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Just how good is the Cowboys current secondary versus historical Dallas units?

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Just how good is the Cowboys current secondary versus historical Dallas units?


The Dallas Cowboys have a strong secondary. With some great drafting and clever offseason moves, the team has assembled one of the better units they’ve had in a long while. In fact, it had us wondering just how far back we have to go to remember feeling this good about their defensive backs group.

But before we start strolling through units of the past, let’s run down the main cast of characters we expect to see a lot of this upcoming season. Since the Cowboys love to go with a lot of three-safety looks, we’ll roll with the two starting outside corners, a slot corner, and the three-headed safety monster we have grown accustomed to seeing.

The 2023 team

TREVON DIGGS

In his second year in the league, the former Alabama corner hauled in 11 interceptions. He’s already an All-Pro and is coming off two straight Pro Bowl seasons. While he has been scrutinized for the plays he doesn’t make, Diggs has a remarkable knack for making plays on the ball. He has more interceptions over the past two years than the entire Las Vegas Raiders football team. With a new contract on the horizon, the Cowboys can lock down one of the top cornerbacks in the league for many years to come.

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STEPHON GILMORE

Speaking of one of the top corners, that has been the title Gilmore has held for most of his career. This five-time Pro Bowler is entering his 12th NFL season but continues to be a consistent defender on the outside. He’s had four Pro Bowl seasons over the past five years with last season with the Colts being the lone omission, however, he still finished with an 81.1 coverage grade (seventh best in the league). The athleticism may not be there at 33 years of age, but he’s such a super-smart player and should help the Cowboys have one of the top CB tandems in the NFL.

DARON BLAND

This fifth-round pick from little old Sacramento State had quite the rookie season, finishing with five interceptions on the year. After seeing zero defensive snaps in five of his first six games, Bland was thrust into action after Jourdan Lewis got hurt. The rookie started the final seven games of the season playing both inside and outside for the Cowboys and surprisingly turned into the next best thing at cornerback after Diggs. Now, with Gilmore on the roster, Bland can focus solely on the slot corner role, a role he was so masterful in last year, allowing the team to have a very strong starting cornerback group.

JAYRON KEARSE

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Little did we know that Dan Quinn would turn this “just another guy” defensive reserve/special teams contributor into an impact starting safety. Kearse had more starts his first year in Dallas than he did over his first five years in the league combined with both Minnesota and Detroit. Similar to Gilmore, it’s not about athleticism with him. Kearse is a smart player who reacts fast and uses his size to his advantage. While he is neither the best strong safety (that’s Donovan Wilson) nor free safety (that’s Malik Hooker) on the team, he is the most complete safety and it shows up all over the tape.

MALIK HOOKER

Another low-cost free agent marvel, Hooker showed what type of player he could be if he could just keep himself on the field. Amazingly, that’s exactly what he’s been able to do in his time in Dallas. In just two seasons with the team, Hooker has played 31 games, which is just five fewer than he had during his entire four years with Indianapolis. Last season, he matched his career high in interceptions (3) and recorded a new career high in tackles (62). He’s the best coverage safety the Cowboys have and continues to be a solid piece to the secondary.

DONOVAN WILSON

Wilson is everyone’s favorite safety to root for as he’s made more splashes than the opening scene in Jaws. His career has been a little up and down because of missing time with injury and having his share of rollerskate plays on that notoriously bad 2020 unit, but he really put things together last season. Whether it’s sacking, picking, stripping, or just living in the offensive backfield, Wilson has shown that he can do it all. When he smells blood, it’s over. Just when you thought it was safe to run to the left, the Cowboys re-upped on Wilson and he’ll continue his feeding frenzy for several years to come.

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These six players make up a very strong secondary group. The Cowboys have even more depth as third-year hybrid DB Israel Mukuamu is expected to contribute as well and they also traded at the draft for Southern Miss corner Eric Scott Jr. The 2021 Day 2 draft group of Kelvin Joseph and Nahshon Wright look on their way out as does the veteran Jourdan Lewis who has one year left on his contract. With a base salary of $4.5 million this year, it’s hard to justify keeping Lewis on the team when he’s buried on the depth chart below so many cheaper and more promising players.

With all that said, just how good is this group? On the latest episode of The Star Seminar, I asked my podcast partner Rabblerousr to go back 30 years, identify the top secondary groups, and then compare them to this current Cowboys roster. Make sure to check it out if you want to hear what we had to say. And also make sure to subscribe to the Blogging The Boys podcast network so you do not miss any of our episodes or the other shows that BTB has. Apple devices can subscribe here and Spotify users can subscribe here.

But today, we’re putting the ball in your court. Which units did you think were the strongest? Let us know in the comments. Also, here is your chance to vote for the options Rabs came up with.

#3 – The 2009 team

Secondary consisted of Terrence Newman, Mike Jenkins, Orlando Scandrick, Ken Hamlin, Gerald Sensabaugh, and Allen Ball

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Poll

Which secondary group is better?

  • 96%
    The 2023 team

    (272 votes)



283 votes total

Vote Now

#2 – The 1996 team

Secondary consisted of Deion Sanders, Kevin Smith, Darren Woodson, George Teague, Brock Marion, and Bill Bates

Poll

Which secondary group is better?

  • 88%
    The 1996 team

    (248 votes)



281 votes total

Vote Now

#1 – The 1993 team

Secondary consisted of Kevin Smith, Larry Brown, Darren Woodson, Thomas Everett, James Washington, and Brock Marion

Poll

Which secondary group is better?

  • 49%
    The 1993 team

    (140 votes)

  • 50%
    The 2023 team

    (143 votes)



283 votes total

Vote Now



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Dallas, TX

Sources: Giants’ DeVito expected out vs. Dallas

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Sources: Giants’ DeVito expected out vs. Dallas


New York Giants quarterback Tommy DeVito is expected to be out for Thursday’s game against the Dallas Cowboys because of his forearm injury and Drew Lock is expected to start in his place, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Jordan Raanan.

DeVito is listed as questionable for the Thanksgiving Day game, but a source told ESPN on Wednesday that DeVito was considered a long shot to play.

He did not travel with the team to Dallas on Wednesday as he was undergoing further evaluation, the Giants said. The team, however, said it expected him to travel to Dallas later Wednesday.

DeVito took several big hits in Sunday’s 30-7 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He was making his first start of the season after the Giants released former starter Daniel Jones late last week.

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The Giants turn to Lock after bypassing him following the benching of Jones for DeVito. Lock spent the first 10 weeks as the backup, with DeVito as the third string/emergency quarterback.

Lock has a short week and no real practices to get ready for the matchup of NFC East rivals. He also will be playing behind an offensive line without its starting tackles. Andrew Thomas (foot) is on injured reserve and Jermaine Eluemunor (quad) was ruled out Wednesday.



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Dallas, TX

Colorado visits Dallas after shootout victory

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Colorado visits Dallas after shootout victory


Associated Press

Colorado Avalanche (13-10, in the Central Division) vs. Dallas Stars (13-8, in the Central Division)

Dallas; Friday, 9 p.m. EST

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BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Stars -140, Avalanche +116; over/under is 6.5

BOTTOM LINE: The Dallas Stars host the Colorado Avalanche after the Avalanche took down the Vegas Golden Knights 2-1 in a shootout.

Dallas is 13-8 overall and 4-2-0 against the Central Division. The Stars have a 4-2-0 record in games they score at least one power-play goal.

Colorado is 13-10 overall and 2-3-0 against the Central Division. The Avalanche have a 2-5-0 record in games their opponents serve fewer penalty minutes.

The teams meet Friday for the first time this season.

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TOP PERFORMERS: Matt Duchene has 12 goals and 14 assists for the Stars. Mason Marchment has five goals and seven assists over the last 10 games.

Cale Makar has eight goals and 22 assists for the Avalanche. Mikko Rantanen has eight goals and seven assists over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Stars: 6-4-0, averaging 3.7 goals, 6.4 assists, 3.1 penalties and 8.2 penalty minutes while giving up 2.8 goals per game.

Avalanche: 7-3-0, averaging three goals, 4.8 assists, 2.6 penalties and 5.2 penalty minutes while giving up 2.9 goals per game.

INJURIES: Stars: None listed.

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Avalanche: None listed.

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.




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Dallas, TX

Kidd breaks the silence, gives first update on Luka Doncic’s sudden wrist injury

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Kidd breaks the silence, gives first update on Luka Doncic’s sudden wrist injury


The Dallas Mavericks’ bad injury and availability luck this season continued into Wednesday evening, as Dallas will be without Daniel Gafford, Klay Thompson, Dante Exum, and Luka Doncic against the New York Knicks tonight.

While no one expected Doncic and Exum to play as they are both out with wrist injuries, both Thompson and Gafford had a chance at playing. Thompson will be out for the second straight game with left foot plantar fascia, and Gafford is out with an illness.

This illness has been no joke for Dallas, as both Quentin Grimes and Dereck Lively II were listed on the injury report, but both are available against the Knicks.

The Mavs have found a way to win two of the three games that Doncic has missed due to this sprained wrist that he unexpectedly suffered against the New Orleans Pelicans last Tuesday, and Mavs head coach Jason Kidd gave the first update on Doncic’s status when it comes to the wrist injury on Wednesday night.

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“He looks good,” Kidd said at his pregame media availability. “Everything that has come back that he looks good and is getting closer to coming back.”

Kidd then continued to talk about how Doncic has been going through “individual workouts,” and everything that he has “heard or seen is trending in the right direction.” He went through a pregame workout at the American Airlines Center with his wrist taped despite being out, and this is a good sign.

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It’s typical for Kidd and the Mavericks to limit what they tell the media when it comes to players’ injuries, but the fact that Doncic is going through workouts and responding well is a good sign. Doncic has not been able to catch a break this season, as he has dealt with a calf contusion, knee contusion, and this wrist sprain over the last two months, and this week-plus off should help get him back to being 100 percent.

He didn’t even seem to be 100 percent with his knee when he injured his wrist against New Orleans, and him getting this time of rest could be huge for him in returning to playing at an MVP level. This wrist injury happened so suddenly against the Pelicans, and even Doncic didn’t know the exact moment it happened. He said that the pain started early on in the game, and it got worse as the game went on. Doncic dubbed his wrist injury as “nothing serious” in his postgame press conference from last Tuesday night, but his availability lately says otherwise.

This season for Dallas, Doncic is averaging 28.1 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 7.6 assists per game while shooting 43.5 percent from the field and 32.4 percent from downtown, and while his numbers are down, Kidd remains confident in his superstar. Kidd emphasized that Doncic is still “human” last week when asked about his slow start to the season, and even though Dallas is finding ways to win without him, his return is going to help take this team to another level.

His teammates miss having him on the floor with them, and the Mavs are a completely different team when Doncic is fully healthy and cooking with gas. It has been a while since Mavs fans saw Doncic fully healthy considering the downpour of injuries that slowed him down during the playoffs, and he and Kyrie Irving will have the chance to help push this team back to the top of the Western Conference once he returns from this wrist injury.





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