It has not escaped
the attention of fans that the Dallas
Cowboys first-team defense has yet to allow a single point during this
preseason. Noteworthy this is in
remembrance of last year’s defense that allowed offenses to march up and down
the field at random during the December home stretch that saw the Cowboys go
from 7-4 division leaders to an 8-8 group that missed out on the postseason
altogether.
This time around,
things appear to be much different for Rob Ryan’s unit. They have gotten off the field quickly,
forced turnovers (three, to be exact), and have looked stout in run
support. Accomplishing this while
several starters, of which include nose tackle Jay Ratliff, outside linebacker Demarcus
Ware and cornerback Mike Jenkins, have been inactive only adds to the intrigue
surrounding the defense’s “overnight” turnaround.
But as is always the
case in August, we must err on the side of caution before allowing any Doomsday
III imaginings to skewer the reality of the situation. And the reality is that the preseason is only
two games old, and the first unit has yet to play a combined two quarters of
football.
Holding an
offensively-challenged Rams team tonight without a point will only be as noteworthy
as the difficulty of the challenge, and the pressure of the moment. Which, this being only the third week of the
NFL preseason, wouldn’t qualify as an outstanding accomplishment at all.
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