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DQ Report, Week 10 - Always Blitzing DeVito
Cowboys show no mercy by sending pressure early and often to rattle Giants
BOB STURM
NOV 15, 2023
In retrospect, as we put this Giants game to bed today with a strong look at the defense, it is clear that the Cowboys coaching staff sat in their room a week ago and made the strong decision to make sure that Sunday was a statement.
You may say that it is ridiculous to make an example of the shorthanded Giants because what would that actually accomplish in the big scheme of things? What would the point be?
I suppose the best answer is that they wanted to make sure that any sort of feelings about this next stretch of games will not be taken lightly. The coaching staff sure seemed to ignore the voices on the outside that would tell you that “none of this matters until you play the Eagles and 49ers” anyway.
Mike McCarthy and Dan Quinn took another approach.
The way both game plans were revealed suggested that they disagree about the value of obliterating lesser opponents. They surely seem to tell us that the good vibes of the offense and defense fully flexing its muscles will get morale up, confidence soaring, and send a message around the league that they were one play from going into Philadelphia and quieting that bunch.
We showed you what the offense was doing yesterday – throwing deep on first down and frequently. Today, we look at the defense and as we continue to see the Cowboys attempt to goose their sack totals back up to where they need to be. This has been a topic that we haven’t discussed too much, but I assume the Cowboys are well aware of the reality.
Let’s cover it here. From the start of 2021 to the end of 2022, Dallas was one of the best sack teams in the NFL. In fact, they were second out of the 32 teams, trailing only the Eagles pass rushers, 99-95. During that span, the average NFL team had 79. So, very healthy and all good.
Well, in 2023, Dallas had seven sacks in Week 1 and the entire NFL was put on notice. They have 26 this season which is off their pace and pretty much league average where the average team is at 24.5 right now. But, if we subtract Week 1, the Cowboys vaunted defense actually falls to 20th in the NFL with 19 and the average NFL team in that same span is at 22.
That is a problem. Its a problem because without Trevon Diggs, they need the sacks to cover the fact that the cover players are not at the level they would need. They also need the offense to score more and to pull more weight because the dominating Cowboys defense is not dominating like it did in 2021 and 2022.
They are still very good, but if you are wondering why the Cowboys have decided to blitz a lot more this season – and on Sunday against a very hapless Giants offense they blitzed more times than any other game this season with 21 and a 54% blitz rate - there is your best indicator. They sense they need to goose their sack totals because from the Jets game on September 18 all the way to the visit to Philadelphia on November 5th, the defense had just 14 sacks in seven games. 2 per game is just not nearly enough to be a lead defense.
So as we walked you through a few weeks ago, Dallas is now making blitzing a huge part of their diet – something we haven’t seen in years. They are up to fourth in the NFL and are trying to remain the defense that terrifies opponents when they get off the bus for how their protection is going to be destroyed. But, they are having to bring extra guys to get there – in doing so, they risk lesser coverage behind it.
It is just becoming a bit of a balancing act. We will look at the sacks in our film review this week, but I wanted to try to tackle another thing up here.
On Sunday, we saw a magnificent play early in the second quarter on the Giants fourth down and 2 play deep inside the Cowboys territory at a rather significant moment where they had a chance to tie things at 7-7. I spent some time on it in Monday’s piece:
Well, it hasn’t been a dominating year at all for young Mazi. He shows us flashes – like this play below, but the young man has been rarely seen.
First off, I want to say that I am not selling any shares of Mazi Smith. I think he will be a very nice player and no, I don’t care if he went to the same school that Taco Charlton attended.
Second, I love the ability to “red shirt” my rookies if I am good enough to do it. I would argue that nearly every draft pick was following the “best player available” rather than immediate needs so they could develop these guys at a nice pace and look ahead to 2024-2026 when they will need them to be impact players and replace pending free agents at a much cheaper rate.
Here is the rookie class as listed by ProFootballReference:
As you can see, there is almost no significant contributions from the rookie class so far. Luke Schoonmaker has given the most, but, that isn’t much – with 14 yards receiving through 10 weeks. Now, there are three undrafted rookies who have all pitched in with TJ Bass, Hunter Luepke, and Brandon Aubrey and we should include those players in the class of 2023 for sure.
Now, below, I wish to show you the last five years of Cowboys rookie classes full snap counts for that rookie season to give you an idea of what is normal:
A quick review of each group, if you don’t mind.
2018 - Leighton Vander Esch, Michael Gallup, Connor Williams, Dalton Schultz, and Dorance Armstrong all played a lot in ‘18.
2019 - They traded their 1st, so this rookie class did very little beyond Tony Pollard in that first year. Almost nothing at all.
2020 - Terence Steele started the whole year, CeeDee Lamb and Trevon Diggs both played full time, and Tyler Biadasz started until he was hurt. Neville Gallimore, too.
2021 - Micah Parsons and Osa Odighizuwa were full timers as rookies, Chauncey Golston, Nahshon Wright and Kelvin Joseph all chipped in.
2022 - Tyler Smith played all year, DaRon Bland, Peyton Hendershot, and Jake Ferguson all had significant roles. Even Sam Williams played a lot.
But, to compare apples to apples, I went through the six seasons through Week 10 to show you the pace of each group and compare it to this class. Keep in mind, these snaps include special teams (because that matters quite a bit).
As you can see, the 2023 class is not miles off the paces of 2018 and 2021 and well ahead of 2019. I guess what I am saying is that I agree with everyone being anxious about this group, but the Overshown injury sabotaged a lot, Hankins is a better player than Mazi right now (not a shock because experience matters) and the Schoonmaker pick seems like they might have made a mistake about the true direction of the offense in 12 personnel. But, it is also too early to fully know.
Anyway, back to our story of the Giants game (which I suppose tells you how compelling the Giants game is from a defensive analysis standpoint that I would use this week to dive into the draft class).
The Giants went 0-for-12 on 3rd downs. That is insane but true. Look, their QB was in over his head, his receivers were subpar, his offensive line is bad and injured, and the organization is a real mess right now.
But, 0-for-12? How uncommon is that? Well, I don’t think it has ever happened in Cowboys history for an opponent to be that bad. I found an 0-for-10 in 1998 vs the Cardinals, but to completely shut out an opponent on 3rd down is remarkable and impressive.
The Giants have not had an 0-fer on 3rd down since Christmas Eve of 2006, so that was not something they do often, either.
TOMMY DEVITO NEXT GEN THROW CHART
You had to feel for him. Talk about being put in an impossible situation as Dan Quinn calls blitz after blitz. Its the hardest way to make an easy living.
Rough scene all around when you sit at 1.9 per pass attempt (when they factor in the sack yardage, as they will at this level).
SPLASH PLAYS - WEEK 10
SPLASH PLAYS - SEASON TO DATE
Yes, Micah Parsons had a notably quiet day. But, below, let’s look at the five sacks – all on blitzes to see how he still messes up protections.
FILM STUDY
1Q - 6:05 - 3rd and 12 - NY 2 - T.DeVito sacked at NYG 2 for -2 yards (S.Williams).
Anyone not sure if Micah had the same energy on Sunday should watch this one. He shoots through that gap at a speed that would scare any young QB. 54-Williams drops off in coverage so it is a five-man rush and you can see DeVito trying to sort it out on the fly. Imagine the chaotic feeling that must be to try to even think about seeing which receiver is open. He is lucky to get out of the end zone so they can punt.
2Q - 7:22 - 3rd and 3 - NY 32 - T.DeVito sacked at NYG 26 for -6 yards (N.Gallimore).
The Cowboys have 14-Bell fill that outside edge here after Micah heads inside to the A-Gap. Neville Gallimore gets the sack, but as you can see, Bell and Parsons are responsible for corralling the QB and securing the play. Then Gallimore just has to grab him as he gives himself up for another 3rd down stop.
3Q - 15:00 - 1st and 10 - NY 25 - T.DeVito sacked at NYG 17 for -8 yards (D.Fowler).
First play of the 2nd half. Everyone finds Parsons and then he drops with Saquon in coverage. There is a twist up front, but this one is Dante Fowler just winning against a backup right tackle. The Giants still don’t have a line that gives them a chance – this despite tons of resources being sunk into the group.
3Q - 14:31 - 2nd and 18 - NY 17 - T.DeVito sacked at NYG 9 for -8 yards (D.Lawrence).
The very next play – the 2nd play of the 2nd half – here comes another five man rush with DeMarcus Lawrence right over the rookie 2nd round center, 61-John Michael Schmitz. Here, Mazi Smith gets close but DeMarcus gets him first. Five versus five, Dallas loves its chances to isolate Parsons or Tank vs anyone’s center. That is going to be a win if the QB doesn’t get the ball out fast. And DeVito is not capable of that right now with his supporting cast.
3Q - 0:27 - 2nd and 10 - NY 36 - T.DeVito sacked at NYG 35 for -1 yards (D.Armstrong).
This last one is another fun rush. This time, they do get the “strong side” blocked up and the center manages to deal with Micah pretty well. But, as Murphy’s Law would dictate, it is always something and here Chauncey Golston does the damage and this opens the door for Dorance Armstrong to feed. Well played by this group.
Five sack this time and seven sacks last time means 12 vs the Giants in two games and 14 against everyone else in seven games.
In other words, “can we play you every week?”
Cowboys show no mercy by sending pressure early and often to rattle Giants
BOB STURM
NOV 15, 2023
In retrospect, as we put this Giants game to bed today with a strong look at the defense, it is clear that the Cowboys coaching staff sat in their room a week ago and made the strong decision to make sure that Sunday was a statement.
You may say that it is ridiculous to make an example of the shorthanded Giants because what would that actually accomplish in the big scheme of things? What would the point be?
I suppose the best answer is that they wanted to make sure that any sort of feelings about this next stretch of games will not be taken lightly. The coaching staff sure seemed to ignore the voices on the outside that would tell you that “none of this matters until you play the Eagles and 49ers” anyway.
Mike McCarthy and Dan Quinn took another approach.
The way both game plans were revealed suggested that they disagree about the value of obliterating lesser opponents. They surely seem to tell us that the good vibes of the offense and defense fully flexing its muscles will get morale up, confidence soaring, and send a message around the league that they were one play from going into Philadelphia and quieting that bunch.
We showed you what the offense was doing yesterday – throwing deep on first down and frequently. Today, we look at the defense and as we continue to see the Cowboys attempt to goose their sack totals back up to where they need to be. This has been a topic that we haven’t discussed too much, but I assume the Cowboys are well aware of the reality.
Let’s cover it here. From the start of 2021 to the end of 2022, Dallas was one of the best sack teams in the NFL. In fact, they were second out of the 32 teams, trailing only the Eagles pass rushers, 99-95. During that span, the average NFL team had 79. So, very healthy and all good.
Well, in 2023, Dallas had seven sacks in Week 1 and the entire NFL was put on notice. They have 26 this season which is off their pace and pretty much league average where the average team is at 24.5 right now. But, if we subtract Week 1, the Cowboys vaunted defense actually falls to 20th in the NFL with 19 and the average NFL team in that same span is at 22.
That is a problem. Its a problem because without Trevon Diggs, they need the sacks to cover the fact that the cover players are not at the level they would need. They also need the offense to score more and to pull more weight because the dominating Cowboys defense is not dominating like it did in 2021 and 2022.
They are still very good, but if you are wondering why the Cowboys have decided to blitz a lot more this season – and on Sunday against a very hapless Giants offense they blitzed more times than any other game this season with 21 and a 54% blitz rate - there is your best indicator. They sense they need to goose their sack totals because from the Jets game on September 18 all the way to the visit to Philadelphia on November 5th, the defense had just 14 sacks in seven games. 2 per game is just not nearly enough to be a lead defense.
So as we walked you through a few weeks ago, Dallas is now making blitzing a huge part of their diet – something we haven’t seen in years. They are up to fourth in the NFL and are trying to remain the defense that terrifies opponents when they get off the bus for how their protection is going to be destroyed. But, they are having to bring extra guys to get there – in doing so, they risk lesser coverage behind it.
It is just becoming a bit of a balancing act. We will look at the sacks in our film review this week, but I wanted to try to tackle another thing up here.
On Sunday, we saw a magnificent play early in the second quarter on the Giants fourth down and 2 play deep inside the Cowboys territory at a rather significant moment where they had a chance to tie things at 7-7. I spent some time on it in Monday’s piece:
Now, when Johnathan Hankins makes a play on an inside run, it is always appreciated but also triggers folks to wonder why Mazi Smith isn’t the one doing that. After all, he was the Cowboys first-round pick this year. Shouldn’t he be dominating in the trenches and not the 31-year old journeyman?
Well, it hasn’t been a dominating year at all for young Mazi. He shows us flashes – like this play below, but the young man has been rarely seen.
First off, I want to say that I am not selling any shares of Mazi Smith. I think he will be a very nice player and no, I don’t care if he went to the same school that Taco Charlton attended.
Second, I love the ability to “red shirt” my rookies if I am good enough to do it. I would argue that nearly every draft pick was following the “best player available” rather than immediate needs so they could develop these guys at a nice pace and look ahead to 2024-2026 when they will need them to be impact players and replace pending free agents at a much cheaper rate.
Here is the rookie class as listed by ProFootballReference:
As you can see, there is almost no significant contributions from the rookie class so far. Luke Schoonmaker has given the most, but, that isn’t much – with 14 yards receiving through 10 weeks. Now, there are three undrafted rookies who have all pitched in with TJ Bass, Hunter Luepke, and Brandon Aubrey and we should include those players in the class of 2023 for sure.
Now, below, I wish to show you the last five years of Cowboys rookie classes full snap counts for that rookie season to give you an idea of what is normal:
A quick review of each group, if you don’t mind.
2018 - Leighton Vander Esch, Michael Gallup, Connor Williams, Dalton Schultz, and Dorance Armstrong all played a lot in ‘18.
2019 - They traded their 1st, so this rookie class did very little beyond Tony Pollard in that first year. Almost nothing at all.
2020 - Terence Steele started the whole year, CeeDee Lamb and Trevon Diggs both played full time, and Tyler Biadasz started until he was hurt. Neville Gallimore, too.
2021 - Micah Parsons and Osa Odighizuwa were full timers as rookies, Chauncey Golston, Nahshon Wright and Kelvin Joseph all chipped in.
2022 - Tyler Smith played all year, DaRon Bland, Peyton Hendershot, and Jake Ferguson all had significant roles. Even Sam Williams played a lot.
But, to compare apples to apples, I went through the six seasons through Week 10 to show you the pace of each group and compare it to this class. Keep in mind, these snaps include special teams (because that matters quite a bit).
As you can see, the 2023 class is not miles off the paces of 2018 and 2021 and well ahead of 2019. I guess what I am saying is that I agree with everyone being anxious about this group, but the Overshown injury sabotaged a lot, Hankins is a better player than Mazi right now (not a shock because experience matters) and the Schoonmaker pick seems like they might have made a mistake about the true direction of the offense in 12 personnel. But, it is also too early to fully know.
Anyway, back to our story of the Giants game (which I suppose tells you how compelling the Giants game is from a defensive analysis standpoint that I would use this week to dive into the draft class).
The Giants went 0-for-12 on 3rd downs. That is insane but true. Look, their QB was in over his head, his receivers were subpar, his offensive line is bad and injured, and the organization is a real mess right now.
But, 0-for-12? How uncommon is that? Well, I don’t think it has ever happened in Cowboys history for an opponent to be that bad. I found an 0-for-10 in 1998 vs the Cardinals, but to completely shut out an opponent on 3rd down is remarkable and impressive.
The Giants have not had an 0-fer on 3rd down since Christmas Eve of 2006, so that was not something they do often, either.
TOMMY DEVITO NEXT GEN THROW CHART
You had to feel for him. Talk about being put in an impossible situation as Dan Quinn calls blitz after blitz. Its the hardest way to make an easy living.
Rough scene all around when you sit at 1.9 per pass attempt (when they factor in the sack yardage, as they will at this level).
SPLASH PLAYS - WEEK 10
SPLASH PLAYS - SEASON TO DATE
Yes, Micah Parsons had a notably quiet day. But, below, let’s look at the five sacks – all on blitzes to see how he still messes up protections.
FILM STUDY
1Q - 6:05 - 3rd and 12 - NY 2 - T.DeVito sacked at NYG 2 for -2 yards (S.Williams).
Anyone not sure if Micah had the same energy on Sunday should watch this one. He shoots through that gap at a speed that would scare any young QB. 54-Williams drops off in coverage so it is a five-man rush and you can see DeVito trying to sort it out on the fly. Imagine the chaotic feeling that must be to try to even think about seeing which receiver is open. He is lucky to get out of the end zone so they can punt.
2Q - 7:22 - 3rd and 3 - NY 32 - T.DeVito sacked at NYG 26 for -6 yards (N.Gallimore).
The Cowboys have 14-Bell fill that outside edge here after Micah heads inside to the A-Gap. Neville Gallimore gets the sack, but as you can see, Bell and Parsons are responsible for corralling the QB and securing the play. Then Gallimore just has to grab him as he gives himself up for another 3rd down stop.
3Q - 15:00 - 1st and 10 - NY 25 - T.DeVito sacked at NYG 17 for -8 yards (D.Fowler).
First play of the 2nd half. Everyone finds Parsons and then he drops with Saquon in coverage. There is a twist up front, but this one is Dante Fowler just winning against a backup right tackle. The Giants still don’t have a line that gives them a chance – this despite tons of resources being sunk into the group.
3Q - 14:31 - 2nd and 18 - NY 17 - T.DeVito sacked at NYG 9 for -8 yards (D.Lawrence).
The very next play – the 2nd play of the 2nd half – here comes another five man rush with DeMarcus Lawrence right over the rookie 2nd round center, 61-John Michael Schmitz. Here, Mazi Smith gets close but DeMarcus gets him first. Five versus five, Dallas loves its chances to isolate Parsons or Tank vs anyone’s center. That is going to be a win if the QB doesn’t get the ball out fast. And DeVito is not capable of that right now with his supporting cast.
3Q - 0:27 - 2nd and 10 - NY 36 - T.DeVito sacked at NYG 35 for -1 yards (D.Armstrong).
This last one is another fun rush. This time, they do get the “strong side” blocked up and the center manages to deal with Micah pretty well. But, as Murphy’s Law would dictate, it is always something and here Chauncey Golston does the damage and this opens the door for Dorance Armstrong to feed. Well played by this group.
Five sack this time and seven sacks last time means 12 vs the Giants in two games and 14 against everyone else in seven games.
In other words, “can we play you every week?”
