- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,198,388
- Reaction score
- 59
Cowboys legend and all-time NFL rushing king Emmitt Smith sat down with Cowboys Wire this week while he was out on tour with Ready to Rescue, an initiative that takes him to college campuses across the country to speak with young people about opioid awareness and the dangers of accidental overdose. Smith is an ambassador for NARCAN, a life-saving nasal spray that can be easily administered by anyone during an emergency situation.
In Part 1 of our conversation, Smith shared his perspective on the unique bonds that develop inside an NFL locker room and how the 2025 Cowboys will be asked to come back together and battle on after the tragic loss of teammate Marshawn Kneeland.
In Part 2, we discussed some of the other challenges that the team has faced all season long.
It's been over two decades since Emmitt Smith suited up for an NFL game. And the last time Smith was a member of the Cowboys' active roster, current rookie Jay Toia wasn't even alive yet. But the three-time Super Bowl champion and franchise icon remains a true-blue Cowboys fan to this day, still referring to the team using the pronouns "we" and "us." And when he sits down to watch the games on Sundays this year, he sees the same thing as the rest of us in Cowboys Nation.
"Our defense does not look anything like our previous two- or three-years-ago defense," Smith said. "Completely different."
He's right, and it's well-covered ground. The Cowboys indeed rank 31st out of 32 teams in both yards and points allowed (per game) through Week 10 of the season. That's a long way to fall from just 2023, when they closed out the season fifth overall in both categories.
Obviously, there have been some major personnel changes, the offseason departures of Micah Parsons, DeMarcus Lawrence, and Jourdan Lewis being the most notable.
Injuries haven't helped either. Trevon Diggs spent the spring and summer working his way back from major knee surgery and is already back on injured reserve. DaRon Bland, Malik Hooker, and Donovan Wilson have all missed time. DeMarvion Overshown has yet to even make his 2025 debut.
The defensive players who were left and the reinforcements who were brought in may have been dressed like the Cowboys that Smith remembers, but that's where the similarities ended.
"Man, do we look like we are completely lost," the Hall of Famer offered. "I am befuddled at all of the things that are going wrong on the defensive side of the ball. We look very basic and very fundamental. And very amateurish, if you will. Nothing sexy about it. And still the mistakes are being made, which is to me is a sign of poor coaching, defensively."
Like most Cowboys fans, Smith has attributed much of the defense's current failings to first-year coordinator Matt Eberflus. The 55-year-old is back in Dallas for a second stint on staff after serving as linebackers coach and passing game coordinator from 2011 to 2017. And while later turns as DC in Indianapolis and head coach in Chicago saw his defenses thrive, his return to helm the Cowboys unit this year has been lackluster at best... and more often, just plain bad, getting gashed regularly by the likes of Russell Wilson, Caleb Williams, Bo Nix, and Jacoby Brissett.
Smith says he was shocked by what he saw, dating all the way back to September.
"When I saw how poor our defense looked, the first question I asked myself, especially the secondary, giving up bombs the way they were giving up bombs early on. I said, 'Who is the secondary coach? Al Harris cannot be there.' He's not. He's in Chicago. And you see, Chicago's defense is getting turnovers and making plays. The same plays that we used to make have translated all the way up to Chicago."
This is the reality of the 2025 Cowboys defense after nine games:
But, Smith points out, "it can't all be about players. You have to start looking at coaches at some point, and every coach is not a genius. And every defensive coordinator is not a brilliant defensive coordinator or a great schemer. Some people hide behind some of the greatness of the people that left before them, and then when their time has come up, they're nowhere near the caliber of coach that they thought they were."
That would seem to be a pretty damning indictment of Eberflus, who took over for Mike Zimmer, who himself had the job for just one disappointing season after Dan Quinn had brought the unit back to top-ten numbers for his entire three-year stay.
Like many, Smith wonders if Eberflus- who was reportedly hand-picked by Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, possibly even before head coach Brian Schottenheimer had been officially hired- has tried too hard to impose his preferred scheme on a roster that was built to play a completely different style of defense.
"When I think about our defense right now, I know these guys are working hard. I'm not questioning that," Smith said. "I know they're trying, but I don't know if the coaching or the personnel is there for them to do the things that they're doing. ... That's part of the challenges that teams face when they rotate new coaches in and old coaches out."
Smith had a front-row seat as the coaching carousel turned in Dallas, especially once the team started winning championships. Defensive coordinator Dave Wannstedt left after Super Bowl XXVII. Offensive coordinator Norv Turner followed after the Super Bowl XXVIII win, as did head coach Jimmy Johnson.
Those Cowboys teams of the '90s were able to play through those staff changes and stay consistently dominant, but the rare talent level of the players on those rosters helped keep the bar high, on both sides of the ball.
If Smith, Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin, and the offense weren't firing on all cylinders one day, the ferocious Dallas defenses- behind guys like Charles Haley and Deion Sanders and Leon Lett and and Darren Woodson- would usually step up. And vice versa.
This season, the offensive attack is among the league's top five in points and yards. But Eberflus's porous defense has been forcing Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, George Pickens, and Javonte Williams to be nearly perfect on every drive to even have a chance.
That's hard to do in a game. It's incredibly difficult to sustain over a stretch of multiple contests. It would be impossible over a whole season.
Prescott and the Cowboys' current offensive playmakers won't point the finger at their defensive teammates or even the embattled coordinator on that side of the ball. They'll stand up in interviews and press conferences and say they're focused on doing their own job better.
But Smith admitted it can be hard when half the room is clicking, and the other half can't seem to show up at all. Because in the NFL, the clock is always ticking.
"Yeah, that's the cliche," he said. "It is frustrating because you want all of the pieces to come together. And every man every year loses a year or two in one year. Injuries can cut down years of one's career. And so you never know, even though you think, 'Well, we'll get it next year. We'll get it next year.' Well, next year's not promised to you, and you might not have the same team."
Thanks to two big trades at the deadline and several players coming off rehab, the Cowboys' Week 11 defense won't even look the same as Week 9.
Cowboys fans- including Emmitt Smith- can only hope.
Follow Cowboys Wire on Facebook to join in on the conversation with fellow fans!
This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Emmitt Smith: 'Poor coaching' has Cowboys defense 'completely lost'
Continue reading...
In Part 1 of our conversation, Smith shared his perspective on the unique bonds that develop inside an NFL locker room and how the 2025 Cowboys will be asked to come back together and battle on after the tragic loss of teammate Marshawn Kneeland.
In Part 2, we discussed some of the other challenges that the team has faced all season long.
It's been over two decades since Emmitt Smith suited up for an NFL game. And the last time Smith was a member of the Cowboys' active roster, current rookie Jay Toia wasn't even alive yet. But the three-time Super Bowl champion and franchise icon remains a true-blue Cowboys fan to this day, still referring to the team using the pronouns "we" and "us." And when he sits down to watch the games on Sundays this year, he sees the same thing as the rest of us in Cowboys Nation.
"Our defense does not look anything like our previous two- or three-years-ago defense," Smith said. "Completely different."
He's right, and it's well-covered ground. The Cowboys indeed rank 31st out of 32 teams in both yards and points allowed (per game) through Week 10 of the season. That's a long way to fall from just 2023, when they closed out the season fifth overall in both categories.
Obviously, there have been some major personnel changes, the offseason departures of Micah Parsons, DeMarcus Lawrence, and Jourdan Lewis being the most notable.
Injuries haven't helped either. Trevon Diggs spent the spring and summer working his way back from major knee surgery and is already back on injured reserve. DaRon Bland, Malik Hooker, and Donovan Wilson have all missed time. DeMarvion Overshown has yet to even make his 2025 debut.
The defensive players who were left and the reinforcements who were brought in may have been dressed like the Cowboys that Smith remembers, but that's where the similarities ended.
"Man, do we look like we are completely lost," the Hall of Famer offered. "I am befuddled at all of the things that are going wrong on the defensive side of the ball. We look very basic and very fundamental. And very amateurish, if you will. Nothing sexy about it. And still the mistakes are being made, which is to me is a sign of poor coaching, defensively."
Like most Cowboys fans, Smith has attributed much of the defense's current failings to first-year coordinator Matt Eberflus. The 55-year-old is back in Dallas for a second stint on staff after serving as linebackers coach and passing game coordinator from 2011 to 2017. And while later turns as DC in Indianapolis and head coach in Chicago saw his defenses thrive, his return to helm the Cowboys unit this year has been lackluster at best... and more often, just plain bad, getting gashed regularly by the likes of Russell Wilson, Caleb Williams, Bo Nix, and Jacoby Brissett.
Smith says he was shocked by what he saw, dating all the way back to September.
"When I saw how poor our defense looked, the first question I asked myself, especially the secondary, giving up bombs the way they were giving up bombs early on. I said, 'Who is the secondary coach? Al Harris cannot be there.' He's not. He's in Chicago. And you see, Chicago's defense is getting turnovers and making plays. The same plays that we used to make have translated all the way up to Chicago."
This is the reality of the 2025 Cowboys defense after nine games:
- Four interceptions; only five teams have fewer.
- Seven takeaways; only four teams have fewer.
- Allowing 52.6% conversion rate on third down; NFL's worst.
- Giving up explosive plays on 13.1% of snaps; only two defenses are worse.
- Allowing scores on 49.5% of opponents' drives; tied for NFL's worst.
- Allowing touchdowns on 69.4% of opponents' red zone trips; only three defenses are worse.
But, Smith points out, "it can't all be about players. You have to start looking at coaches at some point, and every coach is not a genius. And every defensive coordinator is not a brilliant defensive coordinator or a great schemer. Some people hide behind some of the greatness of the people that left before them, and then when their time has come up, they're nowhere near the caliber of coach that they thought they were."
That would seem to be a pretty damning indictment of Eberflus, who took over for Mike Zimmer, who himself had the job for just one disappointing season after Dan Quinn had brought the unit back to top-ten numbers for his entire three-year stay.
Like many, Smith wonders if Eberflus- who was reportedly hand-picked by Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, possibly even before head coach Brian Schottenheimer had been officially hired- has tried too hard to impose his preferred scheme on a roster that was built to play a completely different style of defense.
"When I think about our defense right now, I know these guys are working hard. I'm not questioning that," Smith said. "I know they're trying, but I don't know if the coaching or the personnel is there for them to do the things that they're doing. ... That's part of the challenges that teams face when they rotate new coaches in and old coaches out."
Smith had a front-row seat as the coaching carousel turned in Dallas, especially once the team started winning championships. Defensive coordinator Dave Wannstedt left after Super Bowl XXVII. Offensive coordinator Norv Turner followed after the Super Bowl XXVIII win, as did head coach Jimmy Johnson.
Those Cowboys teams of the '90s were able to play through those staff changes and stay consistently dominant, but the rare talent level of the players on those rosters helped keep the bar high, on both sides of the ball.
If Smith, Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin, and the offense weren't firing on all cylinders one day, the ferocious Dallas defenses- behind guys like Charles Haley and Deion Sanders and Leon Lett and and Darren Woodson- would usually step up. And vice versa.
This season, the offensive attack is among the league's top five in points and yards. But Eberflus's porous defense has been forcing Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, George Pickens, and Javonte Williams to be nearly perfect on every drive to even have a chance.
That's hard to do in a game. It's incredibly difficult to sustain over a stretch of multiple contests. It would be impossible over a whole season.
Prescott and the Cowboys' current offensive playmakers won't point the finger at their defensive teammates or even the embattled coordinator on that side of the ball. They'll stand up in interviews and press conferences and say they're focused on doing their own job better.
But Smith admitted it can be hard when half the room is clicking, and the other half can't seem to show up at all. Because in the NFL, the clock is always ticking.
"Yeah, that's the cliche," he said. "It is frustrating because you want all of the pieces to come together. And every man every year loses a year or two in one year. Injuries can cut down years of one's career. And so you never know, even though you think, 'Well, we'll get it next year. We'll get it next year.' Well, next year's not promised to you, and you might not have the same team."
Thanks to two big trades at the deadline and several players coming off rehab, the Cowboys' Week 11 defense won't even look the same as Week 9.
Cowboys fans- including Emmitt Smith- can only hope.
Follow Cowboys Wire on Facebook to join in on the conversation with fellow fans!
This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Emmitt Smith: 'Poor coaching' has Cowboys defense 'completely lost'
Continue reading...
