Sep 5, 2012; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; Dallas Cowboys defensive back Barry Church (42) breaks up pass intended for New York Giants wide receiver Hakeem Nicks (88) during the first half at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim O

Here’s what Johnson said about his current defensive backfield situation, specifically about last year’s fourth round pick who has not yet even seen the field:

“I think we’re in good shape at safety….(And) I don’t know when I’ve ever seen a player impress our staff without having played in a ballgame any more than Matt Johnson.”

When asked about who would start at the safety positions this season, Jones deflected. In an interview with 105.3 The Fan’s Elf and Slater in March, Cowboy announcer Brad Sham had this to say about Johnson:

“I’m still waiting for Matt Johnson. Matt Johnson is the greatest safety to ever play. The reason I know that is I’ve been doing this 35 years, and he’s the only guy I’ve ever seen make the team practicing once so he must be the greatest safety to ever play. They’ve got to have a safety.”

It appears that the biggest questions surround Johnson. But also remember this is a new 4-3 Monte Kiffin defense. Even though Church looked good at the beginning of last year, his spot is not guaranteed. The player with the most upside might just be career back-up Will Allen. Not only has he played under Kiffin before in Tampa Bay, but Allen also played well as a fill-in last year for the Pittsburgh Steelers’. Let’s not forget this Wilcox kid either. With just a year under his belt at the safety position, he is the rawest. But that should also make it easier for Kiffin to mold. What do you think?

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In review of my column on Friday regarding the Cowboys’ four quarters to success, the four key points were as follows:

Dec 16, 2012; Arlington, TX, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown (84) is pushed out of bounds by Dallas Cowboys cornerback Brandon Carr (39) during the game at Cowboys Stadium. The Cowboys won 27-24 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

1. Ability to run the ball successfully / ability to keep the Steelers running game in check…
- Overall, the Cowboys defense faired pretty well against the Steelers on the ground. They only gave up one big run early in the fourth quarter and otherwise limited Pittsburgh to only sixty-nine yards on the ground. They were also never really victimized by any play action pass fakes so all-in-all, you would say Dallas did their job in that regard. Offensively, DeMarco Murray ran hard but didn’t really have the numbers that would show dominance. Felix Jones was almost worthless and there wasn’t really any productivity to mention from Lawrence Vickers so this would be considered a push in my opinion.

2. Keeping Mike Wallace under control…
- For almost three quarters this would have been considered a huge win… until Danny McCray (see more about this below) completely let him get free for a 60-yard catch that setup a walk in one yard touchdown run. One the very next drive he had another 20+ yard catch which setup yet another touchdown. We’ll graciously consider this a push since he did not eclipse 100 yards and did not have a score on his own.

3. Breaking through the Steelers’ number one ranked defense…
- Dallas scored more points (27) than the Steelers allow per game (20.3). They also obliterated the Pittsburgh secondary for over 300 yards passing. Regardless of what the outcome of the game might have been, the offense did what they had to do. With no turnovers and timely answers to every Steelers’ score, I call this a win for Dallas.

4. Avoiding the emotional letdown…
- I felt that Dallas showed a lot of life in this game, especially early on, which was a concern given all that transpired over the week. Any time that the game took a negative swing, they fought through adversity and continued to push through. When the Steelers had opportunities to win, Dallas shut the door on those plans. This was a clear win for the Cowboys.

Individually, I also wanted to discuss three players who I felt played the best this week and three players who were most disappointing. It’s time for a little three up, three down.

THREE UP

1. Brandon Carr
- Carr set the tone early, almost causing a turnover on the first series of the game. When he was on Mike Wallace, Wallace was quiet. When he was on Antonio Brown, he was also a non-factor. All that would have been enough to get him on the list but clearly, he also had the play of the game. His interception of Ben Roethlisberger in OT and subsequent return to the Pittsburgh one yard line set up the game winning score. Brandon Carr showed the NFL world why Dallas gave him the big free agent contract, securing the win and helping Dallas get to the top of the division.

2. Alex Albright
- An already super thin linebacking corps took another hit early as Ernie Sims was knocked out of the game after a first quarter special teams tackle caused a possible concussion. Enter Alex Albright who made plays all over the field in both the run and passing game. The possible bright side of these injuries could be the forced playing time of Albright to see if he is ready to be the backup to both guys in 2013.

3. Miles Austin / Dwayne Harris
- Doing what you would expect your number one (or number two depending on your opinion) wide receiver to do when others are not 100%, Austin had a very solid effort catching 7 passes for 79 yards. Not only were the stats there, but also he really helped set a positive rhythm early in the game which the Cowboys have sorely lacked all year. As for Harris, he also stepped up and came to play. The stats are not going to jump out at you but three of his four catches went for first downs. Although it did not turn into points, he also had a huge punt return near the end of regulation to flip field position and get the crowd fired up.

THREE DOWN

3. Mike Jenkins
- As much as Albright, Austin and Harris stepped up with other players hurting or missing, Jenkins failed to do so with Morris Claiborne missing the game due to a concussion. Jenkins was the one who released Wallace onto safety help and then covered pretty much no one in particular. He also gave up the go ahead touchdown to Antonio Brown playing way off him in a goal to go situation. Lastly he had several lackadasical tackling efforts, so he really did not fulfill the “next man up” philosophy that Dallas tries to employ.

2. DeMarcus Ware
- The leader of the defensive unit was almost completely non-existent, save one big sack, late in the game when the Steelers were driving for the go-ahead score. Unfortunately, minimal pressures on Roethlisberger and only a handful of tackles were very underwhelming. The roughing the passer penalty was completely inexcusable. I know he came into the game banged up with shoulder and elbow issues but there are no excuses, especially this late in the year with so much on the line.

1. Danny McCray
- Multiple missed tackles, multiple catches from Heath Miller, getting smoked by a fullback out of the backfield and of course the biggest play of the day for Mike Wallace all led to the biggest failure in our secondary. McCray had the worst day of any Cowboy, offensively or defensively and almost cost Dallas a huge win.

July 30, 2012; Oxnard, CA, USA; Dallas Cowboys players go through some stretching during opening day of training camp. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

One incident that caught my attention was the battle for the safety position, which arose due to the absence of Brodney Pool. Pool was unable to participate in practice because he failed a conditioning test. Consequently, he was forced to work with conditioning coaches and watch from the sidelines as his competition gained momentum. As of this moment, Barry Church has the leg up in the safety competition.

Furthermore, the combination of Danny McCray and Matt Johnson working only with the second team, and the void Pool created, Church has the opportunity to create separation for himself. It’s not something to get overly worked up about since it was only first day of training camp. And it is possible Brodney Pool can be on the field as early as today. Remember, besides the safety position, there are not too many open starting positions up for grabs. This should be a position of interest this offseason hence it is something to keep an eye out for.

Something else to keep an eye on is Mike Jenkins. Now that he has broken his silence and denied reports of trade demands, it will be interesting to see how Rob Ryan will utilize him. Try visualizing Morris Claiborne, Brandon Carr, and Mike Jenkins working together on the field. With that much talent at cornerback, it will be difficult for opposing offenses to handle.

The Cowboy’s defense now has stability and youth at the cornerback position and appears much improved on paper. But we wont know if they have really improved until we see them play against opposing offenses. As for the safety position, I would continue to keep my eye on Barry Church. He has the potential to emerge as the front-runner in the safety position battle.