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Cowboys know defense must force more turnovers
Posted Sunday, Aug. 01, 2010
By Clarence E. Hill Jr.
chill@star-telegram.com
SAN ANTONIO -- By all accounts, the Dallas Cowboys defense was very good, if not downright dominant, at the end of 2009 when it closed the regular season with back-to-back shutouts.
With 10 of 11 starters back, the return of a fully healthy DeMarcus Ware and the continued maturation of 2009 breakout stars Anthony Spencer and Mike Jenkins, the defense should be even better in 2010.
But if the Cowboys defense truly wants to be great, it must create more turnovers.
"We've had some shutouts," linebacker Bradie James said. "We did a lot of good things last year. The only thing that we didn't do that we can improve on is getting turnovers. You can't have it all, but if you could, it would be great to get more turnovers."
The defense ranked ninth in the NFL last year in yards per game and was second in points allowed. The Cowboys even ranked third in forced punts, which is another change of possession stat.
But the disparity between good and great lies in their mediocre turnover standings, in which they were tied for 15th in forced fumbles with 23 and 26th in interceptions with 11.
"A really grand statistic every year in the league is your turnover ratio and how that kind of relates to winning and losing," linebacker Keith Brooking said. "All the teams that are plus in the turnovers... tend to kind of favor being really good, successful and being in the playoffs year in and year out.
"That's something we didn't do well last year defensively."
It's a blemish in which all members of the Cowboys defense are well versed. While coach Wade Phillips downplayed it as a weakness of the defense last year, pointing out "that stats don't mean anything except the final score," he acknowledged that it is a point of emphasis.
The Cowboys are working on more drills to drive home the importance of creating turnovers.
"We're emphasizing them more and more," Phillips said. ".... [Strong safety Gerald] Sensabaugh had a broken hand and couldn't catch the ball at all last year, so I expect him to have some more as far as interceptions and fumble recoveries and those kind of things. We do knock the ball out quite a bit, and we're going to try to continue doing that."
Improving ball skills in the secondary is a key to increasing interceptions. With as many sacks and quarterback pressures the Cowboys create with two of the league's premier pass rushers in Ware and Spencer, there is no reason the defense shouldn't have more interceptions.
The Cowboys hope a healthy Sensabaugh and the presence of Alan Ball at free safety in place of the departed Ken Hamlin will make a difference.
Ball has better ball skills and more range than Hamlin, who had only one interception the past two years combined after making the Pro Bowl in 2007.
"It's a big thing," Ball said. "It's one of those things where we've always prided ourselves on turnovers. Any opportunity I get to get a turnover, I'm going to take advantage of it. That's one thing we want to do is get our offense the ball because we've got a great offense."
It's something that has preoccupied the Cowboys defenders. They talk about it constantly. The defensive backs have challenged each other to make an interception in practice or are forced to do pushups. The linemen and linebackers are working on getting their hands on the ball and stripping it.
"I see a big difference in the hands that we're getting on balls," Brooking said. "Turnovers that we're creating in the passing game. You talk about it. You're conscious of it. You think about it all the time. If you do that, it'll carry over to the game."
Posted Sunday, Aug. 01, 2010
By Clarence E. Hill Jr.
chill@star-telegram.com
SAN ANTONIO -- By all accounts, the Dallas Cowboys defense was very good, if not downright dominant, at the end of 2009 when it closed the regular season with back-to-back shutouts.
With 10 of 11 starters back, the return of a fully healthy DeMarcus Ware and the continued maturation of 2009 breakout stars Anthony Spencer and Mike Jenkins, the defense should be even better in 2010.
But if the Cowboys defense truly wants to be great, it must create more turnovers.
"We've had some shutouts," linebacker Bradie James said. "We did a lot of good things last year. The only thing that we didn't do that we can improve on is getting turnovers. You can't have it all, but if you could, it would be great to get more turnovers."
The defense ranked ninth in the NFL last year in yards per game and was second in points allowed. The Cowboys even ranked third in forced punts, which is another change of possession stat.
But the disparity between good and great lies in their mediocre turnover standings, in which they were tied for 15th in forced fumbles with 23 and 26th in interceptions with 11.
"A really grand statistic every year in the league is your turnover ratio and how that kind of relates to winning and losing," linebacker Keith Brooking said. "All the teams that are plus in the turnovers... tend to kind of favor being really good, successful and being in the playoffs year in and year out.
"That's something we didn't do well last year defensively."
It's a blemish in which all members of the Cowboys defense are well versed. While coach Wade Phillips downplayed it as a weakness of the defense last year, pointing out "that stats don't mean anything except the final score," he acknowledged that it is a point of emphasis.
The Cowboys are working on more drills to drive home the importance of creating turnovers.
"We're emphasizing them more and more," Phillips said. ".... [Strong safety Gerald] Sensabaugh had a broken hand and couldn't catch the ball at all last year, so I expect him to have some more as far as interceptions and fumble recoveries and those kind of things. We do knock the ball out quite a bit, and we're going to try to continue doing that."
Improving ball skills in the secondary is a key to increasing interceptions. With as many sacks and quarterback pressures the Cowboys create with two of the league's premier pass rushers in Ware and Spencer, there is no reason the defense shouldn't have more interceptions.
The Cowboys hope a healthy Sensabaugh and the presence of Alan Ball at free safety in place of the departed Ken Hamlin will make a difference.
Ball has better ball skills and more range than Hamlin, who had only one interception the past two years combined after making the Pro Bowl in 2007.
"It's a big thing," Ball said. "It's one of those things where we've always prided ourselves on turnovers. Any opportunity I get to get a turnover, I'm going to take advantage of it. That's one thing we want to do is get our offense the ball because we've got a great offense."
It's something that has preoccupied the Cowboys defenders. They talk about it constantly. The defensive backs have challenged each other to make an interception in practice or are forced to do pushups. The linemen and linebackers are working on getting their hands on the ball and stripping it.
"I see a big difference in the hands that we're getting on balls," Brooking said. "Turnovers that we're creating in the passing game. You talk about it. You're conscious of it. You think about it all the time. If you do that, it'll carry over to the game."