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The Parker Report - Better, But Still Awfully Bad
The Cowboys defense is making some improvements, but many, many more are required.
Bob Sturm44 minutes ago
We will cover plenty from Houston here today.
- Overall Defensive Evaluation vs the Texans
- The Unsustainable Trends
- There Is Growing Good News
- Too Many Explosives/Nico Collins is a Problem
- Film Study and Splash Plays
OVERALL DEFENSIVE EVALUATION
The Cowboys won on Sunday, which is great news. There is always plenty to clean up in pursuit of excellence and even the ultimate perfect performance, but we are in a spot here where we never lose sight of the main thing being the main thing. The Cowboys won a critical game that puts them right in the mix of where they need to be as we dive into the meat of the schedule.They have had their injuries and they have had their significant issues, but this defense is being graded on a curve for a number of reasons we will continue to emphasize as we go.
- This is a new scheme for everyone with a new coordinator who has not entirely run his own defense before. We always knew that this was a build to where this is a much better second half of the season defense than when everyone was sorting through things while opponents were trying to shoot holes in the build.
- The entire defense has been redone. It is basically Daron Bland and Malik Hooker and everyone else has just started as a Cowboy. The next tenured player is DeMarvion Overshown and he has played less snaps than TJ Bass in the regular season. That is nuts.
- Injuries have not been kind and the secondary has been different every week.
That said, the games keep coming. One three days ago and one more tomorrow. This league doesn’t care about your circumstances. They care about your record.And that is why 2-2 feels pretty good right now. 3-1 would be great, but 1-3 is just as likely, so let’s not get too picky.
The Unsustainable Trends
The realities from Sunday in Houston are rough. We look at the data and the film and it is just not where they need to be.They allowed eight explosive plays (20+) and in a league where you want to limit your opponents to three per game, we are troubled by that. Heck, Houston had four explosives in the 4th Quarter alone.
They also averaged 10.2 yards per pass attempt. 7.6 yards per play. These are both painfully brutal. You cannot win very often like that.
Then the big numbers. And these are the ones that really are troubling.
- 30 Points
- 397 Yards
- 0 Turnovers
In the 35 times in Cowboys history they have given up 30 points and 397 yards, and taken the ball back zero times. Would you care to see the record?
2-33!
The one other win was that glorious battle in Pittsburgh in 2016 which you may best recall for the long Ezekiel Elliott screen pass touchdown (shout out to Travis Frederick) and the game winning bust through the line for another TD.
2-33!
So, yeah, the trends suggest that you don’t try that very often. The offense saved your bacon in both of those games, but that is no way to live.
There Is Growing Good News
Now, there are some interesting trends that are good. Not enough, but I am not going to sit here and just tell you it all stinks. Because there is progress.First, Dallas was able to force four punts, three more field goals, and defended a final drive well enough. This is not going to make the highlight shows, but that means they were able to get stops and limit damage for a good amount of time that helped the offense do the heavy lifting.
Next, that red box above shows how many times Dallas allowed zero or just one 1st down in a drive. Again, there are moments of standing tall and getting off the field.
That is the best trend which we will show you below. The last few weeks are showing a great number of 3rd down stops. The Ravens were 3-9 and the Texans 3-10 on 3rd down. That is exciting. We also know about the 4th down stops in Rio.
Also, the interior run stopping has continued again. They are still giving up rushing yards, but we are seeing Quinnen Williams and his friends close down the gaps inside.
And finally, Joey Porter is here. There are some clips where you see that he is different. These are all trends worth mentioning. And they are all signs of good progress.
Too Many Explosives/Nico Collins is a Problem
Here are those eight explosives and one more that was 18 yards. Every single one of them was a CJ Stroud pass and now you can understand the 10.2 yards per attempt. You can’t win this way.
CJ STROUD NEXT GEN THROW CHART
And Nico Collins is back and Houston is delighted. Just look at this weapon and the damage he did on Sunday. Maybe if the Cowboys had more time, they would stick Joey Porter on him all day, but they eased him in slowly.
Seven catches on eight targets for 118 yards and two touchdowns. Again, you don’t survive days like that with a win very often.
But, the Cowboys did. The offense was a nice eraser.
FILM STUDY
1Q - 14:55 - 1-10-HST 15 - C.Stroud pass deep middle to N.Collins to DAL 40 for 45 yards (M.Hooker).
This is an example of how not to survive the first snap of a game. You prepare, you psych yourself up, you take the field and pow - you concede a 45-yard pass right out of the gate after having them back at their own 15. Cowboys are in split-safety zone and the route will high-low Reddy Steward, which is a wise guy to attack since he joined right off the practice squad. Also, this is the return of Nico Collins, so let’s get him involved early and put him in the slot. 17-Wayne is outside and he draws Steward up, while 12-Collins runs a dig behind him to put him in conflict. Step up and Stroud throws behind you. Step back and you give up the throw in front of you. And once he hits Collins in stride, he is out the gate at 6’4, 225. The biggest upset about Collins is that he was not that great at Michigan, but now, I swear he is as terrifying across the middle of the field as you will find in the NFL.
1Q - 10:06 - 3-3-DAL 7 - C.Stroud pass short middle to N.Collins for 7 yards, TOUCHDOWN.
I am sure the Cowboys have their reasons, but this is 3rd and goal and the call is Cover 1, so I have no idea why Joey Porter is covering Dalton Schultz and Daron Bland has Collins. But, if I am Houston, I am delighted about that. If Dallas cannot get pressure, then Collins is going to body Bland and it will be a touchdown. No pressure, no chance. Easy 3rd down conversion and touchdown on a 4-point play.
1Q - 4:21 - 2-1-HST 17 - C.Stroud pass deep left to J.Noel pushed ob at DAL 31 for 52 yards (D.Bland).
2nd drive and Houston now knows they have some tasty matchups. Jaylen Noel runs a 4.39 40 and while DaRon Bland is fast, he isn’t that fast. Houston saw Baltimore cause issues with late motion to mess up assignments and they run one here out of a tight formation. That causes Bland to really bite on the out on a “out and up” and Noel has him by 3 yards. Luckily the throw is a bit behind him and he slows, so it only went for 52 yards and not 83. But, these two early explosives are extremely troubling. I also think 14-Boutte is wide open coming from the other side across the field against the Cover 3. I do like 25-Porter calling things out already as a traffic cop in the secondary.
2Q - 11:09 - 3-4-HST 30 -C.Stroud sacked at HST 29 for -1 yards (R.Gary).
On the 3rd possession, Dallas finally got a stop and here it is. They needed a stop on 3rd and 4. The Cowboys play Cover 1 again on 3rd down and this time, there is nothing open. They seem content to slow-play the run fake and then plaster everyone until Kenny Clark can funnel Stroud to Rashan Gary who will get an easy sack by forcing him out of bounds. That is a stop and an important one.
2Q - 8:13 - 1-10-HST 17 - C.Stroud pass incomplete deep left to X.Hutchinson (M.Hooker).
Cover 3 on 1st and 10 and Malachi Lawrence gets a pressure. But, Hutchinson is open and it takes a very nice downhill close from Malik Hooker to break things up. Contested passes from safeties is rare enough that I definitely was making sure this one make the cut. That is a splash for 24.
2Q - 2:15 - 3-3-DAL 20 - C.Stroud pass incomplete short right [R.Gary].
Here is another 3rd down and another meaningful pass rush for Rashan Gary. They try to slow him down with some cross motion from 14-Boutte and Gary isn’t having it. I want you to check out 25-Porter’s coverage here with Nico Collins. This is blanket coverage right here on that cross. Stroud wants him and Porter has him absolutely closed down. That is beautiful work from Joey Porter.
2nd Half Now.
3Q - 10:57 - 2-6-DAL 22 - C.Stroud pass deep right to N.Collins for 22 yards, TOUCHDOWN.
PENALTY on DAL-R.Steward, Unnecessary Roughness, 8 yards, enforced between downs.
This one, for me, is on Caleb Downs. Nico Collins against split safeties and Downs is waiting on Collins, but doesn’t get the depth right. When that happens, Collins is open behind him and nobody is there. Once the pass rush lets Stroud out of the pocket, the TD is right there without much hassle. I think Downs is pretty average as a deep safety and this didn’t help that feeling.
3Q - 5:17 - 3-8-HST 42 - C.Stroud pass incomplete short right [D.Winters].
I think I see the vision here the last few weeks. They want 3rd downs to be more vicious so here comes a 6-man pressure with Cover 0 behind it. Someone needs to get there or the Cowboys are in big trouble. Luckily, Dee Winters does and Stroud unloads and it is another stop. Dallas has held Baltimore to 3-9 and now Houston to 3-10, so anytime you can hold those two offenses to 32% on 3rd downs, we are starting to see good progress. Get off the field and this trend is great after the first two games were anything but great. The Giants were 9-11 and the Commanders were 8-14, so that 17-25 hole to start the season will ruin the stats for a while, but this recent trend is very interesting and optimistic.
4Q - 9:31 - 3-3-HST 42 - C.Stroud sacked at HST 31 for -11 yards (Q.Williams).
This one was a huge 3rd down stop and maybe the defensive play of the night. Dallas is ahead and they need the defense to stand tall and on a 3rd and 3, they get to Stroud. Yes, 92-Quinnen Williams destroys the rookie LG 66-Keylan Rutledge, but also check out Von Miller up top getting close. What a huge sack and a real opportunity for the offense to get some breathing room. Quinnen has been great these last two weeks and that is connected to the 3rd down defense.
4Q - 6:55 - 1-15-HST 8 - C.Stroud pass short middle to X.Hutchinson to HST 34 for 26 yards (R.Steward).
The offense would punt the ball right back but you have them pinned here to the 8 yard line after a false start. This is 1st and 15 and you have a real chance here to pin them. I don’t know what the bust is here, but there is just no way that 27-Reddy Steward is playing that far outside Hutchinson with no inside help. This is a free release and just a brutally simple 26-yard gain. Not great again.
4Q - 5:36 - 2-1-HST 43 - W.Marks right tackle to HST 42 for -1 yards (Q.Williams).
This is Quinnen Williams being Quinnen Williams. He is who they said he was. Just beautiful. Jaishawn Barham also right there as he is on inside runs. Another week of shutting down inside runs, by the way. Dallas has been much better here, too.
4Q - 4:53 - 3-2-HST 42 - C.Stroud pass short right to N.Collins to DAL 45 for 13 yards (R.Steward).
Big 3rd and short and I think it says something that Houston is trying a deep-in to Collins instead of trying to run on the Cowboys. The trouble is, a Dig to Collins vs Steward with no safety help is stealing money and that is what happened there. Great play for the Texans and I would love to have Porter on Collins (again).
4Q - 2:34 - 3-14-DAL 27 - C.Stroud pass short right to D.Schultz to DAL 25 for 2 yards. Lateral to D.Montgomery pushed ob at DAL 6 for 19 yards P14 (D.Winters; A.Speed).
This is so good. From Monday’s piece:
4Q - 2:26 - 1-6-DAL 6 - W.Marks left tackle for 6 yards, TOUCHDOWN.
At the moment this happened, I wondered if the Cowboys let Marks score here, but in looking at it again, it appears to be a very well-blocked run and the Texans have the lead.
4Q - 0:09 -2-5-DAL 48 - C.Stroud pass incomplete deep right (M.Hooker).
Knock it down! Knock it down! I don’t have much on Hail Mary defense accept I think guys are trying to get a cheap interception instead of the volleyball spike to remove all doubt. Instead, the Texans actually seemed to have a shot at this one. But, to Malik Hooker’s relief, they survived it.
SPLASH PLAYS vs HOUSTON
I think this is a good time to say that Reddy Steward is one of those guys who you probably don’t want to play as a starter, by any means. But, when he does play, he seems interested in playing with an edge. You don’t want him overexposed, but I think I like his style.Also, Rashan Gary and Von Miller both flashed more this week than any of the other three games.
SEASON SPLASHES LEADERBOARD
Again, quick turnaround for Tampa Bay. Lots of bad, but there are signs this thing is starting to turn around a bit.
Let’s see what Thursday has for the defense.
