Looking at the teams in the playoffs and comparing their defense to the Cowboys defense brings up some interesting stats.
Cowboys scoring defense allowed 21.7 points a game..The Giants allowed 25, the Packers 22.4, the Saints 21.2 and the Falcons 21.9, which brings me to my point. Why are we spending time trying to fix a defense that gave up less points per game than 3 of the four teams left in the playoffs?
There used to be a time when defense won playoff games, but those days are gone. It is now score points or lose. There seems to be no stopping the Packers or the Saints and the Giants scored 37 and 31 in their two wins over the Cowboys.
Cowboys scoring offense averaged 23.1 points a game. The Packers with 35, the Giants with 24.6 and the Saints with 34.2 show us where they need to be. Watching Drew Brees stand in the pocket with little to no pressure reminded me of the last Cowboys game and Romo running for his health and this offensive line allowing 6 sacks. More on that later.
Dallas tried to play offense with three offensive lineman who had never taken a snap in the NFL, including 2 rookies. Meanwhile the Saints have 3 of their 5 Olinemen selected to the Pro Bowl. Dallas needs to spend their energy and resources fixing the offensive line and signing another quality receiver. Then throw in pass receiving tight end, because you now need two, and you have a fix that will create a chance to join the points party.
I mentioned the tight end position and watching the Saints against the Lions proved my point. New Orleans suffered a bad loss to the Rams. Brees was sacked 6 times and came away with his worst game of the year. He had a QB rating of 73 and with only one TD and two ints.
Just like Dallas against the Giants, when any NFL team allows 6 sacks they are probably going to lose that game. Fans are up in arms by Dallas losing to the Giants in New York but the Saints lost to the Rams because the could not protect their QB. In the last 3 years, teams that allow 6 sacks are 9-59.
So what did the Saints do after that Rams game. Unlike Dallas who just kept the course, their head coach changed the blocking patterns by chipping with their tight ends, but unlike Dallas he could because he had three Pro Bowl players in the middle of the line.
This all brings me back to the original point. Fix the offense because even if Dallas adds players on defense they still will have to score 30 to beat the Saints or the Packers, who are the class of he NFC. You don't have the resources to fix everything so why not fix the offense and re-arrange the deck chairs on the defense.
Your thoughts?
