Quinnen Williams has become so important for the Cowboys. Quinnen Williams arrived in Dallas halfway through a defensive disaster, but his seven games in Dallas did little to change the trajectory of a defense that had already gone badly off the rails. “The growth, it’s like night and day,” Williams said of the strides made by the Cowboys on the defensive side of the ball, and in such a short period of time. “Starting in OTAs, and starting the first week of training camp, getting a chance to go against one of the best offenses in battle every single day has helped us tremendously. The mindset coming from the coaches, top down to the players and to the leadership, has been drastically changed.
It’s just fun, man.”
“It’s been amazing — from where we started off in OTAs to where we are at now,” he explained. “We’ve got some fine tuning, some things to clean up, some things to do, but I feel comfortable. The progressions that we made, the growth and the development that we have made, and to go into the right direction that we wanted to go into.”
There are several reasons for that change. The Cowboys brought in Christian Parker and a modernized defensive scheme.
They also surrounded the new coordinator with considerably more talent, trading for Rashan Gary and Dee Winters, acquiring Jalen Thompson, Cobie Durant, P.J. Locke, and Von Miller in free agency, and added talent via the draft with the likes of Caleb Downs, Malachi Lawrence, and Jaishawn Barham.
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And then there is the daily competition. Williams compared the experience to his time at Alabama, when he was constantly going against future first-round picks. Only now, he says, the competition is even better. “The last time I kind of felt this was when I was at ‘Bama, when it came down to you going against first-rounders across from you,” he said. “But here in the NFL, it’s All-Pros everywhere, getting a chance to go against one of the best offenses in the league and one of the best quarterbacks in the league.
“And we’ve got one of the best offensive lines in the league, so using them as a helping tool to get better every single day, and the urgency level from a defensive standpoint to get better every single day. It’s been well-needed and fun. It’s definitely a battle.”
A new defensive coordinator, a revamped roster, and an elite offense providing daily competition.
Williams sees the difference. But notice what he doesn’t say. He doesn’t say the Cowboys have arrived. He doesn’t say the defense is fixed. He doesn’t even say they’re good. Instead, he says:
“I just can’t wait to see the process and the results from all the hard work, but we’re not done yet.”
That’s probably the most important part of everything Williams had to say. The pieces are in place.
Whether they fit together remains to be seen. We’ll find out more in the season opener against the Giants. All of your communities in one place.
