This week on Cowboys Overtime, presented by Window Nation, Clarence Hill and Mac Engel discuss the defense issue, road game woes, the probable demise of Dak Prescott’s MVP dreams, and why you can’t trust Dallas to win the Super Bowl. AUTHOR CANDI BOLDEN
A former player saw a clear problem that might eventually cost this club and keep them from winning the games they so desperately want in January while watching the Dallas Cowboys. In a phone interview, former New England Patriots defensive back Devin McCourty observed, “Their defensive style is feast or famine.” McCourty is an analyst for NBC Sports and was a teammate of current Dallas Cowboys cornerback Stephon Gilmore when playing for the Patriots.
They play a lot of man coverage, and McCourty stated that if you play that way, you might not play well in some games. “That game where you just say, ‘He got me today,’ might exist. Is that a flaw? No. “There is a problem when you play certain teams in the playoffs, like San Francisco. They will draw up three or four plays, bunch you up for a mismatch, and they will score a play or two against you. Then, all of a sudden, you give up 21 points on three plays, and you play fantastically for the remainder of the game.” When prompted to
Gilmore responded to this worry by saying, “We don’t play man coverage the entire time.” The ball needs to leave the field quickly, and we do a fantastic job applying pressure. We can make more plays because we can trigger it more quickly.
With ten wins going into their game against the Dolphins in Miami this Christmas week, the Cowboys are tied for the second-most wins in the NFL. The ideal moment to dismiss them. Following a 31-10 defeat in Buffalo where they allowed the Bills to run for 266 yards, the
The Cowboys defense is certainly worth looking at. Although their ranking of fifth in points per game and sixth overall in the NFL is respectable, in three of their four losses, they have shown signs of weakness.
In their Week 3 loss to the Arizona Cardinals, they allowed 222 yards on the rush. That loss is still the one that never stops “giving.” In their loss in Week 5 at San Francisco, they allowed 170 yards of run defense. The Cowboys should have won the match against Philadelphia in Week 9.
have triumphed. While not excellent, the defense was passable. With such fragile underbelly, that defense at Buffalo was four-letter awful. Every excellent NFL team has a few problems, but the Cowboys’ inability to stop the run is one of their biggest weaknesses. Although they have strong safety measures, they have a “topic” in the midst of the front seven.
It’s among the reasons the group looked for Shaq Leonard following the former Pro Bowl linebacker’s release by the Indianapolis Colts last season.
month after he joined the Eagles. This defense is still having problems after losing linebacker Leighton Vander Esch to a season-ending neck injury suffered in the defeat against San Francisco. The fact that the Bills only needed to complete seven passes to defeat the Cowboys does not stem from his absence either. The Cowboys were missing defensive tackle Jonathan Hankins, who looks like a miniature version of Warren Sapp these days, against the Bills.
Ever since the team acquired Hankins in October 2022 for a seventh-round pick from the Raiders, he’s shown to be a valuable addition. Hankins is a terrific player. Nor is he Aaron Donald. Not much has changed since Michigan defensive tackle Mazi Smith was chosen in the first round of the 2023 draft. Though they are both Michigan alums, it’s too soon to write him off as Taco Charlton 2.0, Mr. Smith needs to start turning in some plays. It is not going to happen to move linebacker Micah Parsons from the outside to the inside. His value as a pass rusher is excessive, as his size prevents him from regularly taking on guards and centers.
Taking the lead early and pressuring the opposition to toss the ball is the best strategy to resolve this. The Cowboys’ defense is at its best at that point. The Cowboys are presently 12th in the NFL against the run, and they haven’t had much trouble against most teams with their middle-of-the-field troubles. However, their weak defensive core should be taken very seriously when facing talented teams.
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