Was it just me or were there multiple emphatic Mazi Smith sightings against the Giants on Thursday night? He appeared to be playing much more aggressively at the line of scrimmage, forcing the action and getting off the ball quickly. What did he and the run defense to differently against the Giants, and can it be sustained going forward? – Craig Engel/Ventnor City, NJ
Nick: At that position, you just want to hold your own first. Make sure you're not getting pushed back and creating huge running lanes for the opposition. That obviously didn't happen against the Giants, who averaged just 1.1 yards per carry. Doing that makes you a solid defensive tackle, which would be a step up from what we've seen so far out of Mazi Smith. Now, if you're going to be a good to great defensive tackle, you must be disruptive. You must push your guy back into the backfield a few times. You must stop the runner behind the line of scrimmage. Mazi Smith did that better on Thursday night better than I have seen at any time in his young career. To say it was his best game isn't saying a lot because he just hasn't had that many moments, of course. But it was a nice start, and a needed one, considering the lack of depth they have right now at defensive tackle.
Patrik: Yes. Next question. ... ... But all jokes aside, it absolutely was the best four quarters of football Mazi Smith has played for the Cowboys and, truth be told, it's a continuation of what he was able to do in the fourth quarter against the Ravens, despite that game being a loss. The former first-round pick is beginning to come into his own as the starting nose tackle, though what he needs to establish now is consistent over the course of the next several weeks. His numbers will never jump off of the page, because of the position he plays and he's not Aaron Donald, because no one is, but the way he's beginning to make an impact is in not only run defense but in how he moved bodies to allow the linebackers a path to the pocket. If he keeps this up, he'll prove a lot of people outside of this building very, very wrong.
