The bloom is undoubtedly off the Matt Eberflus rose after the Dallas Cowboys got ripped to shreds by the Giants in Week 2.
It is blatantly obvious that players aren't comfortable in Eberflus' zone scheme. There was a lot of miscommunication and finger-pointing as Malik Nabers and Wan'Dale Robinson ran roughshod over the secondary. While that doesn't excuse all of the poor coverage that was on display, Eberflus might need to dial back the zone looks for the time being.
It would also behoove Eberlfus if he played his best players. Shifting away from the secondary, it makes absolutely zero sense why Marist Liufau has hardly seen the field in the first two games.
Cowboys DC Matt Eberflus benching Marist Liufau is hurting the defense
Widely circled as a breakout candidate going into his second season, Liufau has taken a backseat to Kenneth Murray, Jack Sanborn and Damone Clark. The 2024 third-round pick out of Notre Dame played just six snaps in Week 1. Eberflus had the following to say about Liufau after the Eagles loss:
"Everything is a competition, and it's all about how you practice. Damone [Clark] did a really good job at camp, and so did Marist. Marist has practiced his tail off last week and this week and he's earned his right for those reps."
That seemed to hint Liufau was headed for an uptick in usage in Week 2. While that technically happened, he only played nine defensive snaps against the Giants.
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Kenneth Murray deserves credit for bouncing back after a rough debut. He was the Cowboys' most physical defender on Sunday, but he should not be playing every single snap. The holes in his game are well-documented at this point.
Additionally, Jack Sanborn, who played 56 snaps (84 percent), was a complete liability. In his film review, PFF's John Owning spotted Sanborn biting on a play-action design, giving Russell Wilson an easy completion in the middle of the field to move the chains. PFF credited Sanborn with two missed tackles and allowing four catches on as many targets for 44 yards.
Liufau plays with his hair on fire, so he's prone to the occasional undisciplined snap. However, he's comfortably the fastest and most physical linebacker on the roster not named DeMarvion Overshown. His heat-seeking missile style of play was missed in both games.
There’s plenty Eberflus needs to clean up after Sunday’s disaster. Letting Liufau loose won’t solve everything, but it would inject much-needed speed and playmaking into a defense that's been sorely lacking both. It'd be one thing if Dallas' other linebackers had been playing lights out, but that's been anything but the case.