Dallas City News

When Dan Quinn joined the Dallas Cowboys, he was a breath of fresh air. After Mike Nolan’s defense allowed the most points in franchise history, Quinn quickly transformed the group into one of the more formidable units in the league. The Cowboys finished within the top seven in points allowed in all three of Quinn’s seasons in Dallas. It was the first time they accomplished that feat since the mid-’90s during their last Super Bowl run.

Quinn is now the head coach of the Washington Commanders and the Cowboys have replaced him with long-time defensive coach Mike Zimmer. While both have a strong record as a defensive coordinator, they run completely different styles. Quinn is an attacker. He relies on speed and aggression, and lives and dies by splash plays. The Cowboys finished first in the league in takeaways in two of Quinn’s three seasons in Dallas.

Zimmer on the other hand relies on strength, execution and deceit. He doesn’t prioritize getting into the backfield as much as he wants players to follow their assignments and be where they need to be. They are more on the defensive. His groups won’t be as splashy, but they also won’t be so susceptible to big plays. If they do their job, they’ll get off the field.

A Quinn vs. Zimmer comparison is described best by three charts showing how each of them fared over their last three seasons as defensive coordinators. These charts included their league rankings in takeaways, yards allowed, and points given up.

Quinn’s units are the aggressors. Zimmer isn’t too shabby in this department either. In his last two seasons in Cincinnati, his defenses were taking the ball away, but they aren’t as opportunistic as Quinn’s defenses.

Offenses do not move the ball readily on Zimmer’s guys. While Quinn isn’t terrible in this department, there are times when his defenses just can’t get off the field.

Points are what matter and both units do extremely well here. While they each take a different approach to how they get there, both are effective.

These charts are just a visual way to say that Quinn is a risk-taking attacker while Zimmer is a discipline-minded stopper. When things are rolling, Quinn’s defenses are more fun to watch. The offense goes backward sometimes, the picks, the fumbles, the touchdowns, they’re all fantastic. However, when smart offensive teams, like say, the Shanahan tree, go up against him, they can be punished for their over-aggression. This is where a disciplined group is more effective, and that’s what the Cowboys hope they get from Zimmer. It’s early, be we are already seeing some evidence of the Zimmer transition.

THE TYPE

We’ve talked already about the back seven of Zimmer’s defense. He wants both his safeties to cover, which is why we’re all waiting to see who wins the starting strong safety job between Donovan Wilson, Markquese Bell, and Juanyeh Thomas. If training camp drills present any clues, Bell might be in the lead at the moment. We’ve also talked about how Zimmer wants his corners to be good in man coverage and their most recent draft pick Caelen Carson is already turning heads at camp. And we know the Cowboys will play more of a 4-3 base where more linebackers will be on the field. What we haven’t discussed much is what will be going on in the trenches.

The Cowboys are trading in quickness for strength. Quickness is great, but they want to fortify a wall. They spent a second-round draft pick on Marshawn Kneeland, a muscular run-stopping defensive lineman. He’s not your bendy, around-the-edge guy. He’s your power, nothing’s-getting-by-me guy. And when Sam Williams suffered a season-ending knee injury, the Cowboys signed another non-bendy power guy in Al-Quadin Muhammed. It’s pretty clear they have a type for their defensive ends.

MAZI

Last year was a disappointing season for the Cowboys first-round pick. Mazi Smith played in every game, but he wasn’t very effective. Even though he was a big nose tackle at Michigan, the Cowboys tried to transform him into a quicker, pass-rushing defensive tackle to fit with Quinn’s style. He lost weight to aid in his quickness, but this turned out to be a detriment as it made him more vulnerable to big interior offensive linemen.

With Zimmer in charge, Smith will return to a bigger, block-absorbing role in the Cowboys’ defense. Again, it’s about maintaining that wall. Smith had some good practices last week and while it’s not showing up in any overpowering one-on-one drills, his effectiveness has been on full display in team snaps. Smith is taking on blocks and allowing his linebackers to get clean shots at ball carriers. Suddenly Damone Clark and DeMarvion Overshown look like stud linebackers because they don’t have to fight through blocks as much. Don’t look now, but Smith is actually doing his job well.

Only time will tell what this new Zimmer defense looks like, but based on early results there are some reasons to be optimistic about what it will hold. If the players can handle the mental demands of Zimmer’s scheme, things have a chance to go very well. And while they might not light up the highlight reel, they might finally be a force in the trenches that can get off the field against smart offensive teams.