Sturm: The Morning After: Cowboys defense showing it’s capable of stepping in and doing the heavy lifting

[boozeman]

The nice thing is we use a lot of guys on defense. We have 4 corners that we feel good about. We probably rotate 8 or more guys on the Dline. We haven't even really begun to use Cox at LBer.

So part of my fear would be the defense gets worn out as the season goes on but I don't think that it will.

This is a team that will live or die by the D.

Let’s see where that takes us.

 

[Simpleton]

I'm not especially worried about the run defense because I think Jones running around for his life inflated the numbers a bit and it seems we're mostly getting hit on the edges here and there for big plays before they tighten things up again.

The Skins ran all over us for about 1.5 quarters and then got shut down, I think that's mostly a function of our defense generally being aggressive and looking to get upfield after the QB first and foremost.

Lots of those big runs Tampa had in the first game were out to the perimeter also and seemed designed specifically to take advantage of our aggressiveness defensively. If the offense had kept us in that game I doubt their running game would've been as effective into the 2nd half.

I think it's something Quinn has to anticipate and be ready to adapt to but I don't think it's a systemic issue like it would be if teams were just running straight up the gut for 5.5 YPC.

And yes, the tendency to go light at DT (also part of what I think is Quinn's nature of being aggressive and prioritizing QB pressure) is part of it too, although against the Skins it seemed like we went to more 3-down DL in the 2nd half with Golston out on the edge helping keep things contained, so I think Quinn has options to adjust as long as we don't get down big and let other teams pick and choose when they want to pass.

 

[Cotton]

I'm not especially worried about the run defense because I think Jones running around for his life inflated the numbers a bit and it seems we're mostly getting hit on the edges here and there for big plays before they tighten things up again.

The Skins ran all over us for about 1.5 quarters and then got shut down, I think that's mostly a function of our defense generally being aggressive and looking to get upfield after the QB first and foremost.

Lots of those big runs Tampa had in the first game were out to the perimeter also and seemed designed specifically to take advantage of our aggressiveness defensively. If the offense had kept us in that game I doubt their running game would've been as effective into the 2nd half.

I think it's something Quinn has to anticipate and be ready to adapt to but I don't think it's a systemic issue like it would be if teams were just running straight up the gut for 5.5 YPC.

And yes, the tendency to go light at DT (also part of what I think is Quinn's nature of being aggressive and prioritizing QB pressure) is part of it too, although against the Skins it seemed like we went to more 3-down DL in the 2nd half with Golston out on the edge helping keep things contained, so I think Quinn has options to adjust as long as we don't get down big and let other teams pick and choose when they want to pass.

Our run defense will get much better when Cox and Kearse are back out on the field. LVE looks like he is running through mud most of the time.

 

[p1_]

Our run defense will get much better when Cox and Kearse are back out on the field. LVE looks like he is running through mud most of the time.

why isn't Cox playing?

 

[Cotton]

why isn't Cox playing?

I guess Quinn thinks he isn't quite ready yet. But, I have seen enough of him to know he would be better than LVE, especially in the run game.

 

[NoDak]

I guess Quinn thinks he isn't quite ready yet. But, I have seen enough of him to know he would be better than LVE, especially in the run game.

Nobody is a bigger fan of Jabril Cox than me, since the days he was at NDSU. I think he will be really good given time. But I'm not going to second guess Quinn by thinking he's already better than LVE. It obvious that athletically, he's way ahead of LVE. But maybe he's struggling with the mental part of it. Who knows? In college, he was the defensive leader calling plays and getting people in the right places. I have no idea what would be holding him back here. But I do think people have just decided to make LVE their whipping boy, and pile on. Deserved or not. He's better than people give him credit for, and must be doing something right for a coach like Quinn to keep running him out there. Whether that's because of what LVE is doing on the field, or what Cox isn't ready to do, I don't know.

It's funny to me that people slurp Quinn's crank in one moment, then turn around and think he'd just continue to run LVE out there with a superior player on the bench getting no playing time.

 

[Cotton]

Nobody is a bigger fan of Jabril Cox than me, since the days he was at NDSU. I think he will be really good given time. But I'm not going to second guess Quinn by thinking he's already better than LVE. It obvious that athletically, he's way ahead of LVE. But maybe he's struggling with the mental part of it. Who knows? In college, he was the defensive leader calling plays and getting people in the right places. I have no idea what would be holding him back here. But I do think people have just decided to make LVE their whipping boy, and pile on. Deserved or not. He's better than people give him credit for, and must be doing something right for a coach like Quinn to keep running him out there. Whether that's because of what LVE is doing on the field, or what Cox isn't ready to do, I don't know.

It's funny to me that people slurp Quinn's crank in one moment, then turn around and think he'd just continue to run LVE out there with a superior player on the bench getting no playing time.

That's why I said it was most likely because Quinn thinks he isn't ready yet.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

It's funny to me that people slurp Quinn's crank in one moment, then turn around and think he'd just continue to run LVE out there with a superior player on the bench getting no playing time.

Like I said, Quinn had Jaylon starting last year to start the season. There are delicate leadership dynamics I think that coaches deal with. And sometimes benching a veteran who has been here for years as a leader in favor of a young unproven guy isn't easy inside of a locker room.

But LVE isn't total trash. He is pretty solid and physical on the inside stuff. He knows what he is doing. He also has done a solid job on some blitzing stuff taking on Olineman and helping to open pass rushers up. I think part of it is just Quinn likes the big LBers in there because he basically goes small and fast everywhere else a lot.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

I wonder if Cox's knee isn't a part of it. They were saying on one of the DC.com shows they pushed it really hard and it was doing okay, but sometime later in camp it kind of flared up on him again. Maybe he's good for a few plays on special teams but they don't think he should be doing that plus a bunch of plays on defense yet.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

I wonder if Cox's knee isn't a part of it. They were saying on one of the DC.com shows they pushed it really hard and it was doing okay, but sometime later in camp it kind of flared up on him again. Maybe he's good for a few plays on special teams but they don't think he should be doing that plus a bunch of plays on defense yet.

I thought he looked awesome in preseason. The guy can really shoot a gap and male the play.

 

[NoDak]

Like I said, Quinn had Jaylon starting last year to start the season. There are delicate leadership dynamics I think that coaches deal with. And sometimes benching a veteran who has been here for years as a leader in favor of a young unproven guy isn't easy inside of a locker room.

Who did we have at LB though? I can understand starting Smith at the start of the year, considering who we had on the roster. It's not like we were sitting on some guy that should have been playing. We had guys like Luke Gifford and Azur Kamara on the bench along with Smith, Parsons and LVE who were getting the playing time. Cox as a rookie was coming off an injury then. And it didn't take long to see that Jaylon Smith wasn't working, and he was gone.

 

[Simpleton]

Like I said, Quinn had Jaylon starting last year to start the season. There are delicate leadership dynamics I think that coaches deal with. And sometimes benching a veteran who has been here for years as a leader in favor of a young unproven guy isn't easy inside of a locker room.

But LVE isn't total trash. He is pretty solid and physical on the inside stuff. He knows what he is doing. He also has done a solid job on some blitzing stuff taking on Olineman and helping to open pass rushers up. I think part of it is just Quinn likes the big LBers in there because he basically goes small and fast everywhere else a lot.

That was 4 games into Quinn's tenure here, he was probably just defaulting to the vets until proven otherwise and then it only took 4 games for him to see enough before he was cut.

This is completely different because we're about 20 or so games in now, with Quinn having been around both LVE and Cox the entire time. There's a reason LVE is starting and playing so much (nearly 90% or so of the snaps), which is how he was trending towards the end of last year too, and I'd imagine it's mostly about getting guys lined up, playing with proper spacing in coverage and run fits, etc.

Cox is the better athlete at this point in time but he's probably not as reliable in terms of being in the right place at the right time for 50 snaps a game, week in and week out.

His time will come but there's no reason to rush him.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

Who did we have at LB though? I can understand starting Smith at the start of the year, considering who we had on the roster. It's not like we were sitting on some guy that should have been playing. We had guys like Luke Gifford and Azur Kamara on the bench along with Smith, Parsons and LVE who were getting the playing time. Cox as a rookie was coming off an injury then. And it didn't take long to see that Jaylon Smith wasn't working, and he was gone.

Well at that point we weren't really even using Parsons like he is now. But back then he wasn't really logging heavy snaps. The first 3 weeks of the season he was playing 78.5%, 54.9%, and 63.8% of defensive snaps. Weeks 2 and 3 Jaylon fucking Smith was a bigger part of our defense for example. Hell Keanu Neal was getting more snaps than Parsons at that point.

Quinn is a bad ass but no one is above making mistakes either. It's just possible that LVE is one of the minor complaints we actually can wage against him.

Again, I think this just requires patience. Cox will get his opportunities. They have veterans who have been around the NFL a long time and it gives them the luxury of working him in slowly.

 

[boozeman]

I still would like to see Cox worked in even here and there. Should Vander Esch go down, he can’t just go in cold. Now Clark is working to get on the field, so we shall see.

 

[Simpleton]

I still would like to see Cox worked in even here and there. Should Vander Esch go down, he can’t just go in cold. Now Clark is working to get on the field, so we shall see.

If LVE got hurt I think you'd just see Barr on the field about every snap and mostly all 3 safety looks with Kearse acting as a pseudo-LB.

 

[Genghis Khan]

Jaylon was also under a long term contract last year also. I think we were still trying to figure out if we could salvage something there. I'd also guess Jerry was in his corner and that probably took some convincing.

LVE was a free agent in the off-season. We intentionally brought him back. We must have felt he brings something to the table.

And, if they felt really good about Cox, why bring in Barr?

For the record I think LVE is fine but I am surprised we haven't seen more of Cox. There does seem like something is going on there.

 

[Genghis Khan]

Now Clark is working to get on the field, so we shall see.

That's an interesting wrench in all of this as well.

 

[bbgun]

And, if they felt really good about Cox, why bring in Barr?

beginning to wonder if Barr is still on the roster in December

 

[Genghis Khan]

beginning to wonder if Barr is still on the roster in December

He seems to be doing alright though.