The Dallas Cowboys made a major change to the defensive lineup and it’s here to stay, but the new starter has a lot to fix
The Dallas Cowboys handed Shemar James the keys to their linebacker room against the Eagles. After a closer look at the tape, there’s reason for some concern.
The Dallas Cowboys made a major decision on defense, and it doesn’t look like it’s going away anytime soon. Linebacker Shemar James is now the green dot, and head coach Brian Schottenheimer made it clear he’s the one driving the car at the position.
As I noted in my snap count takeaways from Monday’s win over the Philadelphia Eagles, James played 88% of the defensive snaps. That tied for the most on the team, matched only by cornerback DaRon Bland. Most of the time, that meant James lined up at middle linebacker.
Meanwhile, third-round rookie Jaishawn Barham took a serious hit. He finished at just 21% of the snaps. DeMarvion Overshown rotated with Barham as the other linebacker, with Dallas spending most of the night in nickel looks.
Schottenheimer said James earned the opportunity. He also clarified that the move wasn’t a knock on Barham, Overshown, or anyone else in the room. And yet, after reviewing the film, I’m a little bit worried about the direction the Cowboys are taking.
What the film shows from Shemar James
First things first, the positives. We’ve known James can move fast. He’s explosive, and he can look like a blur on film. You don’t really appreciate how fast he’s moving until you turn on the tape. He’s solid in coverage and appears to have a strong understanding of Christian Parker’s scheme.
But what stands out the most is that the Cowboys need him to be better in the hole. You need your middle linebacker coming forward and making plays.
Take the play embedded below as an example. The Eagles come out in 12 personnel (one running back, two tight ends) and run toward the weak side. Overshown is responsible for the frontside A-gap. DT Otito Ogbonnia gets the right guard, and the center tries to help before climbing to James.
That leaves James a clear hole to hit. He hesitates just a little bit, and while he gets to the hole at the right time, he arrives out of balance. When the running back cuts, James stops his feet. The result is a missed tackle and a big gain for Philadelphia on a play that could have been a stuffed run, or even a tackle for loss.
On another snap, the Eagles are in shotgun with the left guard pulling. James does a good job attacking the play-side C-gap while Overshown takes on the climbing tight end. The right tackle helps on Kenny Clark first, then works up to James, who dips his shoulder so much that he slips past the block entirely.
Now it’s James one-on-one with Saquon Barkley. He wraps his arms around him. He can’t finish and it’s a missed tackle. Barkley carries several Cowboys defenders to a first down.
Why Dallas went with James anyway
If you ask me, the reason James got the green dot is his football IQ. You can see him communicating pre-snap consistently, and it feels like the Cowboys really like that about him.
Barham, as a rookie, still has a lot to put together. We saw that when he was asked to play the Mike. I’m not acting like Barham was a no-brainer at the position.
But I do think we’re seeing a lack of aggression and physicality from the Cowboys linebackers in general, and it was very evident with James. Barham at least had the ability to create some chaos. That led to some big plays for the defense (and some big openings, to be fair). With James, it’s more of the same.
That matters because the Cowboys run a gap-and-a-half scheme designed to free up the linebackers and defensive backs. In a preseason clinic video, defensive coordinator Christian Parker explained that in this scheme, the defensive linemen work for the linebackers. We’re seeing the linemen do their part on film. We’re not seeing James take advantage of it, at least not on Monday.
What needs to change for this to age well
To be fair, this is who James is. He’s more of a run-and-hit linebacker than a physical one, which seems to be the theme of the Cowboys’ linebacker room in general. Barham, who is still developing, may be the exception.
It also seems like this decision has to do with Dallas wanting to move Barham around more than it has been, mostly due to injuries around the defense. Either way, I don’t expect the Cowboys to move off James. This looks like a decision with long-lasting impact.
For the green dot era to last, though, James needs to be better coming downhill and defending the run. Less hesitation. More aggression. That’s the biggest adjustment I want to see next week.
