The Dallas Cowboys' defense has been a talking point for years now. More specifically, their inability to stop the run has often raised questions about their postseason and Super Bowl aspirations.
That was Cowboys owner/general managerJerry Jones' apparent reasoning when he argued that trading Micah Parsons could've been beneficial to the team, as adding defensive tackle Kenny Clark to the mix could bolster their chances of stopping the run.
But after two weeks, new defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus hasn't done much to help consistently stop the run. As shown by Cowboys Wire's Matt Owen, having defensive end James Houston IV on the field more often might be just what he needs to fix those woes.
Cowboys Must Give James Houston More Playing Time
As Owen pointed out, looking at the Cowboys' defensive line's difference in yardage when certain players are/aren't on the field, DTs Kenny Clark and Solomon Thomas, and the aforementioned Houston are the only three players on the Cowboys' defense with a positive rushing differential.
On top of that, Houston ranks highly among exterior defenders on Pro Football Focus when it comes to:
- Overall defense: 75.2 (28th/148 EDs)
- Pass rush: 73.8 (19th/148)
- Run defense: 64.9 (53rd/148)
Houston has only been on the field for ten snaps (16%) and 15 snaps (22%) in the first two games of the season. That's not ideal for a team that's allowing the ninth-most rushing yards per game (121.0) in the league.
The Cowboys have also given up 30.5 points per game (tied for fifth-most) and four total rushing touchdowns.
Houston is currently listed behind incumbent starter Dante Fowler Jr. and Marshawn Kneeland on their depth chart. And while he's clearly not going to take Fowler or Sam Williams' spot, there's no reason to justify him having the fewest snaps played among all of their defensive ends.
Houston looked like a long shot to make the 53-man roster at one point, but after logging four hurries and one sack in the preseason and impressing throughout training camp, it seemed like Brian Schottenheimer would find a way to get him on the field early and often:
“The ability to rush the passer is such an important part of our game,” Schottenheimer said late in August, per Heavy. “James has been pretty much unblockable in most competitive, padded situations, whatever it is — whether it’s scrimmages, preseason games, our padded practices. That jumps out at you.”
Whatever Eberflus is doing isn't getting the job done, even if the Cowboys are 1-1. They need to tweak things up and get whoever's finding the most success, and that starts with giving Houston more playing time.