IRVING – Bill Parcells, optimist?
"I don't think we are really as bad as what happened the other night," the Cowboys coach said, less than 24 hours after New Orleans did to his defense what no other team was able to do this season.
The Cowboys defense allowed season highs in points (42), yards (536), passing yards (377), rushing yards (159), first downs (28) and mental mistakes (too many to count) in their debilitating 42-17 loss at Texas Stadium.
The Cowboys entered Sunday with the NFL's seventh-ranked defense. It was 11th Monday, its lowest ranking this season since the first game.
"I think at some point, every defense everybody thinks is great is going to have a bad day," defensive end Marcus Spears said in the locker room after the game. "We had ours."
But it's not just one day. It's going on two games now, and this is not the time of year to have a faltering defense. Not with Atlanta quarterback Michael Vick and running backs Warrick Dunn and Jerious Norwood and the NFL's top-ranked run defense looming Saturday. Dunn and Norwood will probably be questionable after leaving Sunday's game with calf and knee injuries.
For most of the season, the Cowboys have done what successful defenses do: They have stopped the run, they have gotten off the field on third down, they have created turnovers, and they have been stout in the red zone.
But in the last two games against the New York Giants and New Orleans, questions have been raised.
A week after giving up a season-high 396 yards to the Giants, the Cowboys allowed 536 to the Saints, the third-most in a game in team history.
Running backs Tiki Barber (90 yards) and Deuce McAllister (111 yards) chewed up the yards. Quarterbacks Eli Manning and Drew Brees combined to complete 67.6 percent of their passes. In the last 75 pass plays, the Cowboys have one sack, and they have had more than two sacks in a game just once in the last six. The Giants (6-of-12) and Saints (9-of-15) combined to convert on 15 of 27 third-down attempts.
"I don't think this defense has ever been in a situation where it felt like there was nothing we could do," linebacker Bradie James said. "The Saints just made plays all over the field."
With three games to play, the Cowboys have to hope they have not been exposed.
The loss of linebacker Greg Ellis (Achilles') for the year is felt more now. Coverage problems at safety have been an issue all season, and newcomer Tony Parrish is getting extra classroom work to get accustomed to the defense.
Even with the big-play barrage in a conservative scheme, Parcells does not want to add more blitzes to generate a pass rush that can force mistakes.
"You die a little more slowly doing it that way," Parcells said.
In 2003, their last playoff season, the Cowboys relied mostly on a blitzing scheme to suffocate opposing offenses and mask their deficiencies.
But Miami offensive coordinator Norv Turner was Sean Payton-esque on that Thanksgiving Day, when the Cowboys allowed the most points (40), yards (365), rushing yards (126) and first downs (22) to that point of the season.
Although the Cowboys won two of their last four games that season, opposing offenses took chances down the field, and the Cowboys did not have the same defensive swagger. Parcells is curious about his team's confidence, but he is not sure a blueprint has been set for attacking the 2006 defense.
"The Saints have a couple of unique players that not everybody has and that provide certain problems," Parcells said. "And I don't know that our future opponents [do]. Now Atlanta has a couple of unique guys too, but they are at different positions than the Saints'."
E-mail tarcher@dallasnews.com
Entering Sunday, the Cowboys had the seventh-ranked defense, but after giving up 536 yards, it has dropped to 11th overall, not including Monday's game. What do they have to do to get their swagger back?
1. Generate a pass rush
In the last two games, the Giants and Saints ran 75 passing plays, and the Cowboys have one sack. A pass rush shouldn't be solely defined by sacks, but the Cowboys have not been able to generate pressure either.
2. Improve third-down defense
Part of the Cowboys' success this year has been getting off the field. In the last two games, the Giants and Saints have converted 55.6 percent of the time on third down. What will help is a better first-down defense. The Cowboys are allowing 6.33 yards on first down, most in the league.
3. Stop the run
Only twice this season have they allowed a 100-yard rusher, but in the last two games, they have allowed the Giants and Saints to gain 285 yards on the ground. Tiki Barber picked up 90 yards on Dec. 3, and Deuce McAllister gained 111 on Sunday.
4. Blitz more
When the Cowboys finished No. 1 in defense in 2003, they did so with a blitzing, gambling scheme with worse secondary talent. Having paid millions to cornerbacks Terence Newman and Anthony Henry, why not attack more? They are giving up big plays by playing conservatively anyway.
5. Make changes
Bill Parcells threatened to make changes at defensive end with Marcus Spears and Chris Canty. Is it time to follow through? How about at free safety with Tony Parrish? The quicker he can get up to speed, the sooner he might get the call.
| SAINTS' BIG DAY |
| New Orleans gained 536 yards against the Cowboys' defense Sunday. It was the third most by a Dallas opponent. |
| Date | Opponent | Yards | Result |
| Nov. 10, 1991 | at Houston | 583 | Lost 26-23 in OT |
| Dec. 8, 1985 | at Cincinnati | 570 | Lost 50-24 |
| Sunday | vs. New Orleans | 536 | Lost 42-17 |
| Oct. 25, 1981 | vs. Miami | 526 | Won 28-27 |
