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Why Cowboys are optimistic 2013's last-ranked defense can make a big jump
RAINER SABIN
Staff Writer
rsabin@dallasnews.com
IRVING — Henry Melton has heard the doomsayers, the critics and the skeptics. He is aware the Cowboys’ defense is predicted not only to be among the worst in the league this season but the annals of pro football, too.
“There are very low expectations,” the defensive tackle said.
The pervasive doubt stems from the fact that a unit that surrendered the third-most yards in NFL history and ranked lowest in the league last season has lost the services of its three top players -- DeMarcus Ware, Jason Hatcher and Sean Lee.
But Melton hasn’t subscribed to the pessimists’ thinking. Rather, he maintains faith this defense is better than advertised because it is run by Rod Marinelli, the coordinator who coached him in Chicago and produced results with his no-frills scheme in the past.
In fact, Marinelli’s stripped-down philosophy may be the only reason to believe the Cowboys can actually improve in an area that was so weak last season.
“In Rod’s system, I feel like we should make a huge jump this year because we know the system now, we know what he wants, we know what he expects out of us as players,” safety Barry Church said.
In 2013, Marinelli joined the Cowboys as the defensive line coach to work alongside coordinator Monte Kiffin, one of the noted masterminds of the 4-3, Tampa 2 scheme system that gained a reputation as a force field against passing offenses around the dawn of the new millennium. The Cowboys hired Kiffin after dumping Rob Ryan, claiming his complex philosophy prevented the defense from finishing above 14th in the league rankings during the two seasons he was in Dallas.
“There are a lot of schemes,” Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said in February 2013. “That becomes a question. We made a tough decision. We felt like too many schemes can cause problems regardless of how good they are and how sound they are. If there is more than the players can digest in this day and time – as you don’t keep players for long, they move on and you have injuries – you just had to make a decision.”
Ryan was known for concocting exotic blitz packages, deploying players at multiple positions and rolling out unorthodox formations that only slightly resembled his 3-4 base package. It can be argued that he used these tactics to cover up talent deficiencies that continue to haunt the Cowboys to this day. In Ryan’s last season with Dallas, the Cowboys featured 30 different alignments, according to data compiled by ProFootballFocus.com. That same season, when Marinelli was coordinating Chicago’s defense, the Bears lined up 10 different ways and relied on a four-man front 96.5 percent of the time.
“With Rob, you have to stay in the playbook constantly because he’s always shifting stuff and changing stuff,” Church said. “He likes to incorporate all of his players. He’s more of trying to trick the offense whereas Rod is more bone-on-bone , we’re going to hit you, we’re going to out-physical you and the score will take care of itself.
“With Marinelli, you just got to come to practice every day with a mindset that you’re going to come, strip the ball and you’re going to hit and run to the ball and hustle every day. It’s two different approaches to the game but they both work out pretty well.”
That’s true. In Marinelli’s last season in Chicago, the Bears finished second in offensive points allowed and fifth in yards surrendered. Ryan also thrived after he was canned by Dallas. In his first campaign in New Orleans, the Saints were ranked fourth in total defense. They also conceded only 290 points – the fifth-lowest in total in the league.
Ryan’s instant success, achieved while the Cowboys bottomed out in their transition to the 4-3 defense, seemed to disprove the theory his system was too complicated for players to absorb quickly. New Orleans saw marked improvement – something the Cowboys hope to emulate this season. But what could prevent Dallas from achieving that goal are the personnel changes that have taken place. Hatcher and Ware play for other teams. Lee is sidelined for the year after suffering a major knee injury. And Orlando Scandrick, the team’s top-performing cornerback from 2013, is suspended the first four games.
The patchwork unit has had to absorb the losses and welcome a bunch of new players.
“But our system is such that we can get guys up to speed quick,” Marinelli said.
That’s perhaps the biggest advantage accompanying Marinelli’s scheme. It’s pretty basic and easy to learn. Just look at 2010. In his first campaign as defensive coordinator there, the Bears ran six defensive formations and made major strides, moving from 25th to third in offensive points allowed. That season they were in either base or nickel sub packages 98.89 percent of the time while using only 25 players – three more than Marinelli prefers to deploy over the course of a season, according to Church.
Defined roles and a streamlined playbook, the hallmarks of Marinelli’s defense, “help for playing faster,” defensive lineman Tyrone Crawford said.
It’s the simplicity and clarity of the system Marinelli and Kiffin use that pushed the Cowboys to hire them in the first place. And those aspects of the scheme give Dallas reason to believe they can improve their wretched defense. Marinelli preaches fundamentals and the importance of gaining understanding through repetition. In his eyes, confusion created by complexity leads to mistakes and slower reactions.
“Everybody pretty much knows this defense front to back,” Church said. “Rod’s system is, ‘’Here’s what we’re in. See if you can beat us.’ There should be no last-ranking defense in the NFL – at least this year.”
That’s the hope for a unit that, in the simplest of terms, is striving to be better.
Is simple better?
RAINER SABIN
Staff Writer
rsabin@dallasnews.com
IRVING — Henry Melton has heard the doomsayers, the critics and the skeptics. He is aware the Cowboys’ defense is predicted not only to be among the worst in the league this season but the annals of pro football, too.
“There are very low expectations,” the defensive tackle said.
The pervasive doubt stems from the fact that a unit that surrendered the third-most yards in NFL history and ranked lowest in the league last season has lost the services of its three top players -- DeMarcus Ware, Jason Hatcher and Sean Lee.
But Melton hasn’t subscribed to the pessimists’ thinking. Rather, he maintains faith this defense is better than advertised because it is run by Rod Marinelli, the coordinator who coached him in Chicago and produced results with his no-frills scheme in the past.
In fact, Marinelli’s stripped-down philosophy may be the only reason to believe the Cowboys can actually improve in an area that was so weak last season.
“In Rod’s system, I feel like we should make a huge jump this year because we know the system now, we know what he wants, we know what he expects out of us as players,” safety Barry Church said.
In 2013, Marinelli joined the Cowboys as the defensive line coach to work alongside coordinator Monte Kiffin, one of the noted masterminds of the 4-3, Tampa 2 scheme system that gained a reputation as a force field against passing offenses around the dawn of the new millennium. The Cowboys hired Kiffin after dumping Rob Ryan, claiming his complex philosophy prevented the defense from finishing above 14th in the league rankings during the two seasons he was in Dallas.
“There are a lot of schemes,” Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said in February 2013. “That becomes a question. We made a tough decision. We felt like too many schemes can cause problems regardless of how good they are and how sound they are. If there is more than the players can digest in this day and time – as you don’t keep players for long, they move on and you have injuries – you just had to make a decision.”
Ryan was known for concocting exotic blitz packages, deploying players at multiple positions and rolling out unorthodox formations that only slightly resembled his 3-4 base package. It can be argued that he used these tactics to cover up talent deficiencies that continue to haunt the Cowboys to this day. In Ryan’s last season with Dallas, the Cowboys featured 30 different alignments, according to data compiled by ProFootballFocus.com. That same season, when Marinelli was coordinating Chicago’s defense, the Bears lined up 10 different ways and relied on a four-man front 96.5 percent of the time.
“With Rob, you have to stay in the playbook constantly because he’s always shifting stuff and changing stuff,” Church said. “He likes to incorporate all of his players. He’s more of trying to trick the offense whereas Rod is more bone-on-bone , we’re going to hit you, we’re going to out-physical you and the score will take care of itself.
“With Marinelli, you just got to come to practice every day with a mindset that you’re going to come, strip the ball and you’re going to hit and run to the ball and hustle every day. It’s two different approaches to the game but they both work out pretty well.”
That’s true. In Marinelli’s last season in Chicago, the Bears finished second in offensive points allowed and fifth in yards surrendered. Ryan also thrived after he was canned by Dallas. In his first campaign in New Orleans, the Saints were ranked fourth in total defense. They also conceded only 290 points – the fifth-lowest in total in the league.
Ryan’s instant success, achieved while the Cowboys bottomed out in their transition to the 4-3 defense, seemed to disprove the theory his system was too complicated for players to absorb quickly. New Orleans saw marked improvement – something the Cowboys hope to emulate this season. But what could prevent Dallas from achieving that goal are the personnel changes that have taken place. Hatcher and Ware play for other teams. Lee is sidelined for the year after suffering a major knee injury. And Orlando Scandrick, the team’s top-performing cornerback from 2013, is suspended the first four games.
The patchwork unit has had to absorb the losses and welcome a bunch of new players.
“But our system is such that we can get guys up to speed quick,” Marinelli said.
That’s perhaps the biggest advantage accompanying Marinelli’s scheme. It’s pretty basic and easy to learn. Just look at 2010. In his first campaign as defensive coordinator there, the Bears ran six defensive formations and made major strides, moving from 25th to third in offensive points allowed. That season they were in either base or nickel sub packages 98.89 percent of the time while using only 25 players – three more than Marinelli prefers to deploy over the course of a season, according to Church.
Defined roles and a streamlined playbook, the hallmarks of Marinelli’s defense, “help for playing faster,” defensive lineman Tyrone Crawford said.
It’s the simplicity and clarity of the system Marinelli and Kiffin use that pushed the Cowboys to hire them in the first place. And those aspects of the scheme give Dallas reason to believe they can improve their wretched defense. Marinelli preaches fundamentals and the importance of gaining understanding through repetition. In his eyes, confusion created by complexity leads to mistakes and slower reactions.
“Everybody pretty much knows this defense front to back,” Church said. “Rod’s system is, ‘’Here’s what we’re in. See if you can beat us.’ There should be no last-ranking defense in the NFL – at least this year.”
That’s the hope for a unit that, in the simplest of terms, is striving to be better.
Is simple better?
