This Cowboy Dominant Defensive Backfield Came Out of Nowhere

[FiveSuperBowls]

The term "Doomsday Defense" suggests a dominant front seven with a brick wall D-line and malevolent LB's that come crashing in at all directions. Sometimes the Cowboy defenses of the 60's and 70's played to that style. However, in reality, the most dominant unit on those defenses were the defensive backfield.

In both Super Bowls 5 and 6 the starting safeties were perennial Pro Bowlers Cornel Green and Cliff Harris.

The starting CB's were both Hall of Famers.

Mel Renfro was the dictionary definition of "shutdown corner". Opponents pretty much stopped throwing the ball to his side after his rookie season, the first of ten consecutive Pro Bowl seasons.

The other side was manned by Herb Adderly, a legend during the Green Bay Packer glory years under Vince Lombardi. He had been traded to the Cowboys along with a few other players because Tex Schram wanted their championship experience. The Cowboy defense was typically a top five team in INT's.

As these players began to retire, they were replaced by those that had been waiting in line, some for many years. However, although the team remained very successful, there was a marked drop off in the number of INT's by the DB's.

By 1979 the Cowboys ranked last in INT's with 13. In 1980 they rose to a top 5 again. However, only 7 of the total 27 INT's were made by cornerbacks. The safeties, Charlie Waters and Dennis Thurman, a 1978 11th round draft pick, had 10. the linebackers and D-linemen also had 10.

In 1981 Thurman was changed to a starting CB, both previous starting CB's, one a 2nd round pick, was sent packing. Charlie Waters was still at one safety spot. The remaining CB and safety slots were replaced by rookies. They weren't ordinary rookies in that neither had been drafted.....in a 12 round draft. Shockingly, the Cowboys had not drafted a single DB, a definite need. So football pundits and fans were both extremely skeptical when the starting lineup was announced.

They still had reliable but older Charlie Waters. There was the former safety Dennis Thurman newly converted to CB. Then there was the two undrafted rookies, Everson Walls and Michael Downs.

Not only was this defense ranked #1 in INT's for this season, it is the top ranked season in Cowboy history for this category. It is 3rd ranked in Super Bowl era NFL history.

The starting CB's, an undrafted rookie and 11th rounder, had a combined 20 INT's. The starting safeties added another 10. the defense totaled 37 INT's for the season. The average number of INT's per team throughout the 80's was 21.

No one saw this coming. In retrospect, however, there were contributing factors.

First, this defense featured probably the most dominant D-line in Cowboy history. there was #2 overall draft pick Randy White, #1 overall pick Ed "Too Tall" Jones, #5 overall pick John Dutton, and the best pass rusher in his day, Harvey "Too Mean" Martin.

Secondly, the Cowboys defensive backfield coach was a legend. Gene Stallings was one of the "Junction Boys", players known for their grueling training camp at Texas A&M under Paul "Bear" Bryant which resulted in an undefeated season and SW conference championship. Stallings eventually became their head coach himself before being hired by Tom Landry. He later returned to college coaching, leading Alabama to an undefeated season and national championship in 1992.

According to Walls, Stallings was an obsessive perfectionist. "'They believe in techniques to perfection. Things I thought were trivial in college are carried out to their fullest here. It was like culture shock.''

Still, the results were something no one could have imagined.

The reason for this short history lesson on the Cowboys DB's is because I see some similar elements in this season's defensive backfield. When I look at this year's crop of rookies, I see playmakers. I see guys with the athleticism and speed to be aggressive with opponents. We might question these player's fundamentals but I don't think we will question their physical abilities to go after people.

This is an attribute long missing from our defense. The Cowboys need a streak of nastiness, this defense needs a more edgy style, something we haven't seen since Jimmy Johnson. I predict this defense is going to have some swagger. I also believe this defense will excel in an area that Super Bowl teams typically possess. It has been the Cowboys Achilles Heal for the past 25 years.

With guys like Parsons, Jalen, Lawrence, Gregory, Diggs, Cox, Neal, Joseph, we will see a major improvement in takeaways. The Cowboys drafted defensive players that can catch.

From 2010 to 2020 the Cowboys are ranked 31st in INT's. The average number of INT's for NFL teams in a 16 game season was 14, expanded to almost 15 for a 17 game season. In five of the last ten seasons, including three of the last four, the Cowboys INT total has been single digit. In 2017 they had 10. I believe this is an area that Quinn will seek to improve.

Good read.

 

[rickster14]

Good read, but one error. The Cowboys did draft a DB in 1981, Ron Fellows. He wasn’t great, but he did start a few seasons for the Boys.

 

[Floatyworm]

The term "Doomsday Defense" suggests a dominant front seven with a brick wall D-line and malevolent LB's that come crashing in at all directions. Sometimes the Cowboy defenses of the 60's and 70's played to that style. However, in reality, the most dominant unit on those defenses were the defensive backfield.

In both Super Bowls 5 and 6 the starting safeties were perennial Pro Bowlers Cornel Green and Cliff Harris.

The starting CB's were both Hall of Famers.

Mel Renfro was the dictionary definition of "shutdown corner". Opponents pretty much stopped throwing the ball to his side after his rookie season, the first of ten consecutive Pro Bowl seasons.

The other side was manned by Herb Adderly, a legend during the Green Bay Packer glory years under Vince Lombardi. He had been traded to the Cowboys along with a few other players because Tex Schram wanted their championship experience. The Cowboy defense was typically a top five team in INT's.

As these players began to retire, they were replaced by those that had been waiting in line, some for many years. However, although the team remained very successful, there was a marked drop off in the number of INT's by the DB's.

By 1979 the Cowboys ranked last in INT's with 13. In 1980 they rose to a top 5 again. However, only 7 of the total 27 INT's were made by cornerbacks. The safeties, Charlie Waters and Dennis Thurman, a 1978 11th round draft pick, had 10. the linebackers and D-linemen also had 10.

In 1981 Thurman was changed to a starting CB, both previous starting CB's, one a 2nd round pick, was sent packing. Charlie Waters was still at one safety spot. The remaining CB and safety slots were replaced by rookies. They weren't ordinary rookies in that neither had been drafted.....in a 12 round draft. Shockingly, the Cowboys had not drafted a single DB, a definite need. So football pundits and fans were both extremely skeptical when the starting lineup was announced.

They still had reliable but older Charlie Waters. There was the former safety Dennis Thurman newly converted to CB. Then there was the two undrafted rookies, Everson Walls and Michael Downs.

Not only was this defense ranked #1 in INT's for this season, it is the top ranked season in Cowboy history for this category. It is 3rd ranked in Super Bowl era NFL history.

The starting CB's, an undrafted rookie and 11th rounder, had a combined 20 INT's. The starting safeties added another 10. the defense totaled 37 INT's for the season. The average number of INT's per team throughout the 80's was 21.

No one saw this coming. In retrospect, however, there were contributing factors.

First, this defense featured probably the most dominant D-line in Cowboy history. there was #2 overall draft pick Randy White, #1 overall pick Ed "Too Tall" Jones, #5 overall pick John Dutton, and the best pass rusher in his day, Harvey "Too Mean" Martin.

Secondly, the Cowboys defensive backfield coach was a legend. Gene Stallings was one of the "Junction Boys", players known for their grueling training camp at Texas A&M under Paul "Bear" Bryant which resulted in an undefeated season and SW conference championship. Stallings eventually became their head coach himself before being hired by Tom Landry. He later returned to college coaching, leading Alabama to an undefeated season and national championship in 1992.

According to Walls, Stallings was an obsessive perfectionist. "'They believe in techniques to perfection. Things I thought were trivial in college are carried out to their fullest here. It was like culture shock.''

Still, the results were something no one could have imagined.

The reason for this short history lesson on the Cowboys DB's is because I see some similar elements in this season's defensive backfield. When I look at this year's crop of rookies, I see playmakers. I see guys with the athleticism and speed to be aggressive with opponents. We might question these player's fundamentals but I don't think we will question their physical abilities to go after people.

This is an attribute long missing from our defense. The Cowboys need a streak of nastiness, this defense needs a more edgy style, something we haven't seen since Jimmy Johnson. I predict this defense is going to have some swagger. I also believe this defense will excel in an area that Super Bowl teams typically possess. It has been the Cowboys Achilles Heal for the past 25 years.

With guys like Parsons, Jalen, Lawrence, Gregory, Diggs, Cox, Neal, Joseph, we will see a major improvement in takeaways. The Cowboys drafted defensive players that can catch.

From 2010 to 2020 the Cowboys are ranked 31st in INT's. The average number of INT's for NFL teams in a 16 game season was 14, expanded to almost 15 for a 17 game season. In five of the last ten seasons, including three of the last four, the Cowboys INT total has been single digit. In 2017 they had 10. I believe this is an area that Quinn will seek to improve.

37 INTS in one season.....

To put this in perspective how soft we have been in the secondary....

2020....10 total INTs

2019...7

2018.....9

2017....10

2016......9

2015.....8

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/dal/2015.htm

This really isn't about talent......It's about Jerry Jones....hiring coaches...that play soft zones...all the time.

Playing not to lose...is the Jones brand of football....Always has been...always will be.

 

[plasticman]

Times have changed. It used to be that when you were a fan of a team you were also a fan of the players on that team. You wanted the players to be successful because that would also contribute to the team being successful.

No player is perfect all the time. You could take any player in the league and find a late play to video in which his team was losing, he was physically exhausted and frustrated.

Perhaps a player wasn't the best in the league but he was your guy, you wanted him to try his best. Don't get me wrong, there were players I wish they would replace but I never referred to them as "garbage" and worse.

I certainly can't imagine using that description on a guy that was the 2nd leading tackler in the league last season and the 3rd leading tackler in the league over the past three seasons combined.

I've seen the same labels for players that were huge contributors for many seasons but began to decline due to age and injuries. A lot of fans have some real short term memory. I also don't understand why some are so convinced that a player is never going to improve, learn, gain experience, and contribute to the team. Some don't consider the circumstances that might contribute to a drop in production. it is a team sport after all and each player contributes in some way to the success or failure of his teammates.

There were many times were Jaylon faced a blocking envoy that never should have existed due to the lack of support from the middle of the defensive line. It was a tough season for him last year, half of the starters were not in the game.

 

[plasticman]

Good read, but one error. The Cowboys did draft a DB in 1981, Ron Fellows. He wasn’t great, but he did start a few seasons for the Boys.

Yep, they drafted 3 consecutive DB's although Fellows was the only one to make he team. I was looking at the 1980 draft.

Thanks for the correction.

 

[CowboysFaninHouston]

The term "Doomsday Defense" suggests a dominant front seven with a brick wall D-line and malevolent LB's that come crashing in at all directions. Sometimes the Cowboy defenses of the 60's and 70's played to that style. However, in reality, the most dominant unit on those defenses were the defensive backfield.

In both Super Bowls 5 and 6 the starting safeties were perennial Pro Bowlers Cornel Green and Cliff Harris.

The starting CB's were both Hall of Famers.

Mel Renfro was the dictionary definition of "shutdown corner". Opponents pretty much stopped throwing the ball to his side after his rookie season, the first of ten consecutive Pro Bowl seasons.

The other side was manned by Herb Adderly, a legend during the Green Bay Packer glory years under Vince Lombardi. He had been traded to the Cowboys along with a few other players because Tex Schram wanted their championship experience. The Cowboy defense was typically a top five team in INT's.

As these players began to retire, they were replaced by those that had been waiting in line, some for many years. However, although the team remained very successful, there was a marked drop off in the number of INT's by the DB's.

By 1979 the Cowboys ranked last in INT's with 13. In 1980 they rose to a top 5 again. However, only 7 of the total 27 INT's were made by cornerbacks. The safeties, Charlie Waters and Dennis Thurman, a 1978 11th round draft pick, had 10. the linebackers and D-linemen also had 10.

In 1981 Thurman was changed to a starting CB, both previous starting CB's, one a 2nd round pick, was sent packing. Charlie Waters was still at one safety spot. The remaining CB and safety slots were replaced by rookies. They weren't ordinary rookies in that neither had been drafted.....in a 12 round draft. Shockingly, the Cowboys had not drafted a single DB, a definite need. So football pundits and fans were both extremely skeptical when the starting lineup was announced.

They still had reliable but older Charlie Waters. There was the former safety Dennis Thurman newly converted to CB. Then there was the two undrafted rookies, Everson Walls and Michael Downs.

Not only was this defense ranked #1 in INT's for this season, it is the top ranked season in Cowboy history for this category. It is 3rd ranked in Super Bowl era NFL history.

The starting CB's, an undrafted rookie and 11th rounder, had a combined 20 INT's. The starting safeties added another 10. the defense totaled 37 INT's for the season. The average number of INT's per team throughout the 80's was 21.

No one saw this coming. In retrospect, however, there were contributing factors.

First, this defense featured probably the most dominant D-line in Cowboy history. there was #2 overall draft pick Randy White, #1 overall pick Ed "Too Tall" Jones, #5 overall pick John Dutton, and the best pass rusher in his day, Harvey "Too Mean" Martin.

Secondly, the Cowboys defensive backfield coach was a legend. Gene Stallings was one of the "Junction Boys", players known for their grueling training camp at Texas A&M under Paul "Bear" Bryant which resulted in an undefeated season and SW conference championship. Stallings eventually became their head coach himself before being hired by Tom Landry. He later returned to college coaching, leading Alabama to an undefeated season and national championship in 1992.

According to Walls, Stallings was an obsessive perfectionist. "'They believe in techniques to perfection. Things I thought were trivial in college are carried out to their fullest here. It was like culture shock.''

Still, the results were something no one could have imagined.

The reason for this short history lesson on the Cowboys DB's is because I see some similar elements in this season's defensive backfield. When I look at this year's crop of rookies, I see playmakers. I see guys with the athleticism and speed to be aggressive with opponents. We might question these player's fundamentals but I don't think we will question their physical abilities to go after people.

This is an attribute long missing from our defense. The Cowboys need a streak of nastiness, this defense needs a more edgy style, something we haven't seen since Jimmy Johnson. I predict this defense is going to have some swagger. I also believe this defense will excel in an area that Super Bowl teams typically possess. It has been the Cowboys Achilles Heal for the past 25 years.

With guys like Parsons, Jalen, Lawrence, Gregory, Diggs, Cox, Neal, Joseph, we will see a major improvement in takeaways. The Cowboys drafted defensive players that can catch.

From 2010 to 2020 the Cowboys are ranked 31st in INT's. The average number of INT's for NFL teams in a 16 game season was 14, expanded to almost 15 for a 17 game season. In five of the last ten seasons, including three of the last four, the Cowboys INT total has been single digit. In 2017 they had 10. I believe this is an area that Quinn will seek to improve.

you lost me at "The"