Ex-NFL scout: Should the Cowboys have paid Barry Church instead of Terrance Williams?

Bryan Broaddus, DallasCowboys.com writer and former NFL personnel man, joined the Ben & Skin show on 105.3 The Fan [KRLD-FM] on Tuesday to talk all things Dallas Cowboys ahead of the team's Thursday night game against the Washington Redskins. Here are some of the highlights:

If you're on the Cowboys' coaching staff and trying to figure out how to rectify things, what have you learned during the three-game losing streak that's made you think, "We gotta turn this particular thing around first" ... ?

Bryan Broaddus: "Yeah, you're pretty bad at pass defense right now. And they've done that. Obviously, with all the work this week, or at least they had a full week to get ready since the [Chargers] game was last Thursday. They focused on the secondary and you're gonna see some different starters there. You're gonna see some guys at some [different] spots. I think you're gonna see [Chidobe] Awuzie's gonna be your starter at left corner. I have a feeling you'll see [Orlando] Scandrick stay on the outside, as the right corner, and I think you'll see a new nickel -- maybe that's Xavier Woods or [Anthony] Brown, but you're gonna see a new nickel. They feel like that their pass defense has really held them back and the guys that they've had, so that's where it looks like the biggest adjustments are gonna be for the team going forward. The pass rush should surely help. The Redskins are down some offensive linemen here, so let's see if the Cowboys can take advantage of it and make some good, but they've just been giving up 500 yards basically through the air, has you thinking, 'Well, we better do something quick.' But, that's kinda what I think you're gonna see this week, guys."

Are the secondary's struggles a result of having to rely on so many young players?

Broaddus: "No, their veteran guys have been bad, too. I mean, Scandrick's not been great, Anthony Brown has regressed to a point where he's gonna lose his job as a starter. Jourdan Lewis has played enough games and stuff like that -- he's been a little bit more up and down. But like I said, there's some [veteran] guys -- Jeff Heath hasn't been exactly great, coach even talked about Byron Jones. When Byron Jones plays down in the box, he's a much better player than he is when he is at depth, and so, a lot of misevaluation, me included, coming out of training camp thinking that some of these guys could play. They just haven't played well enough, and that's been really the biggest issue."

When you say Byron Jones isn't good playing deep, is that something that he can get more reps at, or is it a matter of instincts?

Broaddus: "No, that's a thing where -- when Byron Jones is good, he plays better down. He can tackle when he's down, he can cover when he's down. It's when he has to come from depth is where he's had problems. He's overrun plays, he's been too aggressive, he doesn't always see things the right way, so playing him down is what they need to do. They need to figure out, 'OK, what are the strengths of the players?' And again, guys, I know it's late in the game here and we're talking about all the things you need to do and when you have Ezekiel Elliott, that kinda masks some of the problems that you have at other places. That's why, again, they figured out the secondary has been the biggest issue. I don't think it has anything to do with the lack of experience in some of these guys. Now, you could say that about Lewis, but he's been out there since the word 'go.' They threw him out there in the Denver game and he's had some good moments, but not nearly enough. They got Awuzie now, who's finally. They're gonna see what he's all about. Anthony Brown has just regressed. Coach was talking about he's lacked confidence, he's lacked technique, so they need to figure out what they need to do with him as well."

If Jones is better when he's closer to the line of scrimmage, does that lend itself to the idea that he should be moved to corner?

Broaddus: "I don't think they'll move him to corner. I think they want him to play -- they like him as that down guy. I think they like him in the box as a down guy. I think it begs the question, when you talk about what's gone on in the secondary -- and we had this discussion on Talkin' Cowboys -- is: Should you have paid Barry Church and not paid Terrance Williams [in the offseason]? That's the discussion that we had, was, could you have taken the money and said, 'OK, we'll keep Barry Church for what he does and what you know about Barry Church, would that have solidified things a little bit better in the back end?' I understand with letting [Brandon] Carr and Mo [Claiborne] walk, I get that, but maybe you did need somebody like Barry Church to kinda hold things together back there, especially with Sean Lee being out the way he is."

source:sportsday.dallasnews.com/