Of all the players who have come to symbolize the decline and fall of the Dallas Cowboys‘ defense in the last three years, cornerback DaRon Bland might be at the top of the list. He was an All Pro who picked off nine passes, and returned five for touchdowns, in 2023, but since then has seen his career head south because of a foot injury and general underperformance.
Bland has struggled in the past two seasons. This year, he has been nearly unplayable despite the fact that the Cowboys don’t stop playing him–he has been on the field for 327 snaps, most on the team. Caleb Downs is the only other player with more than 300 snaps under his belt. Bland is allowing a mind-boggling 120.6 quarterback rating when he is being targeted, up from 103.3 last year. Pro Football Focus rates him the No. 89 cornerback out of 102 in the NFL this year, which is not great for the team’s top cover man, who’s being paid $92 million over four years.
As a reminder of how far he has fallen, Bland had a sure interception hit him in the hands late in the loss to Tampa, and he had a clear path to a pick-6 if he’d only held onto the ball. But he dropped it.
DaRon Bland: Cowboys ‘Not Getting Down’
Perhaps the most infuriating part of the Cowboys laggard start this season has been the lack of urgency that is being displayed by many of the players–not all, of course, but there are enough players who do not seem perturbed enough that this team is 2-3. And you might count DeRon Bland among them.
In an interview with NFL reporter Josina Anderson, Bland was asked about whether the team is upset enough over the losses and self-inflicted adversity: “We handled it pretty good. We don’t have a lot of guys getting down on themselves. Everybody is trying to bring us together and trying to keep going. Have that next-play mentality.”
Plenty to Fix on Defense
That probably comes from the top. Speculation has grown that Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer may be too soft, too player-friendly for this group. Defensive coordinator Christian Parker, too, has been overmatched. Parker probably needs to throw some chairs and do some shouting, but that’s not what Bland foresees.
Said Bland: “CP is a guy, we are going to come in tomorrow, we are going to check out the Xs and Os and see what we can get better at.”
And hey, maybe there is some good news for the Cowboys in that. If the defense is looking at things it can get better at, there will be a long list to choose from.
Cowboys Embattled Star Sees ‘Pretty Good’ Handling of Adversity