FRISCO, Texas – This week's buzzword was obvious before Sunday's game even ended.
When an opposing receiver scores a touchdown without a tackler in sight, it's a good bet the defense got its wires crossed somewhere along the line. When it happens several times in a two-game span, it's obvious the Cowboys have to work on their communication skills.
"Oh, for sure we could always be communicating better," said Daryl Worley on Thursday. "Even a little bit of communication making sure everyone is on the same page can always clear up any slight mistake for the team."
The Cowboys' secondary has caught its fair share of grief in the wake of that 38-31 loss to Seattle, and it's understandable why. But even with the breakdowns in the passing game, it's clear there's more to be done across the board.
"In defense especially, communication is everything when you talk about being there for your brother," said Jaylon Smith. "We got to help each other out. Just because you do your job, there's more you could do to help the man that's next to you."
It hasn't been all bad. After a debacle of a first half, the Cowboys rebounded to limit Russell Wilson to 55 passing yards up until Seattle's game-winning drive. That sounds a lot like a moral victory, but it's at least encouraging that there has been progress – assuming they can account for the massive lapses in coverage.
To that end, Worley said it's something that should come with more time on task. The fifth-year veteran was sure to credit Russell Wilson as the top-tier quarterback he is, but he added that many of the Cowboys' biggest problems were self-inflicted last week.
"We didn't feel like it was really scheme-type things that beat us," he said. "Just things within our own scheme that we need to pick up on, make the right corrections and going forward we won't make the same mistakes."
It's fair if no one wants to take that at face value. The Cowboys also suffered a coverage bust in Week 2 against Atlanta, allowing Hayden Hurst an uncontested touchdown from 42 yards out. It's clearly a work in progress.
Again, Worley said that's something that will improve over time. It's been well-documented that the defense is transitioning to an entirely new scheme. Two of their longest-tenured starters, Anthony Brown and Chidobe Awuzie, are also on injured reserve.
Despite all of that, Worley said the Cowboys are unfazed. Regardless of prior results, each week in the NFL is a new opportunity. As close as the Cowboys have been to pulling out a win in each of their losses, some minor corrections could go a long way.
"It's the first time for a lot of us playing together, it's a different scheme, a different coaching staff. Everything is getting on the right page," Worley said. "We look at is as, these last three weeks, at the end of the games we were right there being able to win it. So it can't do nothing but go uphill from here."
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