Cowboys Move Tyron Smith, James Washington to Injury List; Dallas Defense to Step Up?
The Dallas Cowboys will have to play much of this season without All-Pro left tackle Tyron Smith. And without projected starting wide receiver James Washington, too.
They've been plotting for the Washington situation since his injury at camp. Tyron's deal is more recent, more awful and more long-term. Still, on Wednesday, the Cowboys moved both off the 53-man and to Reserve/Injured in anticipation of their eventual return.
Now, what is the Dallas defense going to do about it?
Smith's unfortunate recent injury - described gruesomely as "hamstring torn off the bone'' - leaves the Cowboys short at the position, even with rookie offensive lineman Tyler Smith now taking over at left tackle. The injury to Tyron now creates a handful of issues for the Cowboys offense, with kids having to step up, not unlike at receiver ... thus putting the pressure on the defense to carry the load.
Last season, Dallas’ yards per drop-back dropped from 7.2 to 4.2 when Tyron was not on the field, and quarterback Dak Prescott’s average depth of target dropped from 9.3 yards to 7.8.
In the run game last season, Dallas averaged 5.0 yards per carry with Tyron on the field, while averaging 4.0 yards per carry with him out.
If Dallas wants to stay afloat with Tyron likely out until at least December, the defense will need to show up big-time.
Where are the fixes?
One large aspect of the defensive success in Dallas, as well as previous failures, has been the run defense.
In 2020, the Cowboys gave up the second-most rushing yards league-wide at 158.8 yards per game. They fared much better last season while allowing just 112.8.
In the end, however, their downfall was still the running defense.
The Cowboys had a 12-5 record and hopes of the franchise's sixth Lombardi Trophy, before losing in the Wild Card round to the San Francisco 49ers. In that heart-breaking 23-17 loss, Dallas gave up 169 yards rushing.
The Dallas defensive line will need to flip the script this season, and defensive tackle Neville Gallimore says they're "ready to dominate."
"We go out and hunt. We got a little taste of it last year, obviously it didn't end how we wanted it to, but we're hungrier than ever and we're putting in the work," Gallimore said recently. "We're ready to show that we're ready to dominate."
The defensive line has looked impressive so far this preseason, with Gallimore and defensive tackle Trysten Hill standing out in particular.
Additionally, linebacker Micah Parsons has continued to look as unblockable as ever following a dominant rookie campaign.
However, there are questions about Dallas being able to replicate the enormous success they had taking away the football last season. Last season, Dallas led the NFL in takeaways with 34. This came off the back of a league-high 26 interceptions as a team, after posting just 10 (tied for fifth worst league-wide) in 2020.
Nonetheless, the Dallas defense replicating its success from last season will now be more important than ever following the injury to Tyron at left tackle. Dallas thinks it can survive without Washington. It hopes Tyler Smith can help it do the same without Tyron. But for certain, the offense is now much more of a question mark than it was just a couple of weeks ago ... meaning the defense can't afford to be.
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