Dallas, TX
The Cowboys defense is in a strong position entering 2024
It seemed inevitable. There was no way that the Dallas Cowboys could keep it up. The conversation surrounding the team after the 2021 season was that their historic turnover tally would regress to the mean in 2022. Plenty of NFL history to that point supported that claim. This is true for a variety of reasons, but generally because turnovers are a difficult thing for a defense to completely control.
In a literal sense that was proven to be true. The Cowboys defense generated 34 turnovers in 2021 (shout out Trevon Diggs) and did not reach that mark a season later in 2022. The 2022 Dallas Cowboys generated a measly 33 turnovers, if you can believe it.
Amazing was it was, that was clearly an exception to the norm that is football history. Kudos to the now-departed Dan Quinn and the players on the team for upholding that level of consistency in a way that most people have not been able to.
It should come as no surprise to learn that Dallas dipped again in total turnovers in 2023 and generated only 26, although DaRon Bland set the NFL record for the most interceptions returned for a touchdown in the process. While that is technically regression, 26 is still an incredible number. Not quite an exception but it puts the Cowboys of the last three years in some rarified air.
What about year four?
History is not totally against the Cowboys defense continuing to generate turnovers
Personally speaking I have felt like the bottom just had to come out of the Cowboys this year. How could you not?
They have pulled off the impossible (relatively speaking) by continuing to generate so many turnovers, but with Dan Quinn now gone, an incredibly important piece of the puzzle is now different with Mike Zimmer in place. It has felt somewhat inevitable.
Recently I had the chance to sit down with the great Aaron Schatz from FTN Fantasy to discuss a number of things concerning the Cowboys but I wanted to specifically hit on this point. You can watch our entire conversation below.
Thankfully I’d prepped Schatz for this question and he was able to have some information handy that made me feel better about the 2024 Cowboys potentially not falling off of a cliff in this overall department.
If you head to about the eight-minute mark this is where the conversation starts. According to Schatz, there are four teams since 2000 that have ranked in the top five in terms of takeaways per drive for three straight years.
Of the 12 total seasons involved here, 11 featured a playoff appearance from the team involved. The only one here to miss out on the postseason were the 2020 Patriots, although there were obviously a lot of circumstances involved there to say the least. Tom Brady’s defection to Tampa was just one of them.
But on the subject of the Buccaneers, they cashed in on their run with a Super Bowl title in the final season of their three-year stretch. The first Patriots run included a Super Bowl appearance. Neither the second Patriots run or Dallas’ (obviously) included even a conference championship appearance.
What about the years following, though?
The 2003 Buccaneers missed out on the playoffs so the season was a failure in that sense, but defensively they didn’t exactly collapse in the turnover department. They finished sixth in takeaways per drive which is right outside of the top five.
Additionally the 2022 Patriots followed up their run with a sixth-place finish in the metric we are looking at. The sample size is small, but two of the three teams hung right around the same realm in year number four.
Something significant does separate the Cowboys, though. While there has been no turnover at head coach in Mike McCarthy, he was obviously not the architect of what took place defensively for Dallas over the last thousand days. Dan Quinn is out and that will play a role here in a way that the other teams didn’t have affecting them.
Tampa Bay’s defensive coordinator at the time was and remained Monte Kiffin (this whole exercise is just so much fun, isn’t it) and Bill Belichick was at the helm for all of the Patriots seasons involved. It goes without saying that there is immense pressure on Mike Zimmer to uphold the standard, but history is technically on his side which is encouraging.
The search for the next general manager or president of basketball operations of the Dallas Mavericks has begun. They terminated Nico Harrison in November, which was about nine months too late, and gave any available candidates clear notice that they were open for business.
The plan was always to wait until after the season to start the search. While names popped up as the season reached an end, they didn’t begin turning over the staff until the Monday after the season ended. However, Dallas Mavericks fans are not going to like how the team is going about the search.
Patrick Dumont Leading Search for General Manager
NBA insider Jake Fischer reported that the Mavericks are not hiring a search firm in their hunt for a new lead executive. Instead, team governor Patrick Dumont is “acting as his own point person.”
This is an… interesting decision, to say the least. Dumont is not a basketball person whatsoever, and most organizations usually hire a search firm. The Chicago Bulls hired one as they look for their replacement for Arturas Karnisovas. Just because a firm is hired doesn’t mean a team will listen, though.
The Mavericks hired a firm in their last search for a GM. They let Donnie Nelson go in 2021 after a long tenure with the Mavs. Instead of listening to the firm, though, Mark Cuban ignored it to hire Nico Harrison, who had no previous NBA front office experience. Harrison had been an executive with Nike, which gave him connections with players like Kyrie Irving, Anthony Davis, and plenty of others.
For a while, that seemed to be working out okay. While he still had some questionable transactions, such as trading for Christian Wood and letting Jalen Brunson walk in free agency, they were still able to make a run to the NBA Finals in 2024. Then, he blew it all up, trading away Luka Doncic for an older and injured Anthony Davis, and the team hasn’t been the same since.
It’s imperative that the Mavericks get this hire correct. The interim Co-GM setup with Matt Riccardi and Michael Finley has performed admirably, but the 2026 NBA Draft is important for the Mavs to get right. It’s their best chance to pair Cooper Flagg with another young star, as they don’t own their first-round pick again until 2031 after this.
Hiring the right GM could help bring in more draft capital by bringing in bad contracts or flipping veterans into picks.
Dumont was able to convince Rick Welts, a Hall of Famer, to come out of retirement to be the CEO and lead the charge for a new arena. Maybe Dumont pulls another rabbit out of his hat for the GM.
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For a moment, it looked like FC Dallas was on its way to another statement win at home tonight.
Petar Musa scored two first half goals, to extend his Golden Boot leading tally to nine goals. But after Dallas grabbed control, the Galaxy found a way back before halftime with goals from Lucas Sanabria and Joseph Paintsil.
The second half brought more chances and more frustration for Dallas, which finished the night with 13 shots to LA’s nine. In the end, the point stretched Dallas’ unbeaten run to five games, though just like last week, it felt like another match where Dallas left points on the table.
Key Moments
7’ – GOAL! After a poor pass back by a LA defender, Petar Musa was free to go one-on-one with the LA goalkeeper. After a touch to get ahead of a defender, Musa slotted home his eighth goal of the season from outside the penalty box.
21’ – Offside! Joaquin Valiente sent a floating ball over the Galaxy defense, where Musa was able to get behind the defense and make an easy play for what appeared to be his second goal of the night. The play was called offside despite a fairly lengthy review period.
38’ – GOAL! This one counts! Musa gets his second of the night off a great ball from Chris Cappis. Logan Farrington picked off the ball in the midfield. He then played Cappis wide to the left of the penalty area. Cappis immediately played a ball back across the goal for Musa to slide in and finish for his ninth of the season.
43’ – Goal LA. Lucas Sanabria got the ball near the top of the penalty area. He took a couple of touches to get outside the penalty box before firing a shot that beat Michael Collodi at the near post.
45+4’ – Goal LA. Gabriel Pec got the ball near the top of the penalty area. He pulled the ball back a bit, which caught a pair of Dallas defenders. This allowed Joseph Painstil to get free behind the Dallas defense as Pec played him through inside the penalty area. Pec immediately smashed home a shot above Collodi to tie the game.
75’ – Another offside goal. This time on a corner kick for Dallas, after a scrum in the penalty box, Kaick hammered home what looked to be the go-ahead goal. But after a few seconds the flag was raised due to a deflection on Osaze Urhoghide, who was in an offside position.
Instant Reaction
Yeah, this is another disappointing result for this team. In a real way, it felt like the first half against Houston from last month. Dallas grabbed the lead, looked in control, but some defensive miscues opened the game up for the visitors to climb back.
With a double-game week coming up, this will certainly be another game where Dallas will wonder ‘what if’ more than anything else…especially when you factor in the two goals called off for offside.
About the Subs
Eric Quill went to his bench for the first time in the 66th minute, as he brought on Santiago Moreno for Logan Farrington. Quill went to his bench again 81st minute with Ran Binyamin and Nolan Norris coming on for Sebastien Ibeagha and Deedson. The final sub came during stoppage time with Herman Johansson and Joaquin Valiente coming off for Sam Sarver and rookie Nick Simmonds, who made his MLS debut.
Man of the Match
No question about it tonight, it has to be Musa.
Where does this fit into the season
As of this writing, the draw puts Dallas into a three-way tie for 5th place with Real Salt Lake and Seattle. Both are in action right now and look firmly in control of their games. I’d expect Dallas to be in 7th place by the end of the night.
What’s next for FC Dallas
Dallas wraps up a three-game homestand next Wednesday night as they host Minnesota United.
Dallas, TX
Akheem Mesidor selected by Cowboys by Blogging The Boys in SB Nation’s community mock draft
Akheem Mesidor, Edge, Miami
Pass rush has been an issue since the Micah Parsons trade. The Rashan Gary trade helped, but Dallas still needs an injection of talent. Akheem Mesidor fits here because his body size allows for some versatility inside and out, something DC Christian Parker utilizes. Mesidor is also a high-motor player with a deep bag of pass rush moves.
His last season at Miami was full of disruption in the offensive backfield and he shows an all-around game, not just a bend-around-the-edge pass rusher. Yes, he’s a little older than you’d like in a rookie (25), but his motor, pass rush toolbox, and ability to play the run matches up with a need and makes him a quality pick at number 20.
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