OXNARD, Calif. — You'd have to walk around outside on Halloween to see as many masks as the Dallas Cowboys' defense wears with Mike Zimmer at the helm. One of the biggest question marks to begin his return as defensive coordinator involved not only how he'd deploy Micah Parsons, the three-time All-Pro pass rusher answering that rather directly, but also in how the scheme would differ/improve for 2024.
Through the first couple weeks of camp, the difference is glaring, in that Zimmer is bringing his trademark brand of disguises to the Cowboys this season, and that's no exaggeration.
Seriously, good luck trying to figure out what the actual coverage or blitz package is on any given down — seeing as the pre-snap look is often wildly different from what happens post-snap.
"Their disguise, man," said second-year standout Jalen Brooks when asked to compare Dan Quinn's defense to that of Zimmer's. "Their disguises are insane. DQ had some disguises but Zim's? It's um… it's pretty good.
"I gotta give him full credit for that."
He's not the only one who is seeing the added difficulties in practice, as Brandin Cooks so readily admits while also loving every bit of the challenges Zimmer presents to the offense.
"It's great, because he's gonna test every area of your offense, so to be able to have that everyday in practice — it's gonna make us better," Cooks said. "So, come game time, we'll have a lot of answers."
Dak Prescott is having a sizzling-hot camp, but it's also true that his ability to read defenses and react to disguises is being pushed to the limit and then some, making this year's camp truly an iron sharpens iron dynamic.
The defensive line is making waves and, in tandem with a rebuilt linebackers’ corps that’s flying around and making plays both in run defense and in coverage, it presents a front that could be formidable in and of itself, even before they start wearing disguises.
And then there's the secondary, a unit that already has a handful of interceptions between the three Cowboys' quarterbacks (the LBs getting in on that party as well), before Trevon Diggs is fully unleashed to likely add to that tally.
From youth to veteran, from defensive lineman to safety, everything about this defense simply feels different, and if you don't believe that, feel free to try and guess each play during the season.
Good luck.
"I think that the biggest thing, it's different for them," Zimmer said recently from training camp in Oxnard. "Obviously, it's not different for me, but we've kept some wrinkles they've had here in the past. We're asking them to do different things from what they've done before. I try to be demanding of what they're doing, and I try to be demanding of myself.
"So far, I've been very impressed with the way they've gone about their business and do what we're asking them to do, in all three areas of the defense. Even the older guys — we talk about old dogs learning new tricks — so it's been good."
More accurately speaking, so far it's been very, very good.
So good that, so far, you can say it's kinda scary.
