The Dan Quinn Report - Wk 2 - New York Jets

The formula for the defense is clear and few opponents will have an answer

For those of you getting acquainted with the cadence here at #SturmStack, we want you to know that we always try to make sure the trains run on time and you can know what to expect with few exceptions.

Every Wednesday, we give the Dallas Cowboys defense the same treatment that the offense gets on Tuesday. That is, a thorough examination of the good, bad, and the ugly about their most recent performance from a strategic and tactical standpoint.

Dan Quinn has been here now for three seasons and there is a very good chance that when he is gone, we will look back at 2021-2023 as the “good old days” of Dallas Cowboys defense. The play of this defense – especially coming off the Mike Nolan season of 2020 – has been excellent and getting better all the time. They know what they are looking for and have stacked this defense with players who can do it.

On Sunday against the New York Jets, we were told that they would run it right at the Cowboys all day long. They ran it 11 times (if we take out the scrambles of their QB who was under duress all day) and yielded 28 yards. Breece Hall and Dalvin Cook were able to average 2.0 yards per carry combined. In other words, it didn’t turn into much of a battle. Dallas dominated them up front with similar tones to the way they dominated their New York neighbors the week before.

Through two games, the Cowboys have allowed 10 points, have 7 takeaways and 10 sacks. If your defense ever has allowed two scores and has taken the ball away from their opponents seven times, you know you have started a season on the right foot.

Here is the Data Box from their destruction of the Jets:

Dallas is on the top of their defensive game right now. We must remember the opponent, but given that Arizona and New England are next on the schedule, we have reason to believe that most of the teams they play will not be able to get a whole lot done with this Cowboys defense if they can keep their starters healthy. At the moment, there is not much to attack.

So why is Dallas so difficult to get at right now? In other words, what tactically is their plan?