OXNARD, Calif. – Camp is done. Pulling up stakes Friday, heading to Phoenix for preseason Game 2 on Saturday night against the Arizona Cardinals, then homebound immediately afterward. And thinking there will be no parade or celebration waiting for us upon arriving at the American Airlines charter site at DFW Airport. Not even an awaiting TV camera.
Projected to be 4:30 Sunday, and that's a.m.
By then, we'll have a better idea of just where this backup quarterback competition is between Sam Howell and Joe Milton.
We'll have a clearer view of where the battles for backup offensive line roster spots stand, especially at the wide-open swing tackle position that currently is way too unsettled.
Then, too, am curious to see if previous wide receiver underdog Camden Brown, an undrafted rookie free agent from Georgia Southern, can continue his push for a 53-man roster spot by proving against the Cardinals his two-touchdown performance this past Saturday at the Seahawks, and seemingly each practice in training camp, have been no fluke.
Same for a crowded running back room where four to five candidates must fit into two openings behind starter Javonte Williams. Or if a crowded cornerback room begins separating behind what seems to be the top three, DaRon Bland, Cobie Durant and Shavon Revel, though those openings begin shrinking, depending on if the Cowboys are counting this year's No. 1 draft choice Caleb Downs a slot corner or versatile safety. Or just a darn good football player.
All this still after spending 27 days away from home, out here for 25 days and a day each in Seattle and Phoenix for the two preseason games, with only one left then next Friday against the Saints at AT&T Stadium.
But here's where my curiosity is building, and not likely to begin revealing until the season opener, Sunday night, Sept. 13, against the New York Giants, since the Cowboys are unlikely to take the wraps off their frontline defensive starters until then. Just can't wait to see these guys actually play tackle football together. Can't wait to see the Cowboys unleash these guys and witness exactly what new defensive coordinator Christian Parker has up his sleeve since all they do in preseason games is play cat and mouse.
After all, success this year rests upon the shoulders of these guys:
Quinnen Williams, Kenny Clark, Rashan Gary, Donovan Ezeiruaku, Dee Winters, DeMarvion Overshown and now the most recent edition to the rest of the gang, Von Miller, the hired-hand edge rusher, one and all needing to make life difficult for opposing quarterbacks in the pocket.
They will be mainly responsible for upgrading a concerted and consistent pass rush, a Cowboys defensive deficiency for sure this past season, and previously one having been far too dependent on the departed Micah Parsons, among those more preoccupied with hunting sacks than victories.
So this on Wednesday became music to my ears, and guarantee you to those of head coach Brian Schottenheimer, the Joneses, Will McClay and anyone else in charge of putting a winning football team on the field, and compliments of a charismatic and intentional-thinking Parker who will be calling defenses for the first time in his coaching career come the season opener against the Giants on national TV.
Unleashing the idea that rushing the quarterback must be as "one."
"The combination of players starts in practice; it starts with whether we're rushing straight. Those guys are naturally feeling each other in terms of the path that you are taking," Parker begins his dissertation on rushing the quarterback. "Whether it's orchestrated games that we call or the patterns in the pressure, but guys not being selfish."
There, he said it. Not being selfish.
"And having that mentality that if you're supposed to be here then you've got to be there because that is setting this up, if I'm supposed to be picking this up. So whatever the call is, whatever that might be, just having that mentality in that we're rushing with vision," Parker continues, "and we're able to not be selfish in that mentality where we're giving up free B-gap escapes or giving up the edge quickly but guys understand what their role is in the rush, and at some point they're going to have that one-on-one that we desire.
"But as long as we have that same mentality with everybody eating together, then we'll have success."
Now, the Cowboys have made great strides improving a woefully lacking pass rush. They first added Clark when subtracting Parsons the week before last season's opener. They added Quinnen at the trade deadline, and as have previously pointed out, his 33 QB pressures in his seven games would factor out to 80 in a 17-game season. They traded but a fourth-round draft choice for defensive end/outside linebacker Rashan Gary. Ezeiruaku is no longer the rookie of last year. They added Dee Winters, and DeMarvion Overshown will start this season on time. Watch out for rookies Malachi Lawrence and Jaishawn Barham. Caleb Downs might be listed as a defensive back, one playing on the nickel in the slot or deep safety, but wherever he is, this rookie can blitz the line of scrimmage like one of those hovering hummingbirds.
And oh, by the way, they have just added Von Miller, the guy with nine sacks last season with Washington that would have led the Cowboys. He arrives with 138½ career sacks, tied with DeMarcus Ware for ninth all-time in the NFL. While he will be going through a ramp-up phase, in his second practice with the team – the first he mostly watched the scrimmage Tuesday against the Saints – not only did No. 40 in blue participate on a limited basis but a couple of his reps finished at the heels of the quarterback. Why, one bull rush landed Nate Thomas on his backside.
Remember, Parker's first year coaching defensive backs with the Broncos in 2021 was Miller's final half-season in Denver when finishing with 4½ sacks in just six games after missing the 2020 schedule following ankle surgery. He was eventually traded to the Rams for the rest of that year, so Parker was treated to a Von appetizer.
"Von was kind of an honorary member of the No-Fly Zone (pass defense) that pre-dated me, so he was always around the DBs and everything. You know, ultimate professional," Parker says. "Phenomenal teammate and obviously he can still get after the quarterback and play at a high level as an all-down player.
"So we're not putting a cap on what could be this year. We'll let this kind of handle itself, but we defensively feel good about that edge room and feel good about that addition."
If there is a goal, the Cowboys must exceed last year's sack total of 35, tied for 23rd in the NFL. The goal must be improving the pass defense, the one giving up a franchise record 59 touchdown passes last year and the second most single-season passing yards in franchise history (4,276), the 266.3 a game ranking 32nd in the NFL. Oh, and when it came to interceptions, only one team in the NFL had fewer than the Cowboys' six, and that was the Jets with nada, the 2025 Cowboys setting an ignominious franchise record low by one.
A pass rush can sure help cure what ails a pass defense. A concerted effort without defenders hunting sacks instead of playing within the confines of the defensive system helps even more. Even the offensive-minded Schottenheimer knows that.
"There are always times guys do," the head coach says of running into solo sack hunters. "Like, we had a rep the other day in the practice against the Saints down in the red zone where a player went high and lost contain, and the quarterback stepped up and got out of the pocket. But it's a big emphasis because if you're talented across the front, you don't need to chase sacks. The sacks are going to come to you with a great rush, coverage or what a teammate does.
"All 11 guys got to do their jobs."
Take the Broncos last year, topping the NFL with 68 sacks, but led by Nik Bonitto with a robust 14, and then had three more players with at least seven sacks. Meaning, four players combined for 36½ sacks, more than the entire Cowboys team in 2025.
Yep, sure seems far better for the "team" to lead the league in sacks than for an "individual" to lead the league in sacks.
