it’s always better to be feared. Yeah… the Cowboys need to be tenacious and aggressive. They need someone that likes to hit, and I mean consistently. Roy, was that for a while, but who is it gonna be now? Can you name anybody on the roster that can do that right now?

Remember the Eagles playoff game (as if we can forget)? Witten was fighting for a few extra yards to get a first down hurting with an ankle sprain and cracked ribs and he got it. The Cowboys gave up the ball a few plays later, and the defense stunk. I can’t believe Witten’s fire and tenacity didn’t fire the defense up. What’s up with that? Hopefully they have more heart this year having gotten rid of some malcontents.

and we stay relatively healthy, I think the defense will become elite. I think the players display plenty of tenacity passion when playing, the Steelers game was a great example, and with this unit finally being all of Wade’s guys, I look for it to be a really goog to great unit this season…provided we stay healthy of course because our primary backups are as green as grass.

Olshansky is a mean SOB. He’s also one of the strongest. He and Rat, combined with Spears are all reaching their peak. This line won’t take shit from no one.

Brookings comes with tons of experience and a handful of Pro Bowls. He’s quite experienced in the scheme and WILL provide a measure of leadership that Zach did not feel comfortable excerting.

Lastly, Hamlin has been the QB in the secondary for the past 2 years. Year 1 brought a Pro Bowl and a 13-3 record. Year 2 was sabatoged by injuries and suspensions. You can tell guys all day long, but when you’ve got Keith Davis and a few rookies out there, nothing you can say will make Killer more talented or the rooks any more experienced.

This year will not lack for leadership. Further, they’ve all got a chip on their shoulders. Great enviromnent to see some swagger coming back.

Lastly you’ve got Campo. A VERY vocal and demanding coach. He’ll be Winnie’s enforcer. Further, most of the coaches have quite a few skins on the wall as ex-D-Coordinators and head coaches. No lacking experience or discipline. And lastly, you should remember that Wade Phillips was Buddy Ryan’s DC in Philthy.

I think your looking through clouded lenses not wanting to see this group as reaching it’s prime. This may very well translate to the best D in Big D since Doomsday.

I don’t see this DEF that any OFF would fear and I would love to see it.

But I must add….

We don’t really need to be feared; we just need turnovers, great plays at the right time, and stop the bad plays on 3rd down. That is what this DEF is really lacking.

Of course if you ARE feared, then all those things would come. But I’m just saying….

Bradie James gets all wild after a big play or hit. That would pump me up too. I think that guys like these, are just coming into their own as vocal leaders. They’ve all been on the team for about the same amount of time and the greater the pride is for being a main cog on the Dallas D, the meaner they’ll play.

In the secondary, I’ve seen our top corners (Newman, Scandrick, and Jenkins) all lay the wood. Hamlin is still the Hammer and we get to see what Sensabaugh can bring.

This is a young D and the leaders should soon begin to step forward. I don’t buy into needing some coach to yell in their face to make them “animalistic”. That’s not to say that such a coach wouldn’t help, but the quality should grow from an urge to win, an urge to dominate.

The last time this team’s D was feared was when Roy Williams was hitting people. It’s those big hits that fire guys up and get into the other team’s heads.

I used to notice 1-2 passes a game dropped by the opponent after RW layed someone out. I don’t know what happened to him, but he was the ‘enforcer,’ and it worked. Receivers didn’t want to go across the middle against him, and dozens of passes were dropped by WR’s with their eyes on a swivel. It often led to turnovers, too.

I agree with the people that there is a vocal side to leadership-we’ve had THAT debate enough-but I really think in this example as brought up by 5Blings, it’s more by example.

Unfortunately, I don’t see anyone on this team capable of doing that-no Randy Whites or Charles Haleys-but they could still be a very good D.

As a side note, did some posts here get taken out? Nice job 5Blings laying some wood on another (unnamed) poster earlier, nice to see someone else standing up and not willing to take the personal attacks.

their heads were on swivels, if that even sounds right, and not their ‘eyes’. You get my drift.

Very well stated and thought out. I couldn’t agree more with the premise of your post.

But I have to disagree in regards to where this “innate, aggressive mindset” comes from. While it certainly helps to have players who embrace and employ this “animalistic” approach to defense, I think it usually has to come from a coaching staff that embodies the physical approach in every way.

I think it’s safe to say that as long as Wade is around, we won’t have the pleasure of seeing an animalistic defense anytime soon.

But there is no doubt: Dallas’ defense can ‘out-talent’ anyone.

Unfortunately, games are most often decided by who has the most heart, determination and will to win—categories in which the Cowboys come up woefully short.

You don’t read too much about him.

Does he have the kind of personality that would allow him to be more of a catalyst for bringing the pain?

What about Todd Grantham? What’s his demeanor?