Today, the NFL decided to, as expected, reinstate cornerback Adam Jones after an indefinite suspension. I know, cue the obligatory insults, comments regarding Jones or the Cowboys and their harboring of fugitives, blah, blah, blah.
But, an important question to consider now that Jones is officially in their ranks for the regular season (besides if it was the right decision) is do the Cowboys have the best secondary in the NFL now?
With multiple off-season moves, the Cowboys have solidified their defensive backfield and added both talent and some much needed depth.
Last season, their secondary was racked by injuries to starting corners Terence Newman and Anthony Henry at different times of the season, as Newman missed three games due to a foot issue that bothered him well after his return, and Henry missed three.
Even so, Dallas had one of the better pass defenses in the league, tying for sixth in interceptions with 19, ninth in completion percentage (58.9%), and ranking a respectable 13th in yards allowed per game (213.1), which is pretty good considering that there were only three more teams who had more passes to defend than Dallas.
Unfortunately, combined with the injury issues, lack of quality depth, and a few key instances where the pass defense got burned (vs. New England in Week 6, vs. the Giants in the playoffs), the secondary was a must-address area in the off-season.
When Jacques Reeves signed a free-agent deal with the Houston Texans in March, there may have a small worry in the depth category. But, considering that Reeves could follow up a big play by giving up a big play, he’s someone else’s frustration now.
However, any worries were put to bed when they Cowboys used two of their six draft picks on corners, taking South Florida’s Mike Jenkins and Boise St.’s Orlando Scandrick.
Jenkins isn’t an interception machine, but he has shutdown corner written all over him. Scandrick declared early for the draft, but had he stayed, he would’ve been taken much higher in 2009. He’s got great speed as a corner and great potential there, but he’ll be a huge asset on special teams.
Another draft pick used on trading for Tennessee’s Jones, whose legal issues have been well-documented by sports media approximately 35,000,000 times. Jones ditched the nickname Pacman, and so far, things have gone well with his new team (well he’s got no choice, for the sake of his career).
The Cowboys already have a more than serviceable starting unit in Newman and Henry, but given the injury situation with both, quality insurance was a must, and they have that now and some.
At safety, the Cowboys are set. Roy Williams, as overrated (and overweight) as he may be, is a perennial Pro Bowler, and Ken Hamlin is set to be a Cowboy for a long time after signing a long-term deal recently.
In a division that features Donovan McNabb, Eli Manning, and a rising star in Jason Campbell, having a stout secondary is a must, and it’s clear that the Cowboys know that.
Will showing up the secondary help put the defense-and the team on top? We’ll find out soon enough, with the start of the season just a little over a week away.
