The Dallas Cowboys defense is horrible. Through seven games they’ve given up 243 points, a league worst, forced just three turnovers (tied for league-worst) and 1,248 yards on the ground. Again, that’s a league worst and on pace to shatter the team’s franchise record for futility. At least one player complained to the press that the coaching staff didn’t know what they were doing. A stand-up veteran was brought in early and jettisoned among reports he and a first-year position coach had clashed.
The team has had too many mental breakdowns to discuss. Players were being asked to do things opposite the techniques that made them stars in the league and forced to do so without any preseason games to practice them in. A starter admitted publicly the players don’t give 100 percent effort. There’s so much blame to be passed around between the coaches and players, the wait staff is going to have to return to the kitchen for another tray. But in the kitchen is where the problems truly reside; for it is the front offices failures that have caused this calamity for the 2020 Cowboys. This offseason may have gone down as one of the worst the club has ever executed.
It’s clear. Dallas decided to go short-term investments with their defense to try and allow the coaching staff to get acquainted with what was on hand. Pre-pandemic, the plan was clear. They didn’t want to invest any major resources to the defense. What it ended up was a bunch of poor decisions that bore no fruit, making the total expenditure just as harmful as if they took bigger swings.
The first and biggest mistake made was Dallas letting CB Byron Jones go in free agency. As discussed on the Tuesday episode of the Catch This Fade podcast (preview below), the club has never supported Jones, hemming and hawing about giving him the automatic fifth-year option two years ago and letting him walk instead of ponying up this March. Big mistake. Catastrophic mistake. The team could’ve had Jones mentoring rookie Trevon Diggs and had strong, intelligent secondary leader to help transition to the new staff. Instead, they have a bunch of last-year contract guys flailing away.
Then, the players the front office did bring in have all been abject failures.
Here’s a list of 2020 defensive free agents and their current status with the team.
3T Gerald McCoy – Signed with injury clause, got injured, waived
NT Dontari Poe – Will be released if not traded before Week 9 deadline
Safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix – Released during training camp
LB Sean Lee – has yet to play a game in 2020
CB Anthony Brown – starting corner
Safety Darian Thompson – became starter, benched and not getting snaps
CB Maurice Canady – Opted out for COVID-19
CB Daryl Worley – Will be released if not traded before Week 9 deadline
LB Joe Thomas – started multiple games
Edge Aldon Smith – leads team in sacks (4)
CB Brandon Carr – played two games and was released
11 free agent signings on the defensive side of the ball, and only three of them are contributing. .272 is a decent batting average in baseball for a power hitter, but it’s abysmal when it comes to free agency hits by a power-broker front office.
McCoy costs them $1 million in dead money in 2020, $2 million more in 2021. Clinton-Dix costs them $2.25 million. Brandon Carr is over $1 million. That’s over $6 million just in dead money for players already gone.
Poe and Worley will add to that total, Lee has $3 million in salary and signing bonus with at least half of that already gone with no contributions.
These poor decisions easily reach over $10 million of mistakes.
To think, the club gave away so much cap space that could’ve gone to other expenses, or rolled over to use for future space to keep their franchise quarterback for years to come.
Injuries have been a problem for the Cowboys, no doubt. Losing MLB Leighton Vander Esch in Week 1 was a huge blow as he was supposed to be the highly intelligent front-seven defender that would steward the transition to Nolan’s new defense. Losing Chidobe Awuzie and the most experienced corner early in the season hurt, but the jury is out on just how healthy and talented those players truly are despite their draft pedigree.
For all the misery that the Cowboys’ defense has caused in 2020, their performance is the symptom. The disease lies in the big hallway at The Star in Frisco. The problem is the front office.