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Breaking Down the ‘Boys: 8 Interesting Stats on Cowboys’ Defense
By Jonathan Bales
9:55 am on September 27, 2012
Last week, I posted my way-too-early player grades for the Cowboys’ defense. Ranking the top five players, some were surprised to see the lowest grade I handed out was an A-. The truth is that a blocked punt for a touchdown and a few untimely turnovers by the offense have made the defense look worse than what’s actually the case, at least in terms of points allowed.
Even though the Cowboys’ D has looked good, they’ve been much, much better than ‘good.’ Dallas has yielded the eighth-fewest points in the NFL, but on a per-play basis, I’d argue they’ve been among the top two or three defenses in all of football. Let’s take a look at the Dallas defense by the numbers. . .
4.4: Yards-per-play allowed by Dallas—the lowest mark in the NFL
No defense has been more efficient than your Dallas Cowboys through the season’s first three weeks. If the defense played even average against the Giants or Bucs, this team would be 1-2 or even 0-3. Part of the success has come because the ‘Boys are one of only three teams that have defended more rushes than passes. Nonetheless, the efficiency has been extraordinary.
4.7: Net yards-per-attempt allowed by Cowboys’ pass defense
Year in and year out, net YPA is the most predictive stat in terms of overall team performance. Passing the football effectively and, likewise, halting the opposition’s passing attack is absolutely essential in the NFL. The Cowboys are doing it better than all but one team (Green Bay Packers).
4.0: Yards-per-carry allowed by Dallas
The Cowboys have been a middle-of-the-pack run defense so far in 2012. The majority of the damage was caused in the second half of the Seahawks game, so a few big plays really killed their average. Still, in a league in which the value of passing far outweighs that of running, it could ironically be beneficial for opposing teams to attack the Cowboys’ “weakness.”
1: Interception
If there’s one area in which the defense needs improvement, it is takeaways. Now, I’ll be the first to admit that takeaways are rather volatile; they’re difficult to predict and more susceptible to randomness than you’d think, but Rob Ryan’s defense sure could help out the offense by forcing a few more turnovers. You’ll likely see the takeaways increase as Ryan dials up more blitzes.
8: Pressures by Anthony Spencer—the most of any Cowboys player
Yes, Spencer has more pressures than DeMarcus Ware. Spencer doesn’t receive the same type of attention from the offense as Ware, of course, but the idea that Spencer is a poor pass-rusher is unwarranted. He has the second-highest pressure rate of any outside linebacker in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus.
54.2: The percentage of pass snaps Spencer has rushed the quarterback
The reason that Spencer doesn’t get the credit he deserves is that people don’t realize the extent of his efficiency. It’s easy to look at bulk stats and jump to conclusions, but do you realize that Spencer has rushed the quarterback on just over half as many snaps as Ware? No edge rusher in the entire league who has played at least 60 snaps has rushed the quarterback at a lower rate than Spencer. Those eight pressures and two sacks look a whole lot better now, huh?
5.6: YPA allowed by cornerback Brandon Carr
Carr has been everything the Cowboys could have wanted and more. He’s allowed only three receptions in three games. Per snap, only two cornerbacks in the entire NFL have allowed fewer catches than Carr.
9.1: YPA allowed by cornerback Morris Claiborne
If you simply look at the YPA allowed by Claiborne—9.1—you’d think he’s playing average football. The truth is that the rookie has been absolutely incredible. Claiborne’s coverage has been so outstanding that opposing quarterbacks have targeted him less frequently than Carr. Actually, Claiborne has been targeted at a lower rate than all but five NFL cornerbacks. He’s allowed seven receptions on eight attempts, but that’s only because Claiborne’s superb coverage has limited quarterback’s willingness to challenge him.
By Jonathan Bales
9:55 am on September 27, 2012
Last week, I posted my way-too-early player grades for the Cowboys’ defense. Ranking the top five players, some were surprised to see the lowest grade I handed out was an A-. The truth is that a blocked punt for a touchdown and a few untimely turnovers by the offense have made the defense look worse than what’s actually the case, at least in terms of points allowed.
Even though the Cowboys’ D has looked good, they’ve been much, much better than ‘good.’ Dallas has yielded the eighth-fewest points in the NFL, but on a per-play basis, I’d argue they’ve been among the top two or three defenses in all of football. Let’s take a look at the Dallas defense by the numbers. . .
4.4: Yards-per-play allowed by Dallas—the lowest mark in the NFL
No defense has been more efficient than your Dallas Cowboys through the season’s first three weeks. If the defense played even average against the Giants or Bucs, this team would be 1-2 or even 0-3. Part of the success has come because the ‘Boys are one of only three teams that have defended more rushes than passes. Nonetheless, the efficiency has been extraordinary.
4.7: Net yards-per-attempt allowed by Cowboys’ pass defense
Year in and year out, net YPA is the most predictive stat in terms of overall team performance. Passing the football effectively and, likewise, halting the opposition’s passing attack is absolutely essential in the NFL. The Cowboys are doing it better than all but one team (Green Bay Packers).
4.0: Yards-per-carry allowed by Dallas
The Cowboys have been a middle-of-the-pack run defense so far in 2012. The majority of the damage was caused in the second half of the Seahawks game, so a few big plays really killed their average. Still, in a league in which the value of passing far outweighs that of running, it could ironically be beneficial for opposing teams to attack the Cowboys’ “weakness.”
1: Interception
If there’s one area in which the defense needs improvement, it is takeaways. Now, I’ll be the first to admit that takeaways are rather volatile; they’re difficult to predict and more susceptible to randomness than you’d think, but Rob Ryan’s defense sure could help out the offense by forcing a few more turnovers. You’ll likely see the takeaways increase as Ryan dials up more blitzes.
8: Pressures by Anthony Spencer—the most of any Cowboys player
Yes, Spencer has more pressures than DeMarcus Ware. Spencer doesn’t receive the same type of attention from the offense as Ware, of course, but the idea that Spencer is a poor pass-rusher is unwarranted. He has the second-highest pressure rate of any outside linebacker in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus.
54.2: The percentage of pass snaps Spencer has rushed the quarterback
The reason that Spencer doesn’t get the credit he deserves is that people don’t realize the extent of his efficiency. It’s easy to look at bulk stats and jump to conclusions, but do you realize that Spencer has rushed the quarterback on just over half as many snaps as Ware? No edge rusher in the entire league who has played at least 60 snaps has rushed the quarterback at a lower rate than Spencer. Those eight pressures and two sacks look a whole lot better now, huh?
5.6: YPA allowed by cornerback Brandon Carr
Carr has been everything the Cowboys could have wanted and more. He’s allowed only three receptions in three games. Per snap, only two cornerbacks in the entire NFL have allowed fewer catches than Carr.
9.1: YPA allowed by cornerback Morris Claiborne
If you simply look at the YPA allowed by Claiborne—9.1—you’d think he’s playing average football. The truth is that the rookie has been absolutely incredible. Claiborne’s coverage has been so outstanding that opposing quarterbacks have targeted him less frequently than Carr. Actually, Claiborne has been targeted at a lower rate than all but five NFL cornerbacks. He’s allowed seven receptions on eight attempts, but that’s only because Claiborne’s superb coverage has limited quarterback’s willingness to challenge him.
