Colin Cowherd has spent too much time listening to Jerry Jones, and Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley is having none of it. Jones attempted to justify the Dallas Cowboys' decision to trade Micah Parsons to the Packers by criticizing his run defense.
Cowherd echoed those comments this week, going on The Herd and calling Parsons a "splash player" who is "not good against the run." Parsons fired back on social media, and now a reporter has brought it to Hafley's attention.
And let's put it this way: Green Bay's DC didn't appreciate the Parsons disrespect.
"Micah's run defense?" said Hafley. "If you watch that tape against the run and Saquon (Barkley), who I think is the premier back in the league, I think Saquon had 60-something yards rushing, and Micah Parsons was in on almost all of those plays. Micah was setting edges as an end, Micah was setting edges as a 3-technique, Micah against the run was straining and playing as good run defense as I've seen."
"If anybody wants to talk about Micah Parsons' run defense, I'd like to sit down and watch the tape with them."
Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley destroys the myth that Micah Parsons can't stop the run
Jerry Jones said Parsons couldn't stop the run as a way to justify sending his all-world edge defender to an NFC rival at a bargain price. That doesn't make it accurate. Hafley is spot on. While Parsons makes his money primarily as a game-wrecking pass-rusher, he is also a phenomenal run defender.
You only have to look at the Packers' defensive numbers since adding Parsons, and the Cowboys' without him.
Green Bay has an elite run defense, allowing just 91.8 rushing yards per contest. Hafley's unit held Barkley to 60 yards at 2.2 yards per attempt, Jahmyr Gibbs to 19 yards at 2.1, and David Montgomery to 25 yards at 2.3. The only running back to truly break out against this defense was Rico Dowdle, who put up 130 yards and two scores. That's it.
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Flip the channel to a Cowboys game, and you'll see running backs bursting through rushing lanes the size of the Grand Canyon. Breece Hall and J.K. Dobbins had 100-yard games against Dallas, and Dowdle destroyed them with 183 yards at 6.1 per carry.
Green Bay's run defense is No. 6 in the NFL. Dallas ranks No. 28.
Calling Parsons a bad run defender is a lazy take. Sure, he's better at getting after quarterbacks, but that takes nothing away from his abilities in other areas. It just may seem like a massive difference because he's a generational pass-rusher.
Parsons never stops giving 100 percent against the run, as he proved on Monday Night Football against the Eagles. Hafley is right to call Cowherd out.
And we'd sure love to see them break down the tape together.