On Wednesday in his press conference with reporters, coach Brian Schottenheimer was asked about potential changes that the Dallas Cowboys will make on the field when they get back to actual NFL games on Sunday night in Green Bay. All week, there has been consternation and hand-wringing about defensive coordinator Christian Parker, but that matters little unless there are real personnel changes going on. And Schottenheimer was asked about one in particular: first-round pick Malachi Lawrence, who has played about 35% of the team’s snaps this season.
Lawrence has not been great on those snaps, but he has shown signs of improvement and did record the first sack of his NFL career on Thursday night against the Buccaneers. He has only seven pressures on the season, but had two against Bucs star tackle Tristan Wirfs, and is moving in the right direction for a defense that badly needs to get to the quarterback more.
Malachi Lawrence: ‘More Comfortable Every Week’
After Schottenheimer confirmed that the Cowboys could play Lawrence more going forward, he was asked about it in the team’s locker room.
He said: “I am getting more comfortable every week, just getting more reps, more snaps. Seeing what I am going against. … Just seeing those type of looks, that is just building my confidence. I know like, as I am growing, every tackle I am playing is not going to be an All-Pro. So I if I can beat an All-Pro, I can beat anybody.”
Cowboys Defense ‘Has Great Players’
Lawrence also expressed some confidence in both himself and the Cowboys’ ability to get the defense turned around.
Asked about his individual confidence after Schottenheimer’s praise, Lawrence said: “It grows it tremendously. Also, like, just having the team around me. Football is a great game because you got a team and not just you going out there individually. It has boosted my confidence a lot.”
As for the Cowboys defense: “We’re gonna turn it around for sure. We know what we have in this locker room and on the defense for sure. Like, the offense, they have great players, and the defense has great players as well, but we just got to come together and build our identity.”
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