Photo Credit: Dallas Cowboys
FRISCO, Texas — “ We got some young guys playing good ball and they’re making the scheme come alive, “ DeMarcus Lawrence emphatically told reporters following the matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles in week eight.
“ Shoutout to Diggs [Trevon], he’s a young guy but he’s playing hell of a football right now. We believe in him a lot. The scheme’s opening up a lot for us and it’s helping me make more plays too.”
The Dallas Cowboys’ defense has been in a transition year as injuries pile up and players adapt to a new scheme under Mike Nolan. An adjustment/acclimation period was expected but frankly, not until the previous two weeks are fans beginning to see the fruit of the defense’s labor during the week translate onto the field. A significant reason for the squad’s improvement- the productive play from young players elevating the performance of veterans around them.
Owner and general manger Jerry Jones remarked on his weekly radio show on 105.3 The Fan, “ You play a veteran player that can possibly do it for that series or that game better, or do you go with a younger player that you allow to develop. When you’re having the kind of season we’re having, you’re going with the younger players and you’re seeing it right before your eyes pay off for you.”
In the week eight loss to Philadelphia, Trevon Diggs racked up two interceptions. He became the first Cowboys’ rookie to tally two interceptions in a single game since Sean Lee in 2010. The second-round pick has started in every game for Dallas this season and continues to draw the eyes of coaches with his physicality and ability to cast aside bad plays and move on to the next. He has given up several costly plays, sure, but his tenacity and willingness to improve set him apart.
In week three, Diggs hustled and caught up with DK Metcalf to force a fumble at the goal line that would have been a touchdown. That is the effort the Dallas defense has been lacking. In week nine vs. the Steelers, rookie Neville Gallimore consistently clogged holes in the interior of the defensive line, limiting Pittsburgh’s rushing attack. In a two-gap, Gallimore was patient and once the play began to break down he anticipated which way the ball carrier would go. He then reacted and stuffed the rusher before he could break to the second level. He finished with only three tackles but all happened at or behind the line of scrimmage. Gallimore has not been perfect by any means and has struggled previously in the season getting displaced from his gap and not being able to out leverage/get off blocks, but he has drastically improved with added reps since the release of Dontari Poe. He had solid penetration in the middle of the line and it is no coincidence that the Cowboys held the Steelers to just 46 rushing yards and allowed 2.6 yards per carry. His disruption up front helped out the linebackers and the overall balance of the defense.
To some, it may come as a shock that the players that are seemingly jumping off the tape each week and making plays are younger guys and some of the vets look like a deer in headlights, but each player reacts differently to a new scheme. Younger players acclimating to the NFL level can have more of an open mind to coaching/technique. For a veteran player that has been in a similar scheme for multiple years and has found the one that molds to his specific skillset, it can be challenging to change and unlearn the previous methods to a scheme. Each player is a pivotal link to a chain but each link is different in terms of experience and exposure to schemes.
Defensive coordinator Mike Nolan broke down some of the differences in both young and veteran players picking up a new scheme to D210Sports. For him, it all boils down to the individual between the hash marks.
“ I believe some veterans, if they’re just in one system all the time, it creates, that’s the only way they really know how to do things. Whereas a veteran player that has been with two or three or four different schemes, I think it creates a little bit more flexibility in the learning of that player. I don’t want to say it makes a player better or worse in either case because it doesn’t. I think having an open mind makes anyone a better player because there’s a lot of ways to do certain things.”
The key to having success is to get rid of the stigma that one way is the best way to achieve dominion on the gridiron. Becoming complacent as a player in a specific ritual approach to a scheme or technique can have negative affects because a fresh perspective could end up proving more proactive in disrupting offenses.
“ It’s nice when you find the one that fits you the very best because maybe you’ve done something the same way for five or ten years, but doesn’t mean that was the best way suited for you, “ Nolan elaborated to D210. “ It’s just the way you learned. Somebody will walk in and say, ‘Look, this fits your game a lot better than what you’ve been doing.’ And sometimes it takes time to transition into that just because you’ve been doing it another way for so long. I think that’s really more of the individual.”
The gap between the two outlooks is becoming thinner and thinner as the Cowboys’ defense continues to make strides week-to-week and come together as a cohesive unit, young and veteran. Some of the younger players have made a more natural transition to the new scheme pick-up because it is all they have known at the pro level. For veterans, most have been under the influence of Rod Marinelli and became accustomed to his base 4-3 scheme and emphasis on attack or cover one and three preference in the backfield. Now, they are going through a purge of the old and absorption of the new. This all takes time and it is finally beginning to click.
DeMarcus Lawrence summed it up,“ When you get a new defense, a new scheme, everything don’t just plug in and play. It’s not a plug in and play type of defense. You have to study it, learn some different techniques and try to be your best at it. Some defenses are not for every defensive player. I think our coaching staff understands that and are trying to put us in the best position to make plays.”
