Cowboys: DeMarcus Lawrence hasn’t proved anything yet

Dallas Cowboys fans are high on defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence these days but the season is early and he still has much to prove.

The Dallas Cowboys were able to salvage some optimism from their embarrassing beat down in Denver. Fourth year defensive end, DeMarcus “Tank” Lawrence, is off to the best start of his career. With four sacks in two games, Lawrence is shockingly leading the entire NFL in the pass-rush department.

Considering the Cowboys haven’t had one double-digit sacker on the team since Jason Hatcher departed following the 2013 season, Tank’s pace is pretty significant around these parts.

The Dallas Cowboys’ biggest need this past offseason was upgrading the pass rush. The lack of pressure had doomed this team the past two of three postseasons, and looks to do so again if the issue isn’t corrected.

Funny thing with sack totals, they’re absolutely worthless in the postseason. How a player performs against the best of the best is what matters.

If Lawrence can continue to produce the rest of the season anything close to what he’s produced these first two games, the Cowboys’ pass-rushing woes may finally be behind them.

But let’s not go throwing around that “war daddy” label anytime soon, though…

No War Daddy Yet

“War Daddy”, a contagiously awesome title conceived by owner Jerry Jones, means different things to different people. Some may consider a war daddy to be a double-digit sacker. Others see a war daddy as a player who can dominate in the biggest games. And some may simply consider him to be a cornerstone or a game-changer regardless of position.

Whatever group you reside, pump the breaks on your excitement. If only for a little bit.

First of all, no one could be more excited about DeMarcus Lawrence’s breakout than me. If he can be that missing pass-rusher the Cowboys have been needing, Dallas could finally take that next postseason step.

Yes, the Cowboys are still a very legitimate contender, even after the debacle in Denver. With so much season left, Sunday’s game highlighted correctable mistakes, not terminal illness.

The only thing that stands in the way of postseason success is having a reliable pass-rusher. The Cowboys were bounced the last two of three postseasons because of their inability to hit Aaron Rodgers on obvious passing situations. If “Tank” Lawrence can do that, I like the Cowboys chances this winter.

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But the jury is still out and Lawrence hasn’t proved a thing.

Not to cheapen or belittle what Tank has accomplished these first two weeks, but he’s beaten some pretty pedestrian competition. Both New York and Denver have undeniable weaknesses along their offensive lines – particularly at tackle.

Last season, the Cowboys finished with 36 sacks, ranking around the middle of the pack. And those sacks meant jack squat in the postseason when pressure really mattered. Funny thing with sack totals, they’re absolutely worthless in the postseason. How a player performs against the best of the best is what matters.

Green Bay and Atlanta, two teams likely to make the postseason, boast some of the best offensive tackle play in the NFL. Can Tank beat them? THAT’S the question we need to ask because ultimately that’s all that matters.

Related Story: How the Cowboys pass-rush was one of the worst in the NFL last season

The Dallas Cowboys don’t need a 10-sack player or even a 20-sack player (although, it’d be nice), they need a player who can go against the best and win. That’s something they’ve been utterly worthless at, and that’s what will allow them to advance in the postseason.

That also happens to be my definition of a “war daddy”.

DeMarcus Lawrence needs to be able to beat the best tackles in the NFL because that’s exactly who he’ll be facing in the postseason. It’s fun to be excited about his performance this season, but we need to keep perspective because beating up on scrubs is no great accomplishment in itself.

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If you’re looking for good news from this season you may need to keep looking because DeMarcus Lawrence has much to prove before we call him a success.