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By Carlos Mendez
cmendez@star-telegram.com
The Dallas Cowboys can't figure out what went wrong with their defense last year.
Except it couldn't have been the players.
Could it?
Their actions over the weekend during the three-day NFL Draft seem to say that's what they believe. The Cowboys drafted only an inside linebacker and a cornerback, their fewest defensive selections in a single draft since 1962, to help the unit that gave up the most points in franchise history.
"We thought this was a draft that was weighted more towards offense," vice president Stephen Jones said. "When we got finished looking at our board, we had a lot more offensive players than defensive players. As it turned out, when it came time for us to pick, it was more offense than defense."
Maybe the Cowboys are also counting on a change in coaching scenery. New defensive coordinator Rob Ryan inherits the group that underachieved for former head coach Wade Phillips.
Ryan "does an outstanding job, and we expect him to do an outstanding job with our defense," Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett said.
Before that happens, the Cowboys will have to make decisions on their free agents on defense, including ends Jason Hatcher, Marcus Spears and Stephen Bowen and safety Gerald Sensabaugh.
And they will be active in pursuing free agents outside their team, particularly for their needs at safety and cornerback.
But their decision-making will be guided in part by the belief that the defense has good players who have had good years and can have good years again. They may or may not have figured out what went wrong last season, but they do not expect it to happen again.
"Sometimes you don't know exactly what it is, whether it's just a chemistry tweak or whatever," Jones said. "But that same group of guys that didn't play as well last year played damn good defense the year before. We had a great year. There wasn't anybody walking around here, in y'all's shoes or around the league, that didn't think we had a great group of defensive players."
They do have a little bit of a theory, however.
Jones hinted that things changed for everyone when quarterback Tony Romo was sidelined in the sixth game last year.
"You get your quarterback hurt, you get some things go wrong, and then there's a little more pressure, maybe, to push," he said. "Rather than playing sound defense, you're looking to make plays. You're pushing, you're pushing. So you know, there's a lot of things that go into, sometimes, a struggle."
Ryan was not available to speak to reporters over the weekend, but Jones said Ryan made no complaints about the meager bounty the draft brought his way.
"He said, 'Just tell me who I'm coaching. I'll have them ready,'" Jones said.
Judging from the weekend, it looks as if the Cowboys are counting on it.
cmendez@star-telegram.com
The Dallas Cowboys can't figure out what went wrong with their defense last year.
Except it couldn't have been the players.
Could it?
Their actions over the weekend during the three-day NFL Draft seem to say that's what they believe. The Cowboys drafted only an inside linebacker and a cornerback, their fewest defensive selections in a single draft since 1962, to help the unit that gave up the most points in franchise history.
"We thought this was a draft that was weighted more towards offense," vice president Stephen Jones said. "When we got finished looking at our board, we had a lot more offensive players than defensive players. As it turned out, when it came time for us to pick, it was more offense than defense."
Maybe the Cowboys are also counting on a change in coaching scenery. New defensive coordinator Rob Ryan inherits the group that underachieved for former head coach Wade Phillips.
Ryan "does an outstanding job, and we expect him to do an outstanding job with our defense," Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett said.
Before that happens, the Cowboys will have to make decisions on their free agents on defense, including ends Jason Hatcher, Marcus Spears and Stephen Bowen and safety Gerald Sensabaugh.
And they will be active in pursuing free agents outside their team, particularly for their needs at safety and cornerback.
But their decision-making will be guided in part by the belief that the defense has good players who have had good years and can have good years again. They may or may not have figured out what went wrong last season, but they do not expect it to happen again.
"Sometimes you don't know exactly what it is, whether it's just a chemistry tweak or whatever," Jones said. "But that same group of guys that didn't play as well last year played damn good defense the year before. We had a great year. There wasn't anybody walking around here, in y'all's shoes or around the league, that didn't think we had a great group of defensive players."
They do have a little bit of a theory, however.
Jones hinted that things changed for everyone when quarterback Tony Romo was sidelined in the sixth game last year.
"You get your quarterback hurt, you get some things go wrong, and then there's a little more pressure, maybe, to push," he said. "Rather than playing sound defense, you're looking to make plays. You're pushing, you're pushing. So you know, there's a lot of things that go into, sometimes, a struggle."
Ryan was not available to speak to reporters over the weekend, but Jones said Ryan made no complaints about the meager bounty the draft brought his way.
"He said, 'Just tell me who I'm coaching. I'll have them ready,'" Jones said.
Judging from the weekend, it looks as if the Cowboys are counting on it.
