Take a quick glance at any set of power rankings or predictions for the upcoming NFL season, and it won’t take long to find the Philadelphia Eagles. They’re consistently placing at the top of the NFC pecking order and are the favorites to represent the conference in Super Bowl LVIII.
The Cowboys tend to be lurking in the fringes of the conversation: definitely good enough to make the postseason dance, maybe close enough to make a move. Football, as the saying goes, is a game of inches. A lucky break here, a friendly call there, a ball bouncing left instead of right- a season’s fate can turn just like that.
Philadelphia won 14 games last year; Dallas won 12. A veteran player like Cowboys defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence knows there’s just a razor-thin margin separating the two teams now as they start a new 17-game season.
“I don’t feel like it’s a huge gap at all,” the three-time Pro Bowler told Rob Maaddi on the AP Pro Football Podcast. “I feel like it comes down to certain details- not just the scheme, but also your locker room. Through this time right now when we head into training camp, we make those adjustments, we learn those different things that we need to learn about our teammates so we can fully function the way we should out there on the field.”
The Cowboys were more aggressive than usual with their offseason roster moves, hoping they’ve got the right blend of returning players and new personnel to give the Eagles a run at a division crown.
Lawrence knows the Giants and Commanders have the same goal. The NFC East produced three playoff teams in 2022, but the only chance at earning the all-important first-round bye in 2023 is to win the division.
“The main objective for us is to win out our division,” Lawrence explained. “With those three teams in our division, we’re pretty stacked. I feel like if we take care of business at home and also with these divisional games, that’ll set us at a good pace for the Super Bowl.”
[affiliatewidget_smgtolocal]
The Cowboys have young playmakers and rising stars on both sides of the ball, but the team seems to have put a larger focus this year on veteran leadership. Brandin Cooks and Stephon Gilmore were brought to town as much for their experience as their play, re-signing or restructuring long-timers like Tyron Smith, Zack Martin, and Johnathan Hankins was a clear-cut offseason priority, and Walter Payton Man of the Year Dak Prescott remains the undisputed face of the franchise.
But the 31-year-old Lawrence is also one of the Cowboys’ elder statesmen. And as he enters his 10th pro season, he’s drawing on lessons he’s learned along the way to help the team’s young defensive linemen like first-round draft pick Mazi Smith and fellow rookie Junior Fehoko adapt to life in the NFL, both on and off the field.
“One of my mentors was one of my old D-coordinators; his name was Rod Marinelli,” Lawrence said. “Once I got paid, he was like, ‘With great riches come great responsibility.’ And he sat me down- he used to do these ‘man-building classes’ with us- that went a long way with me. I’ve been playing football all my life; I know how to be a football player. But I ain’t been a man all my life, and now I have these responsibilities of raising a family of my own. How does my role change? Being able to have guidance from a man like that definitely helped me out a long way.”
Sure, drilling down on Xs and Os, but also sharing life wisdom and learning about each other as husbands, sons, fathers, and brothers. It may not seem like the kind of thing that would make much of a difference during a goal-line stand against a division rival with two minutes to play.
But then again, it’s a game of inches.
[lawrence-auto-related count=3]
[mm-video type=video id=01h3fcw0m9kz3v6hcfnr playlist_id=01eqbwens7sctqdrqg player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01h3fcw0m9kz3v6hcfnr/01h3fcw0m9kz3v6hcfnr-f0adb1078995a98f341a18d2fb408183.jpg]
[lawrence-newsletter]