The Dallas Cowboys have a lot of answers to solve on defense. They can't afford to waste another prime year of Dak Prescott, but it looks like that's where the season is headed.
One player who needs to start playing better is Jack Sanborn, the unofficial protege of defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus. Eberflus and Sanborn came to Dallas together from Chicago, but the results haven't shown, and the results have become impossible to ignore.
Joe Hoyt of the Dallas Morning News did an interview with the 'GBAG Nation' guys on 105.3 The Fan. Hoyt was pretty much in agreement that Sanborn hasn't progressed like most thought he would in Eberflus' system.
"I was expecting a little bit more out of Sanborn to be honest in terms of kind of anticipating and being in areas," Hoyt said. "I think that the speed difference is a little bit noticeable right now. He's making tackles, but, I think that Tucker Kraft screen that we were talking about on one of those first third downs, that was kind of evident of just the lack of speed right now."
Jack Sanborn isn't progressing like fans thought he would under Eberflus
Hoyt brought an additional point that there's no easy fix to this Cowboys defense. Entering Monday Night Football for Week 4, the Cowboys have the No. 1 offense in the NFL while also having the No. 32 defense in the NFL. Typical.
If there's anything to celebrate Sanborn with, he hasn't been terrible against the run. His coverage has been a completely different story. While he defended Jordan Love's final pass to the end zone at the end of regulation, he doesn't have the speed to keep up with whomever he's covering in the middle of the field.
We can't put too much of Sanborn, since this is Eberflus' system, and guys are just not meshing well with the coverage schemes that they've been used to in the past. Sanborn looked to be a valuable piece to bring in with some Eberflus experience, but he's been disappointing to say the least, and there are growing calls among Cowboys fans for him to ride the bench.
It'd be nice to see Marist Liufau take some of those reps with a mix of Shemar James and Damone Clark. Whatever the band aid is until DeMarvion Overshown is cleared to play, they need to find one soon.
The good news is Brian Schottenheimer hasn't been opposed to holding players accountable and making adjustments.
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