Cowboys' Mike McCarthy reveals how foes might try to beat his team
Since the Dallas Cowboys' pads came on in training camp, head coach Mike McCarthy made sure the team doubled up in one particular area during practice: Run defense. "We'll double up on the run drills like we have been all throughout camp," Mike McCarthy told reporters earlier this week. "We're doing twice as much in those […]
Since the Dallas Cowboys' pads came on in training camp, head coach Mike McCarthy made sure the team doubled up in one particular area during practice:
Run defense.
"We'll double up on the run drills like we have been all throughout camp," Mike McCarthy told reporters earlier this week. "We're doing twice as much in those early periods this year than we've done in the last two years."
Why is that? After all, the Cowboys defense ranked fourth-best in rush EPA/play allowed, and third-best in success rate, per RBSDM.com. To McCarthy, it's because opponents know about the Cowboys' pass defense being so terrifying.
With a ravenous pass rush leading the way and two All-Pro cornerbacks in the secondary, teams are highly unlikely to approach Dallas with a pass-first mentality.
"When they look at our defense, they want to challenge our run defense," admitted McCarthy. "They don't want to play all day against our pass rush."
The Cowboys learned that the hard way more than once last season. For all their statistical success against the run, there were some high-leverage moments throughout the season where they just couldn't get it stopped.
"You look at the games where people were able to run on us early, that's going to be the blueprint to how you play against our defense," added the Cowboys head coach. "Our run defense is of a primary emphasis because (if) we win there, it puts us in a position to play a little bit downhill with our pass rush and our ability to get the football in the secondary."
Last year, when the Cowboys did stop the run, they usually did it with loaded boxes (7+ defenders in the box), which in turn cost them on the backend occasionally. In 2023, expectations are for the Cowboys to use more light boxes as they were widely successful the few times they used them last season.
That's where Mazi Smith and the Cowboys' emphasis on the run stems from. You can read more about the schematic reasons for drafting a first-round nose tackle in the article below. As McCarthy explains, they know they'll have to nail that down to go all the way.
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Featured image via Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
