One of the running questions around the Dallas Cowboys going back to the remaking of the team’s defense after last season’s disastrous showing for the unit has been around which player would serve as the so-called “green dot,” the player in the middle of the defense who communicates with the coordinator and sets the team’s formations and assignments. It’s a critical role, and with the Cowboys overhauling the linebacker room for the third straight season, there was some question about who would handle those duties. When the Cowboys moved DeMarvion Overshown to the Mike linebacker spot, it appeared it would be Overshown wearing the green dot.
But the Cowboys never formally set the role. And, it turns out, they still have not done so, as they plan to throw out multiple looks that will require a shifting green dot, according to coach Brian Schottenheimer. On Friday, though, Schottenheimer did say that on most Cowboys defensive snaps it will, in fact, be Overshown wearing the dot.
DeMarvion Overshown to be Primary ‘Green Dot’ for Cowboys
Speaking on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas, Schottenheimer said Cowboys defensive coordinator Christian Parker will change things up, but that Overshown would mostly be the wearer of the dot.
The coach noted: “It’s a process. There will be multiple guys doing it. DeMarvion Overshown is going to be doing it quite a bit. But with our different packages going into the game, we do have different guys who can do it, but D-Mo will do a lot of the heavy lifting.”
Cowboys LB Room Keeps Changing
Generally, it is the middle linebacker who is the green dot, though the role is not limited to him. In his first two seasons (Overshown missed his rookie year with a knee injury), Overshown was mostly the weakside linebacker, or Will. But after sizing up Overshown and fellow starting linebacker Dee Winters, Parker decided to go with Overshown at Mike.
Said Overshown: “For us to be the great defense that we need to be, I am going to have to be the great leader that I need to be. So, him giving me that role, and giving me that badge, I take that with heart. Because I want to be that, I want people to look at me in the fourth quarter and say, ‘This guy is still going hard, let me give what I got left, let me give what I got left.’
DeMarvion Overshow Heading Into Contract Year
There is incentive for Overshown to make sure it all goes well. Not only is this his big chance to be a leader after playing in only 19 games because of injuries in his first three years, but he is also heading into free agency and needs to show the Cowboys he is worth keeping–or show one of the other 31 teams he is worth an investment.
Said Overshown when asked what being the Mike and green-dot guy means to him: “I mean, just the fact that I am in control of everything. People are gonna look for me to set the front and make the checks on the offense when they get the check. I gotta be CP on the field. That’s what we talk about a lot is, I gotta be an extension of him on the field. That’s a role that, if you do it well, you play here for a long time, you play in one place for a long time.
“We all now what year this is for me, it is contract year. You give me the green dot, so I got an opportunity to prove myself.”
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