After a rough performance from his team over the weekend, Cowboys linebacker/edge rusher Micah Parsons took out some of his frustrations on some unsuspecting fast-food patrons on his off day.
And based on how he attacked the lunchtime rush at a Dallas restaurant, Lamar Jackson might want to take notice.
Parsons spent a chunk of Tuesday afternoon at Raising Cane’s Post Malone x Dallas Cowboys Restaurant, a co-branded location of the chicken finger chain that swaps the company’s usual red-and-yellow color scheme for Cowboys blue and silver and also gets patrons up close and personal with memorabilia from the popular singer/songwriter and die-hard Cowboys fan.
But even while gearing up for his first shift at the drive-thru window, Parsons was already looking ahead to the Baltimore Ravens and his first-ever meeting with the two-way threat leading their offense, quarterback Lamar Jackson.
“In terms of what he’s accomplished in this league, he’s probably the best dual-threat quarterback in league history. Two-time MVP, Heisman winner, multiple playoff runs,” he told Cowboys Wire, one of the media outlets on hand for the event. “What he’s accomplished so far is truly admirable.”
In just his seventh pro season, Jackson has already amassed enough passing yards to put him in the NFL’s all-time top 150. But what makes him lethal is his equally-prolific rushing ability; he’s got two 1,000-yard seasons on his résumé and owns a career per-carry average of over six yards.
And with the Ravens coming in to AT&T Stadium surprisingly winless over two games, Jackson will be even more of a danger for Parsons and a Cowboys defense that had absolutely no answers for the Saints last Sunday.
“With Lamar, you’ve got to find a way to keep him in the pocket, don’t let him get those extra runs, keep extending play,” Parsons explained. “It’s easy to say, but it’s hard to do. You’re going to need all 11 guys on the same page.”
The uber-competitive Parsons brought that same mindset with him to Raising Cane’s, where he jumped behind the counter and did his usual bouncing from position to position. He went from the fryer to the drive-thru to handing out box combos with his trademark speed and hustle, urging his coworkers to keep up and even barking orders of his own at more than a few shocked customers in an effort to keep the line moving.
https://twitter.com/raisingcanes/status/1836152049194405948
Parsons says he’s actually no stranger to the food service industry, having worked at the Hersheypark theme park while growing up in Pennsylvania. But he did admit he would have liked to recruit at least one of his Cowboys teammates to help sling chicken and fill to-go receipts.
“I would definitely bring Trevon Diggs,” Parsons laughed. “He’s very handsy. He’s going to be able to help me control the huddle.”
Parsons called his midday fast-food shift a chance to “restart, reset, and refocus” after Week 2’s demoralizing 44-19 home loss to the Saints. After going on his podcast and attributing the team’s no-show to a lack of effort from some, the 25-year-old said he was “determined to get this thing right,” and said he would follow through on his offseason promise to step up and be more of a leader in the locker room.
He said the self-scout starts with him. He had just three tackles on the afternoon.
“For me personally, I look at my mistakes, look at how I could have done better, look at how I can lead better. Hold myself accountable, as I would anybody else,” he said. “Push my guys throughout the week- wherever I felt like their preparation was off, the detail was off. Because we’ve got to fix that, get back to the basic fundamentals.”
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Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy and defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer have said they don’t believe effort was the problem with the unit on Sunday.
McCarthy explained that the Saints “finished better than we did,” and Zimmer- blaming quicker starts off the snap from the New Orleans offense- said, “Really, most of the guys I didn’t coach up good enough.”
Parsons, however, isn’t ready to pin Sunday’s shortcomings on the coaching staff.
“At this point in our careers, if you’ve got to motivate someone to go onto that football field, they’re probably in the wrong sport.”
Motivation to excel has clearly never been an issue for Parsons, whether it’s on the gridiron or manning the drive-thru. And after whipping his Raising Cane’s team into shape on Tuesday, he’ll set his sights on doing the same for his Cowboys squad in time for Sunday.
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