Learning Cowboys’ D ‘easy’ for Bennett
FRISCO, Texas – Two games into his stint with the Cowboys, Michael Bennett hasn’t needed much time to acclimate.
The Cowboys acquired the 11-year NFL veteran from the Patriots on Oct. 24 during Dallas’ bye week. He’s since played roughly 60% of defensive snaps on a line in which no lineman plays far north of 70%. And Bennett has continued his career trend of racking up quarterback hits.
“The D-line, I think it’s been going pretty well,” Bennett told USA TODAY Sports on Monday from the locker room. “I think it’s new for all of us figuring out how to make it work together cohesive. I’ve been trying to figure out myself how to make that happen.”
Bennett has figured it out well enough to record five solo tackles, a sack, six quarterback hits and two tackles for loss in two games. Bennett credits his 10+ seasons with four other teams exposing him to enough looks to make few defenses new. Five previous seasons under Cowboys defensive play caller Kris Richard in Seattle helped, too. And his most previous stop, for six games with New England?
“I just came from the place with the most defenses in the league,” Bennett said. “So any other defense is pretty much easy to learn.”
Bennett drew upon his experience with Richard to familiarize himself with Dallas’ principles, he said. They stayed in contact after each left Seattle, and Richard advocated for acquiring him.
Weeks off this October, including a one-game suspension with the Patriots, didn’t slow his impact, they felt. Playing mostly at defensive tackle while DeMarcus Lawrence and Robert Quinn start at end, Bennett attacked at the line of scrimmage.
“He can assess the football play,”
Richard said. “He’s a really smart football player. He gets off on the ball and understands how the offense is trying to attack him in particular then us overall.”
Bennett said he’s “just a part of ” the defense while two-time Pro Bowler Lawrence is “the key” to it. But the unit thrived with its newest addition against the Giants, holding Saquon Barkley to 28 yards on 14 carries in a 37-18 win.
Sunday night against the Vikings, the defense struggled more. Dalvin Cook rushed for 97 yards and a touchdown while catching all seven targets for 86 more yards. The Vikings converted 57% of their third-down attempts – after Dallas had ranked second in the league allowing just 27% through nine weeks.
Tied atop the NFC East with the Eagles at 5-4, Bennett and the Cowboys will travel to Detroit and New England before hosting the Bills on Thanksgiving. December features games against the Bears, Rams and Eagles.
Bennett, who grew up in Houston watching the Cowboys, said he’ll take the season one game at a time and one week at a time. He turns 34 Wednesday. He cut the 2020 year off his contract and will be an unrestricted free agent at season’s end. Bennett said he’s not set on playing football after this campaign.
“It could be my last year in the NFL,” he said. “I’ve just been chilling, thinking about what’s the best thing for my family, what’s the best thing healthwise for the future. Just take it one game at a time, one year at a time, and if the opportunity is a great opportunity. But right now it’s enjoying this game, enjoying this seven games and playing football. Trying to be a kid out there again.
“I’m an old man right now. But at the same time, I try to stay as young as I can.”