NFL Spin Zone
Fansided

Dallas Cowboys: The defense needs Orlando Scandrick

By Stephen Forsha

facebooktwitterreddit

Let’s face it, one of the lone Dallas Cowboys defensive backs who has been productive for the past few seasons is Orlando Scandrick, and whatever he and the Cowboys need to work on to get him in the offseason program, and signed to a new deal, they should do it.

More from Dallas Cowboys

With all of the change on the defense for this upcoming season, the Cowboys really need some sort of consistency and leadership on that unit, and Scandrick should be that guy with his experience with the franchise.

Since the 2008 season, Scandrick has played an important role with the defense, and in that time he’s compiled a very nice lists of accomplishments with the Cowboys, including 322 combined tackles and 9.5 sacks in the regular season. He also has seven career interceptions and one touchdown.

Right now, he’s the closest thing the Cowboys have to a shutdown corner on the roster.

Just last season, he totaled 55 tackles with one sack and two interceptions. The past two seasons, the Cowboys cornerback had two interceptions in a season, and from ’09-11, he had one interception in each of those seasons.

Ranier Sabin of DallasNews.com quoted Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett about Scandrick this week:

"“Orlando loves to play football,” Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said. “He loves playing for the Cowboys. His great strength as a football player is his passion for the game and the edge that he plays with. So, good to see him back out there doing the work this week leading up to the OTA’s next week.”"

It is a very good thing to see Scandrick is working out with the Cowboys, deciding against not participating this spring.

Sep 21, 2014; St. Louis, MO, USA; Dallas Cowboys cornerback Orlando Scandrick (32) tackles St. Louis Rams running back Zac Stacy (30) during the first half at the Edward Jones Dome. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

Kevin Patra of NFL.com wrote this about Scandrick this week:

"“The Cowboys’ best corner is set to make $1.5 million in 2015, which is third-most on the team at his position … Scandrick and his agent met with the Cowboys brass last week and the sides are optimistic a deal can be worked out.”"

I think it is safe to say if the Cowboys and Scandrick work out a new deal, he’ll be the highest-paid cornerback on their roster.

If I were betting on which member of the Cowboys defense will benefit the most from the improvement of the front seven of the defense from the offseason moves, it will be Scandrick.

Not if, but when the Cowboys have a better pass rush this season, it will not only disrupt the front of the defensive line, but it will cause disruption in the game of the quarterback. Hopefully Scandrick can be that guy to take full advantage of those mistakes and have a career year, along with improving his overall numbers from one season ago.

But that defensive front will need the Cowboys’ best cornerback to do his job as well, because if he can cover the receivers of the opposition and not let them run their routes the way they need to be run, that will help the front unit do their job even better.

All of this is a group effort, and for the Cowboys to have success in the ’15 season, Scandrick must be a steady part of the defense. When he’s on the field, the Cowboys will only be that much better.

Next: Why are the Cowboys trying out Felix Jones?

More from NFL Spin Zone

Home/Dallas Cowboys