Tag: 2021 Week 2

RT Terence Steele exceeded everyone’s expectations except Cowboys vs Chargers

The struggles of swing tackle Terence Steele in 2020 caused some concern heading into Week 2. However, the undrafted free agent excelled. | From @StarConscience

Terence Steele wasn’t supposed to see the field in 2020. A hip injury suffered by La’el Collins cost him the entire season and Steele made 14 starts as an undrafted free agent. What Stelle put on film left much to be desired and didn’t give anyone outside the team facility any confidence in his abilities as a reliable backup tackle.

Collins is currently serving a five-game suspension for missing multiple drug tests which he is appealing at the moment. This created yet another opportunity for Steele as he got the start in Week 2 against the Los Angeles Chargers. He would take on the task of trying to block one of the NFL’s best pass rushers in Joey Bosa, and with how he performed a season ago, the belief he could be serviceable was minimal, at best. However Steele gave an inspired performance in a huge road win for the Dallas Cowboys.

Steele logged 62 snaps against the Chargers. He would only allow three pressures and didn’t give up a sack en route to a 95.5 pass rush efficiency rate according to Pro Football Focus. His assignment, Bosa, had a rough go of it, in large part due to the play of Steele. Bosa didn’t log a sack, a quarterback pressure, or a tackle for loss and finished with just three total tackles.

If anyone outside the organization says they saw this kind of performance from Steele they wouldn’t be telling the truth. However, his Week 2 showing provides plenty of optimism about how he’ll continue to perform in the absence of Collins.

Team owner Jerry Jones announced on September 14 that Steele would get the start at right tackle, which seemed a bit premature. His proclamation turned out to be a great one though and he gave the second-year tackle a raving review for his efforts.

“One of my heroes of the game was Terence Steele, our right tackle,” Jones said. “I just thought he was outstanding. He’s been so consistent.”

Steele had help in his matchup against Bosa, as he should have. Zack Martin made his 2021 debut against the Chargers after missing the season opener due to being on the Reserve/COVID list and was looked at as the guy who would assist Steele the most. According to the perennial All-Pro, however, Steele didn’t need as much help as many thought he would.

“He played unbelievable,” Martin said. “We talked, if we had the center slide going right, trying to get out there and help him, and the times I did, he didn’t need it. He did an outstanding job.”

The importance of being prepared is crucial for any football player but especially backups seeing as their number can be called at any moment with how players get injured weekly. Steele looked more than ready in Week 2 for his chance to showcase he’s a player the Cowboys can rely on.

“To play in this league, you have to have major confidence in yourself,” said Steele. “I worked my butt off this whole offseason, just for this moment, to prepare for this moment. I still have to continue to build off this. Bosa is one helluva player. That was a great team win.”

Putting Steele in the starting lineup seemed like a recipe for disaster with Bosa on the menu. The former Texas Tech Raider stepped up to the plate though and he deserves a lot of credit for how he performed against the Chargers.

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4 Takeaways: Moore’s creativity, Parsons’ impact biggest impressions from Cowboys win

The Cowboys squeaked out win a win in LA. The biggest takeaways include the RB1 discussion and the coaching staff’s decisions. | From @CDBurnett7

Coming into the season, all the national predictions saw the Dallas Cowboys having a mediocre, at best, defense while quarterback Dak Prescott and his offense would be forced to win in big shootouts every week. Last season, that was the norm until Prescott went down but this is a much different team. Defensive coordinator Dan Quinn has changed everything, even without defensive end Demarcus Lawrence on Sunday.

Dallas switched it up completely against the Chargers, notably without a hefty list of starters and a couple of star players as well. Would anyone have believed the Cowboys would win if they were only going to score 20 points against Los Angeles? Probably not, but here they are with a 1-1 team that is able to change their identity based on the situation. Here are the biggest takeaways from the “road” win for Dallas.

Good, Bad, Ugly: Cowboys’ discipline, clock management nearly wasted epic two-headed RB attack

The Dallas Cowboys got key stops and ran the ball well to help beat the Los Angeles Chargers 20-17 on a last second field goal. Here’s a look at what was pretty, pretty good and pretty ugly from Week 2. From @BenGrimaldi

The Dallas Cowboys won their first game of the 2021 season in typical nail-biting fashion, beating the Los Angeles Chargers 20-17. Greg Zuerlein nailed a 56-yard field goal as time expired to help the Cowboys avoid the dreaded 0-2 start.

Nothing feels easy with this team, but Cowboys somehow won a game where they only forced one punt (which was negated by a penalty), gave up 408 yards on defense and scored just 20 points. Fortunately for Dallas, the Chargers were far from perfect, and the Cowboys escaped with a win to even their record before heading home to play their first game at AT&T Stadium this season.

Here’s the good, the bad and the ugly from the Cowboys.

Cowboys CB Trevon Diggs makes spectacular interception to thwart Chargers’ drive

The Cowboys are becoming a turnover machine as Trevon Diggs hauls in his second interception in as many games in 2021. | From @KDDrummondNFL

The Dallas Cowboys defense got off to a horrid start after jumping out to an early 7-0 lead. On the first play, Los Angeles Chargers RB Austin Ekeler knifed through the Cowboys defense as linebackers Leighton Vander Esch and Jaylon Smith failed to make the required play and earned 20 yards. On the next play there was pressure on QB Justin Herbert but the secondary had a breakdown when he escaped and rolled right to find a wide-open Keenan Allen on the right sideline.

But on the next play, the future was now. CB Trevon Diggs made an incredible drive on the ball to pluck it from in front of the receiver for a diving interception, his second in two games on the young season.

The Cowboys went back on offense but Dak Prescott overthrew CeeDee Lamb after two big gains and was intercepted by rookie CB Asante Samuel, Jr.

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Initial Injury Report: Cowboys-Chargers missing several key pieces as Week 2 tilt nears

DE Lawrence’s broken foot headlines, but are the Chargers in danger of missing both safeties against the shorthanded Cowboys? The first Week 2 practice report. | From @CDBurnett7

In the first game of the 2021 season, the Dallas Cowboys saw wide receiver Michael Gallup leave with a calf strain and safety Damontae Kazee was poked in the eye. It took just one game for the Cowboys to lose a large impact starter and right tackle Lael Collins is now suspended for five games, adding to the absences.

Heading towards a second-straight road game, this time against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, Dallas needs to be as healthy as possible. Wednesday was not a good day in that regard. DeMarcus Lawrence, the team’s best defensive payer, is the big name on Wednesday’s injury report after breaking his foot and is now out indefinitely.

Safety Donovan Wilson is dealing with a nagging groin injury and going against Justin Herbert and the Chargers offense, Dallas needs to have their best veteran talent on the field come Sunday. Defensive end Chauncey Golston is back as a full participant, which is a good sight after dealing with injuries since he was drafted by the Cowboys.

Rookie cornerback Nahshon Wright also missed practice for personal reasons but should be a full-go for Sunday.

Lawrence had a strong season debut with a team-high 91.4 PFF grade with five quarterback pressures alongside the highest run-defense grade of Week 1 at 96.3.

Lawrence’s injury has even more importance with opposite defensive end Randy Gregory being on the COVID/reserve list after testing positive on Monday. If both of Dallas’ best edge defenders are out, Herbert could have a field day similar to that of Tom Brady in Week 1.

For the Chargers, there is also a list of starters who could be hampered or even out for the tilt with the Cowboys.

Five of the Chargers’ defensive starters are on the injury report, with all but one not participating in practice on Wednesday. In the secondary, both safeties missed practice and Derwin James Jr. is one of the biggest playmakers on Los Angeles’ defense, making seven tackles in Week 1 after missing all of the 2020 season due to injury.

The Cowboys’ offense has plenty of weapons even with Gallup on returnable-IR and will likely target the backups after offensive coordinator Kellen Moore made it a focus against Tampa Bay.

Chargers’ starting right tackle Bryan Bulaga also missed practice but the potential impact of his absence is numbed by Lawrence’s injury. The pass rush against Herbert will be integral in Dallas’ success on Sunday and both teams could be without a multitude of starters for the matchup.

2 Sooners are Pro Football Focus’ highest graded players through week 2

2 Oklahoma Sooners have the highest Pro Football Focus grades at their position through the first two weeks of the season.

The Oklahoma Sooners leveled the Western Carolina Catamounts 76-0 on Saturday in Norman. Oklahoma was dominant on both sides of the football, as Spencer Rattler threw five touchdowns to four different receivers while the defense terrorized WCU into four fumbles and eight tackles for loss.

To say every single Sooner shined in the blowout win would hardly be hyperbole. In total, 13 receivers, three quarterbacks, four running backs, and 25 different defenders got a piece of the action in a game neither OU nor Western Carolina will soon forget.

But two particular Sooners – one on each side of the football – have stuck out to Pro Football Focus through week 2, earning the highest grades at their positions (behind a paywall).

Up Next: An H-Back is PFF’s top-graded Tight End in the Power Five

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The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly from the Sooners 76-0 win over WCU

The Oklahoma Sooners dominated the Western Carolina Catamounts in week two and here’s The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly from the 76-0 win.

The Oklahoma Sooners did exactly what they were supposed to against a vastly inferior opponent in Western Carolina. They got out to a huge lead and dominated the Catamounts from start to finish.

The Sooners got a chance to play a lot of their younger players and get them valuable in-game repetitions. Those players rewarded the coaching staff with a dominant effort from start to finish.

Let’s take a look back at The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly from the Sooners 76-0 week two win over the Catamounts.

The Good: Scoring Touchdowns

After settling for five field goals in their narrow win over Tulane in week one, the Oklahoma Sooners only kicked two field goals in their 76-0 win over the Western Carolina Catamounts.

They were 9 for 9 in the red zone during the game and Spencer Rattler led them on seven touchdown drives in the first half and each ended with a red zone touchdown.

While last week, the Sooners struggled to finish drives and finish the game, albeit against a much better Tulane team, OU accomplished both of those feats throughout this week two matchup. Excluding the kneel down at the end of the first half, the Sooners scored touchdowns on 10 of their 13 drives. They kicked just two field goals and punted once.

Against Tulane, they scored touchdowns on just four of their 11 drives, again, excluding the final drive before halftime and the drive where they were simply trying to run out the clock at the end of the game.

As the competition steps up with Nebraska coming to Norman followed by the start of Big 12 conference play, the Sooners can’t afford to settle for five field goals like they did against Tulane. If they can be as efficient at scoring touchdowns as they were on Saturday, they’ll have a great shot at going undefeated.

Next: The Bad.

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Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Caleb Williams offers a glimpse of the future

Though it came in the second half of the Sooners blowout of Western Carolina, Caleb Williams performance provided a glimpse of OU’s future.

The Oklahoma Sooners aren’t looking to 2022 or the year after that. Their sights are solely set on 2021 and taking this team as far as it can go this year. However, Saturday in Norman provided a glimpse of what the future of the quarterback position looks like for the Oklahoma Sooners.

After Spencer Rattler threw for five touchdowns to lead the Sooners to a 45-0 halftime lead against Western Carolina, he sat down and gave way to true freshman quarterback Caleb Williams.

The number one quarterback in the 2021 class, Williams did not disappoint. Though he completed just 50% of his passes for 84 yards, he averaged 8.4 yards per attempt and his average depth of target (aDOT) was 11.6 yards down the field. He displayed a nice arm with good touch on the Jaden Knowles catch and run that made up a good portion of his passing yards.

Williams suffered one drop during his time in the Sooners’ domination of Western Carolina.

The athleticism and speed he displayed on his 59-yard run were impressive. He got downhill in a hurry and ran away from much of the Western Carolina defense, putting the Sooners in an excellent position to add to their lead.

Caleb Williams isn’t likely to need his redshirt and should get more opportunities this season to show off his talents. Though he shouldn’t figure much into the outcomes of games in 2021, every snap he takes provides a glimpse into the future of the Sooners offense.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions.

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Did Jaden Knowles and Todd Hudson do enough to ease RB depth concerns?

In the Oklahoma Sooners 76-0 win over Western Carolina, Jaden Knowles and Todd Hudson were productive, but did they do enough to answer the questions about the running back room?

Tumultuous. That’s it. That’s the one word that can be used to describe Oklahoma’s winter, spring, and summer in the running back room.

Following the Oklahoma Sooners’ thrashing of the Florida Gators in the Cotton Bowl, head coach Lincoln Riley and running backs coach DeMarco Murray thought they would head into this season with a stable of some really great running backs. Flash forward to now and things did not pan out remotely close to how they envisioned them.

We documented those troubles in detail right here.  However, we are here to discuss the running backs of this season. More specifically, the two guys on the team that aren’t on scholarship, who will play a vital role going forward.

Jaden Knowles and Todd Hudson round out a paper-thin running back room as they back up Kennedy Brooks and Eric Gray. Gray and Brooks are the featured guys, and for good reason, but where do Knowles and Hudson fit in?

Both are walk-ons and got their chance to show something in meaningful game action in the Sooners dismantling of Western Carolina University. Knowles, a redshirt junior had four carries for 37 yards and two rushing touchdowns and added two catches for 67 yards to close out a pretty productive night. Hudson, a redshirt sophomore was able to tote the rock nine times for 25 yards and two touchdowns.

Obviously, the competition wasn’t the toughest but a key component to being a running back is holding on to the ball. Knowles and Hudson did that on Saturday.

Barring injury, it’s hard to envision a time where either see the field with a game still in doubt. Riley and Murray will ride the wheels of Gray and Brooks until the wheels fall off. They have to. They offer things that Knowles and Hudson don’t. Most notably in size, speed, and big-game experience. However, there’s reason to believe if one of the main two goes down, Riley and Murray will probably have a little bit more confidence in one of the walk-ons stepping into a significant role. They almost have to. They know the plays, the responsibilities and it’s easier to plug them in on the fly as opposed to try and shift the position of a wide receiver and turn them into a running back in the middle of a game week.

Is the verdict a yes or no? There’s just not enough evidence to accurately give a definitive answer. Knowles and Hudson gave their coaches something to think about and that’s much more than either envisioned coming into the season. Only time will tell when or if they will actually be called upon in a significant moment or game.

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Perrion Winfrey dominant in Sooners 76-0 win over WCU

Perrion Winfrey continued his hot start to the season in week two with a dominating performance against Western Carolina.

The breakout has been long anticipated for Oklahoma Sooners defensive tackle Perrion Winfrey. A strong and super athletic player, Winfrey had all the tools to be a dominating force in the middle of Alex Grinch’s defense.

In 2020, he flashed his physical ability to take over a game, but the stat sheet didn’t necessarily reflect it. Though he didn’t record a sack in 2020, he was a force in the middle and was a reason why so many were high on this Oklahoma Sooners defense heading into 2021 despite losing edge rusher Ronnie Perkins.

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In just two games in 2021, Winfrey already has two sacks after collecting 0.5 sacks in the win over Tulane and another 1.5 sacks in last night’s 76-0 win over Western Carolina. His two total sacks are tied with Isaiah Thomas for the team’s lead through two games.

Winfrey led the way for the Sooners pass rush, collecting six total pressures of Catamounts quarterbacks who were pressured on 49% of their dropbacks by the Oklahoma pass rush.

Winfrey accounted for six of those pressures on just 19 snaps as the Sooners starting nose tackle played only in the first half. He played 16 of those snaps on pass-rushing downs and recorded a pressure on 37.5% of his pass-rush snaps. That’s a dominant day rushing the passer.

Winfrey ended the day with the fourth-highest defensive grade from Pro Football Focus on the day and second to only Nik Bonitto among Oklahoma Sooners’ starters.

As the competition takes a step up in the coming weeks with Nebraska next week and then West Virginia and Kansas State after that, the Oklahoma Sooners will need Perrion Winfrey to continue to be the dominant force he’s shown to be in the first two games of the season.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions.

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