I heard that Jason Garrett didn't want to fire Rob Ryan last season but was told to do so by Jerry Jones. Jones then goes and hires fellow AARP guy in Monte Kiffin only to find that Kiffin hasn't done much to improve the Cowboys defense. Now who is the better DC?
Not a whole lot of bitching when we were in the plus side of turn overs...this defense was flying around the field causing turnovers before the injury bug hit us again..I mean really only starter left on defensive line is DeMarcus..and he's only part time!!.....so who better??...Sixes!!
After another game of surrendering 600+ yards of offense it looks like a bad choice. BUT...we've allowed fewer points per game than in the two years under Ryan, are getting more pressure on the QB, and have generated more turnovers. I think it's too early to call it a "bad move."
If I may, I truly believe it is a culture that has been created by Jerry Jones. Jerry is all about "the show" as evidenced in his new stadium (which is amazing) with the players running through a fan lined tunnel, his appearances on the sideline and chatting up players to try to get them to perform better and pull out a win, and so on. JJ needs to fire himself. I know of another brilliant Texas business man, Gary Keller, who did just that and low and behold his business flourished, by getting the right people in the right place. Now, Kiffen vs. Ryan, regular vs. unleaded in two different cars... you'll never know. I will tell you that Kiffen had nothing to do with the Cowboys only scoring 17pts. and Romo only completing 10 passes. That keeps the D on the field, and that WILL turn into tired points, regardless of talent.
To me it seems as though injuries have always been the Cowboys biggest hurdle. The loss of Sean Lee and possibly Demarcus ware will really hurt Kiffin's defense, but I feel that it also hurt Rob Ryan's defense. I don't think that Jones really gave Ryan a fighting chance and he was a scapegoat for keeping Garrett.
Tough to argue against that, seeing what Ryan's doing now in N'awlins. But let's not forget that prior to this year, Ryan NEVER has had what you'd call a stand-out defense. Pretty much across the board, his defenses have been pretty pedestrian.
No argument -- Jerruh seems to love the sizzle as much as the steak. JJ needs to fire himself. I know of another brilliant Texas business man, Gary Keller, who did just that and low and behold his business flourished, by getting the right people in the right place. Couldn't agree more. Jerry would be a folk hero to Dallas fans if he'd step aside as GM, hire a football lifer to run the personnel, hire the HC, etc. Not sure the Tampa-2 is the way to go; wondering if Marinelli (if promoted to DC) would scrap it and/or just use elements of it (much as Lovie Smith was doing in Chicago). Offensive play-calling has been...well, offensive. The team just needs to go in a different direction there -- Garrett was too ham-handed and pass-heavy, and Callahan certainly doesn't seem to have a feel for a nuanced game plan. DAllas has a talented receiving corps and a talented RB, but somehow the game plans rarely seem to meld the two effectively. It just feels like such a hodge-podge.
Oh, but how many teams was he a DC of that had a standout, Top 5, high-octane offense to go with his defense, including Dallas? He's able to try gimmicks and blitz schemes for New Orleans that he didn't get to do nearly as often elsewhere.
I didn't say he needed that good of an offense to be successful, I said he has one now that he didn't have elsewhere. He may very well be successful without a great offense, just wasn't that way in Cleveland nor Dallas. You mentioned 'pedestrian'? Some years were, but... At Oakland 2004, his D was ranked #3 2005 and 2008 #6 At Cleveland 2009 #2 Successful without a Top 5 offense ?
That's still not exactly what I'd call a ringing endorsement. Not sure where you got those numbers. He was D Coordinator for the Raiders 2004-2008, Cleveland 2009-2010, and Dallas 2011-2012. Here are the ranking those defenses got - points/yards (from Pro Football Reference): 2004: 31/30 2005: 25/27 2006: 18/3 2007: 26/22 2008: 24/27 2009: 21/31 2010: 13/22 2011: 16/14 2012: 24/19
What would it be then? He ran a 19th ranked Dallas defense last year while the Saints D was 32nd, and now Dallas' D is ranked 32nd while the Saints D is ranked 7th.
He would still be (to me) a substandard DC if he needed a top-notch offense to have success. Dallas was 24th in points allowed last year; they're 23rd now. Where's the big decline? They've also generated more sacks and more turnovers than in the previous two years under Ryan. Weren't they supposed to be hallmarks of a Ryan defense?
The Saints are also improved in sacks and turnovers this year under Ryan. They are also keeping opponents (not the Pats and Jets) to 18 points or less. They are also limiting opponents less than 200 average yard passing per game.
No argument -- Ryan's done a great job so far with the Saints. I'm just saying his units were average to below-average in Dallas (admitting that the team's had a lot of injuries on that side of the ball the last few years).
The Saints haven't exactly been injury-free on defense this year. Several on IR and others on report. Vacarro got hurt Sunday night and will miss the next game. He'll be missed.
^^^ DeMarcus Ware - missed 3 games Jay Ratliff - didn't play a snap with the team Jason Hatcher - missed Saints game Anthony Spencer - placed on IR before the season Sean Lee - missed most of Saints game, out 3-4 weeks JJ Wilcox - missed last three games Mo Claiborne - missed last two games Those first 4 names represent who our starting defensive line was supposed to be. Instead we've had to start players like George Selvie, Nick Hayden, and Drake Nevis on the D-line. Dallas has started 13 different players on the defensive line; no other team has had to start more than 7.
Dallas has been hit hard, but I didn't say they weren't. I saw Sean Lee's injury. That's a bummer. I would list Butler, Will Smith, Vilma, etc, etc if I need to. Still, the Saints have maintained in the Top 10 practically every week despite it. They're in it now. The Saints have tough games coming up...Niners, Seahawks andalso the Panthers twice. I hope they can stay that highly ranked through those, but more importantly I hope no major injury.
You forgot Gerald Sensabaugh who from what I saw could not tackle a pillow. God is this guy that bad?
