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(ONE MONTH LATER)


I think that both of these teams (the Texans and the Cowboys) have shown to be good or (at least) pretty good.

Those 2 games are my biggest concerns of what remains to be played for the 2018 Colts in the regular season ........ I am also moderately concerned about the Titans game because of the Marcus Mariota factor.


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Leonard spying him worked well last time, I see no reason to go away from that. Force him to do what he can't do, win with his arm.

Cowboys D looked pretty stout tonight against the Saints. Gonna be a tough game for us.

But I thought that scheme was fatally flawed?? No way they just held the Saints to 10 points.

It’s almost as if any scheme can work if you have the right players and coaching.

The Cowboys have a very good defense this year. The most points they've given up is 28 to the Titans.

2nd in the league in points, giving up 18.2 per game.
5th in the league in yards, giving up 318.2 per game.
Tied for 4th in 1st downs/game, giving up 18.4.

Their D this year is what we can potentially hope for in a year or two.

Yep, but I guarantee you these facts won’t get in the way of people saying this scheme can’t work for one reason or another.

Maybe. I've seen a few bad takes with regard to our defense.

There are the people that think we play a Tampa 2 again.

There are the people that think any zone coverage is bad and indicates we're going back to the Ron Meeks days.

There are the people who think this is a good defense for not spending a lot (that was never true even in the Polian days, but even if it was it would have nothing to do with this defense).

I do think the pitfalls of a defense like this are pretty well-known. You can't sit back in zone too much and let a QB slice you up little by little. You can't get away with playing 4 DEs on the DL every snap. You can't vacate the middle of the field and expect to get any stops.

But just about any modern NFL defense (read: NOT the Tampa 2) can be successful with good players.

What I find interesting is the lack of stars on Dallas' defense. Outside of Lawrence, they don't really have superstars.

One rule of thumb I employ is to ignore or push back on anyone who deals in absolutes.

As for that Dallas defense, LVE and Jaylon Smith are becoming two of the best LBs in football. That defense is fast and physical, which is exactly what I think Ballard and Eberflus want.

Jaylon Smith and LVE were both very highly rated, incredibly talented LBs. Smith would've been a Top 10 pick without the injury.

I remember Smith being talked about as a top 5 pick before his injury. It's great he's made it this far after shredding all his knee ligaments. Is he a superstar though? Probably not yet. Maybe at the end of this season. Crawford and Irving both seem like good players too. Their CB1 was a first rounder. They have talent. But they're getting it done without selling out like the Jags did.