The Dallas Cowboys have what appears to be a generational defensive talent in Micah Parsons. But are they hurting his performance by over-coaching the second-year defender?
In the 2021 NFL Draft, the Cowboys didn’t have their eyes set on Parsons, the young Lion linebacker out of Penn State. Instead, Dallas was targeting two of the top cornerbacks in the draft in Alabama’s Patrick Surtain Jr. and South Carolina’s Jaycee Horn. Yet, both Surtain and Horn were selected right before the Cowboys’ first-round selection at 10th overall.
If the Cowboys knew what Parsons would soon become, they would have likely taken Parsons with the No. 10 pick. Instead, Dallas traded back with the Philadelphia Eagles and dropped two spots. Fortunately for America’s Team, neither the Eagles or the New York Giants understood what Parsons would become either.
As the 12th overall selection, Parsons became the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year racking up 84 combined tackles, 20 tackles for loss, 30 quarterback hits, three pass deflections, three forced fumbles, and 13.0 sacks in 16 games.
Entering his second season, Parsons had his eyes set on bigger goals. And one was achieved at the midway point of the season with both fans and pundits selecting him as the midseason winner of the NFL Defensive Player of the Year favorite.
Through nine games this season, Parsons has posted 8.0 sacks, 43 combined tackles, 10 tackles for loss, 14 QB hits, two pass deflections, two forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery for a defensive touchdown.
Unfortunately, the 23-year old linebacker is coming off the worst performance of his young career against the Green Bay Packers where he recorded zero quarterback pressures on veteran passer Aaron Rodgers on just eight pass-rushing attempts. Parsons hasn’t had a sack since Week Seven.
The Cowboys lucked out on drafting Parsons with the 12th overall selection last year. And now, one analyst for ESPN believes the team may be improperly coaching perhaps the most naturally-talented defender to come to the NFL since Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor.
Here’s what ESPN’s Ryan Clark said on an episode of ESPN NFL Live this past week about Parsons and the Cowboys’ coaching staff.
“I say stop teaching Micah stuff … Micah Parsons is more naturally gifted a football player than their coaches are naturally-gifted teachers. So, stop teaching him. Stop saying ‘Hey Micah, you gotta rush like this, you gotta set it up like this.’ Let him do the same dang thing he was doing last year and all the stuff he was doing at the beginning of the year … It’s time to let him loose the same way you let him loose early on in his career because that’s what he does. That’s what he’s great at. That’s why he was drafted. Do not move him off-the-ball and waste him trying to be intelligent … see ball, get ball, the end.”
Ryan Clark, ESPN Analyst on ESPN NFL Live
Clearly, any teaching the Dallas Cowboys’ coaching staff is trying to do is in an effort to win ball games and to improve the performance of Micah Parsons. Yet, over-coaching and putting too much on a player’s plate are possibilities that have to be closely monitored.
Still, there likely isn’t a better defensive coordinator on the planet to guide someone like Parsons than Dan Quinn. So it’s not difficult to believe these two combined will figure out the proper balance between playing smart and playing instinctive.
