With the Cowboys' pass defense now ranked 31st in yards allowed per game, any good news is welcome. The return of a starting safety and positive news about a starting cornerback certainly qualify.
Barry Church is set to start this Thursday night against the Minnesota Vikings. He has been out with a broken forearm since the Cowboys' Week 8 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles. He will play with a brace on his lower arm.
Church's return is timely as J.J. Wilcox, who has started in his absence, could miss a game or two with a thigh injury suffered last week. Jeff Heath will now be the primary backup at safety.
Morris Claiborne injured his groin in the same Eagles game and has been out since. His return timetable has been more vaguem, but Jerry Jones provided an update this morning.
Jerry Jones said on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas he expects Morris Claiborne (groin) to return at some point in regular season.
— Todd Archer (@toddarcher) November 29, 2016
With only five weeks left in the regular season, that means Claiborne's return could be fairly soon. On the other hand, if the Cowboys keep winning then they may elect to give Claiborne some extra time to heal up and wait for the playoffs.
Some of the passing yardage that the Cowboys' defense has allowed has been strategic. They've been content to let team chew up the field while protecting the endzone. It's hard to find fault given their 10-1 record and winning streak.
Once Claiborne returns, it will be interesting to see how Dallas manages the snaps among their cornerbacks. Rookie Anthony Brown has played well and will be tough to take off the field.
Getting Church and Claiborne back will allow Dallas to get more aggressive up front, trusting their starters to hold up better in coverage. This will be invaluable in the playoffs, but even now as they look to secure home field advantage over the final five weeks.
How does MO’s great start to the season + another lengthy injury affect his next contract?
Great question, Sean! I think it’s going to work well in Dallas’ favor. Claiborne wants to remain a Cowboy and now has lost a lot of leverage. I think we’ll be able to sign him to a very modest 2-3 year deal.
Can’t wait to get healthy in the back end. Getting healthy Claiborne would terrific!
Raw yards surrendered can be deceptive of course. Teams have been behind Dallas all year, sometimes by a lot – so more passing yardage and fewer running plays.
I like what Wilcox and Brown did while filling in. That big-hit dimension that Wilcox brings is something any defense is looking for. If he can close the gap with Church on the rest of the SS job, I think he can win the starter role (if he doesn’t leave for another team).
Brown got burned last week by Deshawn Jackson when he was single up on a 3rd & 1, but that is to be expected. You always need a S over the top for Jackson. The guy has man-coverage skills, and to get that in the 6th round is a very good pick.
Remember for years it was doubtful if Sean Lee would ever stay healthy. Now he is, for the last 2 seasons. Maybe the same for Claibourne as he goes along. He is the most talented DB on the team, along with Byron Jones at FS.
Since the Cowboys solved QB and RB in one draft, they can go heavy on defense now. If this team adds a premiere RDE and a premiere CB, it will rule the league for years.
Very good observations! I think you’ll definitely see a defensive focus for the next couple of drafts. Outside of another WR and maybe a new RT, Dallas is set on offense for a while.
Thanks. Ideally change out Doug Free for a better pass blocker, but he is a road grader in the run game. Will probably lose Leary next year / always take an OL who looks good, for depth & to keep the engine driving this train going.
You can make an injury case against Dez, but otherwise he will be a top WR for a few years still. The other 4 receivers fit into their roles really well. Butler is the possible rising commodity – remember how Miles Austin came out of nowhere to be a top WR for a few years.
I keep retiring Witten and he keeps defying it. If Escobar looks better down the stretch this year as a blocker, he may be the heir at TE, otherwise that job is coming open at some point fairly soon.
Last night was a good example of why this needs to be Free’s last year. He was the culprit on Dak getting strip sacked and some killer penalties. He is great in run blocking, but he doesn’t play guard. They can do better.
The problem with our other WRs is that none of them are able to really step into the WR1 role when Dez is hurt. Beasley can get numbers but we need one more guy who can take on a team’s top corner if needed.
I think Witten has another year at least. Escobar will walk in FA and we’ll have Hanna, Swaim, and hopefully Gathers on the depth chart next year.
Really appreciate your comments. Hope you’ll become a regular!
Thanks very much. I created the board forum Cowboy Saloon in 2006, closed it down the next year due to infighting amongst members. I bounce around now with this pseudonym. This site has a good look definitely.
Free showed the flaw in his game last night, beatable by a quick DE or LB. At least it is not Dak’s blind side. But it cost a turnover. I think Gathers got on the practice squad, it’s apparently a long way for him from a camp where he didn’t show much. I would get a strong TE prospect if / when available, but the main 2 pickups are probably RDE and CB. Impact players added there would be gigantic.
I’ve always been a big fan of Barry Church. He’s not Ed Reed, but he’s solid. Given the others missing from this defense, I’ll feel much better having him back there with Byron Jones than JJ Wilcox. Small improvement, but a significant one.