Tag: Dallas

What can the Oklahoma Sooners do to defend Texas running back Bijan Robinson?

Slowing Texas running back Bijan Robinson is priority No. 1 for the Oklahoma Sooners. What will it take from the Sooners defense to limit his impact?

Oklahoma entered last week trying to solve a Deuce Vaughn problem. It emerged victorious, but it would be a stretch to stay the Sooners solved the Kansas State running back. If they thought that was hard, they’re going to hate what they have to do this weekend when they travel to Dallas, Texas, to take on the Texas Longhorns.

The Red River Rivalry has featured some amazing talents and this next iteration proves no different. The Longhorns no longer are dependent on quarterback Sam Ehlinger to throw and run them to wins. Instead, they have an offense centered around Bijan Robinson, a sophomore running back from Tucson, Arizona.

Robinson, a former five-star recruit, is quite the player. He can lower his pads and get the tough yards between the tackles. He can run the outside zone and stretch plays and beat you to the corner. He can catch the ball out of the backfield, too. Simply put, he can do it all.

He’s north of six feet and more than 200 pounds. A stark difference to Deuce Vaughn, who stood at 5 feet, 6 inches and less than 185 pounds. Robinson offers a different challenge.

Oklahoma’s efforts to stop Robinson will start with the interior defensive line. Without the versatile Jalen Redmond, the Sooners will have to rely upon Isaiah Coe, Josh Ellison and LaRon Stokes. All three have played quite a bit of football and have been a part of this game multiple times.

Challenging them will be a Texas offensive line that has struggled with protections and had to shuffle some new players in after losing Denzel Okafor to a season-ending lower leg injury. Oklahoma’s veteran front will have to impose its will. Expect the rotation of bodies to continue as Alex Grinch’s “Speed D” relies on max effort on every play. Pass protection and consistency sustaining run blocks have been issues as Texas has shuffled its offensive line in the absence of Okafor.

Texas will double Perrion Winfrey and hope it’s enough to spring Robinson into the second level. Awaiting him will be linebackers Brian Asamoah, DaShaun White, David Ugwoegbu, Shane Whitter and maybe Danny Stutsman. These linebackers have looked much better playing downhill and filling gaps in the run game than in pass coverage. However, filling the gaps is one thing. Tackling is another. Robinson will not go down via arm tackling or getting caught flat-footed as they did against Vaughn in space. Contact, wrap up and finish. A team effort. Robinson led the NCAA in missed tackles forced in Week 5 and leads all of the Football Bowl Subdivision this season in missed tackles forced.

DaShaun White or Shane Whitter on tape looks like Oklahoma’s better coverage linebackers. In man coverage, they’ll likely be tasked to follow Robinson on outs, wheels, or the “Texas” route.

Robinson will get his touches whether Texas is winning or losing. He’s their best offensive player. Making Robinson accept tough yards and not giving the chunk plays is where Oklahoma should focus their efforts. If the Sooners cannot contain Robinson, there’s a real chance that Texas walks out the victors.

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Cowboys release former Notre Dame great

What is your favorite memory of Jaylon Smith at Notre Dame?

Jaylon Smith will go down as one of the all-time “what if’s” in football.

What if the 2015 Butkus Award winner didn’t suffer a devastating knee injury against Ohio State in the 2016 Fiesta Bowl?  Would he have been a top-five pick as many projected him to be?

And just how great of career may Smith have had if it wasn’t for that injury that likely stirred many draft-eligible players to sit out of their bowl games in the years that have followed?

Smith was released Tuesday by the Dallas Cowboys, the same team that drafted him in the second round back in 2016.  According to Jori Esptein, Smith had played 56% of Cowboys defensive snaps this season, the most of any full-time Cowboys linebacker.

In full, Smith played all 56 games for the Cowboys since returning from injury in 2017, recording nine sacks and forcing six fumbles during his time.

Where he winds up remains to be seen but for a player who signed a five-year, $64 million contract extension in 2019 it’s hard to imagine him not getting picked up sooner than later.

And one more “what if” while we’re here.

What if literally anyone other than Brian VanGorder was Notre Dame’s defensive coordinator in 2015?  Just how good could the Irish and Smith both been?

Related:

Current NFL receiver shares why he de-commited from Notre Dame

40 Notre Dame players on NFL rosters to start 2021

Notre Dame releases depth chart for Virginia Tech game

Stop overthinking things and start Drew Pyne

Reading between the lines it sure seems like Pyne will start at Virginia Tech

2021 Hall of Fame game: Joshua Dobbs against Dallas

2021 Hall of Fame game: Joshua Dobbs against Dallas

A pair of former Tennessee football players were in action during the 2021 Hall of Fame game Thursday in Canton, Ohio.

Joshua Dobbs and Cameron Sutton played for the Steelers in their, 16-3, victory over Dallas.

Dobbs, who is listed as the No. 4 quarterback on Pittsburgh’s depth chart, is behind Ben Roethlisberger, Mason Rudolph and Dwayne Haskins.

Roethlisberger did not play against the Cowboys. Dobbs was 4-for-6, totaling 37 yards and one touchdown pass.

Sutton recorded one tackle in limited action against the Cowboys, who opened an early 3-0 lead before surrendering 16 unanswered points.

The Steelers will kick off the season Sept. 12 at Buffalo.

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Kristaps Porzingis has had a horrendous to the playoffs and this wild stat proves it

Kristaps Porzingis has to be better for the Mavericks.

Saying Kristaps Porzingis hasn’t played up to par for the Mavericks so far against the Clippers would be an understatement.

He’s been flat-out bad. The Mavs built a 2-0 series lead heading into game 3 because Luka Doncic had just been that special. But that wasn’t enough in game 3. They needed Porzingis to play well and he just didn’t.

That’s been par for the course in this series. Porzingis is averaging just 14.3 points per game. But where what he’s really been particularly bad at has been his rebounding, where he’s only averaging 3.7 boards per game.

Here’s a wild stat that puts that in a bit of context. Nuggets point guard Facu Campazzo is averaging 4.7 rebounds in the postseason so far at 5’11. Porzingis is 7’3 and averaging a full rebound less per game.

That’s just wild. Absolutely bonkers.

It shouldn’t be this way. Porzingis needs to be better. The Mavericks need Porzingis to be better. They have a solid lead in the series right now, but they won’t win it without him being the best he can be.

We’ll see if he turns the corner in game 4.

Watch our new sneaker unboxing video, Special Delivery

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxjnPPyOLD8

Check the yardage book: TPC Craig Ranch for the AT&T Byron Nelson

Puttview offers a hole-by-hole study of TPC Craig Ranch near Dallas, host of the PGA Tour’s AT&T Byron Nelson for the first time this week.

TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, Texas, will be in the spotlight this week as the host of the AT&T Byron Nelson, the first time the Tom Weiskopf-designed course will host the PGA Tour event.

The tournament had been held at Trinity Forest since 2018, not counting last year’s cancelation because of COVID-19 precautions. Before that, the event was held at TPC Four Seasons for 35 years.

The private TPC Craig Ranch opened in 2004 in a large golf community just north of Dallas. The layout is 7,438 yards long and plays to a par of 72. The course hosted what is now the Korn Ferry Tour Championship in 2008 and 2012.

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Thanks to a yardage book provided by Puttview – the maker of detailed yardage books for more than 30,000 courses around the world – we can see exactly the challenges that players face this week. Check out each hole below.

Why Bryson DeChambeau scurried back to N.C. from Texas after thinking he’d missed a cut

“I learned my lesson,” said Bryson DeChambeau on his 1,000-mile commute to make his Wells Fargo Championship third-round tee time.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – High in the sky heading home to Dallas on Friday after thinking he had missed the cut in the Wells Fargo Championship, Bryson DeChambeau got a text message from his agent that changed his itinerary.

“Hey, you’re 68th now.”

“What? No way,” DeChambeau thought to himself, realizing weekend play was actually in play. Turns out DeChambeau, who was in 90th place when he finished his second round, was moving up the leaderboard during his flight as strong winds started to batter Quail Hollow Club.

Sure enough, when the world No. 5’s three-hour flight on the NetJets private aircraft touched down, he was inside the cut.

Some 30 minutes later he realized he had made the 2-over cut on the number. And was a touch over 1,000 miles from the Queen City.

Wells Fargo Championship: Leaderboard | Photos

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“Well, whoops, that was a mistake,” he said to Connor Olson, a member of his team who was on the flight.

DeChambeau made the most of the awkward predicament. He went into scramble mode but secured a new flight crew to head back to the Wells Fargo Championship for the third round. He got in one of his one-hour intense workouts. Had a nice dinner. Couple of protein shakes. Went to bed at 8 p.m. to wake up in time for his 2:45 a.m. CT eastward flight from Dallas.

The return flight landed at 6:20 a.m. local time and after a 30-minute drive to the course, he had a little more than one hour to make his 8:10 a.m. tee time.

“Put on my clothes in the locker room and headed out to the putting green,” the reigning U.S. Open Champion said. “This morning was not easy. But, you know, for whatever reason I just feel like the more weird things happen to me, the greater my resolve sometimes can be and today was a case of that. And got a little unlucky on 18, but other than that, you know, I played a great round of golf today. I’m very pleased.”

Indeed it was a splendid round of golf – until the punishing 18th hole. DeChambeau continued his ascent up the leaderboard with five birdies through 17 holes and was within three strokes of the lead. But he ran into turbulence on the 468-yard finishing hole when his drive was left in the rough and hit his second into a greenside bunker. He needed two to get out of the bunker and made double.

His 3-under-par 68 left him 1 under through 54 holes and five shots out of the lead with the leaders yet to tee off.

Afterward, he said it was an expensive mistake to have made.

“Way too expensive,” he said. “But the thing is, I have a chance to go make a good check this week and I think that would offset it. So if I was to not come back and withdraw, lose world ranking points and all that, I had to incur the cost. It’s my fault. It did (think of not coming back), but I said there’s no way I can do that. I can’t let down Wells Fargo, I can’t let down Quail Hollow.

“Oh, yeah. I learned my lesson, for sure.”

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Cowboys hire Dan Quinn as defensive coordinator

Former Falcons head coach Dan Quinn flew to Dallas on Monday to interview for the Cowboys’ defensive coordinator position.

Former Falcons head coach Dan Quinn flew to Dallas on Monday to interview for the Cowboys’ defensive coordinator position. As reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the meeting went well and Quinn will officially take over as Dallas’ defensive play-caller in place of Mike Nolan, who the team fired last week.

Quinn had been linked in connection to a few college jobs, but as defensive coordinator for the Cowboys, he’ll have a better chance to rebuild his reputation in front of a bigger national audience.

As for the Falcons, the the team continues to interview different candidates for their head-coaching and general manager vacancies. On Monday, Atlanta virtually met with Titans offensive coordinator Arthur Smith and Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive coordinator Todd Bowles.

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Watch: Notre Dame football targets dominate in Dallas Pylon event

Highlights from the Dallas Pylon 7 on 7 event who hold Notre Dame offers.

It is the offseason for high school athletes, which means going to camps, getting individual and group workouts along with competing in 7 vs. 7 tournaments.

The latter was happening in Dallas, Texas this weekend with the Pylon 7 vs. 7 tournament. Plenty of Notre Dame targets were in attendance and there were highlights that Notre Dame fans needed to see. Here are some of the top 2022 and 2023 targets highlights who have Notre Dame offers. I also have personally seen three of the four prospects featured, and they are more than impressive. Also, two of them were on my 2022 offensive wish list as well.

Josh Richardson scores 13 points in preseason game for Dallas

Recapping Josh Richardson’s performance against Minnesota Thursday.

Former University of Tennessee basketball player Josh Richardson had a solid outing for the Dallas Mavericks in its preseason basketball game Thursday night.

Richardson scored 13 points, pulled down three rebounds and dished out three assists in the Mavericks’ 129-127 loss to Minnesota at America Airlines Center.

He played 27 minutes against Minnesota.

Dec 17, 2020; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Josh Richardson (0) brings the ball up court against the Minnesota Timberwolves during the first quarter at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Richardson is starting for Dallas in his first season with the team. He was acquired in a draft day trade with the Philadelphia 76ers.

He also previously played for the Miami Heat. The Heat drafted him in the second round of 2015 NBA draft.

Richardson was a First-Team All-Southeastern Conference standout for the Volunteers in 2015 and a two-time member of the SEC’s Al-Defensive Team in 2014 and 2015.

He played for Tennessee for four seasons.

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Mark Cuban shares an update on Delonte West and it looks like he’s doing well

This is awesome.

A few weeks ago, photos and videos surfaced of former NBA player Delonte West struggling on the streets of Dallas. It wasn’t the first time — similar videos surfaced back in January of West.

Mark Cuban caught wind of the videos on social media and managed to find West and pick him up. From there, Cuban helped West start at a rehabilitation program in Florida that same day.

On Friday, Cuban offered up an update on how West was doing in rehab. And from the look of things, he’s doing great.

He shared a picture on Twitter of West horseback riding.

West still has a long way to go and his journey is just beginning, but it’s great to see that he’s doing well and taking these first steps in getting better.

Shouts to Mark Cuban for helping him out. Hopefully, West is back on his feet and doing well soon.