kerwin8 Posted January 9, 2007 Share Posted January 9, 2007 (edited) http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?i...ce=NFLHeadlines I've also heard rumblings that Bengal's WR coach Hue Jackson is finalizing his contract as the new ATL OC. edit: I'll post the text from the link Mike Zimmer, the Dallas Cowboys' defensive coordinator for the past six seasons, has agreed to become the Falcons defensive coordinator under new coach Bobby Petrino, ESPN's Chris Mortensen is reporting. Zimmer, who runs a 3-4 defense with the Cowboys, coached with Petrino at Weber State in 1987 and 1988. Petrino, however, said the Falcons would stay in the 4-3 in 2007. Edited January 9, 2007 by kerwin8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLAYER Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 What's the story here cowboy homers? why would you leave the cowboys for the falcons in the same capacity? something doesn't make sense. also can someone tell me why denver fired there def-c when there d got them 2-3 wins in the beginning of the year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowboutthemCowboys Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 What's the story here cowboy homers? why would you leave the cowboys for the falcons in the same capacity? something doesn't make sense. also can someone tell me why denver fired there def-c when there d got them 2-3 wins in the beginning of the year. Zimmer's contract with the Cowboys is set to expire in a couple of weeks, and new Falcons head coach Bobby Petrino had asked the Cowboys for permission to interview Zimmer about Atlanta's vacant defensive coordinator position. Zimmer was seen here at Valley Ranch on Tuesday speaking at length with Parcells. Atlanta finished 22nd in total defense this season and allowed a fourth-worst 229.3 passing yards per game under Ed Donatell. With Zimmer apparently headed out of Dallas, the Cowboys might try to fill his position from within. Secondary coach Todd Bowles, who joined the staff in 2005, is a possibility. Their other defensive assistants are linebackers coach Paul Pasqualoni, defensive line coach Kacy Rodgers, safeties coach Mike MacIntyre and inside linebackers coach Vincent Brown. Pasqualoni has extensive experience coaching on defense. Zimmer, 50, and Petrino coached together at Weber State from 1987-88. Petrino was the offensive coordinator and Zimmer served as defensive coordinator and oversaw the secondary. cowboys.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caveman_Nick Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 What's the story here cowboy homers? why would you leave the cowboys for the falcons in the same capacity? something doesn't make sense. also can someone tell me why denver fired there def-c when there d got them 2-3 wins in the beginning of the year. If Parcells leaves Dallas, the assistants will probably all be let go by the new coach. And he obviously is sending mixed messages on staying versus going. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
broncosn05 Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 Another good sign by ATL. Petrino brought in two good cordinators. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexgaddis Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 Another good sign by ATL. Petrino brought in two good cordinators. All they need to do to be a 12 win team now is cut Vick... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaP'N GRuNGe Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 All they need to do to be a 12 win team now is cut Vick... Nah, they're still nothing without the man in black, Jerry Glanville. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Ryan Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 Zimmer had no security in Dallas. If Parcells stays, its a one year deal, then Jerry will make a big splash hire and Zimmer would likely be gone when the new HC comes in, so he wanted to leave on his terms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockerbraves Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 All they need to do to be a 12 win team now is cut Vick... Maybe they could use Vick like Florida uses Tebow? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingfish247 Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 apparently Petrino and Zimmer are saying they're sticking with the 4-3 however I think this is only out of necessity until they can build the D for a 3-4. Atlanta simply does not have the linebackers or DEs to switch to the 3-4. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huddled Masses Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 I don't see this hire as a significant improvement(at least going by stats). Passing Yards Allowed: Dallas 219.1 Atlanta 229.2 Rushing Yards Allowed: Dallas 103.7 Atlanta 103.6 Takeaways: Dallas 31 Atlanta 26 Sacks: Dallas 34 Atlanta 37 Points Allowed: Dallas 350 Atlanta 328 I don't know abut Dallas but Atlanta also had some pretty significant injuries on defense this year with Abraham & Kerney being the biggest losses. As an Atlanta fan, can someone convince me that Zimmer will do a better job than our previous defensive coordinator? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingfish247 Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 I don't see this hire as a significant improvement(at least going by stats). Passing Yards Allowed: Dallas 219.1 Atlanta 229.2 Rushing Yards Allowed: Dallas 103.7 Atlanta 103.6 Takeaways: Dallas 31 Atlanta 26 Sacks: Dallas 34 Atlanta 37 Points Allowed: Dallas 350 Atlanta 328 I don't know abut Dallas but Atlanta also had some pretty significant injuries on defense this year with Abraham & Kerney being the biggest losses. As an Atlanta fan, can someone convince me that Zimmer will do a better job than our previous defensive coordinator? I don't expect a "better job" unless you specify what you mean by a "better job." First, Atlanta didn't hire Zimmer for the sole purpose of upgrading from Ed Donatell. It's mostly born out of necessity. Petrino is now the head coach so he's brought in guys he likes and has worked with. Second, this could be an upgrade but I doubt a significant one. First the stats you show are a bit misleading. Before the NO meltdown in week 13, Dallas was in the upper 1/3 in PA, forced and recovered fumbles, INTs, net pass yds allowed, rush yds allowed, and total yds allowed. From week 14 on, Dallas was in the middle or bottom 1/3 in all those categories including dead last in net pass yds allowed, total yds allowed, and PA. Some believe it was due to the loss of their other top pass rusher, Greg Ellis, opposite Ware. Third, Dallas had a leg up on two very important defensive categories... opponent's TOP and negative pass plays %. Dallas was 10th best in the league in opponent's TOP vs. Atlanta 19th. Dallas bested Atlanta in negative pass plays, 9.54% vs. 8.88%. While that seems like a fairly insignificant margin it's the difference from being in the bottom half versus the top half. Also consider Dallas' meltdown in the last 4 games versus Atlanta being overall consistently average to below average throughout the season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huddled Masses Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 I don't expect a "better job" unless you specify what you mean by a "better job." First, Atlanta didn't hire Zimmer for the sole purpose of upgrading from Ed Donatell. It's mostly born out of necessity. Petrino is now the head coach so he's brought in guys he likes and has worked with. I understand Petrino has worked with him before but that doesn't make the guy an upgrade from our previous DC. I want a guy that I feel is going to be an "upgrade"=(better job). Second, this could be an upgrade but I doubt a significant one. First the stats you show are a bit misleading. Before the NO meltdown in week 13, Dallas was in the upper 1/3 in PA, forced and recovered fumbles, INTs, net pass yds allowed, rush yds allowed, and total yds allowed. From week 14 on, Dallas was in the middle or bottom 1/3 in all those categories including dead last in net pass yds allowed, total yds allowed, and PA. Some believe it was due to the loss of their other top pass rusher, Greg Ellis, opposite Ware. Atlanta melted down against New Orleans in week 12 so that's a wash. Atlanta lost their best pass rusher for most of the season in Abraham. Third, Dallas had a leg up on two very important defensive categories... opponent's TOP and negative pass plays %. Dallas was 10th best in the league in opponent's TOP vs. Atlanta 19th. Dallas bested Atlanta in negative pass plays, 9.54% vs. 8.88%. While that seems like a fairly insignificant margin it's the difference from being in the bottom half versus the top half. Also consider Dallas' meltdown in the last 4 games versus Atlanta being overall consistently average to below average throughout the season. I wouldn't call a 1:24 difference in TOP significant and I believe that the Falcons suffered more significant injuries throughout the season while Dallas was healthier until the Greg Ellis injury. I hope Zimmer is an upgrade but I'm not excited about it right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingfish247 Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 (edited) 1) There's not many guys, if any, that you can say would be an upgrade over Donatell. I'm just saying if anything that's been pretty consistent the last few years with Dallas has been its D so it certainly doesn't appear to be a downgrade or some no-name guy Petrino has called in. 2) You're missing my point. Yeah Atlanta melted down in week 12 versus the Saints but Atlanta's meltdown began well before that. Just before they went on their losing streak. For 13 weeks, Dallas was in the top 1/3 of all defensive statistical categories and then proceeded to be dead last in some of the major ones from weeks 14-17. Atlanta's only saving grace as far as D statistical bragging rights was a 3.75ypc allowed on the season good for sixth in the league. All year they were getting torched for huge plays and yards in the air whereas Dallas had 13 games of very sound, good D. 3) I'm not saying that that difference in TOP is the end all be all but it is significant when coupled with the other defensive statistical categories Dallas was superior in for most of the season. Also it is significant when you consider the over differences in TOP allowed... for example, BAL allowed only better than 1:35 than PIT but BAL is the 13-3 division champ and PIT struggled to get back to .500. In fact PIT and BAL were 2nd and 3rd overall in ypc and 1st and 8th in negative pass plays. Small differences add up. Anyways, Atlanta bested Dallas by only .12ypc but Dallas bested Atlanta in TOP AND virtually ALL pass D categories even though they tanked over the last 4 weeks. The past 6 years haven't been outstanding for the Cowboys D and Zimmer but they've been pretty solid (aside from 2004). With Atlanta's run game, the D just needs not to allow so many big plays in the passing game. For the last few years, preventing the big play has been Dallas' forte. Edited January 10, 2007 by kingfish247 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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