p1_
DCC 4Life
- Joined
- Apr 10, 2013
- Messages
- 26,624
George: Why Cowboys' run defense went from dominant to dormant in one week
By Brandon George
Published: 30 September 2015 10:49 PM
Updated: 01 October 2015 12:08 AM
IRVING -- A lot can change in one week in the NFL.
A week after suffocating Philadelphia's rushing attack, the Cowboys were run over Sunday by Atlanta and backup tailback Devonta Freeman.
Cowboys defensive tackle Nick Hayden called it a meltdown. Freeman, making his first start, rushed for 141 yards and three touchdowns on 30 carries.
In his first two games, Freeman had a combined 43 rushing yards on 22 carries against Philadelphia and the Giants.
"It's never a good thing to lose like that," Hayden said. "We just have to learn from it as a defense and not let that happen again because it wasn't good. A lot of people lost focus. Gap discipline was a huge thing, and not enough guys running to the ball."
Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said the run defense "wasn't good enough."
"We weren't as disciplined as we needed to be," Garrett added. "We weren't as physical as we needed to be. We weren't as relentless as we needed to be. We didn't tackle as well as we needed to, and that was all over the tape."
The Cowboys don't have long to regroup. They play New Orleans on Sunday night and will have to slow tailback Mark Ingram.
Ingram saw what Freeman did against the Cowboys last week.
"[Just] because it happened last week doesn't mean it [will] happen this week," Ingram said about duplicating Freeman's game against Dallas. "Their defense is real solid. They bend but don't break and they present a good challenge for us."
The Eagles saw just how good the Cowboys can be against the run in Week 2. The Cowboys held Philadelphia to 7 rushing yards on 17 carries. Dallas held former teammate DeMarco Murray, the 2014 rushing champion, to 2 yards on 13 carries.
A week later, the Cowboys had to play short-handed against the Falcons. Starting defensive end Jeremy Mincey was out with a concussion. The Cowboys also placed reserve defensive tackle Terrell McClain on season-ending injured reserve last week because of a sprained big toe that will require surgery.
With Mincey and McClain out of the defensive line rotation, the Cowboys had rookie defensive lineman Ryan Russell active for the first time. The fifth-round pick was in for 33 plays. Mincey had averaged 38.5 plays the first two games.
Reserve defensive lineman Jack Crawford made his first NFL start against the Falcons in place of Mincey and was in for 54 plays, about 20 more than his normal workload.
"We were tired," Cowboys defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence said, "but that shouldn't be the case when it comes down to getting in your gaps and keep fighting at the end of the day."
All told, the Cowboys defense was on the field for 13 more snaps Sunday against Atlanta than it had played in each of the first two games.
Mincey said he noticed how the extra snaps took a toll on the defensive line rotation late in Sunday's loss.
"I was watching my guys winded. They were tired," Mincey said. "We kind of got worn down. We didn't have enough guys to rotate. It was mainly lack of experience. We had a lot of young guys who played. Crawford played most of the game, and he's a younger guy still trying to figure it out. A lot of guys will live and learn from it, and it's good to have that experience to know exactly what to do this time around."
The Cowboys finished with the eighth-best run defense in the NFL last year, allowing 103.1 yards per game.
Often playing with a lead, the Cowboys spent many fourth quarters in 2014 mostly defending the pass against teams trying to rally. The Cowboys faced the sixth-fewest rushing attempts in the league last season at 24.5 per game.
The Cowboys' run defense had its holes a year ago, however. Dallas allowed the second-most rushing touchdowns at 18. The Cowboys also allowed 12 runs of 20-plus yards, tied for eighth-most in the NFL.
The Cowboys didn't do much in the offseason to address their run defense. Instead, one of their top priorities was to help their pass rush. They added Pro Bowl defensive end Greg Hardy and used a second-round pick on one of the draft's top defensive ends in Randy Gregory.
A three-week sample of the Cowboys' run defense has been all over the map, from dominant to dormant.
"There's no excuse," Hayden said. "We know we can be a good defense. We just have to show it week in and week out. We can't let [any] of these games affect us and lose our mind-set because we know we can be a dominant defense. We just got to fix it."
By Brandon George
Published: 30 September 2015 10:49 PM
Updated: 01 October 2015 12:08 AM
IRVING -- A lot can change in one week in the NFL.
A week after suffocating Philadelphia's rushing attack, the Cowboys were run over Sunday by Atlanta and backup tailback Devonta Freeman.
Cowboys defensive tackle Nick Hayden called it a meltdown. Freeman, making his first start, rushed for 141 yards and three touchdowns on 30 carries.
In his first two games, Freeman had a combined 43 rushing yards on 22 carries against Philadelphia and the Giants.
"It's never a good thing to lose like that," Hayden said. "We just have to learn from it as a defense and not let that happen again because it wasn't good. A lot of people lost focus. Gap discipline was a huge thing, and not enough guys running to the ball."
Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said the run defense "wasn't good enough."
"We weren't as disciplined as we needed to be," Garrett added. "We weren't as physical as we needed to be. We weren't as relentless as we needed to be. We didn't tackle as well as we needed to, and that was all over the tape."
The Cowboys don't have long to regroup. They play New Orleans on Sunday night and will have to slow tailback Mark Ingram.
Ingram saw what Freeman did against the Cowboys last week.
"[Just] because it happened last week doesn't mean it [will] happen this week," Ingram said about duplicating Freeman's game against Dallas. "Their defense is real solid. They bend but don't break and they present a good challenge for us."
The Eagles saw just how good the Cowboys can be against the run in Week 2. The Cowboys held Philadelphia to 7 rushing yards on 17 carries. Dallas held former teammate DeMarco Murray, the 2014 rushing champion, to 2 yards on 13 carries.
A week later, the Cowboys had to play short-handed against the Falcons. Starting defensive end Jeremy Mincey was out with a concussion. The Cowboys also placed reserve defensive tackle Terrell McClain on season-ending injured reserve last week because of a sprained big toe that will require surgery.
With Mincey and McClain out of the defensive line rotation, the Cowboys had rookie defensive lineman Ryan Russell active for the first time. The fifth-round pick was in for 33 plays. Mincey had averaged 38.5 plays the first two games.
Reserve defensive lineman Jack Crawford made his first NFL start against the Falcons in place of Mincey and was in for 54 plays, about 20 more than his normal workload.
"We were tired," Cowboys defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence said, "but that shouldn't be the case when it comes down to getting in your gaps and keep fighting at the end of the day."
All told, the Cowboys defense was on the field for 13 more snaps Sunday against Atlanta than it had played in each of the first two games.
Mincey said he noticed how the extra snaps took a toll on the defensive line rotation late in Sunday's loss.
"I was watching my guys winded. They were tired," Mincey said. "We kind of got worn down. We didn't have enough guys to rotate. It was mainly lack of experience. We had a lot of young guys who played. Crawford played most of the game, and he's a younger guy still trying to figure it out. A lot of guys will live and learn from it, and it's good to have that experience to know exactly what to do this time around."
The Cowboys finished with the eighth-best run defense in the NFL last year, allowing 103.1 yards per game.
Often playing with a lead, the Cowboys spent many fourth quarters in 2014 mostly defending the pass against teams trying to rally. The Cowboys faced the sixth-fewest rushing attempts in the league last season at 24.5 per game.
The Cowboys' run defense had its holes a year ago, however. Dallas allowed the second-most rushing touchdowns at 18. The Cowboys also allowed 12 runs of 20-plus yards, tied for eighth-most in the NFL.
The Cowboys didn't do much in the offseason to address their run defense. Instead, one of their top priorities was to help their pass rush. They added Pro Bowl defensive end Greg Hardy and used a second-round pick on one of the draft's top defensive ends in Randy Gregory.
A three-week sample of the Cowboys' run defense has been all over the map, from dominant to dormant.
"There's no excuse," Hayden said. "We know we can be a good defense. We just have to show it week in and week out. We can't let [any] of these games affect us and lose our mind-set because we know we can be a dominant defense. We just got to fix it."
