Kneejerk Analysis: The Problems Start Up Front
Posted: October 5, 2008 @ 6:36 pm
Two years ago, in the last year of Parcells’ regime, the Cowboys had a very predictable rush. It was Demarcus Ware, Greg Ellis and a lot of crossed fingers. The big name DTs, Marcus Spears and Chris Canty, combined for two sacks that year, which meant teams could double team Ware or scheme him out of rushes after Ellis tore an Achilles tendon.
The linemen could barely contain their enthusiasm when Wade Phillips became head coach, arguing that his one gap scheme would free them and allow them to make more plays than Parcells’ two gap front. Last year offered some glimmers of hope. Spears still struggled with one sack but Canty upped his total to 3.5 and showed power against the run.
With new coach Todd Grantham replacing Parcells holdover Kacey Rogers as DL coach, it appeared the team was ready to take another step forward. Spears looked far more active in the preseason games than he ever had and Canty again looked stout.
Five games in, it seems DE might be a high priority in Draft ‘09. Though Dallas had 12 sacks through four games, a nice 3.0 sack average and looked ready to feast on a Bengals team that had allowed 12 through four games, there’s a disturbing fact in those sack stats. Jay Ratliff has three sacks from the NT position. The rest of the defensive linemen have only one. Anthony Henry has more sacks than Canty, Spears, Jason Hatcher, Stephen Bowen and Tank Johnson combined.
Today, Dallas had just two sacks, both on Cincinnati’s final drive of the game. And we have to look at the line as the major culprit. Dallas played a lot more zone and rushed four men a lot more than normal. The lack of a pass rush for the first 58 minutes was a big reason why the Bengals were able to give the Cowboys a major scare.
Jay Ratliff aside, the Cowboys linemen are not producing. Add the run defending problems the team has seen, and you have the primary reason the Cowboys defense has not posted a domant performance this year. They’ve had some solid ones, but somebody besides Ratliff needs to step up.
– The Cowboys also need a strong safety. Keith Davis had a key stop on a Bengals’ two point conversion attempt, but the Cowboys run defense problems are partly because they lack that enforcer who can zoom forwards on runs and stop runners one-on-one. I’m not crying for Roy Williams. He’s not a good return on the Cowboys’ investment. But it does not seem the strong safety this team needs is on the current roster.
Now, for some good things:
– Tank Johnson may be answering the DL call. He hustled to the edge on a toss play and knocked the ball from Chris Perry, at at time the team was hanging on to a one point lead.
– For their struggles the Cowboys ended the game with two 4th-quarter TD drives. They kept attacking and got a break.
– The T.O. TD reception was vintage. Owens ran an 18 yard square in on a play when the Cowboys max protected and their backs picked up a Mike Zimmer blitz. Michael Irvin used to kill on this play. Today, T.O. did too.
– Jason Garrett may be dialing in the proper Marion Barber/Felix Jones blend. Today Barber got 25 touches and Jones got 10. That’s 5:2. Jones may get a few more carries and bring the ratio closer to 2:1 or 60% to 40%, since he averaged 10.3 yards every time he touched the ball.
– Come back soon, Kyle Kosier. The Cowboys gave Montrae Holland some reps at left guard, but Cory Procter was shuffled back into the game. The Cowboys ran well today, against a team that can’t defend the run well. The team’s best running game, by far, was against Green Bay, the one game when Kosier played.
– Nick Folk is money. Today, he made a saving tackle on a kickoff return. You want to like the Cowboys special teams but they’re not dependable yet. They made strong stops on the first handful of kickoffs, then had a major breakdown late, when the team really needed a stop.
They’re taking a dip, just like the rest of the team. Overall, they’re better than last year, but they still have work to do. Consistency is the hallmark of top special teams units, and they don’t have that yet.
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We definitely need to have a stronger pass rush!
how is ratliff getting all the pressure from the nose and canty/spears can’t get any from the ends?
i also think our defense misses roy…at least our RUN d does
Raf, is Albert Haynesworth too unrealistic for next year? Salary-wise?
He is such a stud and with him at DT caving in the pocket, it would give Ware, Ellis, and Spencer lots more openings.
All I know right now is, I’ll take an ugly win over a pretty loss anytime. But Jesus, I was 21 years old when that game started, and now I feel like I aged at least 10 years from stress!
Cowboys4Life,
Why would the Titans trade Haynesworth when they’re 5-0. And does Andre Gurode get a kick at his helmet-free head as a condition of the deal?
Post #7… one of the better posts I’ve seen. I felt frustrated as well.
Listening to Simms was also killing me.
Raf, You know I’m Mr. Optimistic, but I’m wondering when we’re going to see this chaotic defense that Wade Phillips was going to bring in.
Dallas’s corners never seem to be in the right position. I don’t know if this is their fault or Wade’s but its hard IMO to see a head coach who supposed to be this defensive genius put out somewhat mediocre results.
I hope I don’t sound like I’m falling in with the crowd, but I just seem to be scratching my head when I see things that don’t make sense.
“Why would the Titans trade Haynesworth when they’re 5-0.”
He’s an unrestricted free agent next year, is he not?
Admittedly the Gurode stomping would have to be taken inot account, though.
when you’re not getting the job done up front, nothing else matters. When you can’t get pressure, crazy schemes are irrelevant.
The linemen need to begin playing better. Period.
well TO had his leg broken by roy willy, and roy willy once knocked one of our own defenders out for a few play (hit the wrong guy), so i think haynesworth would fit right in…
i think Tennessee breaks the bank to keep him though. he is the best DT in football…
Ive said it all season long and Ill keep saying it…..we cant cover the pass. Our CB are never near the receivers and they NEVER look back for the ball (therefore no INT’s…Pacman shouldve had 2 today but he dropped them both).
I hink the only bright side to this game was Felix Jones. That kid looks fast and slippery…..He’s a real complement to Barber.
Your right Raf.
But I can see why it is frustrating people.
I think Pacman has been playing the best of all the corners right now.
I hate these games because I know that the standard Tex post is coming up about Stewart. This isn’t Stewarts fault.
Your right, the D line needs a push, they need to free the linebackers and they need a push up the middle.
Raf, correct me if I’m wrong but back in camp you were predicting Grantham would be a major upgrade over Rodgers and we’d be seeing major strides forward by the DL.
Not trying to start anything here, but what in your opinion is happening? What’s the problem? Can’t be as simple as poor play by everyone but Rat. Can it?
Key culprit in the long KO run back and the onside kick was Barbi. Blocked out of his lane by one man on the KO and tip-toed up to the loose ball until he got hit from behind by somebody that wanted the ball more than him.
did we have a chance to get manny lawson in that draft or did lawson go before barbie?
Yep,
Spears looked good in the preseason and the games start and what?
And he’s actually played better than Canty.
Look, what excuses do they have left? They got a new scheme that lets them attack.
They got a new line coach who I’ve heard from several sources is better than the one they had.
What excuses do they have left?
It’s on them. They rise up, or they’re looking at another 10+ win season and a quick exit.
You can’t beat the Giants with D-line play like this. They’ll lose to the Redskins again with D-line play like this.
Hell, they may lose NEXT WEEK with a lame rush like this.
Barbi?
Sean,
So you’re saying Lawson would have been a better special teams player than Carpenter? LOL. Neither one of them beats out Ellis.
I’m starting to think it is Stewart’s/Phillips fault. The defense consistant looks lost in pass coverage. The blitzes are mistimed and telegraphed.
The play calling may be fine, but it seems there is something missing in the preparation/execution area.
Yeah I agree Raf…. as much as we hate to admit it maybe its personnel.
The OLB’s can’t get in because its like the O-line just kills the D-line.
I hate to say it…but….Roy Williams cannot come back soon enough.
Our strong safety play is horrible. That run stopping enforcer from the strong safety position is just not there. I agree RW hasn’t lived up to the investment JJ put up for him, but right now he is the best we have on the team, he is a veteran with the experience, he is a pro-bowler (all be it a debate whether he should be or not), and despite his coverage liabilities he is better than what we have put out there the last two games. Keith Davis made a great play on the two point conversion and I don’t know if RW would have made that play, but I still want RW back.
This is an old question, but how much pass rush in a 3/4 d lineman supposed to produce?
When it is 3rd down they move to a four man front right? I think Spears is doing his job. Anchor, make plays when they present themselves. He doesn’t play on 3rd down.
Not enough Felix love on here.
Can we start using the nick:
Felix the Scat?
I think it could stick.
I saw bullets mixing it up on the line of scrimmage today. For a SS he didn’t seem that bad.
Air;
Being on the west coast I have the chance to watch several SD games on the Tube. When Wade was there they seem to blitz every passing play sending 4-6 on the pass rush. Even when the Chargers did not sack the QB they hit and knocked him down. Maybe Wade does not feel like he has the personel here in Dallas to do the same thing.
I do have some questions or comments
The Cowboys have drafted DE’s in the past 10-11 years when is the last time time they were able to develope one into a stud?
Does Ware have a sack in the first 58 min’s of a game this year?
How is it that Simms in the broadcast booth know what Palmer is changing the play to but the Cowboys d does not?
If the Cowboys had another WR who was a threat would TO see so many double teams?
When did the Cowboys turn into such a finess team?
All but one of the Bengal scoring drives started from the Cowboys side of the 50
The Redskins loss really hurts more this week then last. They are now 2-1 in the division and have played all three on the road. Their next 3 games are all very win-able games and they should be 7-1.
And you know what?
I know Garrett is the golden boy on this site, but he isn’t doing nearly a good enough job of getting TO open.
I understand that he is getting doubled, but it seems like Dallas is best when they are being creative.
They’re offensive talent should dictate to the defense, not the other way around.
Raf-I only pointed out Barbie’s poor special team play, Blee asked about Lawson. I just see him as a giant waste of cap and a roster spot. He does grow pretty hair, seems to be a good wing man for Romo and is the most dainty LB I have ever seen!!
Scat also means poop so no to the scat.
Yeah Ware had a sack early in the Washington game.
“If the Cowboys had another WR who was a threat would TO see so many double teams?”
No, he wouldn’t.
And a lot of foresaw this being a problem if Terry Glenn didn’t come back from the injury.
Its a long season for Washington too.
They are good, maybe really good, but remember they aren’t unbeatable.
Dallas had opportunities against Washington. I still believe, I REALLY believe Dallas is a better team.
Its all about execution.
Right on the money , Raf.
Gee, sounds like a post I put up last week that some people here gave me a hard time about.
For the 2nd game in a row, there was SOME push from our DLine at the beginning of the game, then nothing. NOTHING. Sorry, sacks in the last minute during desperation drives don’t count.
What’s also scary is that Ellis and even Ware really produced little push this game.
Additionally, whats going on with Ken Hamlin? He doesn’t seem to be that defensive QB like he was last year. He was better last year with less talent around him. Seems as though it is the opposite. Our safety play all around has dropped off from last year…if that is possible. I know the DLine has to get more pressure, but our CBs and Safeties have to step up as well.
Why are our CBs playing so far off the line? I thought they had the talent to press a little more.
If other teams can be more physical with TO and the rest of our WRs and have that much of an effect why aren’t our CBs more physical?
TO was getting doubleteames last year too without that speed issue.
Dallas is just going to have to open the playbook up more IMO. I have faith that Jason Garrett will use more motion and more plays where Owens is in the slot or he starts out in the backfield.
Dallas’s offense,while scoring points, isn’t firing on all cylinders these last two games.
Romo is frustrated and its seen across his face.
No Larry,
Your post stated that Terrence Newman was highly overrated. Don’t twist what people commented on.
Oh Yeah, all you Keith Davis lovers!
Boy, our kickoff coverage sure was good with him back on our team, huh??
Almost cost us the game.
I have to say about our Defense, though, that they have been money in the Red Zone and have helped us win 2 games by holding teams to FG’s.
For what it’s worth. Some of those holds have been after the Offense gave good FPosition to the other team, too.
Its hard for Ware and Ellis to get a push if your interior isn’t doing anything.
Thats just 3-4 101
Yeah didn’t keith davis break up a 2 point conversion too?
Whoa, AFBat, go back and read my original post.
It was about this whole D being overrated by fans, in response to people posting here blaming the coaches for the D’s shortcomings, instead of maybe admitting our talent isn’t as good as they think.
I mentioned all the players on the D.
It was just some here who fixated on TNewman, because they remain convinced he’s a stud CB.
Cwby4lf,
we are afraid to give up the big play.
we will let a team dink and dunk us to death.
two weeks ago we use the corner blitz where has that been?
We let a QB get comfortable from the beginning of the game.
The eagles/giants/skins/titans put constant pressure on the QB.
Not us. we are the only team in the nfl that blitzes directly into the O-Linemen.
why not rush with 2 linemen and 4 LB’s?
Wade and stewart are horrible.
Too much talent to be playing this bad.
Anthony Henry looks lcueless out there at times.
I can stop a fade pass to a backup WR on a 2-pt. conversion.
It’s just a stupid playcall, Davis doesn’t get any credit for that.
Is it too late to get Butch davis or wannstadt back?
how about giving campo a shot at the d?
he can’t do much worse.
Back to the DL for a minute. Raf - I hear what you are saying, but darn it, Tank has talent, Canty was coming on big last year, Hatcher was flashing, even Bowen would make the odd play last year. How can they all go south at the same time?
Remember we had the same issues late in Parcells tenure. Seem to recall him calling out Spears once and his play did improve some (unfortunately he could not sustain). Maybe Wade needs to abandon the nice guy, never throw anyone under the bus approach and get in some guys faces this week. Of course he won’t but a guy can dream.
So you don’t give him any credit?
Thats weak.
Air;
I agree the Cowboys on paper are the better team, but Zorn has them all buying into the coolaid. They have only one tunover this year and that was with the Special teams. They do not beat themselves
I wonder if the first 17 points came too easy and the Cowboys relaxed today?
It seems like teams are saying ok we will give Witten his, but TO is going to have to beat double teams and we will take our chances with Crayton, Austin, Hurd and Co. In the Philly game and the Packer game TO did not get open even in single coverage.I dont know how much TO has helped his own cause.
You guys have to stop talking about Wade Ph blitzing more.
Are you watching the game?? He WAS blitzing, over and over, because there was no push from the DLine!
You might not have noticed the blitzes because THEY didn’t get through either, and the play almost always resulted in a completion.
Over the middle, where our blitzes ALWAYS come from!
I’m starting to cringe every time I see the Boys blitzing, it almost always means a completion.
WaynelaR,
you are right.
I am tired of Wade taking the blame.
Sooner or later you take all the blame you get fired.
wade should kick some A$$ and call some people out.
Stop trying to be everyone’s friend!!!!!!!!!!!
On the plus side- We won.
Way back when, I remember some local sports guy summing up an ugly Cowboy W by saying, “What do you want, a win or somethng to hang in the Louvre?” Well, both would be nice, but I’ll obviously take the win.
Felix- He jukes inside and and then afterburners it outside and gains some ground. I’m lovin me some Felix.
Zach Thomas- He seems like he’s everywhere.
Nick Folk- He seems to be the only consistent thing about this team.
On the negative side- The D. If you’re old enough, this will remind you of vietnam. We never attacked the enemy on his own ground, we always tried to counter his attack
Cayton - He missed evrything and caught the wrong one
Romo- He was so out of synch
As far as Tex goes…even a broken clock can be right twice a day. What’s up with this D?
AFB, he stuck his hand up and got lucky. It’s the easiest play to defend against.
Sirius, you’re right in that last paragraph, and I wonder again, where are the Scren Passes to these 2 RB’s??
Even a middle screen to mix it up.
Because teams are starting to sit on Witten too, and Romo threw one to him that also could have been intercepted.
With this OLine and these RB’s we need to throw it more to those guys, by design or Romo checking down.
I’m not a Keith Davis supporter but to not give the guy any credit when he makes a decent play is just stubborn.
And to say that you could have made that play is even dumber. Because I’m pretty sure you could cover a 6 foot 6 tightend… jesus.
Jim,
Romo ended the game with 60% of his passes being completed and a QB rating of 106. He just had very little style points and a 56 yard completion that helped his stats. He does seem to have happy feet in the pocket though. I remember Romo talking about the fast, slow, fast. Fast drop…slow in the pocket (no happy feet) and fast release
I was not big on the FJones pick. Wow was I wrong. I also was not big on the Thomas signing.. wrong again!
OK, then let’s give our resident special teams stud the ‘credit’ for 2 long KO returns, too.
Because that’s what he’s really here for, and didn’t they make him the ST captain?
Look, the guy sucks, the ‘metrics’ prove it too.
Hey, we won, GB has lost 2 in a row, Philly has lost 2 in a row, and who thought after the end of preseason and week 1 Washington would be so good?
Nothing is for sure in this league, and the differnce between the ‘haves’ and have-nots’ is minimal.
At this point I just want wins and get into the postseason, then it all starts there.
felix is making a very strong case for more touches.
no one has stopped him yet, except the skins (umm, wait, that was big red who stopped him in that game).
Romo seemed to be frustrated all day. i dont like seeing him sitting on the bench by himself looking beaten. He needs to get back to having fun.
he did smile at the end. After his pick, he went 4/4 for 86 yards and 2 TDs. three of his completions were on 3rd down. he also ran for a first on third down. Guess he is OK. Apparently he got some grief from the media after the game and showed some frustration.
the man is human, but he needs to get back to just not caring about that stuff.
Rafael,
we held the bengals to 60 yards rushing. im not ready to write off spears and canty just yet.
have we signed colombo yet?
I know he sucks, he’s not a starter.
But give credit where credit is due.
And its generally not one persons fault on every special teams mishap. Dallas had been pretty good on special teams before today.
Lawson might be a moot point. I am not saying he would be better on ST, but at least he has something to bring to the table…
Seriously, no one can pretend anymore that the Carpenter pick was not horrible.
We tried TO out of the backfield, but Cincy covered that all the way. We did that last year…give us something new, Red Ball!
Canty was a beast last year against the run. It was on footballoutsiders or something, teams gained ~2 yds/attempt running to that side and ~4 yds/attempt running at Spears. What gives?
Jarhead…
I’m not ready to write them off either, right now they just aren’t playing very well. Maybe it’ll pass or maybe there will be more need.
BTW, if I haven’t said this in a while, I really like talking to someone on here who reacts but doesn’t overreact at any notice.
Jarhead,
canty and spears are solid against the run.
watch the way the steelers blitzt. They send 5 guys every passing down.
the db’s also disrupt the wr’s routes when they play a zone.
when was the last time one of our cb’s really whacked a wr while we are playing a zone.
next year draft wishlist
a real NT to take up space, allow ratliff to move to end where he can make more plays
a hard hitting safety that has some speed and isn’t a complete dumbass that we can turn into a great run safety and a decent cover guy…like a faser, smarter roy willams
a WR
I will say this, and Larry Brown said this perfectly…
I think Dallas has been too much of a wait and see defense. And I don’t think that is the coaching staffs problem. Pacman seems like the only corner that attacks the ball.
The soft coverage would be alot better if you had the corners at least attempting to jump routes once in a while. I know.. i know that could cause a burn, but it also will make a QB think.
I’ll agree with Larry that blitzing isn’t the problem. Dallas just doesn’t get there when theres a blitz.
canty and spears are there to play the run.
they’ve never been big pass rushers. last i checked, we’ve been run on once this year, that was last week.
why single the DEs out?
AFB2,
whose fault is it then?
Are you going to tell me Jenkins and Scandrick palyed wait and see in college.
No way. we play a modified flex today. bend don’t break which is B$.
We pay our secondary a ton of money.
Move ratliff to DE on passing play Hatcher at the other end and blitz
3 - 4 guys.
Anyone have any insight on whats wrong with Romo? He literally looks like someone has died, or he has issues in his personal life. Almost as if he doesn’t want to be there….
You might be right one.. maybe it is the coaching staff.
Maybe the bend,bend,bend mentality is being coached too hard.
jarhead
why was Romo taking grief after the game? 60.9% completion, 106 QB rating and three TD’s. Ok he did not throw for 300+ yards
Romo is not perfect, but there is only a handful of QB’s in the NFL right now I woould choose over him.
I do think you nailed it though. remember last year after the philly loss at home and all the Jessica stuff boiled over, He lost that stupid grin of his. I wonder if the TO not getting the ball is starting to take its toll?
AFB2,
the thing that kills me is when you watch these other defenses play like Pitt and Jax is they always bump the receiver when he is going on the route. Zone or man to man they bump the receiver.
We always seem to let the receiver run free.
The Pats use to have their d-linemen occupy the O-Line and the LB’s blitz for the sack.
Realist
I heard on Cowboys radio after the game that Davis was taken out on special teams so he wouldn’t fatigue. I didn’t pay attention to this so I don’t know how true it is.
AFB post 55, I know about blaming KD on the SpTeams, I was being a bit facetious there…..
jarhead,
Because they’re supposed to stop the run AND rush. Both had 1st round grades. Canty lasted because of his eye. Ratliff is creating a push inside. If just ONE of the DEs, it can be Hatcher, starts getting presure, the dominos fall. The rush is there with just four guys because Ware and Ellis are consistent.
They’re the difference between being an average D and a very good one.
And it’s not just the yards, it’s the average. Teams are getting very good yards per attempt running on Dallas. Inside and outside.
And they haven’t played the Giants yet, who rammed it down their throats pretty well last year.
Is Hatcher any more effective than he was two years ago? If so, I don’t see it. Last year, Canty looked like a monster at times. He has the size and strength to be more of a force.
I don’t think Spears was a great pick, but he seems decent against the run.
I would like to see a fat man on the nose, and Ratliff on the end more.
In general on the defense, I don’t know if there is enough of a contribution from the guys we rotate in - Tank, Spencer, Burnett, Hatcher.
That’s prob. true, Slide, I didn’t really notice if he was even in on KO’s-
I was just being funny there.
A win is good. Seemed like we made it through without significant injury. THats good as well.
Random Thoughts:
1) To is getting doubled a lot. How about we go back to the Delta formations like we did against Cleveland? Put him in motion alot? How about some double moves?
2) How about throwing to Felix more? TO gets doubled. Witten draws a crowd. Can’t Felix beat a LB with some regularity?
3) After the first couple of KO returns, I was thinking how well that team was playing. The other team starting b/w the 20 and 25. A HUGE improvement over last year’s 30-35 typical start. And then the wheels fell off for some reason. No idea what to do about it though.
4) Can we bring back the Chaos Defense on long yardage plays? Can we at least attempt to cause some uncertainty for the offense? Can we admit our 4 man line and telegraphed blitzes arent getting it done and try to be a little more creative? A zone blitz perhaps? Think we can overload a side with a blitz? How is Spencer anyway? Cant we combine him with Ware and Eliis (i.e. Chaos?)
5) Thank god for Folk. I’ve gotten to where I have so much confidence in him that I leave the room to get another beer or whatever when he’s getting ready to kick.
Yeah…
Your right One, but also a difference is that Pitt gets constant pressure.
Dallas gets pressure sometimes and gets sacks sometimes, but its not consistant.
I understand your gripes though. Seeing WR’s be consistantly wide open gets ridiculous.
I don’t know if its scheme or player, but there is a problem for sure.
Canty looked soooo good last year, for a while. He’s really stalled.
It’s not like any of these players are bad (well, we’ll leave KDavis out of this)
it’s just that they’re all just good in a mediocre way. Even Ware was streaky today.
I’ll give TJohnson a lot of credit for forcing that fumble (is he the one who did that?) because that was HUGE. And the RZone D has been great.
Also, is this the year age has caught up with Greg Ellis? He made a real impact rushing the QB last year, but I haven’t noticed him getting near much this year.
I think Spencer is starting by year’s end.
I was at the game. Romo looked worse than his stats indicate. His timing and accuracy at times look off which makes him inconsistent. He’s also missing a ton of guys deep. By missing I mean not seeing them and checking down. He just doesn’t look that sharp right now, and being sharp was his greatest quality. I remember one of Raf’s quotes on here during training camp in 07. “He looks sharp…..scary sharp”. Romo just doesn’t look like that anymore.
I’m hoping it’s some kind of injury that will pass in a short time. Maybe his thumb? Either way the sharpness looks gone and this “moxie” we once spoke of is nonexistent. And he has all day to throw it on most passes. What if our oline was worse?
Catching up, and Raf I notice in your halftime post you noticed all the slipping. That happened last week too.
That’s OK, as long as it’s a home-field advantage! But why are our guys slipping though???
2 weeks in a row is ridiculous.
Slide,
I think romo is in a funk.
He face showed that he was irritated by his play. I think it shows how good he truely is that he’s playing at a level that he’s not used to but still putting up awesome numbers.
Ridgelake,
good post.
You are right on the mark regarding overloading a side with blitzing.
We are getting very little contribution from the top end of our 2006 and 2007 drafts. Look at the first four rounds each year
Carpenter, Fasano, Hatcher, Green
Spencer, Marten, Stanback, Free
Good teams need these guys to be starting, pushing to start, or playing key roles in their second/third years. We have no starters, with only Spencer possibly pushing Ellis later this year.
With the lack of depth on defence, we will again be chasing talent this year, instead of having our depth add to the talent organically.
I think Spencer is just a player of circumstance of all those guys.
He’s just having a hard time getting on the field because of ellis.
You think Giant fans were freaking out when Cincy took them into OT? ( the answer is yes)
I don’t think just blitzing or overloading cures any of these ails. Spears and Canty never get enough push to the inside to free blitzers to get to the quarterback. This has allowed teams to continually double team Ware. Teams that blitz well can also get good pressure with their front four. The Cowboys of the last 4 years have continually been ineffective at this.
The career total of sacks compiled by the two starting defensive ends totals only 12.5, 4.5 from Spears and 8.0 from Canty. Both players are starting their 4th seasons. Blech.
The pass rush is one of the main reasons the zone coverage hasn’t been effective on 3rd downs. I’m just tired of hearing how awful the secondary is when the most disappointing aspect of this defense has been the pass rush coming from the defensive ends or for that matter, the consistency of the pass rush in general. These corners can’t be expected to play perfect coverage the entire game and bail out the rush.
With all the complaining about defensive scheme going on, I’m surprised no one has brought up Dave Campo yet. It sure seems like our corners aren’t getting themselves in position to make plays, and when you have a secondary coach who is arguably a sharp enough mind to be D-Coordinator, I fully expect his unit to shine.
Boo. That’s what I say. About the only thing to be happy about is that we are in the 5th week of the season, and there is still time to turn this around (see - Giants, football, 2007-8). If we play this D in our first outing of the playoffs, we’ll be one and done yet again. We look like the third best team in a four team division, the kind of third best team that is third best, rather than fourth, by the fortune of an unforced fumble - and hey, guess what, that is precisely what we are (for now). Look, I’m just grumpy because, living in DC, if I thought the deadskin fans were awful last week, well … I aint seen nothing yet till i head to work tomorrow in the a.m. every fourth car will be waving their little stupid flags and looking like pigs, even if they are not in full hog regalia.
BigDinSC,
Not so sure the defensive scheme, coaches, or defensive backfield are the problem. Seems like misplaced criticism to me.
The pass rush is the real concern to me. Just would like to see more of a legitimate consist pass rush. Maybe if we do, we’ll see more consistent pass coverage too.
Hearing about Jason Garret’s lack of running game and the play of the secondary last week tired head. Was wondering why there wasn’t alot of criticism regarding the pass rush. Glad to hear there’s a bit of it here. I agree that that’s the real main problem. Firing coaches and changing schemes just seem too much of a stretch to me to fix these problems. We’ve had two different coaches and generally the same problems. That’s a good bet that the players are at fault.
Dallas’ offense usually has overhandedly won games by putting up a lot of points. Defenses are adjusting to Jason Garrett and showing ways to slow our offense. Double T.O., spy Whitten and get a pash rush. The biggest problem that I see on offense is that Romo is rattled. He is not making the throws. You can see it, just watch the tape. He is not stepping into his throws and I’d say at least half of his throws are not on the money. Is it mental or physical? Looks mental to me. Hope he pulls out of it soon.
Washington and the Giants are looking real good. If Romo doesn’t get back his into a groove soon and the defense start to step it up we might be looking at a wild card. I now, it’s early, I’m just saying.
I agree TD.
Its time to get more creative, the NFL is too close in talent to go straight up.
Jason Campbell ZERO TURNOVERS this year.
How many does our boy Tony Have? Two this game alone. We should be up by 28 and playing the scrubs by the 4th quarter in a few of these games.
Did TO lose a step? He was doubled before and still beat coverage…….we need to get Felix the ball and Marion the ball on screens………let these Defenses get a taste of a 100 yard recieving game from one of those two.
Defense is just vanilla. We blitzed Henry today he just got picked up.
TNew didn’t play so given that Scandrick and Jenkins are both Rookies I give our secondary a pass on that. But still we gotta get more pressure up front………..
Why is Tony Romo sitting alone after mistakes. Where is Bill Parcells in his face going put that ball away. Don’t throw those Stupid passes. Is Garret really challenging Romo?
We look sloppy on defense at times. Secondary looked confused……..granted the Bungles arent as bad as their record and fielded perhaps the best WRs in the game today. First time Henry played.
They also gave the Gmen a good game.
Its a W…….but Dallas needs to work on a lot of things.
I found this very odd: In the past 2 weeks, The Redskins have generated exactly 0 sacks against two tough NFC East opponents yet won both games. The game they played against the Eagles this today seemed eerily similar to the Cowboys game last week.
I found this very odd: In the past 2 weeks, The Redskins have generated exactly 0 sacks against two tough NFC East opponents yet won both games. The game they played against the Eagles today seemed eerily similar to the Cowboys game last week.
I’m not saying that the seconday is our only problem. Hell, I wouldn’t even say its our biggest problem.
But our zone schemes are supposed to be geared towards interceptions. That hasn’t happened, not even when we DO have opportunities. Hooshyermama seemed like he could go wherever he wanted to catch a pass through much of the game, and I have a hard time blaming that entirely on the pass rush.
is joe avazzanoe unemployed? our special teams could use him
BigD,
IMO the reason that our zone D isn’t picking off passes isn’t one dimensional, there are many reasons. They are playing zone but they are giving a lot of cushion. 8 yrds usually. Stew and Phillips want teams to have to earn the TD by dinking 4-7 yrd routes. Unless our CB’s take a chance and jump on the route, you don’t get too many INT’s. The secondary is playing too soft thus allowing the backs and WR’s to get the short in’s and outs. It makes the field a lot longer. Problem with that though is that teams ARE marching the field and scoring. The short routes also help the opposing QB’s by getting the passes out quickly and avoiding the pass rush.
I’d like to see Tank moved around the line a little bit more. It seems like our best interior rushers are Tank and Ratliff. The only problem is, their rarely on the field at the same time unless it’s a Four man line in the Nickel, and even then, it’s not a certainty. If we can experiment with moving Spears to the nose then why can’t we experiment with moving Tank to DE. I always thought that traditional 4-3 DT’s made good 3-4 DE’s, so why not give Tank a shot. Especially when we play a 1 gap scheme where we need to try and get upfield. I think Tank can do a good job going 1 on 1 vs. a Guard. He’s been having some problems with the double team at the point of attack when the C and G both lock on him, but he does pretty well against a single lineman.
I’ll reiterate a comment I made after the Redskins’ game, and having been at yesterday’s Bengals game I am saying it with even more concern now, because the problem was even more apparent in person when I could see all the downfield receivers– Tony seems off, and I am concerned about him missing open receivers (both in terms of his throws being off the mark sometimes and also him checking down quickly when downfield WRs seem to be open) and his YPA being down significantly.
Top tier offenses strive for 8 or more YPA. Tony hasn’t hit that mark since the Philly game. His completion percentage was up to 60% this week, so that was slightly encouraging, and Crayton’s drop would have helped his YPA a bit, but I’m not seeing this offense clicking in the downfield passing game the way that it used to, and the major culprit seems to be Romo. He seems to be struggling with his accuracy, particularly downfield, in the same way he was last year when he dinged up his thumb.
It’s also somewhat alarming the way he locks onto Witten (and this was something I noticed more in person than on TV). On plays where Austin and/or TO seemed open downfield, Romo would consistently look for an often-covered Witten underneath.
I agree with one of the earlier comments that I wouldn’t take many other QBs in the league right now over Romo, and I’m still grateful to have him as our signal-caller, but lately he has looked more like the late 2007 Tony, with the thumb injury, than the vintage version. Any theories on why this is? Any reasons to believe it will be corrected?
I see a team that will peak later this year. Right now, they are just a little off, but I think that will change, I hope, by the Giants game. Romo has performed at a much higher level in the past, so I expect him to come around.