Have the Dallas Cowboys discovered the next great safety duo?
The safety position allows cornerbacks to attempt interceptions. The Dallas Cowboys defense had nine interceptions on 633 passes. This duo should improve that.
There are always interesting story lines that take place during the Dallas Cowboys organized team activities (OTA’s). The prime two things to watch for: injuries (knock on wood) and possible roster battles. Last week, I mentioned the wasted potential of speedy wide receiver Lucky Whitehead.
Eyes have been closely watching his roster battle against fourth round selection Ryan Switzer. It’s early, really early, but if you’ve been scanning the Cowboys airwaves, you haven’t heard much about Whitehead. It’s Switzer was in the slot, Switzer made a catch on the sideline, Switzer played with the first team line-up. I hate feeling like a pro-wrestling referee, but I might know who’s winning this match-up.
With the return of defensive end Charles Tapper and the drafting of Taco Charlton, the defensive line is getting a lot of attention. People are also waiting for the pieces to fall into place in the secondary. After drafting three cornerbacks: Chidobe Awuzie, Jourdan Lewis and Marquez White, Cowboy Nation wants to see where every fits in.
Cornerbacks going one on one against receivers is exciting, but the king of the secondary is the safety position. Having a great safety allows a cornerback to take risks. What kind of risks? That means – attempt more interceptions. That’s why the Cowboys finished with 9 interceptions. I repeat – 9 – as in former Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo 9.
In 2009, Romo threw 550 passes for 26 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. In 2014, Romo threw 435 passes and finished with 34 touchdowns and 9 interceptions.
Last season, our opponents attempted 633 passes against our secondary and completed 425 of them for 25 touchdowns with 9 interceptions.
Imagine a pro basketball player attempting 633 free throws and making 9 of them – for those old enough to remember when Shaquille O’Neal played, we witnessed it. 633 years and the Chicago Cubs could win a World Series. Given 633 lottery scratch-offs and you’d probably win more than 9 times. It’s just a horrible statistic.
Yes, this is shade – but our former first round draft pick – safety Byron Jones from Connecticut – had one of those interceptions on a hail mary pass. Unfortunately, it counts on the stat sheet. This season, I’m looking for fourth round draft pick – Xavier Woods from Louisiana Tech – to replace Byron Jones this season.
Teams completed 67.1 percent of their passes against our secondary. That ranks us 31st just above the Detroit Lions. More interceptions come with a pass rush, but the Cowboys ranked 13th with 36 sacks.
Given a mixture of cornerback and safety, Byron Jones had 8 interceptions during four years of college. In four years, Xavier Woods had 14 interceptions. Woods led Louisiana Tech in solo tackles (60) and interceptions (5) in his senior season. This secondary has been missing a ball hawk and Jones has never been that guy.
Jones isn’t a hitter like strong safety Jeff Heath – who has 4 NFL interceptions – so he would be a liability at the line of scrimmage in run support. Jones tends to be a step or two behind plays in pass coverage. Feel free to mention in the comments that Jones shut down New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski in a 2015 game that we lost 30 – 6, I’ll wait.
Next: Dallas Cowboys: Five bold predictions for 2017
Woods is the guy that you should be excited about and I can’t wait to see him and Heath in the secondary together. Quarterbacks might think they’re facing Troy Polamalu and Ed Reed. Heath just has to let his hair grow out and we’ll be head and shoulders above the competition.
#GoCowboys