I like to imagine Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn has a Batcave-like office in which he spends all night drawing up evil schemes and coverages to destroy all opposing offense's efforts to score while laughing like a cartoon villain. 

The reality is probably somewhat different than that but there's no doubt about the fact that his actual process works. And it works quite well. Over the last two years, his Cowboys defense has been one of the finest in the NFL.

But there's one specific thing about last year that makes me think Quinn is at his most dangerous heading into the 2023 regular season: His impressive embrace of the league's newest trend. 

The Cowboys are a 'quarters' team now

Quinn has always been known for his Cover 3 and Cover 1 schemes that feature one safety up high. It's what "made him" when he rose through the coaching ranks by being a part of the Legion of Boom defense of the Seattle Seahawks. Recently, however, the rise of the RPO among other things has made those defensive looks much more vulnerable.

That's why in 2022, the Cowboys defensive coordinator became a "quarters" coverage coach. While different coaches will give you different definitions, think mostly about Cover 4 and Cover 2 varieties where opponents attempt to take the opponents' deep passing game away.

This forces offenses to be patient with two safeties up high and several deep defenders. Instead of going over the top of the defense, teams have to find a way to attack underneath and pound the rock.

Quinn drastically turned up his use of quarters coverage last season, according to PFF data put together by Cody Alexander:

• 2015-2021: 4.8% quarters usage, below league average every season.
• 2022: 22%, fourth-highest in the NFL

For more context, only four teams used quarters coverage in 10% or more of their snaps in 2018. That stat shot up to 16 teams in 2019 and the number sat at a whopping 23 teams last season. Everyone is adapting to dealing with today's early-down passing teams, RPO teams, and Shanahan-style offenses.  

It's a very significant and encouraging change for Quinn. Not only is he having success with what's always worked for him, but he's also showing he's willing to adapt to the tides of the NFL. The best part is he's done so efficiently as the Cowboys remained one of the best defenses last year. 

In fact, the Cowboys defense did better when using a two-safety shell as opposed to a one-safety shell in 2022.

Now, drafting rookie Mazi Smith will only add to the fire. Playing quarters implies having to live in a world where you have to defend the run with a light box of six defenders. Earlier this month, I wrote about how picking the nose tackle in the first round was an underrated chess move:

Adding somebody who can eat up space and eliminate gaps like 320-pounder nose tackle Mazi Smith will go a long way. While (Sam) Monson accurately says "They're going to get really coveted again," the Cowboys are ahead of the curve after putting a premium on a guy like that by selecting him in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft.

From my previous article 

On top of Quinn embracing the relatively new defensive trend in the NFL, this being his third year with the Cowboys should significantly help. Once, Vance Joseph explained how a third year on the same defense allows players to not only understand the rules but also break them and manipulate them to their advantage. 

As a man of statistics, I hesitate to bet on this defense being even better than last year. And yet, I feel confident in doing so as Quinn's crop of handpicked players have more experience and the team brought in an All-Pro cornerback in the offseason.

September can't get here soon enough.

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