Dallas City News

After the Dallas Cowboys demoralizing loss to the New Orleans Saints, it’s left many people scratching their heads. There were bad things on both offense and defense, leaving us wondering just how far this 2024 team can go.

It’s early in the season, so there is a lot left to be learned about this football team, but from the problems we’ve seen so far, what elements are fixable with some coaching adjustments, and which ones come from a lack of talent? For this team to get better, they’ll need to be honest with themselves and take the right course of action to get better whether that’s coaching up young players or looking outside the roster for an upgrade.

Since a big issue resides with the running game, let’s examine where improvements might come and where this team is deficient in talent.

OFFENSE

Still figuring it out

The offensive line looked good against the Cleveland Browns. There were moments when Myles Garrett, Za’Darius Smith, and Dalvin Tomlinson slipped through, but overall it was a solid performance. And considering the Cowboys were starting two rookies in Tyler Guyton and Cooper Beebe, you had to be pleased.

That feeling wasn’t present against the Saints. Instead of a cohesive group that worked well together, they were like the Beatles, everyone was off doing their own thing. The offensive line struggled to open up any real running lanes. The Saints’ defensive line went unblocked or partially blocked, allowing them to still make the play. The offensive line just wasn’t as smooth as they were the week before and it created problems.

Talent deficient

It’s frustrating to watch the Cowboys rushing attack. It’s like the running plays are using dial-up internet. It’s very slow to develop and often comes with a lag. Ezekiel Elliott is a tough guy, but it feels like it takes him a bit to get his feet under him and build up speed. And when he does build up speed, it’s not fast enough to outrun anyone.

We would love to see Deuce Vaughn dance in space, but he struggles to get into space. He doesn’t seem to know where to go with the ball and by the time he figures it out, defenders are on him and tossing him around like a rag doll. Rico Dowdle is the best of the group, but that’s still not saying much. He has 3.7 yards per carry.

Here are some advanced rushing stats courtesy of Pro Football Reference.

• Zeke: 16 carries, 56 yards, 15 yards after contact, zero broken tackles
• Rico: 15 carries, 56 yards, 13 yards after contact, zero broken tackles
• Deuce: 5 carries, 15 yards, 2 yards after contract, zero broken tackles

Not a single broken tackle? That’s horrible. This running back by committee needs to find themselves a new leader because none of these guys are getting it done.

It also doesn’t help that the offense doesn’t get much help in blocking from their wide receiver. Brandin Cooks and Jalen Tolbert are not good blockers and even their blocking “stud” wideout Jalen Brooks was manhandled by the Saints corner that blew up a reverse play. When it comes to running the ball, it just doesn’t feel like the Cowboys have effective pieces in place, but head coach Mike McCarthy just claims that the only thing they’re lacking is touches. Is he right? It’s early, but the below chart suggests the Cowboys have above-average run blocking with RBs who are at average (Zeke) or better (Rico) at rush EPA.

DEFENSE

Still figuring it out

It’s easy to forget that the Cowboys have implemented a new system under the direction of new defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer. Things went so well last week that it tossed those learning curve expectations right out the window. Sadly, they’re still there. The team has many new faces in new places, and getting everyone to work together and stick to their assignments isn’t as easy as first seemed.

The biggest question fans were asking is what happened to DeMarvion Overshown, the team’s new rising star linebacker from Week 1? He went from 44 snaps (58%) in the opener to just 18 (31%) on Sunday. The coaching staff has explained that the team showed a lot more nickel looks against the Browns while the Saints forced them more into base. The Cowboys countered by putting more muscle at linebacker with more snaps for Damone Clark and Marist Liufau.

It was pretty evident that the linebacker group was in disarray, often struggling to communicate and being caught off guard. It didn’t help that the defensive line was getting gapped and repeatedly put added pressure on the second level, but the defense has a lot to figure out mentally for them to be effective. Zimmer has owned the blame for this and vows to get some of the fundamental mishaps corrected.

Talent deficient

Being quicker to their spots, making better reads, and using their hands better will help the defense put out a better showing than what we just witnessed, but one can’t help wonder if there are some things the coaches won’t be able to correct. And we’re talking about the elephant in the room, or in this case, the elephants.

It’s hard to remember the last time two nose tackles got pushed around as much as veterans Linval Joseph and Jordan Phillips did on Sunday. The team has always gone the cheap route at defensive tackle looking for low-cost veterans who can fill the void without being a constraint on the salary cap. Carlos Watkins and Johnathan Hankins have been filling that role in recent years, and the addition of Joseph and Phillips was initially believed to be an upgrade, but are they? Now, Phillips has been conveniently placed on injured reserve with a mysterious injury and the team has re-signed their old friend Watkins. It looks like the team will continue with this low-cost trial and error and hope something sticks.

Zimmer claims he knows what a good defensive tackle is and doesn’t seem bothered by the idea that he could be undermanned along the interior defensive line, but for an organization that has been bullied in the run game, Sunday’s action brought out some serious PTSD for Cowboys fans. Is this fixable or do the Cowboys have a legit run defense problem?

What elements of the running game do you think will improve as the season progresses? And what areas should the Cowboys front office take action and look to bring in reinforcements?