Dreadful news came from the Dallas Cowboys practice in Oxnard, California on Tuesday night. The defending NFC East champions lost starting cornerback Orlando Scandrick for the entire 2015 season with a torn ACL and MCL in his right knee.
In his seventh season as a pro, the once maligned member of the Dallas secondary not only thrived, but became the most important cog to the unit. According to Football Outsiders, the Cowboys played a nickel defense 68% of the time, and it was Scandrick who kicked inside to the slot with his versatility.
With Scandrick done, it means Dallas has lost two of its three most played corners from last season. Sterling Moore signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a free agent leaving the Cowboys with only Brandon Carr. Carr graded out as the 18th worst CB in the NFL according to Pro Football Focus. Dallas did sign Corey White away from the Saints, but the same metrics had him as the third worst corner.
Those two, plus rookie first round pick out of Connecticut Byron Jones and first round bust Morris Claiborne are going to have to pick up the slack for the loss of Scandrick. A more realistic way for the Cowboys to get around the loss is to have other areas pick up the slack.
The Cowboys need their front seven to hide it’s porous backend with an improved pass rush. Last season Dallas compiled 28 sacks, the fifth lowest total across the NFL. To help this improve Dallas signed edge rusher Greg Hardy (suspended first four games), drafted edge rusher Randy Gregory out of Nebraska in the second round and will hope from improvement from second-year defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence.
The other way Dallas can hide their defensive weakness is once again keeping them off the field. Running back DeMarco Murray is gone, but their stellar offensive line hasn’t disappeared. The Cowboys should have one of the best rushing attacks even with a drop off due to worse running back play or injuries.
Being able to hide flaws is an essential part of building a successful NFL roster. While the Cowboys have issues, and losing Scandrick makes one of these more extreme, there’s still ways for them to have a quality season. The question is will they be able to do enough to make the playoffs for two consecutive seasons for the first time since 2006 and 2007?
