(Editor's Note: Time to check the mail! The DallasCowboys.com staff writers answer your questions here in 'Mailbag' presented by Miller Lite.)
With the addition of Christian Parker and so many new pieces, how many games do you think it will take to really know what we have on defense? – Jim Lane/Amarillo, TX
Kurt: Nate Newton has mentioned this often on our "Hanging With the 'Boys" podcast. That in today's NFL, the first four games or so are actually the preseason for the starters since none of them step on the field during the August exhibition schedule.
And he has a point. Sure, scrimmaging against the Rams and Saints is a step up from regular workouts, but there is still nothing that can truly prepare a player for the speed and physicality of football like actual games. So off the top, expecting the Cowboys to be firing on all cylinders right out of the gate might be unrealistic. Fortunately, in that regard, every other team will be in the same situation.
Of course, where things might be tougher for our local boys is, as you mentioned, the Dallas defense has been completely overhauled. There is a new coordinator who has never called plays, almost an entirely new staff of coaches under him and a remarkable amount of new players, both veterans and youngsters, who together are all trying to master a new scheme. No problem, right?
But there are two aspects that could work in the Cowboys' favor. One, their first two opponents aren't supposed to feature high-powered offenses, which provides for a ramp-up of sorts. And two, opponents don't have detailed scouting reports yet on what Parker and company might do on defense. That's surely an advantage.
However, things will take a significant turn beginning in Week 3 when both the opponents and travel get much tougher. Will the Dallas defense be ready then for the likes of Baltimore in Brazil, at Houston, Tampa Bay and then at both Green Bay and Philadelphia? Talk about a true test.
We all have reason to believe the Cowboys are much improved on defense, and they certainly will be. But we may not truly know just how good they are until after Week 7.
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