Everson Griffen is going back to what’s worked for him in the past. Considering he went to four Pro Bowls during his ten seasons with the Minnesota Vikings, accumulating 74 and a half sacks along the way, that should be music to the ears of Cowboys fans wondering when the team’s pass rush is going to show up in 2020.
The 32-year-old, in his first season in Dallas, told reporters on a Wednesday conference call that he would be playing more often in a three-point stance, as opposed to the upright technique that he’s employed for the first two games of the season.
“That’s what I am more comfortable at,” Griffen said, per the team website. “I was trying to work it in and out and seeing where my comfortability [sic] was, trying to see, ‘Do I like the two-point? Do I like the three-point?’ And I’m a three-point man.”
Griffen has one of the Cowboys’ two sacks over their 1-1 start, bringing down Matt Ryan in the fourth quarter this past Sunday. But those numbers are not where the players or coordinator Mike Nolan want them to be; Dallas ranks 30th in total sacks thus far this season, trailing only Las Vegas and Carolina.
The Southern Cal product hopes a return to his favored technique will help him be more effective in Week 3, when the Cowboys will be chasing down the Seahawks’ red-hot Russell Wilson.
“I’m going to make sure I get down in my three-point, where I can be more powerful with my hands, and then my feet,” he said. “I can get on guys quicker and be able to attack and move my feet better and go out there and execute my assignment and get the job done.”
Griffen was called out on Twitter earlier in the week by Dallas radio host Jeff Cavanuagh for his slow start to the season after being signed by the team in mid-August. Griffen responded colorfully, reminding Cavanaugh and followers that everyone is playing catch-up, thanks to the abbreviated training camp and the lack of hitting that normally comes in preseason games.
He emphasized that point again on Wednesday’s media call.
“It’s early. It’s Week 2 of the regular season. No offseason training,” Griffen explained. “I was training on my own, doing everything possible to be able to get ready for this season. But in football, rushing the passer is the hardest thing to do in any sport – you’ve got to beat the tackle and you’ve got to get to the quarterback.”
But Griffen’s technique tweak isn’t coming solely because of a social media kerfuffle. His own defensive coordinator has made it clear he’s expecting bigger and better things from the unit as a whole.
“To be perfectly honest with you, I think we need to do a better job executing our pass rushes,” Nolan said on Monday, “whether it’s the rush, [or] whether it’s how we handle the pocket. The challenge this week is going to be that we have a quarterback who’s very mobile, more mobile than the last two we’ve faced. That will be a bigger challenge. It won’t always be the pocket, as it’s been these past two weeks; it’s going to be more on the perimeter.”
For Griffen, meeting that challenge starts with getting back to basics.
“Getting the call, getting lined up, getting in the right position, coming off the ball, executing assignments, getting off the ball, playing fast. I think it’s just the fundamentals of the game.”
Like a dominant defensive end playing with his hand in the dirt.
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