Cowboys See No Lull On Defense
Unit returns nearly intact with year of seasoning
San Antonio Express-News

San Antonio, TX. Monday, August 2, 2010. Keith Brooking has a problem with the fans at the Alamodome. Make no mistake. The fiery Dallas Cowboys linebacker deeply appreciates all of the team’s supporters at training camp.

It’s just that he’d like to hear them give the defense some love occasionally.

“Fans want to see scoring,” Brooking said. “When we are out here in practice, we can intercept five balls, and they will boo us. If the offense catches a 20-yard pass, this place erupts.”

But if things play out this season the way the Cowboys expect, the defense should receive plenty of accolades. With 10 of 11 defensive starters back from a team that finished 11-5 and won the franchise’s first playoff game since 1996, expectations are soaring for a unit that includes four Pro Bowl picks in nose tackle Jay Ratliff, linebacker DeMarcus Ware and cornerbacks Terence Newman and Mike Jenkins.

“We have been really impressed with them,” owner Jerry Jones said of the defense. “With Wade Phillips at the helm, with the experience he has, and the skill we’ve put together in the pressure players and the coverage guys, pressure in the middle with Ratliff and some of the depth we have there, this thing could make a name for itself.”

Last season, Dallas finished second only to the New York Jets in points allowed per game, yielding just 15.6. Personnel- and scheme-wise, not much has changed since then, a fact that has linebacker Bradie James beaming.

“Everybody’s intact,” James said. “The front seven has been intact for I don’t know how long. The secondary is pretty much intact; we lost (free safety) Ken Hamlin, but Alan Ball is stepping up. It’s been good, and the continuity is there.”

There’s also the feeling the unit will ride the crest of a momentum wave from its fantastic finish last season. After posting back-to-back shutouts for the first time in franchise history, the defense did its part in the playoffs, smothering Philadelphia’s quick-strike offense in a 34-14 win.

“We were playing defense better than anyone in the league at the end of the season,” Brooking said.

And there’s the strong belief they can only get better with Ware healthy after battling injuries last season and with the expected continued development of 2009 breakout performers Jenkins and outside linebacker Anthony Spencer.

“We have a lot of starters coming back, and we have a lot of starters that played well last season and are coming into their prime,” Phillips said.

That’s especially true of Ware, one of the league’s top pass rushers.

“He’s so tenacious, so relentless,” Phillips said.

One of the amazing things about the defense is it excelled last season without producing many turnovers. Only four teams had fewer than the Cowboys’ 21 takeaways (11 interceptions, 10 fumble recoveries).

“A lot of people talk about turnovers, and they are important,” Phillips said. “But the biggest single stat in winning and losing is points scored and points against.”

Still, Phillips wants more.

“We’re emphasizing them more and more,” said Phillips, who believes the interceptions could rise with strong safety Gerald Sensabaugh no longer hampered by a broken hand.

“Takeaways are something we think and talk about daily,” said Jenkins, who had a team-high five interceptions last season. “It’s embedded in our heads.”

But even if the turnovers come, the unit likely will continue to play in the shadow of an offense that includes such big names as Tony Romo, Miles Austin and Dez Bryant.

“We get our gratification from what we do on the field, and that’s pretty much it,” end Marcus Spears said. “We don’t try to make a spectacle about it. The offense is the glamorous part of the NFL. Every defense knows that. They’ll be talked about more than we will, but we will continue to play. It’s all one team. There’s no jealousy.”

 

[BACK TO ARTICLES PAGE]