Pass rush

[jarntt]

Biggest worry for the year continues to be the pass rush for me. The secondary looks like with health it will be better, #2 WR will be less of an issue if Dez is healthy and Romos health will or won't be an issue but as of today he is healthy and as long as he is, it's not a problem. I do think Lawrence has become a legitimate pass rusher and after week 4 will change everything. Between now and then I'm not sure what to expect. A healthy Crawford would of course help a lot. But these guys aren't exactly the Fearsome Foursome.

I like having a couple of underdog type stories because those guys usually will give 110% and set the tone for maximum effort for all. But, it looks like we may have a little too many "maybes" and not enough known quantities right now. Might have been the perfect year to take a flier on a guy like Freeney. Going to be fun to watch these guys in preseason and see who can take a step up. Irving and J Crawford showed potential already and hopefully some of the others can take a step forward.

Cowboys digging deep to find help for banged up defensive line | SportsDay

 

[UK Cowboy]

Biggest worry for the year continues to be the pass rush for me. The secondary looks like with health it will be better, #2 WR will be less of an issue if Dez is healthy and Romos health will or won't be an issue but as of today he is healthy and as long as he is, it's not a problem. I do think Lawrence has become a legitimate pass rusher and after week 4 will change everything. Between now and then I'm not sure what to expect. A healthy Crawford would of course help a lot. But these guys aren't exactly the Fearsome Foursome.

I like having a couple of underdog type stories because those guys usually will give 110% and set the tone for maximum effort for all. But, it looks like we may have a little too many "maybes" and not enough known quantities right now. Might have been the perfect year to take a flier on a guy like Freeney. Going to be fun to watch these guys in preseason and see who can take a step up. Irving and J Crawford showed potential already and hopefully some of the others can take a step forward.

Cowboys digging deep to find help for banged up defensive line | SportsDay

For me, I'd rather have the young group we have than a bunch of mid 30's FA's that are past their prime. I would be willing to bet this group will be far better at the end of the season than the start. I think Rod makes them a tough bunch

 

[Manster7588]

A top notch DLine has always been my pet peeve, while I see some potential here, I'm not confident m

 

[jarntt]

For me, I'd rather have the young group we have than a bunch of mid 30's FA's that are past their prime. I would be willing to bet this group will be far better at the end of the season than the start. I think Rod makes them a tough bunch

That sounds like a great plan when you have guys like Lawrnce and what we expected from Gregory. When it is a group that was in the CFL, on practice squads or cut from NFL roster guys I'm not so sure. Who do you have confidence in to contribute from that group while Lawrence is out and I don't mean based on a gut feeling or hope? If that was the Redskins front 4 would you be thinking "wow, they are going to suck"? I really liked what I saw from Irving and Jack Crawford in spots, but not so sure I'm ready to run either out there in big passing spots for most downs week 1 and expect results. Haven't seen much of the kid from Oakland that couldn't crack their game day rotation much, really like T McClain but still haven't seen much of him in 3 years, was disappointed in Crawford last year but hoping it was just the injury, the rookies from last year and this year would make nice stores, but have you actually seen anything from them that make you think they'll contribute? So it's hard to make a case when almost every guy is a question mark. I do think we will be good against the run though which will help and if the other guys do their jobs it will make it easier on the front 4 for the first 4 weeks too.

 

[ROMOTOOWENS]

Tapper looked pretty good today. Ready to see the Collins guy get in there some.

 

[jarntt]

Tapper looked pretty good today. Ready to see the Collins guy get in there some.

He's getting close right? First reports were about him maybe not being ready for week 1 I thought. But I saw something recently that alluding to him being back soon. Not sure if it gave a date or I just assumed

 

[DALLAScornhusker]

Collins is near a return, but he still will have to get conditioning up to snuff before getting in scrimmages or preseason games. Likely two weeks out until he puts pads on.

 

[jarntt]

Collins is near a return, but he still will have to get conditioning up to snuff before getting in scrimmages or preseason games. Likely two weeks out until he puts pads on.

Let's hope he gets a couple of preseason games in. At least enough to spell Crawford in the real games if that's where they play him.

 

[jarntt]

Cowboys Coping With Thin Defensive Line Early In Training Camp
Monday, August 08, 2016 2:59 PM CDT

OXNARD, Calif. – The Cowboys entered training camp with well-documented questions about their defensive line depth.

Lately, they’ve been making do with even less.

Five defensive linemen have missed multiple practices – Benson Mayowa(knee; Active PUP list), Maliek Collins (foot; Active/PUP list), Tyrone Crawford(back), Terrell McClain (toe) and Cedric Thornton (sick) – and six if you countRandy Gregory’s place on the Reserve/Did Not Report list. DeMarcus Lawrence (rest) and Ryan Russell (knee) did not participate in Sunday’s Blue/White Scrimmage.

Head coach Jason Garrett sees a silver lining.


“We’ve had a lot of guys who are out, so a lot of younger guys and some backup players have gotten a lot of work and that’s a really good thing for our team,” he said. “It provides an opportunity for them to show what they can do. It provides an opportunity for us to see what they can do. That’s good. We’ll keep creating competition all throughout that group.”

Help appears on the way as the Cowboys get set for their second full week of camp. Crawford and McClain are getting close to returning, and Mayowa and Collins – two acquisitions via free agency and the draft, respectively – are making progress from summer surgeries.

Early in camp, though, a thin line has meant questions will persist about the state of the team’s pass rush. Last year the Cowboys had 31 sacks, only three more than 2014. Lawrence, the 2015 sack leader with eight, will miss the first four games of the regular season due to NFL suspension. No player on the roster has ever reached double digits.

Defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli acknowledges it’s one of the most inexperienced groups he has inherited, but he does see talent that can be molded. David Irving, a second-year defensive end, has had a productive start to camp. Fourth-round pick Charles Tapper has potential as an edge rusher.

“Got some young good players to work with,” Marinelli said. “Now, that being said, it’s about how hard we want to play, how physical we have to be down in and down out. We’ve got to have an attitude more than anything. You win games with who wants it more. It’s our job as coaches to instill that part of the game.”

 

[PDay8810]

gotta double down on Marinelli this year

go cowboys

 

[jarntt]

Good news for DL. Would love to see everyone playing at 100% for the 3rd preseason game:

Three defensive tackles who have been missing in action -- Tyrone Crawford, Terrell McClain and Cedric Thornton --returned to practice Tuesday. Defensive end Benson Mayowa and rookie defensive tackle Maliek Collins are making progress and could be activated from the physically unable to perform list next week.

 

[jarntt]

Maybe the Chargers want to cut bait on Bosa. Give 'em next years #1 and give him the contract language he wants. That sure would be a "Jerry move" and I'd be all for it. Yes, I know the Chargers aren't likely to do it, but Spanos is pretty dumb and the two sides don't seem close, so...

 

[Manster7588]

Maybe the Chargers want to cut bait on Bosa. Give 'em next years #1 and give him the contract language he wants. That sure would be a "Jerry move" and I'd be all for it. Yes, I know the Chargers aren't likely to do it, but Spanos is pretty dumb and the two sides don't seem close, so...

There's a story I read that due to the rookie cap Dallas cannot trade for Bosa. The story only addressed Dallas, but I have imagine no team other than SD can sign the guy as of today, since they all used up their rookie pool money.

 

[PDay8810]

maybe it's me, but as I said yesterday on the general board, I'm happy Boza didn't land in Dallas. Just have that feeling he'll be good to average at best when it's all said and done. Something about the guy says at his very best, we're talking Greg Ellis....which isn't bad, but Greg Ellis took a few seasons to become Greg Ellis.

Got a good feeling about the group assembled here if somewhat healthy this coming season. It has much to do with attitude and high motors play after play.

 

[jarntt]

There's a story I read that due to the rookie cap Dallas cannot trade for Bosa. The story only addressed Dallas, but I have imagine no team other than SD can sign the guy as of today, since they all used up their rookie pool money.

Wow, there is actually discussion about this? I thought I was pulling it out of my ass.

On the rookie cap. I don't know the rule but this doesn't seem to make sense. There is a slot per player and an amount each team needs to set aside for their draft picks, but the more your picks cost you the more you set aside and fit within your overall cap. I thought they just needed to fit a guy like Bosa within their overall cap at his slotted value and the rookie pool is for your own draft picks. So no team can trade for Bosa because he would cause them to exceed the rookie pool that was calculated on their own picks? So no team can ever trade a rookie in that case unless getting an equal rookie back? I guess they could do this to prevent collusion where two teams swap picks and then give both guys more than the cap would allow.

Something just seems off. Perhaps he needs to sign first, but once signed Bosa should be able to be traded without issue. So SD signs him and then trades him and the team only has to fit him under their total cap unless there is some special rule for rookie draft picks (I know the UDFAs don't count because of Collins last year). I am intrigued by this rule because if true it seems like it does nothing but hurt teams from making themselves better

.

 

[Manster7588]

maybe it's me, but as I said yesterday on the general board, I'm happy Boza didn't land in Dallas. Just have that feeling he'll be good to average at best when it's all said and done. Something about the guy says at his very best, we're talking Greg Ellis....which isn't bad, but Greg Ellis took a few seasons to become Greg Ellis.

Got a good feeling about the group assembled here if somewhat healthy this coming season. It has much to do with attitude and high motors play after play.

Agree, I never thought Bosa was worth the 5th pick in the draft, closer to 15-20 IMO.

 

[Manster7588]

Wow, there is actually discussion about this? I thought I was pulling it out of my ass.

On the rookie cap. I don't know the rule but this doesn't seem to make sense. There is a slot per player and an amount each team needs to set aside for their draft picks, but the more your picks cost you the more you set aside and fit within your overall cap. I thought they just needed to fit a guy like Bosa within their overall cap at his slotted value and the rookie pool is for your own draft picks. So no team can trade for Bosa because he would cause them to exceed the rookie pool that was calculated on their own picks? So no team can ever trade a rookie in that case unless getting an equal rookie back? I guess they could do this to prevent collusion where two teams swap picks and then give both guys more than the cap would allow.

Something just seems off. Perhaps he needs to sign first, but once signed Bosa should be able to be traded without issue. So SD signs him and then trades him and the team only has to fit him under their total cap unless there is some special rule for rookie draft picks (I know the UDFAs don't count because of Collins last year). I am intrigued by this rule because if true it seems like it does nothing but hurt teams from making themselves better

.

Yes it was discussed, but the rookie pools are set on where teams draft, and how many picks they have. Only way SD could have traded his rights is before most 1st rounders were signed.

 

[jarntt]

I like Bosa and I think Marinelli would absolutely love him and get a lot out of him. I think he'd be a day 1 starter on this team for sure. He is going to be an effort guy with a decent first step, good strength, good against the run and also a good motor and pass rusher. Maybe not quite the first step of some rookies, but good enough to be a good edge rusher.

 

[jarntt]

Yes it was discussed, but the rookie pools are set on where teams draft, and how many picks they have. Only way SD could have traded his rights is before most 1st rounders were signed.

I just don't see it. If SD signs him and cuts him he can get any contract from any team, right? So why can't they just sign him and trade him? I don't see why that would impact the new teams rookie cap

 

[Manster7588]

The thing I read was talk about Dallas trading their 17 1st, Leary, and other assets.