While he hasn’t gotten a first-hand look at the Dallas Cowboys yet this season, Troy Aikman has kept up with the team’s defensive woes to start the campaign.
The Cowboys icon joined Sportsradio 96.7 FM/1310 The Ticket (KTCK-AM) on Thursday to break down the most concerning aspects of Dallas’ struggles before the team faces Green Bay. Here’s a look at some of the highlights:
(Edited for length and clarity.)
What would concern you the most about the Cowboys’ defense going into Sunday?
Cowboys
Aikman: “Just the big plays they’ve given up. What this league comes down to is the ability to make big plays, and if you do that, then you score points. That’s what these teams have been able to do that have faced them. As concerning as anything about the big plays is they’ve kind of tried to play to minimize them, and yet they’ve given up a ton of them. Just not very disciplined football, overall.
“They come in this game against a Green Bay team that I think is really good. I think they’re really well coached. We said this before that playoff game a couple of years ago. I think Matt LaFleur is one of the best in the business, offensively, and he’ll have some things that’ll give them a chance, like he did in that playoff game. There’ll be a fair number of opportunities for the Packers, at least, as far as what they call to try to take advantage of some of those looks. If the Cowboys have not gotten some of that shored up, there’s a good chance that it could happen again this week against the Packers.”
It appears this Cowboys defense has problems at every level, but in this league, doesn’t it really start up front? Without a pass rush, it’s hard to be a good defensive unit, isn’t it?
Aikman: “Yeah. You talk to people all around the league, it’s really on the defensive side of the ball. You want pass rushers and you want cover corners. If you have those things, then you’re able to work around a lot of other areas that you may have some weaknesses in. I would have to believe that Micah [Parsons] would have made a difference up to this point, and he certainly is for Green Bay. You’ve got to be able to get after the quarterback. It’s that simple. It’s trending a little bit the other way, as far as teams running the ball from where they were just a few years back. You’re seeing more and more teams starting to recommit a little bit more to the run game. But at the end of the day, it’s still a passing league, and if you don’t have people that can get after the quarterback, it’s just gotten really hard with the rules the way that they are, in order for the secondaries to keep up with these wide receivers and be able to make plays. That’s a big part of what you’ve got to be able to do.”
Is it possible that Green Bay is the NFC’s best team and Parsons was their missing piece?
Aikman: “Yeah. No question. Jeff Hafley is their defensive coordinator. I think the world of him. He’ll be a head coach, maybe next year. He’s really good. He had been the head coach at Boston College before he took the defensive coordinator position last year, and really got that defense playing well a year ago. I’m not surprised they’re playing as well as they are. What they’ve done through the first three weeks, with 13 points, I think, they gave up last week to Cleveland and they lost. Washington’s the most, as you mentioned, 18 points. They’re playing really well. If you can play defense like that, and again, going back to the respect that I have for Matt LaFleur and his ability to game plan — I’ve seen it too many times in games that I’ve called for the Packers where they’ve been without some really key players, and he’s put together a game plan that not many offensive coaches would be able to do to where they’re still effective, moving the football and having a lot of success. So, yeah, I think the Packers are definitely one of those teams that will be contending at the end. I may have to change my mind after last Monday night’s game, the way that the Lions looked against Baltimore. I thought coming into the season, the NFC North, of course, last year three teams making the playoffs, three really good teams that, even with what Detroit had accomplished, I liked Green Bay coming into the year for a variety of reasons.
“They’re really good and I think Jordan Love just continues to get better and better. This will be a heck of a game for Dallas, for sure. I think Dallas right now, if you looked at it realistically coming into the season, you would have expected that they would lose to Philadelphia Week 1. You’d have thought they’d be 2-1. The Giants game didn’t go nearly like I thought it would. I didn’t think the Giants would be able to keep pace with them at all, and I thought they’d beat Chicago. So I thought they’d be 2-1. They’re 1-2. But this is that point in the season that it can start to get away from you in a hurry, if all of a sudden you dig yourself a bigger hole and go to 1-3. But this is going to be a tough game for Dallas. There’s no doubt.”
Listen to the rest of Aikman’s radio appearance here.
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