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Fraley: Cowboys defense is Super-Bowl worthy, but is that important?
03:09 PM CDT on Wednesday, September 8, 2010
By GERRY FRALEY / The Dallas Morning News
| gfraley@dallasnews.com
The Cowboys look at their defense and envision the Super Bowl.
FILE 2009/DMN
The Cowboys defense was second in the NFL to the New York Jets for fewest points allowed last season. Why not?
DeMarcus Ware and Anthony Spencer form what could be the best tandem of outside linebackers in the NFL. Ware has made four consecutive Pro Bowls, but opponents will not automatically duck him to challenge Spencer.
FILE 2009/Special Contributor
Marcus Spears (96), Igor Olshansky (99), DeMarcus Ware and the Cowboys defense held opponents to 15.6 points per game. Jay Ratliff is a freak: a nose tackle who can stop the running game on first and second downs and transform into a pass-rusher on third down. Ratliff was one of only five players in the league to have more than five sacks and more than seven tackles of a runner for a loss last season.
Cornerbacks Terence Newman and Mike Jenkins each joined Ware at the Pro Bowl last season.
The defense returns 10 starters and vital reserves from the bunch that gave up only 15.6 points per game last season, best in the NFC and second-best in the league behind the New York Jets at 14.8 offensive points per game allowed. The Cowboys finished the regular season with a first in club history: two consecutive shutouts.
The Cowboys' lone new starter, free safety Alan Ball, does not have to do much to be an upgrade over Ken Hamlin. A year ago Hamlin had no takeaways.
"I realize how special this is and how precious this opportunity is," said inside linebacker Keith Brooking, the heart-and-soul figure on the defense. "I will do everything in my power to make sure we take advantage of it. The window is now, and we can't let it pass without exhausting every opportunity."
The defense would be enough to slot the Cowboys in the Super Bowl, if this were the dawn of the 21st century. The NFL game has changed.
A rock-solid defense is no longer an absolute must for a Super Bowl run. Mediocre, at best, defenses have appeared in recent Super Bowls. Baltimore, in the 2000 season, is the last Super Bowl winner that won with defense.
The Ravens allowed a league-low 10.3 points in the regular season and 23 points in four playoff games. Reigning champion New Orleans allowed 59 points in three playoff games last season.
Defenses now face so many obstacles that to ask it to carry a club to the Super Bowl has been to set up an organization for disappointment.
"It changes from year to year, so there's a chance," said former Indianapolis coach Tony Dungy, whose club won a Super Bowl in the 2006 season with a mediocre defense. "But as long as ... the league wants to push offense, I don't think you will see a trend toward defense. It's just the way it is."
The Cowboys try to turn back the clock.
Risky business
New Orleans won the Super Bowl last season with a boom-or-bust defense that was often shredded as it went after takeaways. The Saints allowed 20-plus points in 12 regular-season games. When Tampa Bay won the Super Bowl in 2002, it allowed 20-plus points in only five regular-season games.
The Saints walked a tightrope in the playoffs. In the NFC title game, the Saints allowed 475 total yards, 31 first downs and 28 points but still defeated Minnesota in overtime. In the Super Bowl, Indianapolis produced 432 yards but only 17 points.
Nothing new here. The Saints continued a building trend.
In each of the last four Super Bowls, one entrant ranked 17th or worse in points allowed during the regular season. That had happened only twice since 1970, when the AFL and NFL began playing a unified schedule.
The last four championship games have included the worst defense in Super Bowl history, based on regular-season points allowed. Arizona, which gave up 26.6 points per game, came within 42 seconds of winning the 2008 game. Indianapolis won in 2006 with the worst defense (22.5 points allowed) of any Super Bowl champion.
Tampa Bay, from 2002, is the last Super Bowl winner to allow fewer than 14 points per game in the regular season. That used to be a given for a Super Bowl team.
"It's gone different ways," said Cowboys coach Wade Phillips, whose roots are in defense. "You used to say, and it used to be true, that defense wins championships. ... In the last few years, different teams have won a Super Bowl without great defenses we used to think you had to have."
To understand why this has happened, look at the competition committee. Most of its actions have been designed to help the offense at the expense of the defense.
Dungy, who broke into the NFL as a player with Pittsburgh in 1977, said this season's move of the umpire into the offensive backfield is the first change of his career that could help the defense. From the new spot, the umpire is expected to call holding against the offense more often.
The Pittsburgh teams that won four Super Bowls in the 1970s with a mauling defense would not have a chance today.
Of all the decisions by the competition committee, the edict to increase the emphasis on the "illegal contact" rule starting with the 2004 season has the most impact. It restricted the physical play of cornerbacks, allowing receivers to run free.
Passing has exploded. Of the top 20 individual seasons in completion percentage, 10 have taken place since 2004. New Orleans' Drew Brees set a record with a 70.6 completion percentage last season.
In six seasons since the change, the team with the highest-scoring offense has reached the Super Bowl three times, with New Orleans winning last season. In the same time frame, the team with the defense that allowed the fewest points reached the Super Bowl once, with Pittsburgh winning in 2008.
"I don't think there's any doubt it's changed the game," former Tennessee general manager Floyd Reese said of the increased restrictions on pass defenders. "I don't know how much it's changed it for everyone, but it has certainly changed it for the better for those teams that have the quarterback."
Predictability is good
Cowboys owner-general manager Jerry Jones is fond of saying his club "could not spell Super Bowl" until it added hybrid pass-rusher Charles Haley to the defense in 1992. With Haley, the Cowboys won three Super Bowls in four seasons.
"There's no question that a top defense can help you be successful in the postseason," Jones said. "I like the predictability of a good defense."
The predictability factor, Jones said, comes from a defense not revolving around one or two players. Defenses are equipped to handle an injury. An offense is thrown for a loop if it loses a quarterback or a left tackle.
That said, Jones has been in the forefront of moving toward an offense-first game. He was ahead of the curve, stressing offense on the 1990s Super Bowl winners.
Jones has been increasingly enamored of big-play offense. In this century, his biggest moves have been for wide receivers with home run potential: Joey Galloway and Roy Williams in disastrous trades; Terrell Owens as a free agent and Dez Bryant for this season's club through the draft.
With that, Jones fits into a league-wide trend. During the era of the salary cap, not in effect this season, teams made big investments in offensive players and cut and paste to put together a defense.
"Most teams will lean toward keeping an offensive superstar," Dungy said. "The cap makes you make tough decisions. We've seen examples where teams built the offense at the cost of the defense. They believed they could take a chance on younger offensive players."
Jones' big investments on offense have not paid off in a while. The veteran receivers fell below expectations for various reasons: injury to Galloway; uncontrollable ego with Owens; out-of-synch performances by Williams. Jones' pursuit of big plays has brought him one playoff victory in this century.
The failures have not shaken Jones' desire for a big-play receiver. He maneuvered in the draft's first round to add Bryant to a group of receivers that included Williams and Pro Bowler Miles Austin. Bryant was one of only three wide receivers taken among the first 59 picks.
Bryant could well become the offensive rookie of the year, if he stays healthy. To the idea that he wants to load up on offense, Jones pointed out that four of the remaining five picks after Bryant went to defense.
03:09 PM CDT on Wednesday, September 8, 2010
By GERRY FRALEY / The Dallas Morning News
| gfraley@dallasnews.com
The Cowboys look at their defense and envision the Super Bowl.
FILE 2009/DMN
The Cowboys defense was second in the NFL to the New York Jets for fewest points allowed last season. Why not?
DeMarcus Ware and Anthony Spencer form what could be the best tandem of outside linebackers in the NFL. Ware has made four consecutive Pro Bowls, but opponents will not automatically duck him to challenge Spencer.
FILE 2009/Special Contributor
Marcus Spears (96), Igor Olshansky (99), DeMarcus Ware and the Cowboys defense held opponents to 15.6 points per game. Jay Ratliff is a freak: a nose tackle who can stop the running game on first and second downs and transform into a pass-rusher on third down. Ratliff was one of only five players in the league to have more than five sacks and more than seven tackles of a runner for a loss last season.
Cornerbacks Terence Newman and Mike Jenkins each joined Ware at the Pro Bowl last season.
The defense returns 10 starters and vital reserves from the bunch that gave up only 15.6 points per game last season, best in the NFC and second-best in the league behind the New York Jets at 14.8 offensive points per game allowed. The Cowboys finished the regular season with a first in club history: two consecutive shutouts.
The Cowboys' lone new starter, free safety Alan Ball, does not have to do much to be an upgrade over Ken Hamlin. A year ago Hamlin had no takeaways.
"I realize how special this is and how precious this opportunity is," said inside linebacker Keith Brooking, the heart-and-soul figure on the defense. "I will do everything in my power to make sure we take advantage of it. The window is now, and we can't let it pass without exhausting every opportunity."
The defense would be enough to slot the Cowboys in the Super Bowl, if this were the dawn of the 21st century. The NFL game has changed.
A rock-solid defense is no longer an absolute must for a Super Bowl run. Mediocre, at best, defenses have appeared in recent Super Bowls. Baltimore, in the 2000 season, is the last Super Bowl winner that won with defense.
The Ravens allowed a league-low 10.3 points in the regular season and 23 points in four playoff games. Reigning champion New Orleans allowed 59 points in three playoff games last season.
Defenses now face so many obstacles that to ask it to carry a club to the Super Bowl has been to set up an organization for disappointment.
"It changes from year to year, so there's a chance," said former Indianapolis coach Tony Dungy, whose club won a Super Bowl in the 2006 season with a mediocre defense. "But as long as ... the league wants to push offense, I don't think you will see a trend toward defense. It's just the way it is."
The Cowboys try to turn back the clock.
Risky business
New Orleans won the Super Bowl last season with a boom-or-bust defense that was often shredded as it went after takeaways. The Saints allowed 20-plus points in 12 regular-season games. When Tampa Bay won the Super Bowl in 2002, it allowed 20-plus points in only five regular-season games.
The Saints walked a tightrope in the playoffs. In the NFC title game, the Saints allowed 475 total yards, 31 first downs and 28 points but still defeated Minnesota in overtime. In the Super Bowl, Indianapolis produced 432 yards but only 17 points.
Nothing new here. The Saints continued a building trend.
In each of the last four Super Bowls, one entrant ranked 17th or worse in points allowed during the regular season. That had happened only twice since 1970, when the AFL and NFL began playing a unified schedule.
The last four championship games have included the worst defense in Super Bowl history, based on regular-season points allowed. Arizona, which gave up 26.6 points per game, came within 42 seconds of winning the 2008 game. Indianapolis won in 2006 with the worst defense (22.5 points allowed) of any Super Bowl champion.
Tampa Bay, from 2002, is the last Super Bowl winner to allow fewer than 14 points per game in the regular season. That used to be a given for a Super Bowl team.
"It's gone different ways," said Cowboys coach Wade Phillips, whose roots are in defense. "You used to say, and it used to be true, that defense wins championships. ... In the last few years, different teams have won a Super Bowl without great defenses we used to think you had to have."
To understand why this has happened, look at the competition committee. Most of its actions have been designed to help the offense at the expense of the defense.
Dungy, who broke into the NFL as a player with Pittsburgh in 1977, said this season's move of the umpire into the offensive backfield is the first change of his career that could help the defense. From the new spot, the umpire is expected to call holding against the offense more often.
The Pittsburgh teams that won four Super Bowls in the 1970s with a mauling defense would not have a chance today.
Of all the decisions by the competition committee, the edict to increase the emphasis on the "illegal contact" rule starting with the 2004 season has the most impact. It restricted the physical play of cornerbacks, allowing receivers to run free.
Passing has exploded. Of the top 20 individual seasons in completion percentage, 10 have taken place since 2004. New Orleans' Drew Brees set a record with a 70.6 completion percentage last season.
In six seasons since the change, the team with the highest-scoring offense has reached the Super Bowl three times, with New Orleans winning last season. In the same time frame, the team with the defense that allowed the fewest points reached the Super Bowl once, with Pittsburgh winning in 2008.
"I don't think there's any doubt it's changed the game," former Tennessee general manager Floyd Reese said of the increased restrictions on pass defenders. "I don't know how much it's changed it for everyone, but it has certainly changed it for the better for those teams that have the quarterback."
Predictability is good
Cowboys owner-general manager Jerry Jones is fond of saying his club "could not spell Super Bowl" until it added hybrid pass-rusher Charles Haley to the defense in 1992. With Haley, the Cowboys won three Super Bowls in four seasons.
"There's no question that a top defense can help you be successful in the postseason," Jones said. "I like the predictability of a good defense."
The predictability factor, Jones said, comes from a defense not revolving around one or two players. Defenses are equipped to handle an injury. An offense is thrown for a loop if it loses a quarterback or a left tackle.
That said, Jones has been in the forefront of moving toward an offense-first game. He was ahead of the curve, stressing offense on the 1990s Super Bowl winners.
Jones has been increasingly enamored of big-play offense. In this century, his biggest moves have been for wide receivers with home run potential: Joey Galloway and Roy Williams in disastrous trades; Terrell Owens as a free agent and Dez Bryant for this season's club through the draft.
With that, Jones fits into a league-wide trend. During the era of the salary cap, not in effect this season, teams made big investments in offensive players and cut and paste to put together a defense.
"Most teams will lean toward keeping an offensive superstar," Dungy said. "The cap makes you make tough decisions. We've seen examples where teams built the offense at the cost of the defense. They believed they could take a chance on younger offensive players."
Jones' big investments on offense have not paid off in a while. The veteran receivers fell below expectations for various reasons: injury to Galloway; uncontrollable ego with Owens; out-of-synch performances by Williams. Jones' pursuit of big plays has brought him one playoff victory in this century.
The failures have not shaken Jones' desire for a big-play receiver. He maneuvered in the draft's first round to add Bryant to a group of receivers that included Williams and Pro Bowler Miles Austin. Bryant was one of only three wide receivers taken among the first 59 picks.
Bryant could well become the offensive rookie of the year, if he stays healthy. To the idea that he wants to load up on offense, Jones pointed out that four of the remaining five picks after Bryant went to defense.