And yes, the defense has to play better as well, tougher in the trenches, and the Ends and safeties have to be able to contain the edges better against the run.
But Quinn has to be better too, better at putting the 11 men on the field in better positions to make plays.
Quinn is simply not aggressive enough early in games, especially against physical teams who like to run early and often, to set up their play-action game. And it doesn’t matter whether they’re on the road or at home, the defense needs better defensive calls than bend-but-don’t-break defenses most of the 1st quarter. It sets the tone for the rest of the game, as whatever edge and energy the defense comes out of the locker room with, it goes away quickly once they’re getting pounded into submission in the 1st half with running plays. And then they look "soft" and "lethargic", but that’s because Quinn is not calling aggressive plays to shut down the opposing offense.
Quinn likes to blitz more in the 2nd half, but in some of these games, it’s just too late. The defense is simply too tired and beaten by the 3rd quarter, with no ability to wreak havoc.
Instead, in these next 2 games against the Dolphins and Lions, two run-first, play-action teams, the Cowboys need to come out, and on the first play, they need to put 10 in the box. Crowd the line of scrimmage. COMMIT TO STOPPING THE RUN. If we have two solid CBs, then they need to earn their money. Leave them out there one-on-one and set the tone. Even if they give up a chunk pass play early, don’t back down. Still put 9 and 10 in the box on the very next play. Make them pass, lure them into passing by crowding the line, and threaten to blitz on 1st and 2nd down. Hec, you don’t even have to actually blitz on most downs, they can drop 7 back in coverage at the snap…but at the snap, have 10 in the box.
Quinn must get these physical offenses out of their run-first mindset, so then the Cowboys can try to make plays in the secondary against the opponent’s passing attack.
So if you see the Cowboys calling soft, BBDB defensive plays early in the Dolphins game on those first few drives, and the Dolphins are just chewing them up down the field…and Quinn never calls some 1st down run blitzes or you never see like 10 in the box (9 may not enough to dissuade them), then Quinn is not doing his job.
We can only ask so much of Bell (he’s just too small), and Damone Clark is simply not physical or savvy enough to be a consistent run-stopper. Those 2 defenders aren’t dissuading ANY OC from pounding the rock. And the Cowboys’ DEs are not big or strong enough to hold up all game against the run. So Quinn needs to get into a chess match with Mike McDaniel. If the game comes down to checkers, basic man-o y man-o football, power runs vs. the Cowboys defense…the Cowboys defense barely stands a chance, unless they can punch out 3 or 4 footballs and recover them. But you can’t count on punchouts every game.
Quinn, it’s time to go to Plan B and C in the next 2 weeks. Plan A with Bell and Clark isn’t working.
