JJT: Five ways to fix the Dallas Cowboys' defense

Cotton

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Five ways to fix the Dallas Cowboys' defense
9:45 AM ET
Jean-Jacques Taylor
ESPN Staff Writer

IRVING, Texas -- In a lot of games this season, the Dallas Cowboys' defense played well enough to win with just a little more help from their struggling offense.

But Cowboys defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli vehemently disagrees. That’s because his version of the Tampa 2 defense is designed to generate two things: sacks and turnovers.

The Cowboys' defense produced neither this season, finishing last in the NFL in turnovers (11) and tied for 25th in sacks (31). And unlike the offense, the defense was relatively healthy all season.

Here are five ways to fix the Cowboys’ defense next year:

Problem No. 1: The Cowboys tied the 1982 Colts for the fewest turnovers in NFL history with 11, a year after forcing 32. There aren't many tangible explanations for the precipitous drop, although Marinelli did bemoan the number of strip attempts the Cowboys had in several games. In essence, he said the players weren’t consistent enough trying to get the ball out. And when they did try, there weren’t enough players running to the ball increasing their odds of pouncing on it. The Cowboys played hard, but Marinelli wanted them to play even harder.

How to fix it: The Cowboys need their offense to play better so they can play with a lead. Dallas didn’t have a lead of more than 10 points in the final 10 games of the season. Teams typically get turnovers when their opponent becomes one-dimensional and it’s obvious they have to throw. The pass rush gets better, leading to turnovers because quarterbacks under duress make mistakes. The Cowboys also need more play-makers.

Problem No. 2: For the second consecutive season, the Cowboys failed to have a player reach double digits in sacks. That’s awful when you consider they signed Greg Hardy to a one-year deal worth as much as $13 million to significantly improve their pass rush. He played hard and provided moments of Pro Bowl-caliber play, but he was not the guy who had 27 sacks in his past 32 games entering the season. Although Hardy was often double-teamed, the other members of the defensive line failed to take advantage of their one-on-one battles.

How to fix it: Marinelli can’t stand blitzing because he believes it compromises his defense. The Cowboys blitzed on just 34 of 160 third-down plays. They recorded five sacks with their third-down blitzes, and each occurred on third-and-seven or longer. Still, if the pass rush isn’t affecting the quarterback, then Marinelli has to blitz more because quarterbacks with time will hurt any defense.

Problem No. 3: Brandon Carr and Morris Claiborne, the Cowboys’ two starting cornerbacks, did not have an interception. Wow. Carr hasn’t had one since 2013, and Claiborne has just three in his four-year career. They’re simply not play-makers, which means the Cowboys must upgrade at the position to get the turnovers Marinelli craves. The return of Orlando Scandrick from a knee injury that forced him to miss the entire season will help, but it’s not enough.

How to fix it: The Cowboys must address the cornerback position with a premium draft choice -- a pick in the first three rounds -- to get a player capable of either starting or being a significant contributor. Perhaps Terrance Mitchell or Deji Olatoye will help, but each seems more equipped for the nickel or dime packages rather than as a starter.

Problem No. 4: The Cowboys stunk on third-and-long. They were tied with the Eagles for last in the NFL on third-and-10 or more yards, allowing a conversion rate of 28.6 percent (16-for-56). The Jets led the NFL with a 14.5 conversion rate (10-for-69). Few things demoralize a defense more than yielding a conversion on third-and-long.

How to fix it: Second-round draft pick Randy Gregory must become the impact player the Cowboys thought they were getting when he fell to the second round because of off-the-field issues. He finished the season without a sack. More pressure from Gregory and the continued emergence of DeMarcus Lawrence means the Cowboys should have a better pass rush, and quarterbacks should have less time to find a receiver on third-and-long. An upgrade at cornerback would also help.

Problem No. 5: Marinelli is one of the best defensive coordinators in the NFL, but one of his weaknesses is that he doesn’t believe in change. When the Cowboys have an issue on defense, Marinelli is much more inclined to ask his players to work a little bit harder, or he’ll tweak the scheme a tad to make it even more simple so players can play without thinking too much. Sometimes a more dramatic change in approach is needed.

How to fix it
: Whether it’s head coach Jason Garrett or linebackers coach Matt Eberflus or some new addition to the staff, someone has to persuade Marinelli to change his scheme a little bit. Maybe it’s blitzing more. Or using more zone blitzes. Or playing more combination coverages. The Cowboys’ defense is predicated on simplicity, but when that’s not working because the players aren’t good enough Marinelli has to change and put his players in better position to make plays.
 

UncleMilti

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Terrible safety play, no middle clogging DL, injured LBs, an overly vanilla defensive scheme with no creative blitzing, and shitty CB play.

Pretty easy to figure out.
 

dallen

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Terrible safety play, no middle clogging DL, injured LBs, an overly vanilla defensive scheme with no creative blitzing, and shitty CB play.

Pretty easy to figure out.
But other than the lack of pass rushers, run stuffers, corners, safeties, and linebackers we were pretty good!
 

Cowboysrock55

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The biggest problem has been third downs for our defense. Part of the problem in my opinion is our refusal to blitz. The other has been pick plays. We are totally clueless on how to defend those. They are like automatic against our defense.
 

L.T. Fan

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The biggest problem has been third downs for our defense. Part of the problem in my opinion is our refusal to blitz. The other has been pick plays. We are totally clueless on how to defend those. They are like automatic against our defense.
That's the way I see it also. They get the team's in 3rd and long then go to a loose coverage scheme. The secondary just cannot close the gaps before the opponent can get to the first down marker. It so painfully obvious.
 

mcnuttz

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How to fix it: The Cowboys must address the cornerback position with a premium draft choice -- a pick in the first three rounds --
STFU, GTFO, and GFY.
 

ravidubey

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How to fix it: Second-round draft pick Randy Gregory must become the impact player the Cowboys thought they were getting when he fell to the second round because of off-the-field issues. He finished the season without a sack. More pressure from Gregory and the continued emergence of DeMarcus Lawrence means the Cowboys should have a better pass rush, and quarterbacks should have less time to find a receiver on third-and-long.
Not. One. Sack.

And injured, too.

Gregory's too thin to win. Sorry.
 

Simpleton

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Not. One. Sack.

And injured, too.

Gregory's too thin to win. Sorry.
About a year ago you were basically saying the same stuff about Lawrence and he looks like a potential cornerstone moving forward. Let's see what he does next year, if he can stay healthy I'd expect at least 6 sacks from him.

As for the defense in general, I can't complain too much aside from the lack of turnovers. Of course I want to improve at safety, get some more size/talent at 1-technique, etc., but I feel like we had a decent enough defense to compete in the playoffs last year assuming our offense is near the top of the league, which it will be next year if healthy.
 

Cowboysrock55

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About a year ago you were basically saying the same stuff about Lawrence and he looks like a potential cornerstone moving forward. Let's see what he does next year, if he can stay healthy I'd expect at least 6 sacks from him.

As for the defense in general, I can't complain too much aside from the lack of turnovers. Of course I want to improve at safety, get some more size/talent at 1-technique, etc., but I feel like we had a decent enough defense to compete in the playoffs last year assuming our offense is near the top of the league, which it will be next year if healthy.
I wouldn't be surprised to see Gregory get double digit sacks next year if he is healthy. As soon as he got that high ankle sprain it basically became a redshirt year for Gregory. Before he got that injury he was basically destroying the Giants. He might not have gotten sacks but he was shredding the OT and forcing early throws and in completions. He also looked studly during preseason. So yeah, I'm basically not worried at all about Gregory. This stupid weight bullshit that Ravi always pulls out is plain ridiculous. Besides, Gregory is up to 255 lbs already.
 

boozeman

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Demarcus Lawrence thanks you for your support.
Feh.

Lawrence had the benefit of a playoff game to show up.

Gregory, feh. He failed to show up on a 4-12 team playing out the string.
 

ravidubey

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Demarcus Lawrence thanks you for your support.
And I was down on him until he proved himself on the toughest stage in the most critical of moments.

Gregory, if anything, is weaker than Lawrence and even more of a one-trick pony.
 

Genghis Khan

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Many pass rushers take a year or two before breaking out. It's very common.

It's pretty stupid to write Gregory off already. He's at least flashed.
 

ravidubey

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He's at least flashed.
When he followed up an almost-sack by buckling his ankle when he tried to square off toe-to-toe with a real NFL lineman?

Seriously, when did he flash even a single thing as a rusher or run defender? At least Lawrence contributed vs the run almost immediately.

And I'm not writing Gregory off but it's clear he was a project.
 
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