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FRISCO, Texas — Hubris can be a virus. It typically begins innocently enough: confidence breeds success that breeds more confidence that oftentimes breeds more success, but when that cycle spins to the point wherein the confidence merges with pride and, as such, a belief that one is always the smartest in room, the infection can often lead to failure replacing those successes.
It's a good thing Matt Eberflus has now proven himself immunized against what many outside of the Dallas Cowboys' organization feared to be an incurable level of hubris, and that is why, suddenly, things are looking up for a Cowboys' defense that looked lost for the season, the dominance over Justin Fields and the New York Jets notwithstanding.
Eberflus did a thing, and that thing must be acknowledged with the same passion as was the rightful criticism that preceded it.
"It just brings another confidence when you've got a coach that you're confident in and that can see what you see. It then gives the confidence to go out there and play for them." - DaRon Bland
Allow me to get something out of the way early, however, for anyone the following might apply to.
Any take you have stashed in your Bag of Dumb that tries to downplay what the Cowboys' defense did against the Washington Commanders needs to stay there and away from those who watched the game and saw a second-year former seventh-round pick starting in an NFL game for the first time and an undrafted rookie getting reps at safety against Jayden Daniels.
If you subscribe to the premise that elite quarterbacks should make their receivers better, regardless of who those receivers are, then shouldn't Daniels have been good enough to achieve at least that much, and against the 32nd-ranked defense in the league, no less?
Ask yourself what this week would be, headlines-wise around the nation and world, if it was Dak Prescott failing in that same scenario instead of Jayden Daniels. Ah, the way the goal posts would be moved would qualify you to work for the league's grounds team.
This week's Science Lab is for those who can actually appreciate the context of what Eberflus and the Cowboys' defense put on film against the Commanders.
Realistically speaking, any improvement at all is exactly that — improvement — and when it's also fed by a willingness to step out of a comfort zone that sidesteps hubris to keep the locker room (and head coach) in your corner, versus simply putting your foot down and demanding obedience in the face of collapse, something competent can be built.
Moving Past the Past vs. the Pass
In order to appreciate any sort of progress, you have to first understand where the vehicle originated.
I'll preface all of this by saying the failings of the unit was never entirely on Matt Eberflus. Blame also falls in the lap of players who struggle with communication within the scheme, and then there are penalties and, at times, downright lack of execution — be it tackling, hero ball tactics, lack of eye discipline, etc. — all of these things make for a perfect storm of yuck.
But, with holding the Commanders to only 22 points, the Cowboys' defense moved north from the 32nd-ranked in points allowed per game to 30th-overall, and no, that's not enough to hoist a Lombardi you bought from Toys R' Us (they are back, after all), but it provides not just hope, but something more important:
Evidence.
"Flus has done a great job of trying to get everybody on the same page, and talking to the players and seeing what we like to do — seeing like what we see. So I think he's doing a great job with that." - DaRon Bland
It's evidence the Cowboys can execute. It's evidence they can communicate. It's evidence they can stop the run. It's evidence they can stop the excessive number of chunk plays. It's evidence they can rush the passer, even if only in spurts at the moment. It's evidence the defensive coordinator actually listens to what players want and isn't simply giving lip service in his interviews with the media.
As a related aside, as I noted just one week prior, all the trapeze of an offense in Dallas needs is their defensive counterparts to be better than worst, and they were against the Commanders and, voila, a win was secured.
Go figure, eh? And now, the numbers.
As it stands, through seven games, the Cowboys' struggles are also rooted in the decision to run primarily zone coverage with personnel better suited for man and man press, and the discrepancy between the frequency in which they're being deployed is jaw-droppingly wide.
- Man coverage (through Week 6): 11%
Eleven percent … meaning Eberflus deployed zone coverage 89 percent of the time, on average, and there's another issue with that lopsidedness: the fact it makes the Cowboys wildly easy to scheme against, seeing as they were almost completely one-dimensional — if only in the realm of man vs. zone.
"Nothing is off the table." - Matt Eberflus
They were a zone team, period, and every opponent knew it. So it should come as no surprise that Dan Quinn and Kliff Kingsbury were caught chasing their own breath after seeing very little success when Eberflus flipped a switch and called man coverage exponentially more often, and out of virtually nowhere. The team that ran more zone than an NBA team was suddenly doing the opposite and, with that, Eberflus made one hell of a statement.
Feeling Mannish
That switch was connected to a stick of dynamite, it appears, because the Cowboys' defensive scheme looked almost nothing like it did in weeks prior, and to great success. One look at the trend below and you might need a neck brace from the double take whiplash.
It truly is astounding.
Man coverage (opponent):
- Week 1 (Eagles) - 3%
- Week 2 (Giants) - 4.4%
- Week 3 (Bears) - 14.3%
- Week 4 (Packers) - 13%
- Week 5 (Jets) - 16.7%
- Week 6 (Panthers) - 14.8%
- Week 7 (Commanders) - 47.5% (3rd-most in NFL)
I did warn you. Now grab some ibuprofen for that tweaked neck.
Folks, that is a quantum leap from Week 1 to Week 7, the groove Eberflus settled into from Week 2 through Week 6 being obliterated against the Commanders, and the results were glaring.
- Dropbacks: 5-for-15
- Passing yards allowed: 57
- Passer rating: 45.7
- Takeaways: 2 (INT, fumble)
- Defensive TDs: 1
But wait, there's more…
- Yards per play (man coverage): 2.9
- Yards per play (zone coverage): 8.7
There's simply no ignoring the fact the Cowboys are better, overall, when playing man coverage at a high rate. This is not to say they should abandon zone coverage in totality, because to do so would be counterproductive to the point I made earlier regarding keeping opposing offenses honest and trying to figure out which will be called on any given Sunday, or quarter, or play.
A good mix of both also allows for misdirection, such as bluffs in mixed coverages.
One hand has to wash the other here, or the Cowboys would continue being forced to try and eat their meals every week with only one clean palm, the other having been dipped in a septic tank.
"It just speaks to what kind of coach he is and what kind of person he is — as a leader and the defensive coordinator. … Credit coach Flus for trusting us. He talks about it all the time: players' coaches coach players. He says it, but for trusting us to do what we have to do, especially when we ask for those types of things in terms of the defense, but then it's our trust in him that he's gonna call the right plays for us to go make those plays." - Donovan Ezeiruaku
Even prior to Week 7, the Cowboys were allowing more than a yard less in man coverage than in zone coverage.
And though I'd hate to belabor the point further, it bears mentioning every single thing I'm pointing out for you today — it adding that much more to the rightful criticism of Eberflus to wait until now to make the change but also to the praise for doing it at all, and before it's a lost season that torpedoed the efforts of best offense in the league led by an MVP candidate in Dak Prescott.
Eberflus listened. It took a moment to act, but he did.
And with the addition of firepower like DeMarvion Overshown and Shavon Revel to practice this week, there could be a very different type of perfect storm brewing for the Cowboys' defense with still more than half of their season in front of them — the kind that knocks over offenses in its path.
It's a start, and nothing more than that at the moment, but the journey of 1,000 miles begins with what? Exactly. Man oh man, keep the [better] times rolling, please.
