philly, but played at Carolina.

No matter what though I'd play Tank a lot, Spears a lot, Hatcher a lot, and Bowen a lot. I'd try and rest Ratliff and Canty a little bit. They'd see action, but not major amounts. I'd also like to see a lot of Burnett, Carpenter, Spencer, and Rogers at LB.

I think Dallas should feature Dexter Coakley in this game, so he could be used as trade bait in the off season.

 

[BourbonBalz]

Making changes like this going into the playoffs would be STUPID. Not to mention the fact that Spears has played the run well all year and has improved considerably in regards to rushing the QB. We have a great rotation in the DL and it shouldn't be tinkered with now.

 

[peplaw06]

I've got a whole mess of things that are actually broken that you can fix if you're this bored. Shoot me a PM.

 

[50cent]

Did you mean Hatcher starting in place of Spears? Or am I missing the point of resting Ratliff yet still playing him?

I thought Canty would be the DE I would rest given he got hurt vs. Philly, but played at Carolina.

No matter what though I'd play Tank a lot, Spears a lot, Hatcher a lot, and Bowen a lot. I'd try and rest Ratliff and Canty a little bit. They'd see action, but not major amounts. I'd also like to see a lot of Burnett, Carpenter, Spencer, and Rogers at LB.

No your not missing the point. I'm talking playoffs only. Not this week. I really don't care how starts this week as long as RAtliff is somewhere close to the bench.

 

[50cent]

So you say that Ratliff gets moved to starting DE and Tank gets inserted as the starting NT. Who becomes the back up NT? Would Spears be an adequate backup DE if these moves were made? He may become disinterested having his role suddenly reduced. There is a good rotation going on in Dallas right now. Why mess that up now?

There have been some tweaks occurring on the defense the last few weeks. Different packages with different players. I expect more of that kind of small stuff to keep occurring in the playoffs, but not huge changes. Nothing that is going to threaten the chemistry of the defense.

To answer your first question, Ratliff would still be the back-up NT. Spears already appears disinterested if you ask me. He's the perfect example of the new-school player. You only see him when he makes a play, then he runs a victory lap as if he just clinched the victory. Only to realize, it's 2nd down and Ware actually made the play that he was around.