Blogging The Boys
The Cowboys defense is off to a strong start so far during camp.
It is a bold move to make any declarative statements the first week of training camp, but Dallas Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer was not afraid to put his defense on our radar. On Tuesday, Schottenheimer said to the media, “I think we’re going to be one of the top takeaway teams.” To this point, the defense has backed up the words of their head coach
Any time you open up Twitter to check on what’s happening at training camp, there is another highlight video of the defense making a play. On Wednesday, the defense was forcing pass breakups, interceptions, and fumbles left and right. The trend continued on Thursday with the defense racking up three interceptions on the day from various quarterbacks.
Some may view this as a chicken-or-the-egg debate. Is the Cowboys' defense truly this good, or is it a concern for the offense? The answer should be a positive sign for the defense. There is simply too much talent on offense for this unit to struggle all season at this level.
Defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus has consistently had his units ranked as some of the best takeaway teams since he began calling plays on defense. Dating back to his first opportunity with the Indianapolis Colts in 2018, Eberflus’ defense has been outside of the top ten just once across seven seasons. His defense was top five three times. Twice with the Colts and once with the Chicago Bears. His aggressive nature and need to force turnovers have been a part of his coaching DNA and something he talked about this offseason on The Doomsday Podcast.
Since the defense cannot hit the quarterback in practice, takeaways are the only thing that can be tallied up during practice reports, but that does not mean the defense is not getting pressure on the quarterback. Along with forcing turnovers, second-round picks Donovan Ezeiruaku and Marshawn Kneeland, plus Dante Fowler, have consistently turned up the heat on Dak Prescott and the other passers.
Based on Todd Archer’s post-practice recaps, the defense has forced seven interceptions and at least five forced fumbles through three days of practice. In 2021 and 2022, Dan Quinn had the Dallas defense No. 1 in takeaways. At this rate, the 2025 defense under Eberflus has a chance to be the best of the bunch.
