FRISCO — Cowboys defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus doesn’t say a whole lot in his weekly news conferences. He’ll answer questions, but keep his responses mostly general. To be fair: It’s not like he could say much that the play of his defense isn’t already telling us.
Eberflus’ defense has been the talk of the town here in his return to Dallas. Especially juxtaposed against the other side of the ball for the Cowboys. The team’s offense has been a nearly unstoppable force so far, either leading the league or being close to the top of the league in most offensive categories, including yards per game.
The defense, meanwhile, has been a very movable force. The Cowboys are last in the NFL in yards allowed per game and second to last in points allowed per game after the team’s latest loss: a 30-27 defeat on the road against the Carolina Panthers.
“Thought a couple weeks ago we took a step forward versus the Jets,” Eberflus said on Thursday, citing the team’s 37-22 win in Week 5. “Last week, obviously, disappointed in that performance.
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“It’s not to our standard how we played last week.”
Take out the performance against the Jets — the 25th best-scoring offense in the league — and it’s hard to argue that last week’s performance was much different than the standard they’ve set so far this season.
Change is needed. Maybe in personnel. Maybe in performance. Maybe in defensive philosophy — a jarring potential for a defensive coordinator that’s been known for a zone-based scheme for quite some time.
But can change actually happen?
“When your performance has been inconsistent or not to the standard, you certainly look at everything,” Eberflus said about the defense. “You try to find solutions. That’s the coach’s job to get that done. Nothing is off the table.”
Eberflus said he and Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer will often meet. Schottenheimer said it’s something he enjoys about his defensive coordinator: the ability to welcome feedback and insight about why an offense might attack his defense in a certain way. The meetings certainly happened after last week’s defeat in Carolina.
Schottenheimer said the goal from the meetings early this week wasn’t as much about reflecting on the inconsistent performances, but more about moving forward and finding solutions. They filled white boards with potential answers. Ultimately, they came to an understanding.
“We know the solutions are in the room,” Eberflus said. “There’s not a magic pill there. We just have to make sure we do a great job of working together and being together and making sure the plan is tight and effective. That’s all of us working together.”
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When it comes to defense, there’s power in the collective. There’s also inherent vulnerability when one person isn’t on the same page as the rest. Therein lies some of the issues and, according to Eberflus, a potential fix.
“There’s been some mistakes. Obviously we’ve seen those,” Eberflus said. “I own that. I’m the defensive coordinator. I take accountability for that, but being on the same page is everything and the understanding of the defense is everything, too.”
Being the defensive coordinator is also about being a thermometer for the defense; about understanding what the temperature is of the players within the system. Disappointment can’t be the only emotion for those involved on the defense.
“I understand the frustration from those guys, and I’m frustrated too,” Eberflus said. “It’s important that we move that aside and focus on the solutions at hand.”
That doesn’t mean it’s easy. Schottenheimer has a 24-hour rule with his team. That, win or lose, they move on after the game toward the next week. Cowboys safety Juanyeh Thomas understands that rule, though he found it hard to apply this week.
“Honestly moving on from a loss like that, and then I’m playing on defense, and feeling like that game was our fault, it was tough,” Thomas said. “That stuck with me and it still sticks with me now, because I didn’t like that feeling, and everybody on this side of the ball didn’t like it, either.”
So, the Cowboys defense and Eberflus move forward with the hope they can find answers. Schottenheimer believes they will. Team owner Jerry Jones indicated his belief in them earlier this week, as well, adding that he would go into a “foxhole” with someone like Eberflus.
If they want others to believe, they’ll have to show and not just tell.
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