The Cowboys held their first joint practice of the preseason on Tuesday against the Rams, and by all accounts it didn’t go well for the good guys. Beat reporters in attendance described the Rams as being the more physical team and largely walking all over the Cowboys on both offense and defense.
On Wednesday, though, head coach Brian Schottenheimer took a moment to ease any concerns about his team getting punked in their first bit of action against another team.
In short, Schottenheimer is opting to keep things bland on both offense and defense for the bulk of the preseason, which makes it harder (at least according to Schottenheimer) to excel against other teams that aren’t holding as much back.
If that is, in fact, the explanation behind Monday’s one-sided practice, it should offer a genuine sigh of relief to fans everywhere. The Cowboys are banking on schematic changes giving them enough of a boost to rebound from last year’s disappointing campaign.
Offensively, Schottenheimer is the new play-caller, something he hasn’t done on a full-time basis since the 2020 season. League trends have changed dramatically since then. So have players: over 76% of the Cowboys’ current offensive roster wasn’t even in the league in 2020.
Offensive coordinator Klayton Adams also adds a new dimension to things on offense. While Schottenheimer is calling plays, Adams is expected to contribute significantly to the overall construction of the scheme, especially in the run game. His exposure to the Cardinals’ versatile offense the last two years offers hints at what those changes may look like, but how it all combines with what Schottenheimer brings to the table is anyone’s guess at this point.
Defensively, Matt Eberflus is more of a known commodity. His Tampa 2 scheme that he learned from his time under Rod Marinelli here in Dallas hasn’t evolved that much between his stints in Indianapolis and Chicago, the latter of which saw him call plays on defense the final two seasons.
Even though we have a fairly solid understanding of the philosophical foundations of Eberflus’ defensive scheme, we haven’t seen these players in it. How does he utilize players like Osa Odighizuwa, Marist Liufau, and especially DaRon Bland, who has been splitting time between playing outside and in the slot so far in camp.
We really haven’t seen Micah Parsons’ usage in this new scheme, either, as the star pass rusher continues to sit out of practices amid a contract standoff with the front office. At this point, it’s a genuine question if we’ll ever see Parsons in an Eberflus defense, but his absence fundamentally changes the way that side of the ball will look whether or not coaches are limiting themselves to just one proverbial golf club.
Either way, the Cowboys have the element of surprise right now. Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb are known quantities at this point, as are many of the biggest players on this roster, but how they’ll be specifically used in these new schemes is still a guessing game from the outside looking in.
For Schottenheimer and the rest of the coaching staff, that’s a huge advantage, especially when they kick their season off on the road against the reigning Super Bowl champions. There’s no reason to give state secrets away until then, and Schottenheimer is smart to keep his clubs in the bag until it’s tee time.
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