After the team was repeatedly torched in the passing game in the early stages of this season, some veteran Cowboys defensive players–most notably star corner Trevon Diggs–called on defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus to give up on the zone-heavy scheme he had instituted and play more man-to-man defense.
Too many receivers were left wide open in the Cowboys’ new scheme. The team has two highly paid corners, Diggs and DaRon Bland, who thrive in man-to-man coverage.
Earlier this month, Diggs complained the defense has “no identity.” Later, when asked whether the Cowboys should play more man, Diggs bluntly said year. He explained, “I wouldn’t say [zone is] more complex, but when you’re playing man, you’re right there with the person.”
Well, with Diggs out because of a concussion last week, the Cowboys and Eberflus did make a shift. After playing more than 90% of their snaps in zone, the Cowboys played nearly 50% in man-to-man, according to Tru Media.
This could mean that Eberflus has finally gotten the memo, that his team is better in man coverage. But when Eberflus addressed the media this week, he did indicate that the change might not be so permanent.
Matt Eberflus: Every Week Is Different
Against the Commanders, Eberflus said, the matchups were there for the Cowboys. Washington was missing its two best receivers, Terry McLaurin and Deebo Samuel, in the game, and eventually lost quarterback Jayden McDaniels, too.
Against Bo Nix and the Broncos in Week 8, the Cowboys could go back to a zone-heavy look. Whether that means free-range targets for Nix again remains to be seen. But it certainly is a Cowboys fan’s big fear.
“Every week is different,” Eberflus said. “Last week we played more man-to-man because it was the right thing to do. But obviously, when you can do that, you’re tighter in winds and things like that.t, we’ve done some more on third down as of late. But the guys did a nice job of executing and it was important to go forward that have multiple things in our package. We can do man pressures, zone pressures and the guys did a good job of executing.”
Cowboys Defense Remains ‘Always About Matchup’
In other words, if Cowboys fans were hoping Eberflus would come in and say he was wrong to run so much zone and the players were right to ask for more man-to-man, well, they did not get that. The Cowboys could be back to 90% zone in Week 8.
One caveat, of course, is that Eberflus could be bluffing here. It probably would not do him much good to come in and say, “Yes, we’re gonna run man-to-man all the time from here on in.” But some acknowledgement that mixing things up worked would be welcome.
“It’s always about matchup,” Eberflus said. “It’s always about matchup. It’s always going to be about that. It’s a matchup league so we got to make sure we understand that and make sure we ask our guys to do what they can do and then do that and make it a strength.”
Cowboys, Matt Eberflus Wary of Broncos
Certainly, the analytics of the game going into the Week 7 win over the Commanders played a big role in how the Cowboys adjusted their approach. But Eberflus said that the analytics are only part of the issue. It was also mentioned that the Broncos are the No. 1 screening team in the NFL–and that bit of data could, indeed, lead to more zone coverage.
“It’s like anything, you have to watch the tape,” Eberflus said. “Analytics tells you something but the tape tells you the truth. So, we have to really understand that the tape tells us what is going on. I like to get the analytics first to see where it is, then get the evidence off the tape. Then you see, you know, how can you move your defense to fit what they’re doing on offense?”
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