Who are these New Look Cowboys (Defense)?

By:  Bobby Shores

Many Dallas Cowboys fans were hesitant to believe in their defense at the beginning of the season when it looked like the defensive personnel was going to essentially stay the same, no flashy free agent signings or high draft picks were used to shore up a defense that ranked near the bottom of the league in every statistical category in 2010. But led by new Defensive Coordinator Rob Ryan, a second year 2nd round draft pick inside linebacker and a journeyman safety; this defense has become a unit to reckon with.

Sean Lee - An instinctual and intelligent player that possessed an innate ability to always know where a play was going and to seamlessly flow through traffic to get there, Lee looked like the next great linebacker in a long line at Penn State. But after tearing his ACL in 2008 he never regained his quickness and ability before the Cowboys used a 2nd round pick on him in the draft. Couple his knee injury with all the minor injuries that he suffered his rookie year that helped keep him off the field, and Cowboys fans didn't have a lot of faith in him being much better than the old and slow linebacking corp of Bradie James and Keith Brooking that he was supposed to help replace.....but little did we know.

 Enter the first game of the 2011 season, Lee led the team with 12 tackles (10 solo) and an interception. That is when people first started to take notice. Lee followed that performance with 22 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, an interception and 3 passes defensed in the next three games. Now fans are not only noticing Lee, but declaring him a star. He has become a leader on the defense, spending countless hours studying his playbook and watching film which has helped him call the plays in the huddle and ensure that everybody is in the right spot.

His biggest attributes though are what made him great, pre-ACL tear at Penn State, that innate ability to diagnose plays before they happen, allowing him to get to the ball and make plays seemingly before the offense even knows what is going on. If the Cowboys latest 2nd round inside linebacker coming off a major knee injury, Bruce Carter, works out nearly as well as the first one, then they will have a linebacking tandem to reckon with for years to come.

Abe Elam/Gerald Sensabaugh - The safety position for the Cowboys for the last few years (ok well really since Darren Woodson retired) has been more of a "disaster" than a "safety", and when they did not address this position high in the draft and instead brought back a recent free agent disappointment in Sensabaugh and a journeyman in Elam, hopes were not high.....Especially since this nearly identical secondary last year spent more time pointing fingers at each other and yelling back and forth amongst themselves and the sideline then actually stopping the opponents....

In comes Elam with his conservative style of play and two years experience in Rob Ryan's defense lining up the secondary in the right places and keeping the lines of communication open with the front seven to make sure that everyone is on the same page, the amount of big plays the secondary gives up has reduced dramatically. While Elam plays conservative, Sensabaugh's ability to make plays (blocked FG, 2 fumbles and 2nd on the team in INT's & Tackles) has been greatly enhanced because he is playing much looser and more confident which has allowed his great athleticism to shine through.

While the secondary is still a work in progress, the improvement from last year, even with multiple starters missing significant time throughout the year has allowed the Cowboys to stay competitive.

The Rest of the Best - You cannot write an article about the Cowboys defense and not mention the contributions these guys have made:

DeMarcus Ware - Most disruptive defender in the NFL, if not the best defensive player, leading the league with 14 sacks.

Bradie James/Keith Brooking - While both have lost a few steps and are role players, the leadership and enthusiasm they bring everyday cannot be understated.

Terence Newman - While he always seems to be battling injuries and has missed significant time the last few years, and was nearly cut before the season started, he leads the team with 4 INT's and has to be the Cowboys "Comeback Player of the Year"

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