DeMarcus Lawrence calling the Cowboys' defense ‘soft’ is the worst insult for a group whose pride is wounded - The Dallas Morning News

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The biggest hit delivered by the Cowboys defense on Sunday occurred postgame when its star player gave a blunt assessment of the unit’s performance.

DeMarcus Lawrence does not suffer fools gladly, nor will he put lipstick on a pig. The Cowboys defensive end calls it as he sees it, and that’s one of the things I appreciate about his comments to media. When he called the defense “soft” after the unit allowed 307 rushing yards to the Browns in an embarrassing performance, he didn’t hold back. In fact, he used “soft” not once, not twice, but three times to describe the worst result for a run defense in 61 seasons of Cowboys' football.

That’s one use of “soft” for every 100 rushing yards surrendered in the 49-38 loss to the Browns.

“Soft” is the biggest insult that can be hurled at a football player or unit. Missed assignments, lack of communication, blown coverages, bad angles, missed tackles, penalties…those mistakes happen in a game. But “soft”? That’s not about mistakes. “Soft” is about toughness, want-to, and manhood.

“I mean, just growing up and playing like real men out there and not like little kids,” Lawrence said of defending the run. “We gotta attack people before they try to attack us. I feel like we are doing a lot of catching and you don’t get better from it.”

When asked about why the Cowboys are 1-3 to start the season, Lawrence gave another no-nonsense assessment.

“Like I said, we came out of the game soft,” he replied. “You know, in different words, I could call it something else. It’s just about having some grit. You know, say balls-to-the-wall, and going out there and giving it everything you’ve got.”

Hmmm, I would say his postgame comments had a theme.

And the worst part of the defense’s performance is the unit knew the Browns were going to try to establish the run. Even knowing what was coming, the defense allowed an average of 7.7 yards-per-rush. Through the first three quarters of the game, the Browns were averaging over 9 yards-per-rush.

“It’s not no surprise,” Lawrence said of the Browns' plan-of-attack offensively. “We just have to do a better job of preparing, preparing and, you know, really putting our full hearts into the game and play this game for 60 minutes straight. This is all about us going down as really showing that you are a real man out there and playing together.”

There’s that "manhood” theme again.

Lawrence was obviously frustrated after the game, so there’s some emotion spilling-out as well as analysis. He’s a prideful player, one who is playing on a sore knee that landed him on the injury list last week. His and his teammates' pride is wounded after a performance like Sunday’s. Lawrence is not absolving himself, rightfully pointing out “my job is to go out there and try to make as many plays to help my team win the game and I don’t feel like I am doing that right now and I will get back to it.”

Adding injury to insult, another defensive player was unable to finish the game. Watching from behind the Cowboys' bench, I saw Tyrone Crawford limp to the sideline in the final minute of the first half. The medical staff was looking at his right foot. He was on the sideline for the second half in full uniform, but did not re-enter the game. His status this week will be an area of concern for a defense that is already beaten-up.

And that’s another of the biggest issues for this team. The cavalry ain’t coming. Leighton Vander Esch and Sean Lee are still on injured reserve, and so are two starting cornerbacks (Anthony Brown & Chidobe Awuzie). Sure, fans and media can speculate on whether or not Jerry Jones should pull-the-trigger on signing Earl Thomas, but meanwhile we’ve got Donovan Wilson playing safety for Darius Thompson who was benched in the first half.

After the previous week’s dismantling of the Cowboys' secondary by Seahawks QB Russell Wilson, even more slings & arrows will be cast towards defensive coordinator Mike Nolan this week. Obviously “improving communication” is just one area that needs fixing.

“If you think you are going to sit here and get a whole new coaching staff and, you know, win every game and shoot for the stars, you got a big surprise coming,” noted Lawrence. “We got so much talent, but without that grit, without that toughness, talent don’t mean nothing in the NFL. So, it’s all about us coming together, figuring it out, and getting better from it.”

Next Sunday provides Lawrence and his teammates a chance to take out some frustrations. The winless Giants are coming to town and their injury-depleted offense which hasn’t scored a touchdown in two weeks.

NOTES FROM THE COWBOYS' SIDELINE:

— In addition to DE Tyrone Crawford (foot, 2nd quarter) suffering an injury and not returning to the game, Dalton Schultz did not return after taking a direct hit to his leg/knee late in the 4th quarter.

— Sunday’s attendance (25,021) was an increase of 3,313 from the home opener. Several thousand fans were clad in orange and brown, rooting for the Browns who, as a non-conference opponent, play in Arlington only once every eight years. Thank goodness for the Browns fans. If not for them, it would have been quieter than Sunday (at least until the Cowboys offense mounted a furious rally in the 4th quarter).

— Cowboys' team captains included: RB Zeke Elliott (offense), DT Dontari Poe (defense), and DE Dorance Armstrong (special teams).

— Cowboys Radio Network statistician Bob Thomas worked his 700th career game on Sunday, receiving a commemorative game ball to note the milestone. In Thomas' first regular season game back in 1984, the starting quarterbacks were Gary Hogeboom (Cowboys) and Vince Ferragamo (Rams) and a couple of Hall of Fame running backs were in the backfield (Eric Dickerson and Tony Dorsett).

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