Don’t read too much into Cowboys DC Dan Quinn’s comments about tweaking his scheme
The meat and potatoes will still be the same for the Cowboys.
Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
When the Cowboys hired Dan Quinn to be their new defensive coordinator, it was essentially a return to the defensive philosophy the team had run in the final two years under the old coaching staff. That’s because Quinn is a branch off of the Seahawks Legion of Boom tree, as was the Cowboys’ defensive play-caller from 2018 to 2019, Kris Richard.
While an in-depth look at the scheme that Quinn runs reveals several nuances, the meat and potatoes of it is very straightforward. It’s a four down-linemen front with little blitzing and a lot of press coverage out of both Cover 1 and Cover 3 shells.
It has been another dizzying offseason of Las Vegas Raiders’ roster moves.
Last week, cornerback Casey Hayward became the 17th free agent that the Raiders either signed from another team or re-signed from their own roster. The Raiders saw five free agents sign elsewhere, and they cut five veterans and traded three players.
As the smoke clears, there are four remaining Las Vegas free agents from the 2020 roster.
Let’s look at them and see if they may return:
Kyle Wilber:
I’m somewhat surprised the Raiders haven’t brought Wilber back. He has been a special teams stalwart for them and special teams coach Rich Bisaccia is a big fan of his. I wouldn’t be shocked if we see Wilber brought back at some point.
FRISCO, Texas When Dallas Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy got together with defensive coordinator Dan Quinn last Friday morning, they began dreaming up ideas for the best way to use their 2021 first-round draft pick, linebacker Micah Parsons. We were starting to plan packages and personnel groups, McCarthy said. We just want to get Micah here, get him comfortable in the room, and it is going to be more about selecting not only what he can do but how it fits everybody else. Once again, he is a multidimensional and multipositional player for us.
How the Cowboys make it work with the linebacker group of Parsons, Jaylon Smith and Leighton Vander Esch will be among Quinn s biggest challenges in taking over a defense that allowed a franchise-record 473 points in 2020.
Cowboys news: Cowboys decline LVE’s fifth-year option and more reaction to the draft
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This was inevitable after the drafting of two linebackers.
The Dallas Cowboys won’t be picking up the fifth-year contract option of former first round pick Leighton Vander Esch. His agent, Ron Slavin, told ESPN of the team’s plans Monday which would allow the linebacker to become an unrestricted free agent following the 2021 season.
Vander Esch has missed 13 games due to injury over the past two seasons and that history is likely the main reason for the decision. In 2019, Vander Esch suffered a neck injury that required surgery and in 2020 he broke his collarbone causing him to miss six games. His best season came in his rookie year when he totaled 140 tackles, two interceptions and seven passes defensed after being selected with the 19th overall pick in that year’s first round.