Any chance we can move on to the Ravens

[tomodach10]

The defense is my worry for the rest of the season. They were not very good against Pitt. Injuries to our secondary with Claiborne and even church out really is hurting this d. Orlando is not playing well IMO. I still believe the defense is not good enough to get us to the Superbowl. Hope I am wrong.

 

[jarntt]

The defense is my worry for the rest of the season. They were not very good against Pitt. Injuries to our secondary with Claiborne and even church out really is hurting this d. Orlando is not playing well IMO. I still believe the defense is not good enough to get us to the Superbowl. Hope I am wrong.

No, the defense is nowhere near good enough to get us to the SB, but they don't have to be. That's the Offense's job. All the D has to do is play average which they can with a little pass rush...and no, they did NOT do that last week at all (poor pass rush, horrible tackling), but we still won

 

[Manster7588]

The defense is my worry for the rest of the season. They were not very good against Pitt. Injuries to our secondary with Claiborne and even church out really is hurting this d. Orlando is not playing well IMO. I still believe the defense is not good enough to get us to the Superbowl. Hope I am wrong.

I'm going to give Pittsburgh a lot of credit for how the Dallas D played. For the majority ofvthis season the D played OK, not great but they have played better than average.

 

[jarntt]

I'm going to give Pittsburgh a lot of credit for how the Dallas D played. For the majority ofvthis season the D played OK, not great but they have played better than average.

You had me up until better than average. I'd go with average at best. Maybe it's semantics. But with us being second in the league in time of possession (due to our Offense) I think it's safe to say our defense is on the field at least one less time per game than average. So that is one possession of yards and points not added in. But, we are right around top 10 in both categories, so regardless of what you think you can't say we are playing horribly even if you are a Dallas hater..

 

[Manster7588]

You had me up until better than average. I'd go with average at best. Maybe it's semantics. But with us being second in the league in time of possession (due to our Offense) I think it's safe to say our defense is on the field at least one less time per game than average. So that is one possession of yards and points not added in. But, we are right around top 10 in both categories, so regardless of what you think you can't say we are playing horribly even if you are a Dallas hater..

Well average is above 16, and I believe the D was ranked around 10 give or take, so I'm sticking with my above average.

 

[Manster7588]

Ok, found YPP stats, team is current 20, however prior to last week, they were 16th.

 

[jarntt]

Ok, found YPP stats, team is current 20, however prior to last week, they were 16th.

I'm not going by stats, but helping your case...for every 20th ranked stat you find like the one you just listed, you can find one like points against in which they are (I believe) top 10.

It still comes down to crunch time for me with this team and I see the same problems at the end of the game stopping the other team from scoring. When that changes I'll change my opinion. But, I certainly am not saying they are horrible either. So far they are doing about what I thought and with health and some luck can get even better. But, the pass rush needs to be better too. The tackling has actually been a lot better this year until last week and Bell and Brown can do that to a lot of teams. I hope in December when we return all of our DBs we do indeed show we can win a game on defense...

 

[Psych-Ward]

IMO, I honestly can't see y'alls worry in the Ravens.
They struggled to score against us, and you saw first hand our D has more holes in it than a block of swiss.
Ben was playing exceptionally shitty that game, and we managed to put up 14. So I really don't see the Cowboys having many troubles with the Ratbirds.

But, its the Ravens. And you never know which Joe Flacco will show up.

 

[Manster7588]

I'm not going by stats, but helping your case...for every 20th ranked stat you find like the one you just listed, you can find one like points against in which they are (I believe) top 10.

It still comes down to crunch time for me with this team and I see the same problems at the end of the game stopping the other team from scoring. When that changes I'll change my opinion. But, I certainly am not saying they are horrible either. So far they are doing about what I thought and with health and some luck can get even better. But, the pass rush needs to be better too. The tackling has actually been a lot better this year until last week and Bell and Brown can do that to a lot of teams. I hope in December when we return all of our DBs we do indeed show we can win a game on defense...

I used the YPP stat because of your fair point about the O and time of possession, which does effect the D. My point is the D has played much better than most thought they would. It still needs a few upgrades especially with the line.

 

[jarntt]

I used the YPP stat because of your fair point about the O and time of possession, which does effect the D. My point is the D has played much better than most thought they would. It still needs a few upgrades especially with the line.

I totally agree with YPP. I think they are playing right about where expected. Maybe a little better? I know there are a lot of Cowboy haters that thought they were the worst team in the league defensively, but they also thought they would win 4 games at most and that was never a reasonable crowd to listen to. Most Cowboy fans were worried about the pass rush and that's still a problem. Most Cowboy fans were worried about stopping teams at the end of games and that's still a problem. Where they are exceeding expectations (IMO) is the secondary play. Not just in coverage, but run support and overall physical play. I think if Mo comes back and Scandrick gets 100% this could be the difference between struggling to stop teams when we know they are passing and actually stopping them. Even Church is important. He was playing very well. If everyone is healthy we have 4 CBs that can play plus Jones. That is some pretty good coverage. Just need a pass rush...

 

[Manster7588]

I totally agree with YPP. I think they are playing right about where expected. Maybe a little better? I know there are a lot of Cowboy haters that thought they were the worst team in the league defensively, but they also thought they would win 4 games at most and that was never a reasonable crowd to listen to. Most Cowboy fans were worried about the pass rush and that's still a problem. Most Cowboy fans were worried about stopping teams at the end of games and that's still a problem. Where they are exceeding expectations (IMO) is the secondary play. Not just in coverage, but run support and overall physical play. I think if Mo comes back and Scandrick gets 100% this could be the difference between struggling to stop teams when we know they are passing and actually stopping them. Even Church is important. He was playing very well. If everyone is healthy we have 4 CBs that can play plus Jones. That is some pretty good coverage. Just need a pass rush...

All fair and good points. Two differences to me this year is in tbe past 3rd and 30 wasnt a sure fire bet the D gets iff the field, this year 3rd and 10+ chances are good, plus the redzine D is better, I dont know why but seems they've learned the back of the end zone is on their side.

 

[jarntt]

All fair and good points. Two differences to me this year is in tbe past 3rd and 30 wasnt a sure fire bet the D gets iff the field, this year 3rd and 10+ chances are good, plus the redzine D is better, I dont know why but seems they've learned the back of the end zone is on their side.

I think it's the coverage. We saw a few times where a better pass just beat our guys (Miller twice against Jones), but there seem to be tighter coverage and less finger pointing in the red zone. I don't have any proof, but it seems we are in man more often in the red zone too and also more physical. So a little less where guys don't know who has who and the QB has an easy TD pass. This year the TD passes seem to be contested more. Look at Pitt. All three were contested and what I would call good coverage.

 

[PDay8810]

All fair and good points. Two differences to me this year is in tbe past 3rd and 30 wasnt a sure fire bet the D gets iff the field, this year 3rd and 10+ chances are good, plus the redzine D is better, I dont know why but seems they've learned the back of the end zone is on their side.

Good points....this remains a poor-mans defense that's busts it's ass play after play.
I'm very satisfied with the defense but I was one of the very few that didn't buy in to this butt ugly theory. I think the pass rush will be better and while still not near the top end level....serviceable

 

[ROMOTOOWENS]

This average - above or below- what are we basing it on. There are a lot of bad defenses in the NFL, so are we basing it on the other teams this season or are we basing it on our eyes. We have played 9 games. There is only one defense that we have played against, arguably 2- that I would rather have. I don't want to mention names if u know what I mean.

 

[ROMOTOOWENS]

All fair and good points. Two differences to me this year is in tbe past 3rd and 30 wasnt a sure fire bet the D gets iff the field, this year 3rd and 10+ chances are good, plus the redzine D is better, I dont know why but seems they've learned the back of the end zone is on their side.

In the NFL most games are supposedly close. Now maybe it's the shitty offenses we have played, but red zone defense much like red zone offense are about as important as anything.

 

[UK Cowboy]

IMO, I honestly can't see y'alls worry in the Ravens.
They struggled to score against us, and you saw first hand our D has more holes in it than a block of swiss.
Ben was playing exceptionally shitty that game, and we managed to put up 14. So I really don't see the Cowboys having many troubles with the Ratbirds.

But, its the Ravens. And you never know which Joe Flacco will show up.

I think to win in Dallas, they'll have to be +2 in turnovers. Tough game after 2 straight on the road, I like Dallas 24-20

 

[Psych-Ward]

I think to win in Dallas, they'll have to be +2 in turnovers. Tough game after 2 straight on the road, I like Dallas 24-20

Well this might make a difference, not sure.

Ray Lewis called out Flacco this week, so he may have a fire under his ass!!!!

 

[PDay8810]

Well this might make a difference, not sure.

Ray Lewis called out Flacco this week, so he may have a fire under his ass!!!!

Ray wasn't saying jack winning his last SB with Flacco....looks the same Flacco to me minus the miracle playoff run. All I know about this game is Dallas wants the ball if they win the toss.

 

[es4m11]

Big game this week for both teams. Interesting thoughts in this thread, and I'll address some of the points in my thoughts below. I watch both of these teams just about every week and I'm feeling pretty confident about a Cowboys win.

The Ravens are banged up on both sides of the ball. They will be without their best pass rusher (Dumervil) and CB (Smith), and possibly without starting MLB (Mosley) as well. The Ravens offensive line has been somewhat of a patchwork up until recently, with Stanley and Yanda just starting to round back into form after missing time with various injuries. Suggs is playing with a torn Biceps. These guys are beat up.

Baltimore's offense hasn't been pretty this year. Joe Flacco has not been very good this year, his decision making has been questionable all season. In Baltimore, Flacco is often referred to as "Jump Ball Joe" because of his propensity to throw deep balls into coverage - it's really starting to drive the fans around here crazy. Steve Smith is not what he used to be, the Achilles injury he suffered last year has robbed him of a lot of the explosion he had left - almost strictly a possession receiver now. Mike Wallace has played well this year, a beneficiary of the "Jump Ball Joe" offense to a certain degree, he must be accounted for. The Ravens running game has been hot and cold, mostly cold. If Dallas eliminates the big plays down the field to Mike Wallace and Breshad Perriman, and doesn't lose the field position battle the Ravens offense does not present many challenges.

Baltimore's defense is playing well no doubt, but I think they are very much over-hyped at this point in time. The numbers look good, but this defense is not immune to giving up the big play. Honestly, without looking at the numbers I wouldn't say this is a top 5 and maybe not even a top 10 D. The run D is strong, but I don't know if that's going to matter against Dallas, especially if CJ Mosely is out. I think the Cowboys rushing attack is head and shoulders above what anyone else is bringing to the table. The Ravens pass D has been decent. Eric Weddle has been a solid pick up and played well - many here, including myself, wanted Weddle in the off season, but Church/Wilcox have been his equal to this point in the season. Baltimore will be missing Jimmy Smith on Sunday, bad news for a pass defense that is already prone to giving up big plays from time to time - I think we might see Dez have a nice game.

All in all, I think if Dallas brings an effort consistent with their established level of play they should walk away with a win on Sunday. Baltimore is more smoke and mirrors than anything right now. They need to get healthy and for Joe Flacco to play better before I would consider them a real threat.

FWIW, most of the talk shows/local media types here in Baltimore are picking Dallas.

 

[es4m11]

Ray wasn't saying jack winning his last SB with Flacco....looks the same Flacco to me minus the miracle playoff run. All I know about this game is Dallas wants the ball if they win the toss.

Most people I have heard here around town think this is just Ray blowing smoke. Just Ray saying something controversial to put the spotlight on him to draw attention to his tanking media career.