Davison: Is Jaylon Smith past injury? Well, he’s leading the Cowboys in tackles

Cotton

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Is Jaylon Smith past injury? Well, he’s leading the Cowboys in tackles
BY DREW DAVISON
ddavison@star-telegram.com

SEPTEMBER 19, 2017 3:38 PM

The Dallas Cowboys had few positives coming out of a 42-17 loss to the Denver Broncos on Sunday, especially on defense.

The Broncos ran all over the Cowboys for 178 yards. Quarterback Trevor Siemian threw four touchdown passes. The Broncos converted all eight of their third downs in the first half.

But a silver lining may be linebacker Jaylon Smith. Nobody on the defense had a great game, but Smith was credited with a team-leading 14 tackles by the coaching staff and played 68 of the 77 defensive snaps.

“I thought Jaylon Smith really did well considering this is his second NFL ballgame,” owner Jerry Jones said after the game. “I don’t know his tackles, his numbers, but he stood out.”

Smith addressed the defense’s struggles after the game. Broncos running back C.J. Anderson had his best rushing game since 2014 with 118 yards, and Siemian had a passer rating of at least 100 (116.0) for the fourth time in his young career.

“It was us,” Smith said. “We weren’t doing our jobs. As a defense, you have to play collectively and when we do that we’re successful. But when you don’t all it takes is one person to mess up and it creates havoc. We knew we were going against a great team.”

But Smith’s return to the field continues to be a feel-good story for the Cowboys, and his production is noteworthy.

Through two games, Smith leads the team in tackles with 23. That’s an impressive feat considering Smith missed all of last season recovering from a severe knee injury he sustained in his final game at Notre Dame.

Smith was credited with nine tackles and played 35 defensive snaps in the season-opening win over the New York Giants.

Linebacker Sean Lee is second in tackles with 21. Next is safety Jeff Heath with 10.

“The NFL is a week-to-week basis,” Smith said after Sunday’s game in Denver. “The history of it is written each and every week. When you lose you have to really evaluate what you did wrong and what you can do better. That goes for when you win as well. How can you continue to get better?

“There’s a lot of things out there that we can do better, so we will.”
 

midswat

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I don't think he's particularly played well or justified the risk thus far, but it's amazing what he's been able to accomplish so far.

Feel good story or not, I don't think he'll ever justify where we took him. That said, we've had so many second round busts that it hardly matters anyways.
 

Smitty

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I don't think he's been bad, but he doesn't look like a top 5 pick yet either, or even a first round pick that we hit out of the park. He's solid. Like maybe an average second round pick.
 

GForce78NJ

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its game 2 guys and the guy wasnt sure if he would ever lift his foot again. He's gonna be great, just not right away
 

midswat

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its game 2 guys and the guy wasnt sure if he would ever lift his foot again. He's gonna be great, just not right away
I disagree. I've long said he will be serviceable at best. Never great.
 

DLK150

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I think the tackle stats are overblown. He still looks tentative to me and there were several plays where he came in after someone had already made initial contact or he just jumped on the pile.
 

Smitty

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I think the tackle stats are overblown. He still looks tentative to me and there were several plays where he came in after someone had already made initial contact or he just jumped on the pile.
Yeah, I agree. He's not there yet. He's huge, he's physical, he's fast, and he's not even 100% recovered, so that is all very encouraging.

But something either mentally or physically doesn't look right yet. Hell... maybe he's just not as good as the top 5 pick he was touted as. I'm not saying that's the case -- it's very early -- but its certainly a possibility that if a team drafted him that highly, he would have been an Aaron Curry. Busts happen.

That being said.... even at this less than stellar level, I am not sure if he's still not better than Hitchens.
 

Cowboysrock55

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Yeah, I agree. He's not there yet. He's huge, he's physical, he's fast, and he's not even 100% recovered, so that is all very encouraging.

But something either mentally or physically doesn't look right yet. Hell... maybe he's just not as good as the top 5 pick he was touted as. I'm not saying that's the case -- it's very early -- but its certainly a possibility that if a team drafted him that highly, he would have been an Aaron Curry. Busts happen.

That being said.... even at this less than stellar level, I am not sure if he's still not better than Hitchens.
He already looks better than Aaron Curry as well. So I think he is passing the "bust" claims now. At this point he looks about spot on for a second round LBer. But my hope is he continues to improve and proves to be more like that top 5 first round pick.
 

DLK150

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Yeah, I agree. He's not there yet. He's huge, he's physical, he's fast, and he's not even 100% recovered, so that is all very encouraging.

But something either mentally or physically doesn't look right yet. Hell... maybe he's just not as good as the top 5 pick he was touted as. I'm not saying that's the case -- it's very early -- but its certainly a possibility that if a team drafted him that highly, he would have been an Aaron Curry. Busts happen.

That being said.... even at this less than stellar level, I am not sure if he's still not better than Hitchens.
Pre-injury I would say he was that good but at this point no, he's not better than Hitchens. He was just a higher profile player while in college and the story of his injury/recovery received extensive attention from the media, partly fueled by that draft day phone call video that was widely circulated.
 

fortsbest

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The dude hasn't played real football in a year and a half, is recovering from what could have been a career ender, and is back to starting in the NFL. He is playing because they are depleted and he is catching up and adjusting to the NFL game. I think we'll all be singing his praises by years end if he keeps improving at the same pace he's come along so far. Just my 2 cents.
 

DLK150

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He already looks better than Aaron Curry as well. So I think he is passing the "bust" claims now. At this point he looks about spot on for a second round LBer. But my hope is he continues to improve and proves to be more like that top 5 first round pick.
True, this was only his second NFL game so he's essentially a rookie who has had more time to read the playbook. Time will tell.
 

Simpleton

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I wouldn't draw any conclusions based on the Denver game, the entire team, and especially the defense, was just fucked three ways from Sunday. Even Sean Lee was out there taking horrendous angles and missing tackles, it was the first time we gave up over 100 yards on the ground since 2015 and that's after facing far superior backs and OL's like Bell/the Steelers last year.

While watching the game I thought the tackling was shockingly terrible and I saw a ridiculous stat a day or two ago that said something like 160 of the Broncos 170 rushing yards came after contact.

I don't think Smith is 100% right, his lateral agility and sudden COD don't seem fluid/natural yet, but he flashed plenty against the Giants and I think he will at the very least be a solid starter for us as the years go on. Hitchens is still better as we stand today though.
 

vince

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Yeah, I agree. He's not there yet. He's huge, he's physical, he's fast, and he's not even 100% recovered, so that is all very encouraging.

But something either mentally or physically doesn't look right yet. Hell... maybe he's just not as good as the top 5 pick he was touted as. I'm not saying that's the case -- it's very early -- but its certainly a possibility that if a team drafted him that highly, he would have been an Aaron Curry. Busts happen.

That being said.... even at this less than stellar level, I am not sure if he's still not better than Hitchens.
My guess is mental. He seems to be 1 second too late on his tackles. His reads aren't the best. However, he should be a considered a rookie. This is his first year practicing and playing in the NFL. I think he's on par with my expectations for him in his first year.
 

Cotton

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The dude hasn't played real football in a year and a half, is recovering from what could have been a career ender, and is back to starting in the NFL. He is playing because they are depleted and he is catching up and adjusting to the NFL game. I think we'll all be singing his praises by years end if he keeps improving at the same pace he's come along so far. Just my 2 cents.
This is my take on it, as well.
 

DLK150

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My guess is mental. He seems to be 1 second too late on his tackles. His reads aren't the best. However, he should be a considered a rookie. This is his first year practicing and playing in the NFL. I think he's on par with my expectations for him in his first year.
True and another aspect is adjusting to the speed of the NFL game compared to college. It's like most kids that are redshirted their first year out of HS because the jump in the speed of the game and the learning curve takes time to get accustomed to.

It's not realistic to expect JS to be thrown into the fire and play like an all pro.

Game Speed: HS<College<NFL.
 
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