Bruce Carter and Morris Claiborne to blame for Cowboys’ loss?
By Mike Dyce
The Dallas Cowboys need a scapegoat always. After the loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in week two there was plenty of finger pointing over play-calling and the lack of run-plays. Now they’re pointing fingers and the defensive side of the ball following a 30-21 loss to the San Diego Chargers.
“Bruce had some problems covering their guys,” coach Jason Garrett said Monday, via the team’s official website. “Two of their touchdowns were scored with (Danny) Woodhead on him, and he didn’t cover him that well, and there some other things going on in our other coverages that he didn’t do a good enough job on.”
Pro Football Focus says that opposing quarterbacks have completed 25 of 35 passes for 268 yards against Carter. Pro Football Focus also ranks cornerback Morris Claiborne 99 out of 101 cornerbacks in the NFL. Claiborne seems to be lacking confidence and struggling with his techniques. Of course, shaken confidence could lead to technically unsound play.
“I think it’s probably a combination,” Garrett said, via ESPN. “Technically, you go back at each of the completions against him and you say, ‘Hey, you should do this. You should do that.’ But I also think confidence, playing that position, is critical. And usually those two things work hand in hand. When you’re playing technically sound and you have ability, you tend to have more and more confidence because you’re in the right place. They went to him too much in this ballgame, and they were too effective. He’s just got to play better, and he will play better.