To the average Cowboys fan sitting at home, eager for redemption after a bitterly disappointing 6-10 finish in 2020, this offseason has felt like a series of solid and important (even if not particular splashy) moves in the right direction.
Yes, a few notable names have moved on to join other clubs. But in overhauling the defensive coaching staff, bringing in free agents who would seem to be good fits, and locking down their franchise quarterback who just happens to be rolling down the road to a full recovery, the Cowboys have made some huge and obvious strides toward significant improvement… RIGHT???
Meh.
That’s at least according to ESPN’s new set of power rankings. The Worldwide Leader has Dallas at No. 18 after all their shifting and shuffling and shopping, up just one measly spot from their “way-to-early” rankings of February 7, immediately following Super Bowl LV.
In his analysis for the site’s list, Todd Archer says the signing of Dak Prescott has clearly been the most important move of the offseason, but points out Prescott was always going to be under contract to Dallas in 2021 anyway.
The biggest change, then, from those earlier rankings- and the best hope for on-the-field improvement this coming season- has been the hiring of Dan Quinn to helm the team’s defense.
“He will be installing a defense similar to what the Cowboys ran from 2014-19,” Archer writes, “with the hopes that it allows key players such as DeMarcus Lawrence, Jaylon Smith, and Leighton Vander Esch to bounce back and the newcomers in free agency (Keanu Neal, Brent Urban, Damontae Kazee) and the draft to play fast without overthinking.”
Head coach Mike McCarthy predicted last week in his first press conference of the new offseason that the 2021 defensive scheme won’t even look all that different from last season’s.
Except, Cowboys Nation hopes, in the results.
“This isn’t a start-over situation,” McCarthy told reporters. He elaborated when pressed about what went wrong last year as the team transitioned from a traditional 4-3 to a unit that incorporated more 3-4 principles.
“So much gets made about the 3-4 and 4-3; it’s really not about that,” the coach explained. “It’s more about the techniques that fit the players and their ability to play. We are player over scheme. I’ve always been that way. I think- it’s part of my experience coaching a very young team year-in, year-out, in my past experience- if you have a system of offense, defense, or special teams that can’t accommodate an excellent football player in general terms, I think you have to take a hard look at your system. The ability to have the 3-4 components to it and the 4-3 components based on how you view what that is, but it’s more about the techniques and the alignments, assignments, and the front that we’ll ask our guys to play, you’ll see both those components. It’s not a whole lot different than what [former defensive coordinator] Mike [Nolan] was trying to get to last year. There’ll be a tighter blend of that.”
Defensive linemen Carlos Watkins, Brent Urban, and Tarell Bahsam were all added through free agency with an eye toward achieving that blend. Even Keanu Neal, while technically listed as a safety coming from Atlanta, will contribute closer to the line of scrimmage in Dallas, as he’s projected to slot mainly as a weakside linebacker.
True to his “player-over-scheme” philosophy, McCarthy seems to be more concerned with the players he’s bringing aboard than he is about the name of the position they’ll play.
“The understanding of the players that we do have and their strengths and how we want to continue to play to it, plus the players we added,” McCarthy summarized, “I think you can see the common theme of the players we’ve added in the front. You’re seeing players with more length and the different body type. Because in my view, just in general terms, you can’t have enough 6-4, 6-5, 255-, 260-pound athletes on your football team. It makes it better on offense, defense, and special teams.”
The Cowboys faithful hope it ends up making the team a lot better, though… not just one spot better than where they were at the conclusion of 2020 play.
The Cowboys’ placement at 18th in ESPN’s latest power rankings still sorts them atop their NFC East rivals. The Giants come in at 21st, Washington places 22nd, and Philadelphia remains stuck at 26th.
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