Bland Paying Off Cowboys Trust

Next man up is not just coach speak, but something real in today’s NFL.

The Cowboys have already had to draw on it this season, and at one of their most important positions on defense – cornerback.

They were prepared.

DaRon Bland answered the call, and the defense hasn’t missed a beat.

“This is a wolf in sheep’s clothing,” Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn said when describing Bland. “This is a real competitor. The anticipation, the ball skills to go with it and he is just somebody that we really count on. Obviously, he plays two positions for us – he can go outside, he can go inside. But the ball attributes. When Will (McClay), Jerry (Jones), Stephen (Jones) and the guys look for that, that is such a big piece of that because you will have a better chance of being a person that’s got really good ball production if you have some of that in your background, where you can see it and demonstrate it. So, he certainly has it.”

When starting cornerback Trevon Diggs went down with a torn Achilles just days before the Cowboys played Arizona, Bland slid over from his nickel position on the defense.

A seamless transition for the 2022 fifth-round pick out of Fresno State.

“You gotta be another playmaker,” Bland said. “We have already lost one of our playmakers and it could easily be any one of our days.”

Since Dan Quinn has taken over the defense in Dallas, the Cowboys have 75 takeaways in 38 games.

That’s 50 interceptions and 25 fumble recoveries since the beginning of the 2021 season.

Diggs was the leader of the turnover brigade for the Cowboys with 18 picks since arriving in Dallas with Quinn before the start of the 2020 season.

Diggs was off to a great start, shutting down everything thrown his way in the opening weeks against the Giants and Jets.

But his season ended with a bad step in practice, Bland slid over, and the defense didn’t miss a beat.

Now through four games, the last two with Bland as the primary at left corner, the Cowboys have eight interceptions, one each for Diggs, Stephon Gilmore, Jayron Kearse and Malik Hooker and three already for Bland.

Not only has he played nicely in coverage for Diggs, but he has picked right up where the Cowboys All-Pro corner left off in making quarterbacks pay for throwing to his side of the field.

“There is a lot that is instinctual, and then you can add on to it,” Quinn said about Bland’s skills. “It can take someone from where they’re at a good level to where they’re at a great level. That’s the extra push that takes place. So, when you come in with already a good skill set in a certain area, how do you go from good to being just excellent at it? Those are some of the workons that we talk about, whether they are on Wednesdays or Thursdays during the week –‘What’s one or two things I want to work to get better at?’ But, DaRon has always had that part of his game and I think that will increase as we are going as well. He really has good concentration, knows when to go take a shot and go make a play.”

After four games, DaRon Bland is on pace to set the Cowboys franchise record for interceptions in a season with 13, two more than Diggs (11 in 2021) and Everson Walls (11 in 1981) who currently sit atop the franchise list.

“I expect myself to make plays,” he said.

Bland currently has three, after the two he snagged from Mac Jones on Sunday, and if he continues this pace, and stays healthy, will have 13 by the time the postseason rolls around.

On his first interception on Sunday, Bland read the route and made the easy catch at the Cowboys 46 with nothing but green turf in front of him.

His pick-6 was the Cowboys final score of the first half, while his second interception of the game drew an end to the Patriots first drive of the second half. That Cowboys ensuing drive ended in a field goal.

He was directly responsible for 10 points on Sunday, with his pick six in the first half and interception to start the third quarter that led to a field goal.

“He has the football smarts to remember the formation, to remember a situation … and that came through (Sunday),” Quinn said. 

He now has two interceptions that he has returned for scores this season, which ties the franchise record held by Trevon Diggs (2020) and Larry Brown (1995). Brown ended that season as the Super Bowl XXX MVP after the Cowboys beat Pittsburgh, 27-17, to capture the team’s fifth and last world championship.

And now as the starter at corner, Bland will have 13 more games to break the team record.

Regardless, the Cowboys have another excellent defender in Bland.

Perfect when it is time for the next man up.