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We were all fired up after the trade for Quinnen Williams and the performance of the defense in his first three games with the team. But the Cowboys have generated little pressure in their last two games against Detroit and Minnesota. Are you seeing anything different? Have opponents figured out this five-man front we were so excited about? – Richard Garcia/ Irving, TX
Mickey: Well, remember that five-man front was not a permanent alignment, just a change up they were using. And Detroit sure had an answer for that knowing if the Cowboys were playing five up front, especially against three-wide sets, they would only have one linebacker on the field, and the Lions countered by throwing the ball to Jahmyr Gibbs in space. Also, the Cowboys were able to mostly control the Vikings running game with four-man front, allowing them just 77 yards on 28 attempts. And you are right about the lack of pressure on Jared Goff and J.J. McCarthy. Maybe they just need to blitz a little more, like they did against McCarthy on his first pass of the game, Donovan Wilson batting the ball in the air for Williams to intercept but got away from the blitzing as the game went on.
Tommy: I don't know if it's as much people have figured it out as it is that you can't rely on being in a five-down front all the time. Every team is going to spend a majority of their time in their base defense, and for the Cowboys that's with four down linemen. When they've been in the five down looks, I think they've actually done an okay job at generating pressure. It's when they're in base that sees Dallas struggling to get much of a pass rush going on the quarterback. I think that's where more of the concern should lie going forward the rest of the season, and into the offseason where the Cowboys are going to need to look for upgrades across the board on defense.
Mailbag
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