Brian Schottenheimer is not stubborn. And that might be his best trait as a head coach. He’s willing to make changes and will do so quickly. We’ve seen that in the first month of the season as the defense has gone over several big lineup changes, including benching Trevon Diggs.
But there is one big move that needs to happen before the Dallas Cowboys take on the New York Jets in Week 5. And that is benching (or limiting the snaps) Sam Williams in favor of Jadeveon Clowney. Williams has seen his snap in each of the past three weeks, but the Cowboys might want to consider reducing his role even more.
Sam Williams has become a major problem for the Cowboys
Williams led the Cowboys in pressures with five (with four hurries) in Week 1, according to Pro Football Focus. But his play has really regressed since that performance. From Week 2 on, Williams has recorded just four pressures on 63 pass-rush snaps. Per PFF, his win rate is just 6.8% from Week 2. That is fourth-worst in the NFL among all EDGE rushers with at least 60 snaps.
But for as bad as the pass-rush numbers have been for Williams, his ability to stop the run has been worse. Williams ranks as the third-worst run defender during that stretch (minimum 35 snaps). He’s often the reason the teams can gash Dallas on the ground despite having much better interior defensive line play. The Cowboys have done their best to limit his exposure on early downs, but he’s too big of a liability right now to have on the field.
The obvious rub here is that Dallas needs Williams to develop, and they could really use his athleticism on the defensive line. He’s clearly the most athletic pass rusher on defense, and he does create the most havoc for opposing offenses. However, his lack of control (resulting in a personal foul in Week 4) and discipline have rendered him unplayable at the moment.
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The Cowboys have got to find ways to play better team defense, and limiting the number of snaps for Williams moving forward would be a step in the right direction. This doesn’t need to be a full-time thing for Dallas, but Williams needs to prove that he can be trusted as a run defender before he earns more pass-rushing snaps.
In the meantime, it makes sense to give Clowney his snaps as the former No. 1 overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft showed that he could still play on Sunday night. He’s not Micah Parsons, but he is a much more trustworthy player and can be actually asset as a run defender.
The Cowboys are on pace to be one of the worst defenses in NFL history, so they have to consider making major changes before it’s too late. And sitting Williams could be a step in the right direction as they try to become a respectable defense, if that's even possible.