FRISCO, Texas — It was only a few short months ago when the Dallas Cowboys were starved for depth at linebacker, trying glue and sew pieces together, to no avail. Flash forward to the present and they might have a monster on their hands — evidenced in Week 1 by Eric Kendricks and DeMarvion Overshown.
It's a long season, I'll announce as a qualifier here, and this team has a lot to prove when it matters most (in the postseason), but there's objectively no ignoring what the linebackers did on Sept. 8.
Mike Zimmer's fingerprints are all over the defensive moves made this offseason, led by poaching Kendricks away from the San Francisco 49ers at the last minute, and then using a third-round pick on Marist Liufau — a torpedo with a brain and nice hair — then adding Nick Vigil as depth to help bolster a group that also features Damone Clark and was/is headlined by the return of former third-round pick DeMarvion Overshown.
You already know Overshown's story and journey back to the field, or rather you should, unless you're still on AOL dial-up and waiting for the news to download, so let's get right into the impact he and Kendricks had and what it likely means going forward.
It's not an overreaction whatsoever to look at the film from the 33-17 victory over the Cleveland Browns and constantly find yourself quietly and repeatedly saying "holy … " followed by a rotation of expletives.
It was maniac ball of the highest order, and it's what Derek Carr and the New Orleans Saints have the displeasure of looking forward to in Week 2.
A film session on the regular season opener awaits thee. Grab a fork and dig in. You've hungered much too long already.
[Note: Tap each post/tweet for full breakdown on each film clip.]
The Lab Koat
Evaluation No. 1: I've communicated to you all offseason and throughout training camp just how often Zimmer loves to use disguises to confuse quarterbacks, and it didn't take long for Deshaun Watson to be victimized by this very ideal. The above play deceives Watson because he has no clue who will be sent after him versus who will drop back in coverage.
His only real option of David Njoku, but Zimmer trusts Jourdan Lewis to tackle in space, as he should, and it's a chunk play if the veteran cornerback doesn't.
This stalled play began with misdirection by the linebackers.
Evaluation No. 2: What's a guy to do, amirite? The right tackle is staring at two former All-Pros in Kendricks and Parsons, and has to decide which of them he wants to take on, knowing full well the other is going to have a free run at Watson. He chose Kendricks, the inside rusher, which wasn't the wrong choice, only it was, because Parsons can attack from the outside as quickly as anyone else can attack from the inside.
Damned if he did, damned if he didn't, and Parsons handles the rest by rewarding Kendricks with a tip drill.
Evaluation No. 3: This is some dynamic football IQ by all involved, but particularly Overshown. He didn't play like a rookie in his NFL debut, period. Notice how he covers on this play — deploying his skills as a former safety turned linebacker. He reads the routes in front of him and doesn't try to do to much, i.e., allowing himself to be dragged all the way right by the crosser.
Instead, he understands it's his job to pass that off to Kendricks and to delete the underneath receiver, and so he does. Meanwhile, as Watson tries to figure all of that out, Lawrence is barreling toward him through 1.5 blockers for the sack.
Another big play for the defense that was rooted in linebacker play, this time in coverage.
Evaluation No. 4: Micah Parsons operates as a bit of a tweener on this play, having been moved around often in this game as a foreshadowing of what's to come for the All-Pro in Zimmer's scheme. Having dropped out of the bluff often to this point of the matchup, Watson being convinced it'll happen again, Kendricks rushes the QB for added pressure.
Overshown, however, does drop out into coverage to erase the tight end that leaked out on the delayed release, and with the aid of Lewis. That allows Parsons the added split second to beat his second blocker and flush Watson to his right, where he's taken down for a sack at the line of scrimmage by none other than Kendricks.
That's right, Kendricks rushed the passer then realized he wouldn't get there so he peeled back to patiently observe Watson's behavior, and then pounced on him to avoid a gainer. This is football IQ of the highest order.
Evaluation No. 5: I've shown you examples of how superb the Cowboys' linebackers were in disguising and in coverage, and how that impacted QB pressure up front, but let's shift gears to the run defense. That's something the Cowboys have struggled with over the past several seasons and part of it has been due to needing more beef up front, while the other part is directly tied to the lack of speed and size at linebacker.
But no more.
This is another view of Kendricks' patience and ability to know when to fire himself out of a cannon versus when to allow the play to develop to attack it a different way. Notice the hesitation at the snap as he recognizes it's a run, the jab back to allow enough space to avoid being blocked and then the burst to blow past said blocker to take down Elijah Ford with a hand from Marshawn Kneeland.
The linebackers in Dallas are upgrading the run defense, and in spades.
Evaluation No. 6: The impact by the linebackers in the run defense against the Browns wasn't exclusive to traditional handoffs, either. On the play above, glue your eyes to Overshown throughout. Another weapon opposing teams have often deployed against the Cowboys have been screen passes, and to great success; and that's due to lack of an elite LBs corps that can house several linebackers who can play sideline to sideline with the speed and burst that is equivalent to some NFL WRs.
Overshown is one such linebacker — his 1.59s 10-yard split being the same as Parsons', by the way — but here he perfectly marries his football IQ and preparation (meeting room breakdowns of the opponent's tendencies in certain sets) to quickly diagnose this screen pass.
He doesn't overpursue or try to play hero ball. The de facto rookie simply watches, stalks, and attacks in yet another demonstration of his stellar open field tackling abilities. Against speedier and shiftier RBs, this will come in handy. (Hi, Christian.)
Evaluation No. 7: Speaking of his ability to take down ballcarriers in the open field, here's Overshown doing it yet again on one of the less flashy but still impactful plays of the game. You can see him look at the receiver releasing past him and consider carrying him upfield, seeing as he has the ability to do it, but that wasn't his assignment. He stayed true to his keys and pulled the brake when seeing the running back leak out for a screen pass.
As such, it's another screen pass that was killed by Overshown and it led to the Browns being forced to give the ball back to the Cowboys via punt. In essence, it helped kill the drive before it could even get started. The more teams try to operate in space, the more Overshown, Kendricks and the LBs room in Dallas will shine this season.
Evaluation No. 8: Yet another, and very important, form of run defense put on film here by Overshown. It's one thing to stop a running back taking a handoff. It's another thing to stop the quick screens being used as quasi-run plays. But it's an entirely different thing to take down mobile quarterbacks in the open field to keep their rushing yards to a minimum.
One play after DeMarcus Lawrence, who had an outstanding game in his own right, got a tackle for loss against the Browns, it was Kneeland forcing Watson to abandon the entire left side of the field. Breaking the pocket to his right, it was a foot race against the speed of Parsons, only it wasn't Parsons who shut it all down.
It was Overshown covering an insane amount of real estate in the blink of an eye (29.9 yards, to be exact) to flash across the face of Parsons and plant Watson for a loss of three yards on 4th-and-6.
"I was like, bro, you got people think you faster than me now," Parsons said. "He's so fast. He's explosive. To come out there like that in the first game. His confidence is through the roof man, he just got me super excited. He's coming downhill with intent, with everything.
"He's one of the most exciting players that I've seen. That no one's ever got to see. I think he's going to be an All-Pro player."
Evaluation No. 9: You have to wonder if Watson woke up several times each night this week in a cold sweat with a bad case of The Shakes, haunted by what Overshown did to him on Sunday. The young Cowboys' linebacker was a Visa card to Watson — everywhere he wanted to be — and it never required ... a swipe.
On the play above, he shows, again, that his game is more than just being a bullet in a chamber waiting to be discharged. Overshown is also patient, clearly learning from Kendricks in this regard, spying Watson the whole way while quietly navigating his way to being in position to strike at the right moment.
Not too soon, or Watson would simply improvise in another way. He allowed Watson to think the space to left of the offensive line was open, but it was never an option with Overshown baiting him to go there.
The Mad Scientist
Zimmer is moving Parsons around like a queen on a chess board (eight total spots/techniques), check.
He's loaded the Cowboys' linebackers room with a mix of proven and still peak LB talent (Kendricks) and high-ceiling youth (Liufau) with the added benefit of Clark as a downhill thumper and Overshown as a gift from the Dan Quinn era — check, check and check.
Keeping in mind both Parsons and All-Pro cornerback Trevon Diggs said the Cowboys showed only three sets in Cleveland out of the 50+ that are in Zimmer's playbook, sending Watson into the realm of bewilderment in the process, is diabolical behavior; and Liufau hasn't been fully unleashed yet, either.
Time will tell how this all shakes out for Zimmer's latest version of his defense in Dallas but, thus far, the way he's mixing chemicals in his laboratory conjures images of Victor Frankenstein.
Thanks to a how the LB room was pieced together this offseason, this defense isn't catatonic on any rep.
IT'S ALIVE.
