Fixing the defense

Discussion in 'NFC East' started by Vintage, Nov 7, 2010.

  1. Vintage

    Vintage Defeating Communism...

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    There has been a recent wave of teams switching to the 3-4. As such, DL and edge rushers that fit the 30 front are at a premium, whereas a decade ago, that's wasn't the case.

    The Cowboys will enter the offseason with the following DL players as UFA. Marcus Spears, Jason Hatcher, and Stephen Bowen; all DE's. Jason Hatcher is an oft-injured DE who has never materialized as anything more than a situational pass rusher. Bowen is a solid pass rushing rotational player, but his run defense prevents from him being able to contribute as a potential starter. Marcus Spears is the clearly the best of the three. Dallas will have a choice to make this offseason; do they set aside a sizable chunk of change for Spears (Canty got 7 years/49 million) to lock up a long term starter? I don't see that. Spears is a very solid player who I'd like to see remain in Dallas, but not at Canty's price. On an open market with many teams needing 3-4 DL, Spears is going to get overpaid.

    So, Dallas will need at least one new DL starter. Ratliff will be back and at NT. He's had a down year, that's for sure. But his body of work clearly suggests he'll be fine.

    What about the other DL starter, Igor? He's been atrocious and needs to be replaced. In an ideal world, Dallas needs 2 more starters on the DL. One because of money (Spears) and another based on performance (Igor). Add to that the premium now placed on the 30 front, its going to be hard to find that in free agency at a reasonable price or in the draft with so many teams targeting the odd front guys.

    Then you look at the LBers. Ware has one OLB spot locked up. The other OLB is most likely locked up, even if it doesn't really deserve to be. Spencer closed out last year very, very strong. But his regression (along with Ratliff's poor play) has really been the catalyst of the Dallas defensive demise. Dallas needs to start rotating Victor Butler (and live with the drop off in run defense) to motivate Spencer, or begin replacing Spencer.

    The middle of the Dallas defense has been awful. That's the NT, the two ILBs, and the 2 Safeties. Brooking is done. At a minimum, Dallas needs 1 new starting ILB. They may have that on their roster in Sean Lee. They may not. But Brooking is not starting quality anymore. Bradie James probably has a couple of years in him left. He's the downhill thumping, run defense, type LBer. But Dallas is best served in getting another guy developed, preferably someone with more coverage skills to takeover in a couple of years.

    To remake the front 7 of Dallas is going to require a minimum of two starting quality DL and one starting quality ILB. That ILB could be solved in house. But the DL is assuredly going to come out of house, and either require Dallas committing substantial guaranteed money to Spears, finding players in free agency, or most likely, hoping to find someone via the draft. And then hoping your scouts were right.

    There is another solution. The 4-3.

    Ware would move to the weakside DE. His responsibilities wouldn't change much. He already is engaged with the OT when he rushes. By switching to the 4-3, it also gets him out of coverage. Why waste Ware in coverage? He is your best pass rusher. Rush him. Those worried about the run defense haven't been paying attention. He is responsible for setting the edge on the run plays anyway, often times against the LT. Its already his responsibility.

    Ratliff would shift from NT to the 3 technique, a position that he is better suited for, anyway. Ratliff is a high energy, athletic NT. He isn't a clogger. He shoots gaps. As he gets older, he isn't going to be able to constantly hold up the the double teams inside at the NT position. Realistically, Dallas needs to find someone to rotate with now. And they may have someone, in NT Brent. Moving him to 3 technique will prolong his career; its the type of move you do to get the most out of your best players. And Ratliff is one.

    At NT, Dallas will have to do some searching. The key is watching Josh Brent to see if he can develop. I was impressed with his play in the debacle that was the Jacksonville game. Also, you have Sean Lissemore, who, like Ratliff, is a high energy guy. If Brent shows that he can play NT solidly down the stretch of the season, Dallas should be fine with a DL already containing Ware, Ratliff, and Spencer.

    Spencer puts his hand back on the ground at DE on the strongside. He probably needs to put on about 10 pounds of weight, but that is doable. He can probably get up to 270 quite easily. Ware - Ratliff - Price - Spencer Your DL is now set. You need some backups, that's for sure. Dallas still has OLBs in the Elephant mode with Brandon Williams and Victor Butler who can put their hands on the ground. Victor Butler might actually stick at OLB even in the 4-3, in a role similar to what the Giants did with Kiwanuka. Lissemore is inside, rotating in. You can round out the DL with a couple of picks or free agent pickups.

    So, what do you do with the LBer position? Bradie James can play a 2 down MLB in a role similar to what Trotter did for Philly. You'd need to sub him out in obvious passing situations. Sean Lee probably plays the SLB in the 4-3. And, Victor Butler probably gets some reps there, too.

    What Dallas would be lacking in the 4-3, is the WLB. The rangy, sideline to sideline defender. That player may have been on the roster in Jason Williams, but he was cut. Dallas would have the cap room to make a splashy signing if one is open by saving money on not re-signing Spears AND cutting Olshansky to make that signing. Or.... via the draft. At either rate, switching to the 4-3 means Dallas needs to find the playmaking WLB. If Dallas continues with the 3-4, it needs to fight the other 3-4 teams for at least 2 starters on the DL, and that's assuming Lee can make the transition to 3-4 ILB.
     

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