The Dallas Cowboys are playing the best defensive football we’ve seen from them in quite some time. Last year, their defense was very good at creating reversals, but this season they have given up almost nothing in the face of fouls. Comparisons to the Cowboys’ past defenses are starting to emerge, and one has even regained the old nickname once bestowed with the letter D in the Big D.
Big D is for defense
After Dallas’ 25-10 butt kick against Washington’s equal, Micah Parsons told reporter, “The apocalypse is back.” During the Cowboys’ heyday in the 1970s, defense was known as Doomsday for all its devastation to counter-offenses. The Cowboys advanced to 5 Super Bowls in the ’70s, winning 2. They have shortlisted the NFC champions seven times in the decade. Mostly on the back of the defense.
Of course, you have Roger Staubach, Drew Pearson, “Bullet” Bob Hayes, and others on the offensive side. But the Cowboys defense of the ’70s was rough, rugged and unafraid to get dirty. Typical defense legendary Cowboys, Bob Lilly, Ed “Too Tall” Jones, Mel Renfro, Randy White, Everson Walls and Cliff Harris, to name a few. Those defenses dominated for a decade.
No Dallas defense has achieved that level of dominance since those Jimmy Johnson Cowboys teams in the early ’90s. They are great but on a smaller scale because they only last a few years. And that was right around the time free agency started, so keeping groups together for more than 10 years became almost impossible. Bill Belichick was hailed as an expert coach because the Patriots’ defense was consistently superb for nearly the entire Belichick/Tom Brady era.
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Dallas now has what seems like a dominant defense, led by the best defender in the game. Most old-school Cowboys fans and players might say it’s too early to give this team such a moniker, but we’ll find out how guaranteed that payout is as the season progresses. . What they have done over four games is quite surprising, allowing less than 16 points per game. That’s important in any NFL era, but in today’s game, it’s phenomenal.
Nearly every team throws the ball 25 or more times in a game, and that’s a low result. A few weeks ago, Joe Flacco, 37, tried to make 63 passes for the Jets. That’s a bit of an exaggeration, but teams regularly let their midfielders drop 35-40 times and essentially spoil the game in progress. So, for any defense to stand strong and barely miss two touches per game is something to keep in mind. After four games, the Cowboys are third in the NFL in points allowed.
Micah Parsons voiced his admiration
Parsons quickly became an outspoken person leader of this defense and have been compared to Hall of Fame players like Lawrence Taylor and futures like Von Miller. In addition to dubbing this guard as “Doomsday”, Parsons also admired his defensive coordinator, Dan Quinn.
The All-Pro paver declared, “I’ll go where you go,” in reference to Quinn.
That’s probably just part of Parson being caught up in this great opening moment, but it’s certainly not what Jerry Jones wants to hear. Jones intended Parsons to last for at least a decade. If this defense continues to play their way and win for this team, Quinn will be one of the hottest names in the next coaching term besides Sean Payton. Although Quinn’s first hit as head coach was a failure, that doesn’t mean he can’t return. Everyone knows the failure at Belichick is the Cleveland Browns. Fast-forward 25 years, and he’s considered by many to be the greatest NFL coach of all time. Pete Carroll fell on his face twice as head coach of the Jets and Patriots before leaving and returning for a great run with the Seahawks.
Another big opportunity for Dan Quinn
So Quinn’s success as head coach remains a possibility. There’s always the possibility that Quinn could replace Mike McCarthy as no one seems to know what he does anymore. If that happens, of course, Parsons won’t need to go anywhere. Even if Quinn leaves in the next year or two, it’s unlikely that Jones will let a player of his generation like Parsons go. It’s a situation where you reverse the truck if number 11 even dreams of leaving Dallas.
We’ll soon find out just how special this Cowboys defense is, with stiffer competition going on. While the Rams don’t look great compared to Monday 49ers night, Dallas will head to Los Angeles to face them in Week 5. This new “Doomsday” defense will get all the Cooper Kupp it can. handle.
Then Week 6 was a major division game against the Eagles in Philadelphia. The Eagles have the fourth highest scoring performance in the league, averaging 28.8 ppg. They will air in prime time on that Sunday night. That match will be a huge measure for both teams.
Ultimately, if this Parsons-led Cowboys defense is to really live up to the “Doomsday” moniker, they’ll need to win. It’s really simple. Al Davis said it best, “just win the baby.” The Cowboys need to do that if they want this defense to be recognized as a legend.
