For the Cowboys defense that learned a lot over the summer and was supposed to show up for its "graduation day" in the season opener, according to new coordinator Christian Parker, the pupils returned to school for a big-time refresher course after their uninspiring performance in a 28-20 loss on Sunday.
And for the first lesson, head coach Brian Schottenheimer took the class back to basics.
"It was surprising to us that we didn't communicate very well," Schottenheimer said in his Wednesday press conference.
"Spent quite a bit of time yesterday in the team meeting just going back through the keys to communication. First part is being decisive and loud. Second part, that's the person that's giving it. And then, the receiving is where we were off
on a few things, Calls were being made. They have to be louder, they have to be more decisive, but they have to be received. ... There should be hand signals that show information being received. We need to be better."
If not better, the communication will definitely be different when the Commanders come to town in Week 2. That's because linebacker DeMarvion Overshown, who wore the green dot designating him as the on-the-field play caller for the Dallas defense, will be in street clothes following a hamstring tweak against the Giants. Overshown isn't expected to miss a lot of time- maybe just one or two weeks- but it'll be enough to task someone else with the communication responsibilities this Sunday.
Right now, the expectation is that it will be Jaishawn Barham, a rookie who played all of 34 snaps in his NFL debut.
Schottenheimer wouldn't commit to that plan, but he is confident that the third-round pick, who famously doesn't say much around the locker room, would rise to the occasion.
"As always, we have multiple guys that can do it. All the confidence in the world in Jaishawn," Schottenheimer told reporters. "He is actually very loud when he communicates. He would do fine in that, but we do have other things that we're looking at."
Barham was on the field for half of the defense's snaps in Week 1 and logged six tackles, including one for loss. A few widely-shared clips on social media highlighted Barham seeming to be out of position at times, but Schottenheimer made it clear that the team's poor play on that side of the ball was a group failure.
"I'm not going to put it on one position."
Schottenheimer pointed out the complexities that come with playing defense in today's NFL, offering a reminder that creating confusion and misdirection is the whole point for those on the offensive side of the ball.
"We're this way on offense," he explained. "You're trying to change the picture, you're trying to make things look different. You're trying to make people have to adjust on the run: motion, shifts, movements are at an all-time high in this level. So if you don't communicate when the numbers change and the picture changes, you're going to put yourself at a disadvantage. That's what we did to ourselves the other night."Could the mismatch that fans saw Sunday night really come down to something as elementary as a louder voice in the huddle? Schottenheimer and the Cowboys are betting on it, making it the focus of this week's prep for Week 2.
"There's a lot that goes into it, and I'm chalking it up to the fact that it was our first game. We were making calls, we just weren't making them all the time and then receiving them all the time," he said. "That's us not being on the same page. And team defense is about all 11 guys being on the same page."
Now it could be up to a 22-year-old rookie playing in his second game to open up the book, clear his throat, and get them there.
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This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Schottenheimer: Cowboys could turn to rookie with green dot responsibilities in Week 2
