Blogging The Boys
Every week, we gather to discuss the latest news about the Dallas Cowboys and seek our writer’s perspective on each headline. Welcome back to the roundtable. This week we have David Howman, Tom Ryle, and Sean Martin.
Mike: If you slice it all up into a blame pie execution takes the biggest bite. There were too many missed tackles, rush-lane leaks, protection up front fell apart, and drive-killing penalties turned manageable downs into Broncos getting the upper hand. Coaching scheme comes second. Most sequences helped put things in Denver’s favor with conservative second-and-long calls and it was almost that Brian Schottenheimer was play-calling scared.
Tom: Yes. Plus a roster that continues to have some serious holes and the always dysfunctional behavior at the top of the organization. Or, to put a bit of a different slant on it, the franchise is broken, has been for a long time, and the solutions are nowhere in sight because they would have to start with a person who seems congenitally unable to see his own failings and take the necessary steps to start fixing things.
Howman: Execution was a big part of it, and I think the elevation of Denver is a major reason why. Not the only reason, but a reason for sure. Dak Prescott had his first truly bad game of the year, which doesn’t help one bit, but the defense is also extremely short on playmakers, especially at linebacker.
Sean: I’ll go with scheme because the defense once again sat in zone for a lot of the game and didn’t give themselves a chance. So many other things went wrong around the defense that it’s easy to lose sight of just how bad they were again. In a league where big plays win games though, the ease at which opponents can just make splash play after splash play against the Cowboys is sickening.
Mike: It was mostly gap-fit integrity, but there was some poor finishing. Edges didn’t set the edge, double-teams moved the interior, backside fits lagged, and first contact came too far downfield with poor leverage. This defensive line needs to fix the run fits first, and the tackling should hopefully improve from there.
Tom: I think it is a mix of Eberflus still not coming up with a scheme to fit his personnel and those personnel being weak. The latter should be addressed with the additional draft capital they have, but the former looks like it will have to be handled with a change at DC.
Howman: The Cowboys don’t have the personnel to stop the run, outside of Kenny Clark, but this was more a problem in scheme. Eberflus’ attack style of play on the defensive line naturally makes his defense susceptible to cutbacks and trap run plays, both of which...
