The Dallas Cowboys defense – a unit that has already been mired in mediocrity for far too long – is now depleted by three suspensions to start off the 2016 season. Collectively, three starters in the front seven will miss 18 games in total, with Rolando McClain out for 10 games and Randy Gregory along with fellow defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence out for 4 games.
Cowboys’ Head Coach Jason Garrett preaches the need to have the “right kind of guys” wearing the star on Sundays, but a closer look at the team’s current suspensions compared to the rest of the league shows that Dallas still has a long way to go in this regard.
As of today, 17 NFL players will serve suspensions totaling 87 games.
This data came from Spotrac.com, and you can see their full suspensions list right here. Let’s start with that total number of games that the league has handed down in suspensions. We already mentioned that Cowboys’ defenders will miss a total of 18 games. This means that three Dallas Cowboys account for a fifth of the league’s number of suspended games.
To make matters worse, you could probably guess by now that no other team has more suspended players than the Cowboys. The Ravens and Jaguars come close with two players each, but neither team will see players as close in importance to McClain, Gregory, and Lawrence miss significant time.
QB Tom Brady, WR Martavis Bryant, and DE Sheldon Richardson are arguably the three biggest names on this list. Even still, their teams feature a definitive plan with depth behind the suspended players to stay in contention.
I’m willing to bet that the Patriots will find a way to be relevant all season long again, the Steelers passing attack will still put up points, and the Jets defensive line will still torment quarterbacks.
The same cannot nearly be said about the Cowboys’ defense as a whole, which will represent a third of a team that has serious Super Bowl aspirations.
It is alright to be frustrated, Cowboys Nation. All we can do is root for the players in silver and blue that will actually see the field every week, and represent what it truly means to be a Dallas Cowboy. Defensively, let’s hope some of these guys can step up and make us forget about these suspensions.
Although these suspensions are a tough nugget to chew, I believe that the group of young beef we have coming up will be able to nold down the fort or even excel. Nezchoa is an athletic freak. If he can pick up some of rhe subtleties of the defense he could surprise. Being a Sooner die hard, I know what Charles Tapper can do. He is an athletic freak that was playing (and quite well I might add) out of position for the last 2 years. Also, there is alot of good stuff, all be it out of pads, being said about Russell. Somebody in the organization knows something the rest of us don't about Benson Mayowa and judging by McClay's track record, I bet he has got a little something to bring to this party as well. Like I said before, the suspensions are a bitter pill to swallow but don't give up just yet on these young, athletic guys coming into their own. They may just surprise us all.
Thank you for reading, John. You said a lot of good things here. I definitely am intrigued by what Nzeocha can develop into with some serious reps, and the same can be said about Tapper and Russell. It's just tough to swallow because, like it or not, the reality is that the Cowboys were a 4-12 team in 2015. The "standard" isn't going to be that these unproven defenders, albeit with potential, can go replicate what they did in 2014 and turn out to be playmakers. Hoping they prove us all wrong though.
It is actually only 15%, please, if you are going to state facts, please make the m correct.
87 NFL games, 18 of which are owned by Cowboys. The Cowboys' portion of those games equals 20.689%. Not 15%. Please, check yourself before bitching at others. 🙂 Thanks!