Adjustments Dallas Cowboys Must Make Post-Bye Week

After a rocky 2-3 start, the Dallas Cowboys entered their Week 6 bye desperately looking for answers to kickstart their season.

Unfortunately, the bye week ended up creating more questions, as the team lost two Week 1 starters in cornerback Nolan Carroll (released) and defensive tackle Stephen Paea (retirement).

To make matters worse, the team also learned star running back Ezekiel Elliott is suspended for the next six games, barring a new court ruling. Dallas needed the bye week to focus on the upcoming stretch of difficult games, but in typical Cowboys fashion, it was anything but a quiet week off. 

If the Cowboys want to save their season and get back to the playoffs, here are a handful of adjustments they need to make coming out of their off week.

With the Elliott suspension set to be in effect for the next six gameweeks, the Cowboys will have a hard time replacing him. It's not that Elliott has gashed teams on the ground in the same way he did last season, but the amount of attention he demands helps the Dallas offense out in so many different ways.

The team will likely try to replace Elliott with either Darren McFadden or Alfred Morris, but maybe the best solution is to just toss the keys to quarterback Dak Prescott and allow him to control the offense. These next six games can give Prescott the opportunity to show that he's not just a product of a system and talent around him.

If nothing else, this six-game suspension will tell a lot about Prescott and the Cowboys' future. If Prescott can continue to play and produce at a high level, Dallas can live with a somewhat mediocre record knowing the team's future is bright. But if Prescott struggles because of the lack of a rushing attack, there may be doubts as to just how far he can take the Cowboys in the future.

With likely a much less effective rushing attack and a leaky defense, a lot will be put on Prescott's shoulders over the next two months. It's going to be fascinating to see how he handles that pressure and whether the Cowboys can stay afloat over the next several weeks.

With the loss of Paea, the Cowboys are without a true 1-technique on the roster. The only other player who is somewhat capable of handling that job is Brian Price, whom Dallas claimed in September from the Green Bay Packers. But he's struggled this season, grading out as just the 108th interior defender in the league, according to Pro Football Focus.

To cover up Paea's loss and Price's poor play, the Cowboys could opt to use their Deacon Defense more on earlier downs. In case you aren't familiar with what the Deacon Defense is for Dallas, it's a three-man defensive front with only two linebackers on the field. In this package, the team is essentially daring opponents to run the ball or throw the ball short of the sticks.

This defensive package has worked well for the Cowboys this season. According to personal charting, Dallas has used this personnel package on 58 plays this season and has allowed just four first downs. It has also created six sacks and a number of pressures on the quarterback.

With Dallas having such a young secondary, the team might be wise to employ this package more in the upcoming weeks, especially since David Irving has returned from his suspension. With DeMarcus Lawrence, Maliek Collins and Irving on the field, the Cowboys can typically generate the same amount of pocket disruption as they do with a traditional four-man front. And with Sean Lee's return likely, expect the team to rely heavily on its Deacon Defense against some tough quarterbacks, including Matt Ryan, Kirk Cousins, and Alex Smith.

Again, the Elliott suspension changes the entire Cowboys offense. With the running back in the lineup, Dallas has run the ball over 50 percent of the time on first down, according to Sharp Football Stats. In order to protect the defense, Dallas continued to run the ball, even against loaded boxes, to keep the clock running.

But without Elliott, the Cowboys won't be able to be so predictable early on downs. Elliott had the ability to still punish defenses on early downs despite everyone in the stadium knowing Dallas was going to run the ball. The Cowboys will likely continue to try to protect their defense by using up the clock, but they will have to do it in other ways.

One way Dallas could neutralize the loss of Elliott is by opening up the offense more on early downs. The Cowboys could decide to use more receivers on early downs and spread teams out. But they could also utilize Prescott's legs more often to help boost the team's ground attack. 

As the Cowboys adjust to life without their star running back, expect them to open up their offense as they try to find ways to continue to put points up on the board.

If the Cowboys want to be a more aggressive offense, the first step in accomplishing this could be to insert receiver Brice Butler into the lineup over Terrance Williams. According to Pro Football Reference, Williams has out-snapped Butler 222 to 108 this season. However, Butler has 207 receiving yards and two touchdowns compared to Williams' 180 and no scores.

Not only is Butler scoring more touchdowns on fewer snaps and on fewer targets, but he's also creating big plays for the Cowboys. The former Oakland Raider already has four receptions of over 30 yards this season, but Williams has just four in his past 21 games.

Butler has the size, speed and the connection with Prescott to be the deep threat the Cowboys need opposite of Dez Bryant. And again, with Elliott's suspension, Dallas is going to need to find explosive plays in order to help move the offense. By inserting Butler into the picture more frequently, the Cowboys would get a little bit more speed into their offense.

Heading into the season, Orlando Scandrick was the team's best cornerback. But through five games, it might be close to the time for the Cowboys to move on from the 30-year old team captain. Scandrick just doesn't have the quickness he had earlier in his career, and that is preventing him from playing in the slot. And because of his lack of size and ball skills (just eight interceptions in his 10-year career), teams aren't afraid to throw the ball to his side.

Scandrick is clearly declining, and he's probably not in Dallas' future plans considering the team tried to trade him during the draft this season, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. It would be wise for the team to explore other options for the rest of the season. One way Dallas could limit Scandrick's snaps would be to allow rookie Xavier Woods to handle the slot duties.

Through five weeks, Woods is the team's second-highest-graded cornerback, according to Pro Football Focus. Woods was a versatile defender in college, lining up all over the field. But for the most part, his snaps came at safety. But in the NFL, Woods is playing a majority of his snaps as a corner—specifically in the slot. According to Pro Football Focus, 61 of Woods' 113 snaps of the season have come as a slot corner.

Woods doesn't have great size, but his instincts and ability to tackle in space make him the ideal slot cornerback in Dallas' scheme. As the season goes on, look for the Cowboys to continue to give their young defensive backs more opportunities. In this case, expect it to come at the expense of the veteran Scandrick.

Through the first five games, the Cowboys have gotten nothing out of 2017 first-round pick Taco Charlton. According to Pro Football Focus, Charlton has rushed the passer 64 times this season but has only been credited with four pressures. He has failed to sack the quarterback or even register a hit in his short career.

However, he needs to play more snaps. And one of the players who has often played over him is Tyrone Crawford. In Week 5, Crawford struggled to play the run, and the Green Bay Packers continued to find him and run right at him. The five-year veteran turns 28 in November and is a shell of himself, specifically when he plays defensive end.

According to Over the Cap, Crawford's cap number in 2018 is $9.1 million, and it's unlikely Dallas will keep him at that cost, especially considering his drop in play and the other defenders the team will have to pay. Because Crawford won't likely figure into their long-term plan, the Cowboys could opt to give Charlton his snaps to try to speed up his development.

Charlton gives the Cowboys more youth and length on their defensive line, something defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli loves. It hasn't been a great start to Charlton's NFL career, but added snaps should help him and the Dallas defense. As a general rule, expect the Cowboys to go with younger players in the second half of the season regardless of what their record is.