Mike Zimmer's shine wore off and then some in the Dallas Cowboys' 25-point loss to the New Orleans Saints on Sunday. Zimmer's defense allowed touchdowns on six consecutive drives to start the game, which gave Dak Prescott and the offense no chance to keep the game competitive.
The Saints used a ton of pre-snap motion - on 74% of their plays to be exact -- and the Cowboys didn't have any answers. A staple of the Shanahan coaching tree, motion and play action have given Dallas fits for years. After two games, New Orleans ranks first in the NFL in play-action rate.
Dan Quinn couldn't figure out how to combat it in his three years as defensive coordinator. Sunday proved Zimmer has to go back to the drawing board.
It is fair to question how much blame Zimmer deserves. Micah Parsons passionately defended Zimmer and took accountability for the loss, saying that the players have to execute better. That is true, but Zimmer has a lot to clean up as well.
A good start would be playing DeMarvion Overshown more than he did yesterday. After playing 44 snaps against Cleveland, Overshown logged just 18 snaps against the Saints.
DeMarvion Overshown's snap count in Week 2 is indefensible from Cowboys DC Mike Zimmer
Less than 20 snaps from arguably the Cowboys' best player from the season-opener is beyond egregious from Zimmer.
With the Saints playing more 12/21 personnel, Dallas was forced to play more base defense. For whatever reason, Overshown is not part of the first-team base defense.
Eric Kendricks unsurprisingly led the way with 56 snaps. However, Damone Clark, who struggled in the game, played the second-most snaps of the linebackers with 41. Rookie Marist Liufau was third with 39 snaps. Liufau was arguably the lone bright spot on the Cowboys' defense.
There is no reason Clark should be playing over Overshown. The team's leading tackler in Week 1, Overshown made a great open field tackle on 2nd-and-4 to force third down immediately after checking into the game. The tackle was one of the few plays from the first half that got the home crowd rowdy.
Make no mistake: the Cowboys were not winning the game if Overshown played a full complement of snaps. However, it was tough to watch the defense get gashed against the run and on crossing patterns while Overshown was holding his helmet on the sideline.
The Saints' motion and play action caused headaches all afternoon, but Overshown's speed and athleticism could have made a difference, if only a small one. The fact he was demoted to a fourth-string role after he dominated in Week 1 is unforgiveable from Zimmer.
