New Cowboys S Will Allen says Monte Kiffin will ‘mix it up’ on defense

[Jiggyfly]

GRAPEVINE — For his first five seasons in the NFL, Will Allen worked under Monte Kiffin in Tampa Bay. This spring, the safety and defensive coordinator were reunited in Dallas.

It’s here where Allen will try to share his knowledge of Kiffin’s scheme – one he says has evolved over the years – with his new teammates.

“It’s a very simple defense,” Allen said. “We’ll run a little Tampa 2. We’ll run some Cover 3. We’ll run some zone dogs. We’ll do some different things to mix it up. And I think the coaches throughout the years who have been in the system have made hybrids of it. So now you see this morphing of the defense that is not only just Tampa 2 it does different things that it allows players to be successful. It’s going to be exciting to see what this group can do.”

Cornerback Brandon Carr has liked what he’s witnessed so far during the teaching sessions this off-season.

“Guys are out there communicating, talking,” Carr said. “Just things last year we kind of lacked, guys are picking up on it this year.”

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has repeatedly said that one of the reasons Kiffin was hired to replace the ousted Rob Ryan was because he could bring order to a defense that was discombobulated at times last season.

“I think he’s the ideal fit for that,” Jones said of Kiffin.

 

[townsend]

Every offseason it seems like reports come out that say we suck at fundamental stuff, but now it'll be different.
I guess next year the new HC will get praised for writing up game plans with a pencil, instead of tears and diarrhea.

 

[Lotuseater]

I have a firm belief that we will be fundamentally sound on defense. Kiffin is known for preaching fundamentals, as is marinelli.

I guess I'm a Homer but I see this defense being very good.

 

[mcnuttz]

Losing Sean Lee screwed this defense up royally.

It's difficult to tell if they just depended too much on him...I think it was more of a case of Lee just owning the defense. He seems to be a genuine student of the game and a natural leader.

The was a definite leadership void when he went down.

Carter was decent, but hadn't been around enough to QB the defense the way Sean Lee did.

What I'm getting at is the communication would naturally be better when your leader is back on the field.

 

[Clay_Allison]

Sean Lee will be the key to the defense, IMO. As long as he's the MLB, dropping into the deep middle, the team will be hard to throw on.

 

[ravidubey]

Losing Sean Lee screwed this defense up royally.

They relied on his ability to cover ground, make plays, and compensate for the mistakes/weaknesses of others.