Mailbag: Will defense take longer to learn?

(Editor's Note: Time to check the mail! The DallasCowboys.com staff writers answer your questions here in 'Mailbag' presented by Miller Lite.)

I keep hearing how detail-oriented Christian Parker's defense is, but *does that mean it will take the players extra time to learn it until they are able to play quick and free in this scheme? Those extra fractions of a second needed to pay attention to the minor details can make a huge difference. What do you guys think?– Mark Somma/Winchester, VA**

Patrik: You're spot on, and that's why the Cowboys didn't waste time getting to work as soon as they could. Parker has been working with his defensive coaching staff from Day 1 to make sure every single person understands every single detail before attempting to teach it to the players. The start of OTAs has been heavily tilted toward installs on the defensive side of the ball, and that will remain the case until training camp. At that point, it will be more about finding the hiccups in the system and with player's understanding of assignments, so that Parker and his staff can tweak whatever is necessary and sometimes in real time, seeing as the pads will finally be on at that point.

Players are also being tasked with burying themselves in the defensive playbook and are regularly challenged in the meeting room and in certain on field non-padded team drills to demonstrate their understanding of the scheme. Yes, this will take months, and possibly into the early portion of the season as well, to get every cylinder firing but, and I've said this before, I believe Week 5 is the sweet spot for when it all begins to "come together" for Parker's defense. Just know that, as you read this, they're already months, not weeks, into hammering it home.

Tommy: You bring up a good point! That's definitely something that could be the case especially early in the season as everyone and everything is beginning to mesh together for the first time. It's only human nature as you're getting to learn something and are applying it in real-time action and not a practice setting for the first time.

That said, one thing we've heard several times about Christian Parker, and one of the things the Cowboys said all offseason they were looking for in their next defensive coordinator, is a good teacher. Parker's known for being able to take complex schemes and condense it in a way that's easier for his players to understand so they can get to that playing fast point. Several players have already mentioned that about him in his brief time in Dallas. How long will it take to get to a "mastery" point or close to it? That's left to be seen, but with Dallas' schedule to open up the year being loaded with heavy hitters, they'll have to adjust quickly.