It's only three games, but the Dallas Cowboys' defense looks a lot worse than it did under Mike Zimmer than it ever did under Dan Quinn. The last two games have been a carbon copy of Dallas' playoff loss to the Packers and Cowboys fans don't know whether Zimmer has lost his fastball or if the team has the requisite personnel to fulfill his scheme.
Maybe it's a little bit of both, but the Cowboys' players deserve most of the blame. It is simply impossible to stop the run without adequate defensive tackle play. Everything starts in the trenches and Mazi Smith got moved just as easily on Sunday as Jordan Phillips did last week.
That does't excuse the poor tackling from the second and third levels. The secondary in particular was atrocious at tackling.
Former Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant is of the belief that Zimmer's scheme doesn't align with the defensive personnel. That's a fair take from Bryant. ESPN analyst Rex Ryan has a much different viewpoint. Ryan was asked about the defense on Get Up Monday morning and did not hold back.
Rex Ryan blasts Cowboys defense after failing to land defensive coordinator job
Mind you, this came after Ryan called the Cowboys' defense "hot garbage" before kickoff on Sunday NFL Countdown. Is the former Jets head coach wrong? Not necessarily, but it was very unprofessional for a buttoned-up and staple NFL pregame show.
Ryan interviewed for Dallas' defensive coordinator job in the offseason. He was a surprise candidate and largely viewed as a downgrade to Zimmer. It appears that Ryan took the snub personally. The ESPN analyst appeared on New York radio after his hit on Get Up and made a bold statement.
"I would have fixed it in a New York minute, but they couldn't pony up the money," Ryan said on Dipietro and Rothenberg. .."You brought in a guy [Zimmer] that was 29th in the league his last two years [in Minnesota]. You saw it when he left. He blamed the players. That's the guy that's gonna inspire you? This could go really bad for Dallas ..."
Ryan's confidence is not surprising whatsoever. Of course he would say that he could fix the Cowboys' defense.
At the end of the day, Ryan and Zimmer have enjoyed similar success in the league as defensive coordinators. It's no surprise that Jerry Jones went with the familiar face in Zimmer over Ryan. Zimmer previously coordinated Dallas' defense for seven seasons in the early 2000s. Zimmer was also a head coach as recently as 2021. Ryan hadn't coached in the league since 2016.
The numbers don't look good for Zimmer, but don't be tricked into thinking that Ryan would be doing any different. Ultimately, this is on the front office for waiting until Sept. 1 to start signing and trading for players. They hamstrung Zimmer and the results speak for themselves.
