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Dallas Cowboys: Some Final Takeaways from the Super Bowl

By Daniel Ruppert

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - DECEMBER 22: Byron Jones #31 of the Dallas Cowboys reacts during the first half against the Philadelphia Eagles in the game at Lincoln Financial Field on December 22, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - DECEMBER 22: Byron Jones #31 of the Dallas Cowboys reacts during the first half against the Philadelphia Eagles in the game at Lincoln Financial Field on December 22, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /
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FRISCO, TEXAS – JANUARY 08: Head coach Mike McCarthy of the Dallas Cowboys talks with the media during a press conference at the Ford Center at The Star on January 08, 2020 in Frisco, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /

The Dallas Cowboys were home watching the Super Bowl with the rest of us, but there are some takeaways they can use for 2020.

The Dallas Cowboys have already started their improvements for the 2020 season already by replacing Jason Garrett with Mike McCarthy. They continued to evolve into something new with replacing most of the coaching staff. Before free agency starts and then the draft creeps up, the Super Bowl showed some lessons on where the Cowboys need to be heading.

I watched and participated in quite a few conversations over the last day about the Dallas Cowboys and the direction of the team after watching the Super Bowl. There are some who feel that the Super Bowl showed the Cowboys need to invest heavily into offense. There are others who feel the Cowboys need a lot of work on defense. Then there is the reality that the answer may fall somewhere in between.

Dallas Cowboys Defense

The old adage “Defense Wins Championships” was certainly on display in the Super Bowl. The 49ers held the vaunted Chiefs offense pretty well in check most of the game. The Chiefs capitalized on mistakes from Jimmy Garoppolo and capitalized on the short field. The defenses held when they had to and made plays to put their team in the best positions.

After watching both of teams it’s clear the Dallas Cowboys certainly need more on defense. Some of the issue has been a stagnant scheme and philosophy, but that should change with the new staff. However, there does need to be an infusion of some talent on the defense as well.

The pass rush, while successful at pressure, didn’t hit home enough in 2019 and will need a little more in 2020. The pressure up front will help ease the responsibility of the secondary and should help, with the new philosophy, create turnovers. One of the big issues on the Cowboys defense has been the lack of consistent pressure and anchoring at the defensive tackle position.

The run defense was also gashed at times this season, and a some of that was the issues up the middle. The defensive tackles got up-field and got washed out, the linebackers over-pursued trying to force making a play, and the safeties were out of position. The Cowboys need less specific scheme fits and more athleticism infused.

In the secondary, ball skills have been lacking. In the Super Bowl the world watched as short fields were created and capitalized on. There should be improvement with the coaching changes, however, safety has certainly been an issue for years, and watching Tyrann Mathieu may force the Cowboys to finally make a move.

The defense needs work to be considered a Super Bowl worth defense. The scheme and philosophy changes will certainly help, new eyes on the current roster should clear things up in depth, but there will have to be some infusion of talent for them to move forward.

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