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With players on the mend, Cowboys S Barry Church says ‘there is no reason why we shouldn’t be the No. 1 defense in the league’
By Rainer Sabin / Reporter
rsabin@dallasnews.com
4:12 pm on May 21, 2013 |
IRVING — Throughout the off-season, Dallas Cowboys team executives have said a dearth in talent wasn’t the reason why the defense struggled last season. They repeatedly expressed faith in the personnel.
”Our plan in free agency is to get guys healthy,” executive vice president Stephen Jones said in February. “That’s how we are going to improve our team – get guys from the IR back on the field.”
This wasn’t a comment made in jest. Jones was serious. Dallas, limited by salary-cap constraints, signed two players in March — Linebacker Justin Durant and safety Will Allen. Management then focused more on improving the offense in the draft.
That’s because the Cowboys felt the defensive problems last season could be attributed to the complexity of former coordinator Rob Ryan’s scheme and the six season-ending injuries suffered by major contributors.
In a span of a few months, Dallas lost safety Barry Church, linebackers Sean Lee and Bruce Carter, defensive tackle Jay Ratliff, cornerback Orlando Scandrick and defensive end Kenyon Coleman — the only player who has since left the ranks. Meanwhile, star pass rusher DeMarcus Ware suffered a hyperextended right elbow and a posterior torn labrum in his right shoulder that limited his effectiveness.
“If we can remain healthy throughout the whole season, the sky is the limit for us,” Church said. “We have stars at every level. There is no reason why we shouldn’t be the No. 1 defense in the league.”
That’s a strong statement made by someone who played for a team that conceded 359 offensive points — the 10th-highest total in the NFL last season. But the defenders in the Cowboys locker room, by and large, believe a turnaround can be accomplished under new coordinator Monte Kiffin.
“The injury bug hit us hard,” cornerback Brandon Carr said. “Some of our key players, our cornerstone players of our defense, went down…Now we have guys with a year under their belt playing together and we kind of have got a feel for how [everyone] plays. And now everybody is pretty much on the same page as far as the new scheme and things like that. This year the sky is the limit.”
----------------
It appears that is the mantra this year.
HAI GUYZ! WE IZ NOT HURT NO MORE!
It just makes me nauseated. I am so sick of this team and their habitual self-enabling. It is chronic from the top of the organization to the schlub players and why we can never turn the corner.
By Rainer Sabin / Reporter
rsabin@dallasnews.com
4:12 pm on May 21, 2013 |
IRVING — Throughout the off-season, Dallas Cowboys team executives have said a dearth in talent wasn’t the reason why the defense struggled last season. They repeatedly expressed faith in the personnel.
”Our plan in free agency is to get guys healthy,” executive vice president Stephen Jones said in February. “That’s how we are going to improve our team – get guys from the IR back on the field.”
This wasn’t a comment made in jest. Jones was serious. Dallas, limited by salary-cap constraints, signed two players in March — Linebacker Justin Durant and safety Will Allen. Management then focused more on improving the offense in the draft.
That’s because the Cowboys felt the defensive problems last season could be attributed to the complexity of former coordinator Rob Ryan’s scheme and the six season-ending injuries suffered by major contributors.
In a span of a few months, Dallas lost safety Barry Church, linebackers Sean Lee and Bruce Carter, defensive tackle Jay Ratliff, cornerback Orlando Scandrick and defensive end Kenyon Coleman — the only player who has since left the ranks. Meanwhile, star pass rusher DeMarcus Ware suffered a hyperextended right elbow and a posterior torn labrum in his right shoulder that limited his effectiveness.
“If we can remain healthy throughout the whole season, the sky is the limit for us,” Church said. “We have stars at every level. There is no reason why we shouldn’t be the No. 1 defense in the league.”
That’s a strong statement made by someone who played for a team that conceded 359 offensive points — the 10th-highest total in the NFL last season. But the defenders in the Cowboys locker room, by and large, believe a turnaround can be accomplished under new coordinator Monte Kiffin.
“The injury bug hit us hard,” cornerback Brandon Carr said. “Some of our key players, our cornerstone players of our defense, went down…Now we have guys with a year under their belt playing together and we kind of have got a feel for how [everyone] plays. And now everybody is pretty much on the same page as far as the new scheme and things like that. This year the sky is the limit.”
----------------
It appears that is the mantra this year.
HAI GUYZ! WE IZ NOT HURT NO MORE!
It just makes me nauseated. I am so sick of this team and their habitual self-enabling. It is chronic from the top of the organization to the schlub players and why we can never turn the corner.
