While Dallas’ defense held New York to field goals on their first two drives, their overall performance was one that everyone acknowledged needed to be better. The secondary especially struggled, allowing Russell Wilson to throw from 450 yards and three touchdowns, and giving up what Schottenheimer and the team charted up as seven explosive passes. Even after a performance like that, Schottenheimer is encouraged the Cowboys can find a solution.
“That was not the standard. I think there’s a lot of things we can clean up. I think that’s what I’m excited about is that this is not a multiple week thing. This is something that we think we can correct.” Schottenheimer said.
“I felt like it was a lot of different pieces, a lot of different parts that did those. It wasn’t one person, it wasn’t one type of coverage. When you’re going to be multiple the way that we are, we have to communicate better. I didn’t’ think our communication was to the standard that it needs to be… there’s a lot of things to tighten up any time you give up seven explosive passes.”
On the offensive side of the ball, Dallas started out with two three-and-outs and struggled in the time of possession battle, one that Schottenheimer has consistently harped on the importance of consistently.
In Schottenheimer’s mind, their offensive struggles didn’t start at noon on Sunday when the game kicked off. It started earlier in the week.
“What I told the guys is that’s kind of the way practice went this week,” Schottenheimer said. “I was very honest with them. Wednesday, we kind of started slow and figured it out. Thursday, same thing. Friday, I almost started practice over because it was just a little lethargic, if you will. And they answered the call, so I didn’t have to. That was probably the first thing that jumped out.”
The offense would go on to do their part the rest of the game, finishing with 478 total yards and scoring 30 points in the second half, including 20 in the fourth quarter. It’s not easy to win games in the NFL, but when you do, Schottenheimer thinks it’s easier to make coaching points to players.
“When you win games, you can almost be harder on the guys,” Schottenheimer said. “Our process is always the same, we’re not too high, not too low, but it’s good to be able to make corrections when you find a way to win and you show the competitive stamina, the fight and the will to win that our guys showed last night.”
The victory for Dallas did come with a few losses, however. Wide receiver KaVontae Turpin left the game with a neck injury, and his status is in question for Sunday’s game against the Bears. Turpin’s tests did come back clean, however, and there’s a chance that he could suit up against the Bears.
That will not be the case for center Cooper Beebe, who left with what Schottenheimer said was a foot injury that’ll cause him to be out for 6-8 weeks. In his place will be Brock Hoffman, who filled in at right guard last year for Zack Martin and plays with a notable nastiness.
“When he’s out there, it’s just maybe more noticeable than everybody else, but the intensity the guy plays with, the trash that he talks is kind of fun and cool…” Schottenheimer said of Hoffman. “He gets in their heads a little bit, but he’s wired the right way man, and our guys love it. He’s definitely one of the leaders in that room, the guys respect him.”
The Cowboys also signed free agent defensive end Jadeveon Clowney on Monday, sticking to the team’s mantra that player acquisition is a 24/7, 365 day a year process.
“We just are in the business of adding good football players and [Clowney is] a damn good football player,” Schottenheimer said. “A guy that we’ve all seen play at a high level for a long time. The reason we brought him in was to figure out where he was from a conditioning standpoint, where he was mentally. He’s checked all those boxes for us. He’s hungry, he has missed it.”
Clowney has registered 58 sacks over the course of his previous 11 years in the NFL. Dallas doesn’t view him as just a pass rusher, they see him as a player that can do multiple things at the end of the trenches.
“He’s not here just to be a pass rusher, he’s here to play defense and to affect the game and stop the run and affect the quarterback by moving him off the spot,” Schottenheimer said.
“He knows how to play football, so it’ll be exciting to see him out there on the practice field on Wednesday.”
As Clowney heads into his 12th season in the NFL, he and Dante Fowler are tied for the most years of experience in the defensive end room. No one else in the group has more than four years of prior experience, and Schottenheimer sees Clowney’s addition only helping the young guys that will play alongside him.
“I think he’s going to impact Donovan Ezeiruaku, who just played his best game as a Cowboy,” Schottenheimer said. “He’s going to impact those guys, just like Kenny Clark did coming in here and making an impact not just with his play, but with the way he teaches and the way he leads and the way he practices.”
When will that impact happen? The Cowboys certainly hope it’s on Sunday against the Bears, where Clowney says he expects to play in Matt Eberflus’ return to Chicago. Schottenheimer said he doesn’t have to make a decision now on whether or not Clowney will play, but said he wouldn’t bet against him either.
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