Brian Schottenheimer makes the promise Cowboys fans wanted to hear, the challenge will be delivering on it
The Dallas Cowboys need to shake things up. Schottenheimer says they will.
Head coach Brian Schottenheimer knows something has to change for the 2-3-1 Dallas Cowboys following their loss to the Carolina Panthers. And while he’s the first to admit the offense he calls didn’t have the best day it could have, the league’s worst defense is atop the list of concerns.
That’s why on Monday, Schottenheimer said exactly what fans want to hear. The coaching staff will make changes to the Cowboys defense. Schottenheimer revealed the coaching staff broke down the defense’s “breakdowns” from Sunday while watching the film differently than what the usual process is.
“We’ve got a board filled of ideas with things that we really think will help,” Schottenheimer told reporters. “We’re not really doing anything from a consistency standpoint that is great. [. . .] We’re looking at everything and we’re going to make changes, and make adjustments.”
Changes in the horizon is what Cowboys fans want to hear
The Cowboys have made their stance on defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus perfectly clear following the game: He’s here to stay.
But to hear Schottenheimer be transparent about the fact that the team is looking at shaking things up from a schematic point of view is at least promising and exactly what fans want to hear. Something has to change if the Cowboys want different results.
Implementing those changes, however, will be the real challenge. The Cowboys have a talent issue on defense and it showed against Carolina. It has all season long, too. Schottenheimer calls it an execution problem, not a personnel one, but the thing is the personnel in place is the one not executing. You’ve got defensive ends being blown up by tight ends at the line of scrimmage, linebackers missing tackles and taking poor angles, and defensive backs blowing coverages.
To Schottenheimer, part of finding those changes is emphasizing fundamentals.
“The other thing we need to do as coaches is emphasize fundamentals,” Schottenheimer said. “Hand placements, fits, and how you take on a combination block with your near arm and your near foot and how you shoot the gap to create separation so that your buddy can come off and make a play. Those little finite details are the things that we’re not doing from a consistent standpoint, which is why we struggled yesterday.”
“Our job is to find solutions,” Schottenheimer added. “And that’s what this staff is committed to doing.”
The Cowboys head coach said the team has enough talent on the roster to find those solutions, suggesting the team doesn’t depend on an outside addition to turn a corner. We’ll see if that’s true or not but right now, it feels like the defense is short on talent.
If Schottenheimer delivers on the promise of finding solutions, it will be further evidence that he’s doing something right. Ultimately, however, he wasn’t named head coach to be a defensive mastermind. The responsibility to turn the unit around will fall on DC Matt Eberflus and Co.
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