At this time last year there was talk about how the Dallas Cowboys linebackers would contend to be the best throughout the NFL landscape.. Leighton Vander Esch and Jaylon Smith were coming off of productive seasons that earned the former a Pro Bowl berth and the latter praise that put concerns regarding the recovery from his gruesome collegiate knee injury to rest.
The 2019 season did everything to undo all of that. Vander Esch was put on injured reserve with a neck injury he battled throughout the nine games he appeared in and putting his football future in doubt. Smith, despite the uptick in tackles and a Pro Bowl nod, wasn’t the same disruptive force he’d been the previous season. Despite the setback, this duo is the core of the linebackers room that Pro Football Focus claims is the second best in the league.
The room doesn’t lack for depth. Veteran Sean Lee who, for the first time in his career played all 16 games last season, is back for another run. Joe Thomas, perhaps the most underappreciated player in the room, could start for several teams in the league but also chose to remain in Dallas. With all of the talent at the position, what could have gone wrong last season? Look no further then coaching.
It’s not uncommon for positional coaches and players to fail to see eye to eye, but there’s been rumors that the time former linebacker’s coach Ben Bloom missed last year wasn’t due to illness as was originally reported, but instead a clash bad enough to warrant a brief timeout.
With an entirely new defensive staff that, by all accounts, plans to display multiple looks and the incredibly advanced idea of disguising itself entirely, there’s certainly hope this group reaches the lofty heights that they failed to reach in 2019. A bit of luck on the injury front would go a long way in helping that.
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