sbk92
2
- Messages
- 12,134
- Reaction score
- 6
Posted by jellis at 2/1/2011 3:56 PM CST on truebluefanclub.com
Obviously the Cowboys defense has a long way to go if they're ever going to be mentioned with the likes of Green Bay and Pittsburgh, but one thing those 3-4 teams have that the Cowboys lack is beef up front.
Specifically, the Packers have 6-2, 337-pound nose tackle B.J. Raji, and the Steelers have 6-1, 325-pounder Casey Hampton manning the nose. The Cowboys, by comparison, are very light up front. While Jay Ratliff is a highly accomplished player, he only checks in at 6-4, 303 pounds.
While Ratliff made his third consecutive NFC Pro Bowl team this year, it's wrong to say he played his best. After tallying 13.5 sacks the last two seasons, he had only 3.5 this year, and his impact behind the line of scrimmage was negligible.
It's not really Ratliff's fault, because he drew more double teams in 2010 than ever before, but with his body type, it's easier for two guys to move Ratliff than it is Hampton or Raji.
"I don't know if he's quicker, but he is a little smaller," Hampton said jokingly at Super Bowl media day on Tuesday. "We're just different type of players. He's the type of guy that gets up the field. He's a nose tackle, but they play him different. They let him get in the gap and kind of go. They want me to hold up guys and let my linebackers eat. So we just play a different type of game, but he's a hell of a player."
Perhaps Ratliff could still penetrate as a defensive end, with a bigger nose tackle on the inside creating opportunities for the Cowboys' inside linebackers.
Obviously the Cowboys defense has a long way to go if they're ever going to be mentioned with the likes of Green Bay and Pittsburgh, but one thing those 3-4 teams have that the Cowboys lack is beef up front.
Specifically, the Packers have 6-2, 337-pound nose tackle B.J. Raji, and the Steelers have 6-1, 325-pounder Casey Hampton manning the nose. The Cowboys, by comparison, are very light up front. While Jay Ratliff is a highly accomplished player, he only checks in at 6-4, 303 pounds.
While Ratliff made his third consecutive NFC Pro Bowl team this year, it's wrong to say he played his best. After tallying 13.5 sacks the last two seasons, he had only 3.5 this year, and his impact behind the line of scrimmage was negligible.
It's not really Ratliff's fault, because he drew more double teams in 2010 than ever before, but with his body type, it's easier for two guys to move Ratliff than it is Hampton or Raji.
"I don't know if he's quicker, but he is a little smaller," Hampton said jokingly at Super Bowl media day on Tuesday. "We're just different type of players. He's the type of guy that gets up the field. He's a nose tackle, but they play him different. They let him get in the gap and kind of go. They want me to hold up guys and let my linebackers eat. So we just play a different type of game, but he's a hell of a player."
Perhaps Ratliff could still penetrate as a defensive end, with a bigger nose tackle on the inside creating opportunities for the Cowboys' inside linebackers.
