‘Down Near The Line Of Scrimmage’: Dallas Cowboys Safety Injuries Have Kept Caleb Downs Deep, Brian Schottenheimer Says
FRISCO, Texas — Dallas Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said Wednesday that injuries at safety have forced rookie Caleb Downs to play deeper than the team designed, and that Dallas wants to get him closer to the line of scrimmage and into the nickel.
Dallas traded up to take Downs out of Ohio State with the 11th pick in April. Schottenheimer said the Cowboys lost five safeties at one time this season, including Alijah Clark, who has been out with a hamstring injury.
“Probably based on playing him farther away from the ball. That’s not the design for Caleb. We want Caleb down near the line of scrimmage. We want him around the ball. We want him playing nickel,” Schottenheimer said. “But because we’re so beat up at safety, he’s had to play back there. And we want to try to get him more involved. And he’s able to make a lot more plays when he’s up around the line of scrimmage.”
Downs played all 72 defensive snaps in last Thursday’s 24-16 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and finished with 3 tackles. On the first play of the second half, Bucky Irving went 72 yards off left tackle before Downs pushed him out of bounds at the Dallas 14.
Five Safeties Lost At Once
The injuries have also affected what defensive coordinator Christian Parker wants to do with his scheme, Schottenheimer said.
“I think that’s a big part of it. Like I said, we’re never going to make excuses, but we’re beat up in certain positions you don’t want to be beat up in,” Schottenheimer explained. “To lose five safeties at one time and to have a corner that you’re building some stuff around going into a short week and then he’s not able to play because he’s sick, that’s all unfortunate.”
Christian Parker On Getting Caleb Downs In The Action
Parker said Thursday that the role for Downs at Green Bay was still to be determined, but that the Cowboys want him involved without having to call it.
“I think a player like Caleb, the more you can get him in the action that’s not dictated by call, the better. So there’s different ways to do that, whether it’s nickel, dime, whether you’re cranking the safety down a little more by call. But that’s where he’s been training,” Parker said. “Obviously he’s played both spots when we were healthy. But he’s doing a good job managing the workload and running the show back there, which is what we needed him back there to do. And we’ll see what the role is this week.”
Clark practiced fully all week and carries no game status for Sunday. The Cowboys visit the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, Oct. 18 at Lambeau Field, with kickoff set for 7:20 p.m. CT on NBC.
