(Editor's Note: Time to check the mail! The DallasCowboys.com staff writers answer your questions here in 'Mailbag' presented by Miller Lite.)
I realize that the new base defense will be a 3-4 scheme, but are we making too big a deal about it? How often do you think the Cowboys will be in their base defense? Teams rarely run plays in a 21 offensive formation, and in the recent past Dallas has played big nickel against the 12 formation. – Charles Springer/Baton Rouge, LA
Mickey: Very good points and if you had been checking out DallasCowboys.com regularly you would have realized I've mentioned this exact point several times since Christian Parker's hiring after so much is being made about the 3-4 defense. My research shows the Cowboys this past season having played their nickel defense or even big nickel nearly 70 percent of the defensive snaps since so many offenses are running three receiver sets as their base offense. Now there will be times running up against two tight end formations, and playing a 3-4 will be required unless one of those tight ends is a down field threat. So, for this reason, that is why the Cowboys have drafted and signed in free agency so many versatile defensive players to cover themselves if lining up in a 3-4 or a 4-2-5 alignment. Good insight on your part.
Tommy: Let's take a look at the numbers to help answer this question. Christian Parker said a few weeks ago that this would be Dallas' defense, not Vic Fangio's or anything else, but we don't have any data points on what a Parker led defense looks like since it's his first time calling a defense. So, we'll combine the personnel groupings from Dallas and the Eagles' defenses last season and get, at least, a starting idea of what we could see.
The Cowboys ran base 31% of the time in 2025, and nickel 68.2% of the time. The Eagles were in base on 24.3% of their snaps, while they went to nickel on 73.8% of their snaps. Meeting somewhere in the middle on both metrics, that would say the Cowboys would be in base around 27-28% of the time, while they're in nickel 70-71% of the time.
In my personal opinion, I think based on the personnel the Cowboys have on the roster today, you'll see them in more nickel than that average would tell you. So, my prediction is you'll see the Cowboys in, give or take a few percentages, 75% of nickel and around 25% base snaps.
Mailbag
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