FRISCO, Texas — Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator Klayton Adams said Thursday that a walkthrough does not cause a pad level problem, pushing back on a premise raised in his own building this week. Dallas hosts the Washington Commanders on Sunday at 3:25 p.m. CT on FOX.
Coach Brian Schottenheimer said Monday the Cowboys played too high on the offensive line in a 28-20 loss at the New York Giants, and he acknowledged during training camp that walkthroughs can pull a lineman upright. Adams does not accept the second half of that.
“I think that if walkthroughs are making your pad level play high, then you’re allowing walkthroughs to play with high pad level. We have to demand that they’re doing things properly in the walkthroughs and being a professional football player in this league,” Adams said. “It’s not even just like the offensive players that have to do that, right? It’s the guys that are on our offensive practice squad or guys that are twos that are over there playing defense. If they’re standing up, then you’re not getting the proper fits.”
The look team is coached the same way, Adams said, and gets told what it has to look like before the tape goes on.
“I actually think that we do a really good job here of defining exactly what we’re looking for there and making sure that the guys that, you might have your whatever practice squad offensive tackle over playing defensive tackle, when we’re watching tape today, I need you to look like this, and play it like this,” Adams explained. “And so we certainly coach those things. I wouldn’t say that if we’re having a pad level issue, it has to do with the walkthrough.”
What Klayton Adams Says Went Wrong At The Giants
Dallas ran 18 times for 69 yards, averaged 3.8 yards a carry, held the ball for 23:20, and had two possessions in the second half. Adams put part of the front’s night on his own decisions.
“I think you challenge them, for one. And then I think you also make sure that they understand that I’ll take some of the blame with them,” Adams said. “It’s like, hey, this isn’t just about you. This is about us. This is about me making better decisions and putting you in better situations. And when we put you in a situation that’s tough, we expect you to come out of it on top. We just can’t do that the entire day.”
Dallas played without Tyler Smith, a three-time Pro Bowl guard who has started all 63 games he has played. Adams said the group that took the field fought through the day even as the early sequences went against it.
“I thought there were some good things. I didn’t feel like we put them in particular good position early on. And like I said, we had to make some adjustments for that. And it ended up being a little bit too little, too late,” Adams said. “But I thought in general, I thought those guys attacked the day. You saw them covering downfield, trying to pick their teammates up. There were a couple plays in the second half where the line of scrimmage was really moving.”
Washington’s Front Is Next
Washington signed edge rushers Odafe Oweh and K’Lavon Chaisson in the offseason and held Philadelphia in check for most of a 24-22 loss in Week 1.
“They’ve got some big physical players. They went out in the offseason and got two edge guys that I think they feel like are good three-down players, not just somebody who’s going to rush the passer, somebody who’s going to try to set edges and be physical,” Adams said. “They did a nice job last week, because really, outside of a couple of scrambles and one long run, they were able to hold Philly at bay.”
Dallas practiced in pads Thursday.
