Dallas Cowboys 2011 Defense: Grading The Pass Rush

I had to say BPA just because it is still so uncertain who will probably be around for us.
It is starting to look like DeCastro will be gone before we pick. If so I would take a pass rushing DL first if he was a equal grade to a CB in the same spot.
IMO it is easier to get a better CB in round 2 than to get a pass rusher in round 2. So if the players are pretty well equal, I would DL 1st, then look at CB C/G in the 2nd and 3rd.

But it is foolish to focus on one player like that.

If someone better than DeCastro is there is there we ought to take him.

You don’t fight fate in the draft, – you can’t.

A few stats that you might not realize about Anthony Spencer. His 6 sacks ranks him tied for 18th among OLB for sacks. Also tied for 18th is Clay Matthews. Spencer’s 4 forced fumbles is tied for 2nd among linebackers (Terrell Suggs is a beast with 7). I’ve written before the Spencer is “Mister Almost” in that he almost makes a big play a couple times a game.

Is he a great OLB? No. Is he one of the worse starting OLBs in the league? No – not even close.

The fact of the matter is that the Cowboys front 7 isn’t as bad as many people think. You also have to remember that they zero time to work on Ryan’s schemes during the offseason. In football, for every move, there is a counter-move, and for each counter-move there is yet another counter. These “counter-moves” are called “adjustments” in everyday speak. Importantly, you can only make a mid-game adjustment when all your players have learned them.

There was only so much the Cowboy defense could have picked up this year of Ryan’s schemes. First, they had to learn the base defense, and then they had to learn the adjustments and they had to do it in a drastically shortened period. I would like to see where this team is with a good year under their belts in Ryan’s system before concluding that the defense is horrible.

Another thing to consider. The Cowboys were 7th in the league in rush defense (total yards) and tied for 11th in yards per carry. I think this is indicative that the front-7 is not a bad group. FYI, of the 10 teams ahead of the Cowboys in YPC, only the Ravens & 49ers (tied for #1) and Steelers (tied for 9th) made the playoffs.

I think we all know where this is headed. The Cowboys had a good front-7 – not necessarily spectacular (except for a couple really bright lights), but solid … which means we need to look elsewhere for the source of the Cowboys defensive woes.

Ultimately, what we need from the front 7 next year is:
1) Lee and Ware to stay healthy
2) Bruce Carter to step into the other ILB position and make some plays
3) Find someone to play solidly opposite Ware (don’t need greatness here – just solid play)
4) We need a NT that will eat up blockers
5) We need Ratliff to flash his quickness a few times a game to wreak havoc in the backfield
6) We need some depth at lineman so we can rotate players in and out

All things considered, this isn’t a big order to fill – the problem is that defensive lineman and pass rushing OLB don’t come cheap.

When drafting you try to get as much talent as possible.

Cause so many players are so similar.

Trade down in the first. Pick up another 3rd , Then use that third with a fourth and fifth to move up into the second.

So we end of with a

1
2 2
3
6
7

This is why I want Rat at de and get a real nt. A big pocket mover. Imo the Steelers have the best 3-4 de’s in the nfl. Look what Watt has done for Brooks Reid in Houston.

Still I wish we would go back to a 4-3. Only one 3-4 team won last weekend. So may teams play the 3-4 and finding the right pieces is a huge challenge. It’s easier to find 4-3 players.

However if Castro is there it’s hard to pass up a stud. I really want to see what his true weight is though.

I consider it a carnal rule

.

Also, it would have been kinder to refer to Jay Ratliff as getting “older”, not “old”. Kitna is old; Brooking is old; Ratliff is getting older.

Great read, Keg. I look forward to the rest of the series.

If the Cowboys remain committed to the 3-4 defense, and by all appearances that is so, then the priorities for improving the defense (as I see things) are:

• upgrade at corner – top priority (bye to Newman, Ball, and Walker)
• upgrade to a middle-clogging wide body at NT – second priority
• upgrade at ILB with a FA that can stuff the run and attack the quarterback
• Rafliff to DE should prolong his career and improve the DL pass rush

With these improvements, the other corners and safeties should be more effective. Hopefully, they will now be coached to watch the play and not just the receiver. It has been maddening to watch corners so focused on their man that they are oblivious to everything around them – poorly-thrown ball in flight that could have been easily picked, ball carrier running right past them on the way to the end zone, etc.

Finally, an off-season with Ryan should help the entire defense be on the same page. Either Rob recognizes that he has the most stupid players he has ever had and designs simpler schemes that don’t confuse them, or the players have a chance to learn all the nuances and intricacies and play defense as one eleven-man group – not eleven indivduals, giving up big plays each time one of the eleven fails to execute an assignment.

Finally, an off-season with Ryan should help the entire defense be on the same page.

I pretty much said the same thing above. Another thing to remember is that Ryan is basically working with Wade’s guys. It’ll take a year or two for him to put into place the type of guys that Ryan needs to run his defense.

•upgrade at ILB with a FA that can stuff the run and attack the quarterback

That had better be Bruce Carter. 2nd round picks need to play — a lot. If he cannot step into that role, we’ll be hearing about “Jerruh … the bad GM” again.

Obviously, the biggest gains need to come from the back end of the defense, but this post is about the front 7.

That being said, I want to have at least 1 or 2 of our DBs be the type that aren’t afraid to hit somebody. If there is anything I can say about our DBs is that they don’t appear to relish hitting a guy. Elam may have been that guy but he was usually nowhere near the ball carrier so you couldn’t tell.

This team might get sacks because they have the best OLB in the game but they don’t generate consistent pressure that makes QBs uncomfortable. That is just as valuable as a sack.

The problem with this analysis is that it should not rely on sacks. What is more to the point are qb hits + qb pressures +qb sacks as a total. Ware is a speed rusher. When he doesn’t get there which is by definition most of the time he tends not to be pressuring the qb. What needs upgrading on the DL is the addition of a premier bull rusher who can consistently pressure the qb. That would also free up Ware to be more of a force and take a lot of pressure of the DB’s.

I dont care how many DB’s you have, they cannot hold coverage forever. If you do not get pressure on the QB’s the rest means nothing. Even an average Qb with time will look like Joe Montana ( Look how QB’s looked against us this year) but if you put extreme pressure where he has no time even Tom Brady looks average(Just ask the GIants).
Im not sure why all the Boys fans think just adding players to the secondary is going to fix the issue. Its going to help some, but its not going to do as much as some of you are going to think. Try the opposite and give Ware some help on the edge and rush up the gut and you will see a dramtic change. Remember that being disruptive with your front seven also affects the run game as well. We barely ever make plays on the other side of the scrimmage line. This should help that as well imo

If you want another average draft CB like Newman then take Kirkpatrick. He is not a ball hawk. We have no shot at Clairborn but we could Janoris Jenkins who is a stud but has BIG off the field concerns. He would have been the top CB if not for that. He is a stud returner also. If the CB we select in the first round can give us that addional value, then we need to wait till another round. They are easier to find than pass rushing 3-4 studs are. If I had my dream Ingram from SC would be my guy in rd #1 and Jenkins in rd 2 who I assume will slip cause of the risk. In rd #3 ILB Lewis from Oklahoma to pair with Lee and Carter(Nickle backer)

Another superb post. You asked,

Can you spot the unseen similarities between the top ranked pass-rushing units that are average to below-average in overall defense?

Looks like these are mostly base 4-3 defenses.

The steelers are an interesting case. Middle of the road rush while 1st in yds and points allowed.

since most of the time teams in passing downs have at least 3 WRs out there. One CB only shuts down eitther one player or at most a third of the field. And then there are a lot more good receiving TEs out there now; so a single CB no longer can influence Ds as much as Deion did back then.