Dallas Cowboys: Defensive reinforcements are on their way
By Carl Daley
The Dallas Cowboys will see some reinforcements arrive on defense this week as they take on the red-hot Green Bay Packers in Week Five.
The Dallas Cowboys were not playing with a full deck in Week Four as some of their top defensive talents remained on the sidelined or suspended. With a date the Green Bay Packers on the horizon, the Cowboys will have some much-needed reinforcements returning to the roster.
Defensively we cannot expect this defensive unit to be a quality run-stopping group without linebacker, Sean Lee. He is one of the best defenders against the run this season and continues to be the quarterback of the Cowboys defense.
His return against Green Bay will do wonders for the team’s ability to stop the run and with Packers running back Ty Montgomery out with broken ribs the matchup seems pretty favorable for Dallas.
Lee also provides tackling support that other linebackers on this roster just cannot give. Jaylon Smith is still returning from injury and is not yet at a point were making plays is second nature to him.
This is basically his rookie season all over again except instead of taking mental reps he is on the field. Another linebacker who will return to action (most likely) against the Packers is Anthony Hitchens.
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He is one of the Cowboys best cover linebackers on the roster and has only been getting better. As his role has increased on this team so have his responsibilities for this defensive unit.
The return of Hitchens should get this team excited as when he first was injured it was thought to be a severe season-ending incident. Now on the cusp of his return, the Cowboys will see one of their most experienced and impactful linebackers head back into the fold.
The linebacking corps is not the only group seeing players return, the defensive line will finally have Cowboys breakout pass rusher, David Irving back in the lineup. Irving was a nightmare for the Green Bay Packers and averaged at least one turnover in each contest against the Pack.
While Irving did not register big sack numbers, he put the pressure on when the team needed it most. Adding him to what has been a surprisingly productive group of pass rushers should just ensure that the Cowboys will come at Aaron Rodgers and the Packers at full tilt.
Finally the return of 2017 second round pick, Chidobe Awuzie should help the Cowboys secondary be more consistent as he looked pretty good before he went down with an injury.
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Chido is the most versatile defensive back (besides Byron Jones) and can fill in for multiple positions. While he may be young this draft class has really been thrown into the fire and has handled it fairly well.
The secondary will get better as the season goes on because after all most of these players are just rookies, only time will allow them to be more effective. With a crop of players ready to help plug the holes on defense, the team should be ready to face a talented Packers unit.