3rd down defense

by geetar85 on Oct 14, 2007 9:58 PM CDT

I think most people would agree that our 3rd down defense was the achilles heel of our D this afternoon. If you take a look at the play by play, you notice how many 3rd downs we were able to get them into at the beginning of the game. What you notice, is that the defense simply got worn out. Giving up 1st downs on 3rd downs consistently is totally demoralizing to a team and makes the defense stay on the field for a very long time. Our slow start on offense also helped wear out the defense, but take a look at the numbers and its pretty evident why the defense got so tired.

Scoring Drives w/ 3rd and 4th down conversions

3-10, 3-3, 3-7, 3-6(TD) - 14 plays 74 yards

3-7, 3-7(TD) - 6 plays 69 yards

3-3, 3-10, 4-1 (TD) - 12 plays 72 yards

3-1, 3-5 (TD) - 10 plays 77 yards

4-9 (FG) - 4 plays 16 yards

3-2 (TD) - 4 plays 80 yards

4-4 (FG) - 12 plays 61 yards

4-1 (TD) - 7 plays 20 yards

It is really the first four that stand out. On those first four scoring drives that were so methodical by the Pats, we had 11 chances to stop them, and we simply couldn't do it. During those 4 drives, our defense was on the field for 20 minutes. We sure hung in there, but its so tough to beat a team that can be so damn effective on 3rd downs.

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Nate Jones...

If I am not mistaken, Nate Jones was released by the Cowboys so they could sign Tank Johnson. No one claimed him in a league where EVERYONE is looking for corners. You can't play the Patriots, and expect to be competitive, with a corner who clears waivers playing in the slot.

You can't get pressure on every single play, sometimes you gotta cover guys for more than 2-3 seconds. Until the Cowboys have 3-4 SOLID corners they will be unable to compete with teams like the Pats and Colts who can line up 3 and 4 quality recievers on any given play.

Having said that, I think the game was closer than the final score indicated and I think the Cowboys just fell victim to one of the best offenses to hit the field in a long, long time. When all is said and done Brady may go down in history as the best QB of all time. He won with "no names" playing wide receiver. Now that he has 3 quality wideouts, I don't know how anyone is going to stop them.

The Red Ball Express will be rolling this year!

by BulletBob on Oct 15, 2007 8:57 AM CDT reply actions