Dallas Cowboys: Chicken or the Egg
The age old question, “which came first the chicken or the egg,” applies to the Dallas Cowboys, “Which came first the pass rush or the secondary coverage?”
Much has been written about the Dallas Cowboys lack of pass rush over the last few seasons, and was a major topic this offseason as every expert, analyst, and fan thought the Cowboys would do something major to improve the pass rush.
Instead the Cowboys draft a few mid round pieces and signed some middle-of-the-road pass rushers.
On the other side of the coin, last year the Cowboys drafted Byron Jones to improve what was seen as a porous secondary. Granted, Orlando Scandrick was injured last season, but the secondary has been seen as a weak spot on the team. Again this offseason, there was not much done to address the situation.
The question of which is more important seems to be a chicken or egg type of conversation. One relies on the other, however, there does seem to be some signs that a great pass rush can hide a weaker secondary. Wait, maybe it is lockdown coverage can help a weaker pass rush. Now, which one was it.
A stellar secondary, can in fact, help a pass rush. If the quarterback can’t throw the ball to open receivers, well then the pass rush can get to him. That is what is called a coverage sack. In today’s game with all the mobile quarterbacks it is a little harder to get these than in days gone by, however, they still happen. Taking out the receiving corps turns a team one dimensional which helps the defense overall.
On the flip side, a furious pass rush can help the secondary, by creating errant throws and hurried throws by a quarterback under duress. This allows for the defense to make more interceptions or at least have better challenges on the ball, since they don’t have to cover for long periods of time.
It is a question that has been around for a long time. I tend to side with a better pass rush helps the secondary more as just about no secondary can cover if the quarterback has all day to pass.
At the very least, a team needs an average pass rush if it is going to have a great secondary. Although, a talented pass rush still needs some time to get to the quarterback, open receivers quickly don’t help the pass rush at all.
More from Sports Dallas Fort-Worth
- Why the Dallas Cowboys wisely decided against signing Dalvin Cook
- West coast, Texas coast, burnt toast: Cowboys don’t need more runs
- Brandin Cooks will change the way defenses play the Dallas Cowboys
- Why the Dallas Cowboys defensive X-Factor is EDGE Sam Williams
- Dallas Cowboys: 3 head coach options if McCarthy fails in 2023
So the Dallas Cowboys have some figuring out to do. What are they on defense? Are they a team that relies on coverage sacks or a team that relies on pressure? Sure, the offense this year could make a lot of teams one dimensional, which will help, but with the recent history of not being great at either, makes a lot of people scratch their heads.
Randy Gregory and Demarcus Lawrence being out doesn’t help the pass rush situation at all. However, having Orlando Scandrick back in the secondary will help with those two being out. There could be more reliance on blitzes, which Rod Marinelli doesn’t do a lot of, or at the very least sending an extra man or two here and there.
The Dallas Cowboys have to start figuring out what type of defense they have. The last few seasons haven’t been a good measure for figuring out the answer to the question. What came first? The chicken or the egg.