Slowing Down? Micah Parsons' Shrinking Stats About Dallas Cowboys' Scheme, Not Durability
The Dallas Cowboys’ 49-17 victory over the New York Giants was arguably the best game of the season for "America’s Team'' — unless you were hoping to see edge rusher Micah Parsons make an impact.
Parsons, for the first time in his career, literally did not appear in the box score. Not only did he fail to generate a sack, he didn’t even make a tackle. Dallas would rest its starters by the game’s final minutes, but Parsons still played on 68 percent of the defense’s snaps. Of course, even a blowout win could not keep the Cowboys away from media scrutiny.
On Wednesday, 105.3 The Fan host Bryan Broaddus asked whether or not Parsons’ silent showing was a sign of things to come. Parsons has seen dips in sack production before, prompting questions about his durability over the course of the long season. Somebody on the broadcast pointed out he had 12 sacks through 11 games last season, only to finish with 2.5 the rest of the way.
Cowboys edge rusher Micah Parsons hits Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford.
Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
Is Parsons beginning to slow down?
No! Glad we got that out of the way.
Parsons’ production may falter in the second half of the season, but if Week 10 was any indication, the "blame'' - for lack of a better word - will belong to defensive coordinator Dan Quinn.
Quinn has done a good job keeping the defense strong amidst a flurry of injuries, but it was his choice to limit Parsons’ opportunities on the pass rush. Parsons took 10 snaps as an off-ball linebacker on Sunday, the second-highest mark of his season.
This was likely an attempt to replace linebacker Leighton Vander Esch, who was ruled out for the season after an injury sustained in Week 5. The most snaps Parsons has taken off the line of scrimmage came the following week while Dallas continued to search for answers at linebacker.
Frankly, there are better ways to allocate resources across the defense. Parsons is at his best—one of the top three at his position—when he’s rushing the passer. His ability to break opposing offenses with his athleticism provides much more value in seven-yard sacks than covering tight ends and filling an interior gap from the linebacker spot. It seems Parsons agrees.
“Nobody’s perfect. All teams aren’t perfect. Like I said, it was scheme,” Parsons said on his podcast “The Edge.” “They decided they wanted me off ball. I just show up and play. At the end of the day, I have no control over what’s called or what I’m doing. I just got to have faith in the coaches.”
If he continues to play inside linebacker at times, it’s an inevitability that his so-far 7.5-sack campaign will trail off a bit. He’ll be making an impact in a different fashion that won’t show up in Defensive Player of the Year graphics, but that isn’t an indictment of his ability to perform late in the season.
This season, Parsons is top-three in pass rush win rate by both ESPN and PFF’s measures. Even if his sack totals dwindle in the season’s final weeks, we'll argue that fans can feel confident that the Cowboys’ best player will likely retain his dominance until Dallas’ final whistle. ... and that Quinn will wisely find a way to utilize the "Lion-backer'' for his greatest impact.
