There was a lot of excitement about the Dallas Cowboys before the 2020 season, and it was justified. After all, they finally parted ways with longtime coach Jason Garrett after another disappointing year, and made a big impact by signing Mike McCarthy, who wasted no time cleaning the house on the coaching staff. Few were spared – Leon Lett, Doug Nussmeier and Kellen Moore being the three notables – and when the Cowboys were “blessed” enough to win CeeDee Lamb in the 2020 NFL Draft, the hype reached its peak. The wheels started to fall immediately after that, however, with the COVID-19 pandemic canceling out all of the off-season and pre-season, with the exception of a truncated and socially distant training ground.
Things only continued to get worse from there, with a series of injuries to the All-Pro and Pro Bowl players, decimating any Cowboys’ hopes of running over the NFL. By the time they lost Dak Prescott to an injury at the end of the season in week 5, it was discovered that McCarthy made a serious mistake in the way he built his defensive team, because although his attack was No. 1 in the league, his defense was a mockery. Some heroic acts from the end of the season in December made them viable in Week 17, but they were quickly reminded that they did not deserve to make the playoffs this time.
With work in progress for the 2021 reboot, see how the Cowboys can answer your biggest questions and fix what was broken in 2020, for the next season and in the future:
1. Sign Dak Prescott for a long-term deal
Take three. ACTION.
For the third consecutive offseason, the Cowboys and Prescott will sit at a table and try to discuss the details of a long-term deal that will inevitably make them the highest-paid quarterback in the NFL – a point worth considering how new money falls apart in the historic deal that Kansas City Chiefs gave Patrick Mahomes. And with DeShaun Watson being awarded his four-year extension to the Houston Texans in 2020, the entire financial structure is now exposed in Dallas, with Prescott’s value both in the field, in the locker room and off the field (for example, marketing feat leads to the sale of goods, etc.). The only remaining question is how will the salary cap be in this off-season and how it will affect if and when Prescott closes its long-term business. Jerry Jones readily admits that Prescott could not have more advantage than he has now, and although he is in a Cowboy uniform next season, no matter what, sniffing a third time in the QB franchise – and after assuring Kellen Moore that a deal would be made in Prescott – it would be a terrible appearance for the Joneses, and one that will officially see Prescott facing an unrestricted free agency in 2022.
And if things go as planned during the season, the Cowboys won’t sniff out an important choice next year, so yes, Prescott has almost every advantage – on every possible front. Stop complaining for a fifth year, give him the four he’s asking for and enjoy having an elite quarterback in a lethal attack in the near future, instead of destroying your locker room because you are too lazy to change the salary cap and allocate pieces like you know you can.
2. Fire Mike Nolan … and others?
Nolan never left the hot chair after sitting on it.
Sure, the Cowboys defense led the league in takeaways in December, after being one of the league’s worst in that category for much of the year, but the fact was that the unit was still allowing more yards in the NFL and took a lot of takeaways to that they have a chance to win games. This is not to diminish the importance of takeaways, but to point out that, at a certain point, you will have to prevent teams from making long shots that end in touchdowns. The defense was statistically the worst in professional football history with Nolan, and there are disadvantages that he and coach Mike McCarthy will try to use to convince Jerry Jones to keep the first on board in some role, even if he is not that defensive coordinator.
A more proven and prepared mind is on the George Edwards team, which can be seen as the efficient and powerful reset button Jones is looking at, but it can also come with changes that involve additional defensive position coaches. And after seeing his defense give up three touchdowns in the first half of an unmissable regular season finale, which included a lack of preparation and discipline on the part of Cowboys, it stands to reason that Jones, aware of the weather, is upset and completely uncommitted to Nolan’s future now. The defensive scheme and its installation was a complete disaster and does not justify a mulligan, even when considering the COVID-19 pandemic.
3. Correct the secondary
There are two reasons to be ecstatic with the secondary Cowboys.
One is the second round newbie Trevon Diggs, who got phenomenal grades in an impressive first year who saw him overcome the six cornerbacks chosen in front of him. The other is safety Donovan Wilson, a second-year talent who failed to make his way until veteran Darian Thompson made too many bad moves for McCarthy to swallow (and yet it took a long time to make that decision, in my opinion). With Diggs and Wilson released, the Cowboys have their CB1 and initial security that they can flex both as strong and free, but there is nothing but them to write to their mom about. Chidobe Awuzie, Jourdan Lewis and Xavier Woods are all officially free agents and, at best, the team can bring back one or two on a one year contract for an insurance contract – assuming the player (s) ) agree with it.
Speaking of draft, having the 10th overall choice in April is a perfect chance for the Cowboys to find a complement for Diggs and potentially double up on the secondary to get one for Wilson in the next round. The draft needs to be heavy to rebuild the defense, to the point that no one thinks or thinks twice if the Cowboys used each of their 10 (projected) picks on that side of the ball. They probably won’t, but if they did, I wouldn’t blame them one bit after what we all witnessed last season and considering how they seem to be on the attack (refer to the importance of point # 1 again).
4. Be honest with the linebacker
“Watch the movie.” – Jaylon Smith
We did, and then a bath was needed. What it also requires is that Cowboys swallow their pride, look at the nearest reflective surface and ask themselves if they are really prepared for the future in the linebacker. Smith is very confident that he will be with the Cowboys in 2021, two years after signing a contract extension, but that is not a foregone conclusion. The fact is that Smith is coming out of the worst season of his once promising career in the NFL, his career having gone from a miraculous return in football to Pro Bowler, to questionable and unreasonably arrogant reserve caliber linebacker within just four seasons ( first having been a year in a red shirt due to his devastating knee injury).
Smith is not a total loss, however, and there is reason to keep him around, even if he is no longer a starter. The Cowboys cannot ignore the obvious durability problems in Leighton Vander Esch, and even if Sean Lee returns, he will be 35 in a few months and cannot be seen as a long or even medium term solution in the position.
That leaves the promise of Francis Bernard and Luke Gifford, but none have managed to convince McCarthy to use them defensively and Gifford has not helped himself with a two-game suspension. Joe Thomas offers a good veteran presence, much like Lee’s, but he is a free agent this offseason. Perhaps abandoning Nolan will help repair Smith, especially if Edwards (who has a ton of experience training LBs) takes the reins, but the fact that it is a question mark – along with LVE, Bernard, Gifford and Lee – means that Dallas has some conscience exam to do in March and April.
5. Reinforce the defensive interior
The hiring of Dontari Poe showed that the Cowboys are at least finally evaluating the defensive interior.
The Poe experiment failed miserably, but it allowed McCarthy to find out why Antwaun Woods was playing the role of starting striker and takes the pressure off the Cowboys to find an NT1 in 2021. Depth is a big problem here and in 3 tech (right) from the center), but there is good news in that regard too, considering the promise of Trysten Hill and Neville Gallimore.
In addition to these notables, however, there is much to be discovered. They like Justin Hamilton’s play, but he also faltered at times, and there is no one other than the ones mentioned that are worth listing as important rotational pieces going forward, based on films and repetitions of the 2020 season. They would love to see a undeveloped free agent Ron’Dell Carter take the next step and there’s a good chance that he will, but the NFL is a contingency business and they have another problem to be explained by the fact that Tyrone Crawford played his last shot for the Cowboys (and maybe in the NFL) .
The interior of the defensive line is worth tackling in both the draft and the free agency, which will likely include Gerald McCoy’s return, but his age and durability will be an issue in the future. Get some talented young people to reinforce the interior, because … blockbuster … business like the one you brought Eli Ankou for Dallas it can’t be the formula – ever.
Honorable mention: be patient
To be clear, this does not mean that Cowboys should just be quiet – otherwise, this point would be the entirety of this column. Instead, it is to point out that the cavalry is on its way, at least offensively. Prescott is on schedule to report on off-season conditioning in time and with no worries about his ability to return to top form, and he will have the company of attacking La’El Collins and Tyron Smith along with Zack Martin, who missed the end of the season with a calf injury that pushed him into the reserve. In addition, having enjoyed seeing the progression of the tight end Dalton Schultz as a starting caliber player, the team can now expect a set that features him and titleholder Blake Jarwin – Jarwin himself returning from injury at the end of the season.
With the offensive line intact again and Prescott in the center with his plate full of weapons, the attack can resume cooking weekly. Had it not been for the historically bad defense in 2020, the Cowboys would have started off much better than 2-3 in their first five games, which is all the evidence they need to push the accelerator to the ground and build a defense that can match serve. From there, some special team adjustments that include nodding to bettor Chris Jones for a good-performing Hunter Niswander add sprinkles to the ice cream.
And the confectionery is for the winners.