The Dallas Cowboys defense has been accused of many things this season. Being unprepared, lacking talent, lacking effort, and several other less flattering descriptions. But, when DeMarcus Lawrence came out and admitted that the Dallas Cowboys defense was “soft”, there was no better adjective to describe what has transpired over the first four weeks of the season.
There are many theories as to why the Dallas Cowboys defense has performed so poorly. Expectations are not one of them. This unit was not expected to be the strength of the team but most anticipated that they could be a middle of the road and opportunistic group. Most expected them to take a few more chances, be a little less predictable, and to accumulate a few more turnovers. That assessment was way off the mark and what has been displayed thus far is perhaps the worst defensive output in the history of the entire franchise. Over the last three games they are giving up an average of over 40 pts! They are vulnerable against the pass allowing opposing receivers to run across the field unchallenged. They are also vulnerable against the run and allowed an astonishing 300+ yards rushing against the Browns in their most recent loss. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that given the current state of the Dallas Cowboys defense, there is absolutely no chance of this team winning even the worst division in football and making the playoffs.
The first question we all ask ourselves is “Why?”. Why is the Dallas Cowboys defense so terrible? There are several possible explanations. Injuries? Lack of talent? Lack of effort? Lack of discipline? Too complex a defensive scheme? Coaching? I would say all of the above. There is not one position group or player that has proven to be a bright spot. Sure Trevon Diggs has shown potential but he is getting burned far too often and his confidence could be shot before he has a chance to truly develop. Trysten Hill has proven not to be a bust and has shown some ability as a pass rusher, but he is getting bullied in the run game and on the majority of plays. None of the free agents have made an impact, none of the veterans have really played to their potential, and the safety position continues to be a glaring weakness. To make matters worse, it doesn’t appear that players are making themselves accountable and neither is ownership. Jaylon Smith has been the most disappointing player defensively and yet he pointed to the complexity of the scheme as to why he hasn’t performed well. Meanwhile his coaches and the owner who was fooled into signing him to a longterm contract (he appears to have fooled us all) are coming to his defense when asked about him. Maybe that’s just lip service and they don’t want to call out their players in public but history suggests that the owner at least, doesn’t hesitate to speak his mind.
Is there hope for improvement? Yes, there is always hope but it is fleeting. The excuse of lack of a true training camp and pre-season is less and less relevant the longer the season goes. Blaming the offense for committing so many turnovers has some merit but at some point the defense has to stop the other team from scoring and maybe force some turnovers of their own. Reinforcements could help. Chidobe Awuzie and Anthony Brown at cornerback, Leighton Vander Esch at linebacker, and Randy Gregory at defensive end but there is no apparent answer at defensive tackle or safety. There are options in free agency such as Earl Thomas or Damon Harrison but the longer the season goes with those players sitting at home the less likely they will be able to actually get into football shape and contribute. The only real hope lies within. Maybe the coaching staff will be able to implement their new scheme and the players will all of sudden “get it”. Maybe the embarrassing effort put forth against the Cleveland Browns was rock bottom for this group and will motivate them to be better. There is always hope for the Dallas Cowboys defense but Cowboys fans are beginning to lose faith. The one thing that we can all hang our hats on is that this division is sooooo bad, that if we can turn this thing around at some point we actually still have a shot to make the playoffs.
*Photo by Joe Glorioso https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/legalcode