CCBoy
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The key to the Cowboys defense taking the next step isn’t a rookie or newcomer
https://www.bloggingtheboys.com/201...step-isnt-a-rookie-or-newcomer-maliek-collins
Every offseason hope springs eternal as fans and media alike fawn over incoming free agents and recent draft picks as the primary source of improvement as their team heads into a new season. It’s natural to be fascinated with the shiny new toy whose YouTube highlights you’ve spent hours poring over leading up to the draft and then again during the dog days of June and July.
Of course for the Dallas Cowboys the need to improve has been laser focused on the defense lately, and as we head towards training camp there is no shortage of talented, intriguing new faces on that side of the ball. When the preseason starts in just under a month all eyes will be focused on Smith and the rookies in search of signs that foreshadow the desired improvement defensively.
But the problem with all of this is that often times rookies are usually an investment in the future while only providing a marginal boost in their first year. The rare and historic success of the Cowboys 2016 rookie class is the exception, not the norm, and usually it takes rookies at least a month or two, if not a full season before they really start making an impact on the field. Often times improvement from one season to the next primarily comes from the development of second- and third-year players who have had the luxury of playing in the same system with the same coaches for a year or two. So all of this brings me to the player who I believe will be the most critical as far as taking the Cowboys defense to the next level, and that’s defensive tackle Maliek Collins. The second-year man out of Nebraska has flown somewhat under the radar this offseason while most of the headlines have gone to the rookies in the secondary, the first-round pick at defensive end, and of course Jaylon Smith...
https://www.bloggingtheboys.com/201...step-isnt-a-rookie-or-newcomer-maliek-collins
Every offseason hope springs eternal as fans and media alike fawn over incoming free agents and recent draft picks as the primary source of improvement as their team heads into a new season. It’s natural to be fascinated with the shiny new toy whose YouTube highlights you’ve spent hours poring over leading up to the draft and then again during the dog days of June and July.
Of course for the Dallas Cowboys the need to improve has been laser focused on the defense lately, and as we head towards training camp there is no shortage of talented, intriguing new faces on that side of the ball. When the preseason starts in just under a month all eyes will be focused on Smith and the rookies in search of signs that foreshadow the desired improvement defensively.
But the problem with all of this is that often times rookies are usually an investment in the future while only providing a marginal boost in their first year. The rare and historic success of the Cowboys 2016 rookie class is the exception, not the norm, and usually it takes rookies at least a month or two, if not a full season before they really start making an impact on the field. Often times improvement from one season to the next primarily comes from the development of second- and third-year players who have had the luxury of playing in the same system with the same coaches for a year or two. So all of this brings me to the player who I believe will be the most critical as far as taking the Cowboys defense to the next level, and that’s defensive tackle Maliek Collins. The second-year man out of Nebraska has flown somewhat under the radar this offseason while most of the headlines have gone to the rookies in the secondary, the first-round pick at defensive end, and of course Jaylon Smith...
