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FRISCO, Texas — Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Christian Parker said Thursday that his defense has to keep its eyes disciplined against the pre-snap motion of the San Francisco 49ers. The 7-1 49ers visit AT&T Stadium on Sunday.
Parker is nine games into his first season as a defensive coordinator. He coached defensive backs for the Philadelphia Eagles before Dallas hired him.
Dallas held the Indianapolis Colts to 271 total yards in Sunday’s 27-23 win. The Colts scored on a 55-yard catch-and-run late in the third quarter and on field goals of 59 and 50 yards in the fourth.
Parker wants his defenders calm at the snap, no matter how much San Francisco moves before it.
“Yeah, well, you don’t want to be chasing the rabbit every play when it comes to them,” Parker said. “They do a really good job of using subtle motions, some impactful motions to create angles and leverage in the run and the pass game. They’ve always been one of the best doing it with that. So, got to be clean, got to have great eye discipline.”
“And also have to know where the people next to you, kind of as things change and jobs change, as numbers, the count and the run in the pass game are altered,” Parker continued. “You got to be calm when the ball is snapped. So you got to avoid all the eye candy, take that snapshot when the ball is snapped. What’s the formation? What’s the backfield set? And then go play fast.”
Kyle Juszczyk, George Kittle, And Christian McCaffrey
Fullback Kyle Juszczyk lines up all over San Francisco’s formation, along with tight end George Kittle and running back Christian McCaffrey. Parker counts Juszczyk and Kittle among the brains of the operation.
“Nah, they’re two totally different players. Yeah, they’re two totally different players,” Parker explained. “Juice, he’s lined up at receiver. He’s a slot. He’s tight end. He’s in the backfield. I’m surprised they don’t put him at quarterback sometimes, but he can do it all. You certainly see that him and Kittle are big parts of the brains in the operation and how versatile they’re able to be. They’re positionless players and they treat him as such.”
“And so, very different than having just a traditional fullback that’s in the backfield that’s looking to thud somebody up every play,” Parker added. “He does a good job in the run and pass game, and you got to account for that.”
Juszczyk’s pre-snap motion leaves defenders guessing which way he will go once the ball is snapped, Parker said.
“Yeah, no, it’s a huge part of it, because he, the snap point,” Parker said. “There’s the motion as it is, but then the ball snaps. You don’t know which way he’s going to go. So again, you have to be disciplined in where your eyes are and just treating him like the threat. Where is he aligned and how are we treating him? Is the ball following him? What are my keys? There’s 10 other players on the field as well. So everybody can’t get enamored with where he is. You have to have your eyes where they’re supposed to be and act accordingly.”
Parker said the difference with Kittle is that most featured players are not the run blocker he is.
“Well, I mean, playing against him historically, he is a traditional throwback tight end,” Parker said. “He’s going to be at the point of attack in the run game. He’s going to catch passes down the field and the screen game, do it all. So you certainly have to account for him, just like you would any other featured player on the offense. I think the difference is most time the featured player isn’t the type of run blocker he is.”
“So you don’t want to have a bunch of DBs crowding the line of scrimmage around him because we’ve seen those movies before,” Parker continued. “So you got to treat him with the respect that he deserves and is certainly earned, and have answers for him in both regards.”
McCaffrey, who sat out Wednesday’s practice on a rest day, rarely goes down on first contact, Parker said.
“Yeah, I think he’s a significant player,” Parker said. “Number one, he’s a really good running back, and then you add in the skill set when he aligns out wide, and he’s better than most wideouts you’re gonna face. So you have to account for him in both regards. I think both as receiving threat, treating his alignment, and then you got to tackle him. You got to swarm. He very rarely goes down off first contact very easily.”
“So having your eyes in the right place, winning your leverage when you have to win it, when he’s doubled, you got to win your double, when he’s singled up, you got to win that matchup as well,” Parker noted. “But he’s certainly one of the special talents in the league, and he has been for a long time.”
Caleb Downs, Quinnen Williams, And Shemar James
Rookie safety Caleb Downs, the 11th overall pick in April, had a sack and his first career interception at Indianapolis. He intercepted Daniel Jones with 35 seconds left to seal the win. His older brother, Colts receiver Josh Downs, caught 3 passes for 24 yards.
“Yeah, I mean, I think he’s just, he’s a confident, prepared individual,” Parker said. “It’s very serious to him. The moment’s never too big. So I think with all the, there was a lot made of him going against his brother and all those things. I think he was extremely focused all week, and I think he took advantages when he was at the point of attack of making plays to help the football team. And he wants to be in those situations, and he executed.”
Defensive tackle Quinnen Williams had 7 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, and a forced fumble at Indianapolis. Parker said it is the staff’s job to keep teams from targeting Williams.
“Yeah, I think Q just, he makes up his mind that he’s going to dominate the game,” Parker said. “He’s fully capable of doing that. It’s our job to put him in positions where teams can’t target him and try to neutralize his mission. But he understands how important he is to our defense. He wants that responsibility.”
“And again, he practices hard. He prepares the right way. So those plays that he makes on Sunday, they were made Monday through Saturday,” Parker continued. “And he’s gotten himself to a point where he can play a good rep count and be impactful every time he’s out there.”
Linebacker Shemar James recovered Williams’ forced fumble and returned it 11 yards. Parker said James puts a lot of value in the pre-snap process.
“Yeah, when I was in Philly, he was coming out of Florida,” Parker said. “Obviously I was coaching the defensive back, so I wasn’t evaluating linebackers. But talking to the linebacker coaches, there was certainly, there were some comparisons to Nakobe in terms of how his voice carried on the field and how he conducted himself. Being here with him, that’s very true.”
“He wants to take command of the huddle. He wants to be a top flight communicator,” Parker continued. “He takes a lot of value in the pre-snap process. He’s always going to be prepared during the week, and so we’ve seen growth from him from the spring until now in terms of just his command on everything and how he wants to be a first responder in everything that we do.”
With DeMarvion Overshown missing six games this season, Parker described James as a steadying influence who takes a lot of pride in that role, starting with his position group.
“But at the linebacker position, a lot of times you’re talking to the front,” Parker said. “You’re communicating with the DBs, and then you got to settle in and do your job. And so being able to be a connector on a lot of levels, Shemar takes a lot of pride in that.”
Rookie Jaishawn Barham has worked at outside linebacker in practice, where edge rusher Donovan Ezeiruaku did not practice Wednesday or Thursday with an ankle injury. Outside linebacker is a rotational position by nature, Parker said.
“Business as usual. Next man up, we have some guys who have played significant snaps throughout the year,” Parker said. “That’s a rotational position by nature. So it’s not like guys are going to be coming out of nowhere to play. Then we’ll get Jaishawn more involved there. He’s kind of been involved there in some spot duty already with some different packages we’ve had throughout the season. We’ll be able to deploy him there some too.”
The Cowboys (4-5) host the 49ers on Sunday at AT&T Stadium. Kickoff is set for 3:25 p.m. CT on Fox.
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