When the
Dallas Cowboys brought in
Monte Kiffin as their defensive coordinator last week, there was plenty of speculation on if the Cowboys had the defensive players needed to make the transition to his 4-3 Tampa 2 scheme. Most of the talk has centered around questions about how
DeMarcus Ware and the other Cowboys linebackers’ fit into the defense. However, looking more into Kiffin’s scheme there are other positions that have questions that need to be answered in order to make the Tampa 2 work. Former
Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach
Tony Dungy spoke about the three positions that were needed in order to make the defense work; a defensive tackle that creates havoc inside, a weak side linebacker that can make plays and a versatile safety that can play in the box, as well as the speed to cover. The Cowboys, I believe, have the first two covered but maybe the most difficult position to fill is safety.
Looking at the Cowboys roster, the two starters currently at safety are
Barry Church and
Gerald Sensabaugh, and although good players, I don’t think either one is the answer in Kiffin’s system. I like Church and look forward to him being a solid player on the Cowboys for years to come, but they still need a better safety in coverage. This leads to the thought the Cowboys need to continue to look into drafting the versatile safety they’ve been missing since
Darren Woodson retired. Or maybe that player is already on the roster.