I like him and always have.
Funny little thing….his two good games came against the bad teams…..and I was forced to watch Cle/NY which was a worse played game than last night. Sounds a little familiar.
Talk me out of that. I’d like to be persuaded lol and you’re capable.
Honestly I wouldn't overcomplicate it too much.....he's a much better pass defender than he is a run defender, and the two games he really struggled in the opposing QBs only combined for about 30 pass attempts.
That doesn't mean he's hopeless against the run, but there are things he does well and things he doesn't do well so it's likely he is going to have down games against certain teams, and why I think Zimmer shielded him a bit with fewer snaps against New Orleans. He is likely never going to be the north/south type of run stuffing LB people fantasize over (And I think this is an important piece to keep in mind so our expectations dont get out of hand), he's a freak of nature athlete tweener type who once he gets more experience under his belt can probably be used by a creative defensive mind to create all types of confusion for offenses. I also think he covers well enough where I think the Cowboys could get to a point where they can stay in their base 4-3 defense more than other teams can. He has to walk before he can run, but I wouldnt be surprised at all if this coming offseason we dont hear a ton about specific packages to get creative with Overshown the same way we do with Parsons. This is a guy who can kick out and cover slot receivers on occasion, has more than enough speed to run with RBs, big enough to man up on TEs, and in theory he should profile as a great sideline to sideline run defender.
I'm very optimistic coming out of yesterdays game with Overshown because:
*He showed good instincts in the run game, I saw a couple plays early on where he looked slow to react and started to get sucked into the middle, but overall did a great job and played fast all around.
*Used textbook technique to shed blocks (I doubt hes ever great at this, but its nice to see growth here. If he even becomes average at taking on those 2nd level OL blocks it will be a huge thing)
Those are both things that you can look past the level of competition to be encouraged by.
The big things the Cowboys need to do to make sure he is successful:
*Invest in at least average DTs - I dont think its a coincidence that we are talking about Overshowns big game the same week we are also talking about how good Mazi looked.
*Hire a DC next year who wants to be creative. The Cowboy simply have too many unique talents on the front 7, along with two playmaking CBs to play conservative defense.
So IDK that's a longer response than I initially though it would be haha, but the real optimism in my eyes is for 2025. I think this teams ceiling is limited this year if Zimmer is going to play the same schemes he did a decade ago combined with some limitations on this roster as well but thats another thread altogether. For this season I think the big thing for Overshown is we simply need to keep seeing these flashes of brilliance from time to time, and hopefully it becomes more consistent. He seems very much like the linebacker version of rookie Diggs where hes going to get beat, but the upside is so obvious that you have to keep him on the field so he can get better and better.
That's on Zimmer....I hate his substitution packages....it's like he's never fielded a team before. Sadly...it took some injuries to get Kneeland in there too on 1st down....and he was playing the run pretty darn good.
