OXNARD, Calif. 鈥� New Cowboys defensive coordinator Christian Parker is running a defense for the first time in his career, which means he's also planning out a training camp for the first time as well.
So far, so good for Dallas' defense in the eyes of their 34-year-old coordinator eight days into their time in Oxnard.
"I think we're embracing the play style that we want to stay with," Parker said. "I think guys are really just trying to harp on the details and get the next level of knowledge to the defense that we're really focusing on. We talked about getting your undergraduate degree in OTAs, and now we're working towards our masters. That's more of an accelerated program, so we've got to get going quick. The guys are doing a great job."
Part of Parker's instruction plan for this defense is having his players understand the pillars of what he's trying to accomplish.
"I think the first thing is we want to be detailed in our work, in our fundamentals and technique," Parker said. "And obviously, the mastery of the scheme. But there's an element of violence and physicality that we want to play with, that we will play with. So I think it's just kind of trying all those things together in terms of knowing your job, knowing what the man next to you is doing."
Being able to know what the man next to you is doing requires constant communication. Since he's been hired, the Cowboys have raved about Parker's abilities as a teacher and communicator. His players have learned that the importance of communication extends beyond the field during practice.
"I think if you step in our meeting room and you hear how loud it is, you might think something wrong is going on," Parker said. "And that's a good thing. Guys are understanding what needs to be said.聽 I think communication is two parts: Giving and receiving. I can't just be aimlessly yelling and saying a bunch of things if I don't know who I'm talking to, what those words mean, how that changes things, when we can adjust something, when we can't."
"I think they're taking that next step in terms of 'Who am I speaking to?' And also if I'm receiving that communication, I got to make sure my ears are open. I need to know who I'm listening for. We still have more to go, but there's a lot of encouraging things that are happening from a vocal standpoint."
What do those conversations between players in the meeting room look, and sound like?
"If we're showing a play from practice for example, if you're a linebacker on the field, you're making the front adjustment," Parker said. "If you're an outside linebacker and you see that the Y is off, you're saying something to your partner. If I'm a DB, I'm calling out the coverage communication. If motion happens, we're alerting this, we're passing off this, once the play starts, what is that communication?"
"We want the meeting room to sound the same as it does on the field. Your brain doesn't know when you're not taking a physical rep, it just knows that your brain is strained. So as any reps that we can get on task of that as possible, we want to try to take advantage of those."
In six days, the first real test will come for Parker and his defense: A joint practice against the Los Angeles Rams, who have reigning league MVP Matthew Stafford as well as star wide receivers Puka Nacua and Davante Adams.
"I think it's real important," Parker said of the experience his unit will get against the Rams. "Especially as much experience as coach [Sean] McVay has, and Matthew Stafford at that position. The pre-snap looks, the motions, the things they do formationally, they've been a very successful offense during his tenure there. So it's going to be a good test for us of where we're at, make sure our eyes are right and we're playing with the right demeanor."
From a personnel standpoint, Parker said the Cowboys are still working through combinations at linebacker to figure out who will be the green dot. DeMarvion Overshown has been one of the players in the mix with the first team defense, and has caught Parker's eye.
"He's doing a good job manning the huddle and doing the things with the green dot, and other guys are as well," Parker said. "At this period of time, every linebacker has the communicator in their helmet. It's just a matter of who's at that position and who we're giving it to on that bracket of plays. But D-Mo's doing a good job. He's flying around, he's accelerating his detail of the scheme, and understanding the offensive situations as well, so we're happy with his progress."
In that same position group, one of the biggest names at training camp over the last week has been Jaishawn Barham, the Cowboys' rookie third-round pick at linebacker. So far, Parker is getting exactly what he saw from him during his college days at Michigan.
"We had a vision for him when we drafted him, and that's coming to life," Parker said. "I think he brings a certain physicality and demeanor to the inside of the defense, and you feel that."
In the secondary, second-year cornerback Shavon Revel has put together some good practices, and is healthy again after dealing with a knee injury for most of his rookie season. Now getting to go through a training camp with a new defensive staff, Revel has taken some of the strides Parker wants to see and still has room for growth.
"I think the next step for him is just making sure that he's able to live in a single play," Parker said. "And what I mean by that is, okay, what's the split here? What's the situation? What am I defending with a certain play call? Because he has all the physical attributes, so everything with him now is just working on everything from the neck up, and just make sure that we're thinking the game properly."
"That's a quick two or three second assessment, because once you're getting in your stance and you're ready to play ball, you want to play with a clear mind. So just being able to do that and just finish plays. He's doing a good job, he's extremely hard working, he's extremely willing, he wants to be coached, he runs towards that. So we're really excited about how he's progressing with everything we're doing so far."
When the Cowboys drafted Caleb Downs with the 11th overall pick in this year's draft, Parker acquired a player that reminds him a lot of himself. Love for football and a high-level understanding of the game are two qualities they share, and thus far Downs has done well learning the defense while playing both nickel corner and safety.
"I think he's embraced it from what we've expected," Parker said. "He's very willing, he's very curious鈥� He has that natural spirit about him for sure, and I think that he's managing both positions well. We have a certain plan for him each day in terms of how that looks, we do that with every player, but he's really embracing what we're trying to do with him and overall as a defense."
Towards the end of Parker's press conference, he spent nearly four minutes discussing every member of his defense staff, their background, and how they've helped Parker in his first job as a coordinator. It's safe to say he's pleased with the group of coaches he's assembled to be extensions of him.
"From top to bottom, we felt like we knocked it out of the park with a lot of these guys," Parker said. "There's a lot of first-round draft picks on the staff. It's been really fun to work and collaborate with them. We try to have a collaborative approach with everything that we do鈥� They've been a great addition, and they've been a great help to me [in my] first time doing this."
The Cowboys will return to practice on Thursday, where Parker and his defense will look to continue trending towards earning their master's degrees.
