Tag: Darian Thompson

Cowboys secondary takes further hit; Brown and Wilson to miss Week 13

Dallas’s already-depleted DB unit will now face the Ravens’ high-octane offense minus cornerback Anthony Brown and safety Donovan Wilson.

Secondary depth has been a major concern for the Cowboys all season long. It continues to be a problem even as the 2020 campaign limps to a close.

Cornerback Anthony Brown and safety Donovan Wilson will now miss the team’s Tuesday night meeting with the Baltimore Ravens. Both players had been listed as questionable on Saturday’s injury report.

For Brown, it will be his second straight absence due to a rib injury. Wilson suffered a groin injury on Thanksgiving Day against Washington and has not practiced all week.

Also on Monday, the club brought cornerbacks Deante Burton and Rashard Robinson from the practice squad to the active roster as depth; Darian Thompson should start at safety versus the Ravens.

Cowboys fans have eagerly awaited the debut of rookie defensive back Reggie Robinson; no word yet on whether this latest rash of injuries in the secondary will open the door for the versatile Tulsa product to finally see the field.

Brown signed a new contract with the Cowboys back in March. The Purdue alum suffered a rib injury in the season opener against the Rams and missed the next three games during a stint on IR.

Wilson has enjoyed an increased role this season and made the most of the opportunity. He forced and recovered a fumble versus Philadelphia in Week 8, and then forced a pair of fumbles, recovering one, in the Week 11 win over Minnesota.

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Cowboys signing practice squad safety to 53-man roster

The Dallas Cowboys are elevating Steven Parker to the 53-man roster.

The Dallas Cowboys safety situation has been, like much of the team in 2020, a dumpster fire. It’s a position that the front office obviously doesn’t believe needs any resources and can rely on a hodge-podge group of players to fill and hopefully get replacement level play out of them.

Steven Parker is the next man up. After being called up from the practice squad in two consecutive weeks, the powers that be decided to make a more formal move, promoting him to the roster full time after appearing in the last two games.

Parker spent the entirety of 2019 with the Miami Dolphins and he’ll be fighting for playing time with Donovan Wilson and Darian Thompson, neither of whom have managed to distinguish themselves on the back end. His two career interceptions, neither with the Cowboys of course, are more than Wilson and Thompson combined.

On the bright side, this might be a sign that head coach Mike McCarthy isn’t satisfied with a position that the Jones family has been somehow happy with for a long time. In the off-season he brought in former charge HaHa Clinton-Dix, who performed so badly in camp he was cut. He benched the aforementioned Thompson one drive into Week 4.

Xavier Woods led Cowboys safeties in Week 6 snaps with 62 (100%) while Wilson had 54. Parker and Thompson each had eight defensive snaps.

McCarthy might finally be the man who forces the hand that feeds him to nab him a safety who can actually make plays on the back end. Here’s to wishful thinking.

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Cowboys Mike McCarthy speaks to presnap motion, DBs Diggs, Lewis

Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy met with the media on Thursday to discuss his team and the lack of pre-snap motion in Week 1.

Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy met with the members of the media on Thursday ahead of the Week 2 match-up with the Atlanta Falcons.

The biggest question the coach faced was regarding his former quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ comments that McCarthy wasn’t a big fan of pre-snap motion. The answer was diplomatic, refusing to throw the Green Bay Packers signal caller under the bus.

“You got to remember we played a lot of football together. As your offense changes you have to evolve, and really a lot of the credit goes to Aaron who can recognize defenses at the line of scrimmage. That’s really the chess game you play as a coordinator. When it’s over a 10-year period you evolve because you never stay the same.”

Unfortunately, in 2020, pre-snap motion is part of the offensive evolution and if McCarthy and offensive coordinator Kellen Moore aren’t going to hop on the bandwagon, they may be left in the dust. Correlation is often confused with causation and of course this is a small sample size, but ESPN’s Seth Walder released the use of pre-snap motion league wide.

The top 16 teams went 13-3. The bottom 16 teams went 3-13. McCarthy went on to say that “you can’t tilt too far to one and not the other.”

It seems clear that for at least one week, the Cowboys went too far one way, the vanilla way. When he was asked about the lack of motion against the Los Angeles Rams, he offered up that the “defense was on the field for a very long time.”

One would think playing more effectively on offense and scoring points would accomplish two things simultaneously: keeping the defense off the field while relieving pressure for them while on it.

Outside of the presnap motion conversations, Dallas’ secondary ruled the day.

Jourdan Lewis is looking to increase his practice reps today and looks “comfortable” while it’s clear that Darian Thompson will lose some of his playing time to Brandon Carr.

McCarthy won’t reveal any strategy for how to contain Julio Jones come Sunday, but there was praise for Trevon Diggs, whith his coach saying, “I don’t have any hesitations on playing the young man. He’s earned the starting position.”

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Jerry Jones: ‘Everything’s on go’ for Xavier Woods to play Week 1

The Cowboys owner is optimistic that their veteran safety will have recovered from a groin injury in time for the season opener.

It must- finally- be game week. After an extended offseason and surreal training camp that at times seemed to be about anything but the Xs and Os of football, the countdown to kickoff passed the T-minus one-week milestone, and Cowboys Nation suddenly turned its collective attention in unison to the injury report.

The news that linebacker Sean Lee and offensive tackle La’el Collins would start 2020 on injured reserve caused some concern, though that worry lessens with the new rules this season regarding IR. Since both players will be eligible to return after just three missed games, focus shifted to the secondary and the status of Xavier Woods.

On Tuesday, team owner Jerry Jones expressed optimism that Woods would be ready to play come Sunday night.

Woods was assumed to be one of the team’s two starting safeties in Week 1. But a groin strain has kept the fourth-year man sidelined since August 30, and the surprise release of veteran HaHa Clinton-Dix just days later left major question marks on the Dallas defense’s back end heading into the season opener against the Los Angeles Rams.

“Everything’s on ‘go’,” Jones said on 105.3 The Fan. “It would really be a surprise if he didn’t get out there Sunday night. I think he got a good checkup yesterday, and he should be moving around out there this week in a good way.”

Despite Jones’s encouraging report, head coach Mike McCarthy was more reserved in remarks to the media when asked about the Week 1 prognosis for Woods and fellow DB Chidobe Awuzie.

“We’ll know more Wednesday,” McCarthy explained on Monday. “We had a walkthrough today. So far, so good.”

Defensive coordinator Mike Nolan also admitted that things in the Cowboys secondary aren’t set in stone less than a week to go before the first game of the season.

“There are still some questions unanswered today,” Nolan said. “But they’ll be answered at the end of the week. I believe we’ll get a few of the guys back, but it has been a little bit of a struggle. We had to move some guys around, but I think in the end, it will actually help us because we had the opportunity to play some guys in some different positions that we were hoping to when we started out, but not really knowing if we would be given the chance. As it turns out, we were. As the week goes along, we’ll make some decisions as to who is actually going to line up where when the game begins.”

Darian Thompson has impressed in camp, and Donovan Wilson has shown flashes. Beyond that, the Cowboys are frighteningly thin at the safety position; rookie corner Reggie Robinson is repeatedly mentioned as a possible option to slide back in a system that emphasizes positional versatility among defensive backs.

Even the eleventh-hour addition of Brandon Carr- the former Cowboys cornerback who ended up playing safety last season in Baltimore- is likely a depth move that will pay off later in the season, so Woods’s availability for the season opener is of critical importance against the likes of Rams receivers Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods.

Dallas coaches raved about Thompson, presumed to be named the other Cowboys starter in Week 1.

“Darian’s done an excellent job just from our interaction,” McCarthy said of the journeyman who spent time with the Giants and Cardinals before joining the Cowboys in 2018. “It started back in the spring with the virtual [work sessions]. He’s a very smart, instinctive football player, not only on defense but on special teams. He’s had a heck of a camp.”

“Darian is a very good football player,” Nolan echoed. “He’s smart. He’s tough. He takes coaching extremely well. And those are the things that come to mind right away. He’s done a very good job; he pays close attention to all the finer-detail coaching points in the things we do. He’s done a good job. I’ve been pleased with him.”

But Thompson has just four starts over the past two seasons. As pleased as the coaching staff may be with his progress, they would almost assuredly feel better were he not asked to be the most experienced safety on the field in Week 1. Woods and his 29 starts in that same span would be a key anchor in a defensive backfield already pegged as the Cowboys’ weak spot heading into an otherwise promising season.

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Cowboys 2020 Preview: What the numbers say about Dallas’ defense

Dallas was a good but not great defense last season. What do the numbers say their chances of improving on that in 2020 will be?

The 2019 Dallas Cowboys season was just plain weird.

They finished 8-8 and missed the playoffs despite having the league’s sixth best point differential (+113) and a pythagorean win expectation of 10.7 wins. They should’ve been competing with the New Orleans Saints for a bye week in the playoffs, not sitting on their couches in January.

What went wrong?

There has been plenty of focus on the Cowboys’ offense, which was dominant at times but struggled against playoff teams. The continued rise of Dak Prescott plus the addition of CeeDee Lamb and the possibility of Kellen Moore letting loose a bit more with new head coach Mike McCarthy is enough to make most fairly confident that the offense is set to thrive.

But what of the defense?

Here’s how the Cowboys defense performed overall relative to the rest of the league in 2019 in terms of EPA/play allowed.

(EPA is short for Expected Points Added. Expected Points are derived from a formula based on past seasons of NFL data and take into account down, yards to go, yards gained, and other factors to produce the likely amount of points scored on any given play.)

In this piece, we’ll break down the three levels of the Cowboys defense heading into 2020 and try to predict if they’ll help push Dallas over the hump this season.

Defensive Line

The defensive line got a big overhaul this offseason. Of the five Cowboys with the most pass rush snaps in 2019 (per Pro Football Focus), only Demarcus Lawrence is returning in 2020. Dallas is looking to replace the production of Robert Quinn and Maliek Collins with newcomers Everson Griffen and Dontari Poe.

 

The plot above compares each player’s sacks (as measured by PFF, which does not award half sacks and may differ from the official NFL total) with their expected sacks. Expected sacks (xSacks) depict how many sacks a player would be expected to get based on their pressure rate. Sacks are far less stable than pressures, so in predicting future success you’re generally much better off using expected sacks over sacks.

Lawrence’s first season into his five-year, $105 million contract extension was a disappointment in most regards, but his pressure rate of 13.6% was right in line with his career rate of 13.5%. He actually led the Cowboys in expected sacks in 2019, slightly edging out Robert Quinn, though Quinn played 37 fewer snaps.

Everson Griffen is the biggest addition to the line. He has been remarkably consistent over his career and there is evidence that his sack totals don’t do him justice.

He has consistently played at an 11-12 sack level over the last six years with no real sign of slowing down, though at 32 years old there’s always a chance the age catches up quickly.

Rookie edge rusher Bradlee Anae has also already shown promise in training camp, adding to the already exciting look of his 11.3 xSacks in the NCAA last year. Obviously one can’t expect a fifth-round pick to grab 13 sacks in his rookie year, but adding even half of that production would be huge for the Cowboys. 

This doesn’t take into account the addition of Aldon Smith, who after being off the field since 2015 has emerged as a major force during Dallas’ training camp practices. Smith played nine games in 2015 and his performance mirrored Michael Bennett’s nine game stint with the Cowboys last year quite well. The 31-year old should add great rotational depth to this line.

Linebackers

The big question at the second level is which Leighton Vander Esch the Cowboys will be getting in 2020. His 2018 rookie campaign saw him receive the fif-highest PFF grade among linebackers in the NFL, leading to a Pro Bowl and a second-team All-Pro nod. Last year was the definition of what you might call a sophomore slump. Vander Esch fell to the 60th ranked linebacker per PFF and battled a neck injury that forced him to miss seven entire games and parts of several others.

The area of his game that dropped off the most was his run defense. Vander Esch went from arguably a top-10 run defender among linebackers in 2018 to PFF’s 89th-ranked run-stuffing linebacker in 2019.

Vander Esch missed 15 tackles all year in 2018. In 2019 he almost matched that with 12, but in about half as many snaps played.

He has said he feels his health is in a much better place heading into 2020, which leaves hope that he will return to the top tier linebacker we saw in his rookie year.

Fellow linebacker Jaylon Smith also dipped a bit from his 2018 season, though not to the same degree as Vander Esch. One of the more intriguing parts of what he brings to the team in 2020 revolves around his move to weak-side linebacker. There’s a strong chance he’ll be rushing the passer a bit more this year, especially with defensive coordinator Mike Nolan coining the phrase designated pass rusher as a linebacker responsibility.

Over the past three years (his tenure as a Cowboy), Smith actually has the highest pressure rate of anyone in Dallas. Rushing the passer is obviously a much different task as a linebacker versus as a defensive lineman, but the skills do appear to be there. Based on his pressure rate, he’s expected to get a sack about every 31 snaps. For reference, Demarcus Lawrence and Robert Quinn are next best on the team at 35 and 38 snaps, respectively.

If Nolan bumps up Smith’s pass rushing duties from the 60-70 he saw these last two years up to 100 or so, it could easily result in 3-4 more sacks for Smith.

Secondary

The Cowboys suffered a big loss in the secondary with the departure of cornerback Byron Jones over the offseason. Jones was a top-20 corner by overall PFF grade and one of the very best tackling corners in the NFL last season. With Jones in 2019, Dallas allowed completions at a lower rate than league average at nearly every target depth.

The Cowboys defense ranked 11th in EPA/pass and 8th in Y/A allowed last season. PFF gave the team the sixth-best overall coverage grade in the NFL.

While losing Jones hurts, there’s a chance the Cowboys already have his replacement on the roster. Second-round draft pick Trevon Diggs has been showing out in camp this summer. The secondary might not miss a beat heading into 2020.

Moving just a bit further back into the secondary and we run into some potential troubles. Xavier Woods has one of the safety positions locked down, but the other is not so clear. Ideally, free agent signing Ha Ha Clinton-Dix would take that spot, but reports from training camp have indicated that he might be getting beat out for the starting position by Darian Thompson. Whether that’s a positive signal of the progression of Thompson or an omen of the play of Clinton-Dix remains to be seen. Based on last season’s performance, there is plenty to worry about in regards to Ha Ha.

Per ESPN’s Seth Walder, Clinton-Dix gave up the highest completion percentage over expected (CPOE) of any safety in the NFL when he was targeted last year. That means that based on the target depth and area of the field, quarterbacks were completing passes at an above average rate when targeting Clinton-Dix. If the Cowboys are really concerned about that second safety spot, there’s always the option of looking at the big free agent name that appears at the complete opposite end of that y-axis in the above chart.

After looking at each position group, there seems to be good reason to get excited about this defense improving in 2020. The defensive line, while experiencing quite the turnover, appears to have added about as much as it lost. Leighton Vander Esch will likely experience some positive regression and, while not necessarily lighting the world on fire like he did in 2018, he should improve on his 2019 season. The secondary still has a few question marks, but if Trevon Diggs is the real deal, this defense has a shot to be great.

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ESPN reveals Cowboys’ weakness, but coaching staff has a plan

Dallas didn’t land an elite safety and lost its Pro Bowl cornerback, but the new DB coach says all his guys will be able to multitask.

Sizing up the Cowboys roster is still largely a speculative effort. A lack of preseason games and a shortened training camp with tight controls on revealing what’s happening behind those practice field doors has left fans and experts alike with very little information to work with, making for lots of guesswork when it comes to grading players.

Thanks to Sunday night’s not-ready-for-primetime televised practice that barely televised any actual football, judging the 2020 Cowboys- or any NFL team- still comes down to how they look on paper. ESPN’s Bill Barnwell has done just that, attempting to identify the biggest Achilles heel for each squad as the season draws nearer.

In Dallas, he sees the secondary as the club’s primary deficiency. But it’s not at the position viewed as most troublesome when the 2019 season ended.

Barnwell’s list looks at the 20 teams deemed most likely to make the 2020 postseason, and spotlights the weakest link, whether it’s an injury that’s left one unit severely depleted, a COVID-19 opt-out that’s exposed a shallow depth chart, a less-than-ideal contractual entanglement, or plain and simple bad roster makeup.

In Dallas, he says, the Achilles heel is… cornerback, not safety. High-profile flirtings with Earl Thomas and Jamal Adams have made it pretty clear to the rest of the league that the Cowboys felt their back end was exposed, so to speak. And while many expected the club to shore up the safety spot with Xavier McKinney or Grant Delpit (or even Antoine Winfield Jr. or Jeremy Chinn) in the 2020 draft, the team elected to sit tight with Xavier Woods, Darian Thompson, Donovan Wilson, and the newly-acquired HaHa Clinton-Dix.

The team was able to land Alabama corner Trevon Diggs in the second round, though, and also brought in Reggie Robinson, a potential diamond in the rough at the position. So what gives Barnwell pause about the CB state in Dallas?

“[I]t took a step back at cornerback after losing Byron Jones to the Dolphins in free agency,” he writes. “The Cowboys re-signed Anthony Brown, who should start in the slot, and Chidobe Awuzie will likely return as a starter on one side, but they’re hoping to replace Jones by having someone emerge from a committee.

“[Jourdan] Lewis is the favorite on paper to emerge as the starter, but minor injuries to Lewis and Awuzie have created an opportunity” for someone else, he points out.

That someone else could be Diggs, who has, by all accounts, had a very impressive camp. In fact, Barnwell notes, “he has the most upside of the bunch and figures to be a regular by the end of the season.”

Robinson and veteran Daryl Worley also figure to factor in as well, along with cornerbacks Chris Westry, Saivion Smith, C.J. Goodwin, and Deante Burton.

But new Cowboys defensive backs coach Maurice Linguist has hinted recently that outsiders should stop drawing such a sharp distinction between safeties and cornerbacks. Because he’s not. In fact. he’s expecting everyone in both groups to do both jobs.

“I’ll tell you what I told all the DBs: ‘Hey guys, you guys play DB,'” Linguist said Saturday, according to the team website. “Don’t lock yourself into a position or lock yourself into thinking you’re any one thing. Learn them all. There’s multiple spots back there.”

Besides the aforementioned minor injuries to Lewis and Awuzie, Woods has also joined the list of the walking wounded. The Louisiana Tech product left Sunday’s practice session with a groin injury and did not return, although head coach Mike McCarthy said he wasn’t concerned about Woods’ status.

Still, a high attrition rate among the defensive backs may mean more chances for all of them to do some cross-training.

“By no means are you just one position for us,” Linguist said. “You play defensive back, and we all know how this thing kind of goes throughout the season. We’ll see multiple people at multiple different positions.

“If I know exactly where the safety is and I’m a corner, well, that’s going to help me better understand what my technique is at corner,” he continued. “If I know exactly what a corner is doing at the safety position, it can help me move six inches to the left or six inches to the right and be successful.”

“I think one of the worst things you can do is say ‘This is what I am,'” Linguist said. “Because what it’s going to allow us to do is plug and play the next best person, the next best player – not necessarily just the ‘backup’ of the position. How can we find the best spots – six, seven, eight DBs – and get them on the field together in a rotation.”

It sounds great on paper. Right now, though, that’s all fans have to go on. The multitasking strategy will have its chance to play out in the real world soon enough.

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Cowboys News: Noncommittal Jerry Jones, rookie hype at all-time high

Earl Thomas is the focal point of the news today for the Cowboys but they’re not losing sight of what the prize is in the end.

All eyes and ears were glued to phones and social media platforms awaiting Cowboys owner Jerry Jones’ statement regarding free agent safety Earl Thomas. In typical Jones fashion, he left the door cracked open. Jones said that he nor any other Cowboys official has spoken to Thomas but will keep Cowboys nation guessing for just a little longer.

The hype is real about this year’s defensive line. Size, speed and strength in numbers have Cowboys media beaming about the defensive front. Have all the rookies started off hot in Cowboys camp? Cee Dee Lamb and Trevon Diggs have really turned some heads. Mike McCarthy has a firm grip on this team and has started the new culture in the right direction. Ezekiel Elliott loves being the workhorse of the Cowboys running game but is willing to let the offense have a change of pace back to compliment his hard nosed running style. Less than three weeks away from opening night in front of zero fans in Hollywood. Here is today’s Cowboys news.

Monsters, Inc.: Cowboys pass rush sounds like things nightmares made of :: The CowboysWire

Size, speed, and strength in numbers . The Cowboys have entered camp with several new looks on the defensive line. Pick your poison as the defensive front pins their ears back and are ready to hunt.

Will they or won’t they unknown, Cowboys yet to make move on Earl Thomas :: The CowboysWire

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones leaves a tiny bit of hope for any Cowboys fans that want Earl Thomas as a member of the 2020 squad. He shoots down a prominent NFL reporter and reiterates that only he has the real answers when it comes to the acquisition of Thomas.

Jones desires Cowboys stand during anthem, unclear if he’ll request or compel :: The CowboysWire

It’s on the forefront of a lot of players in the league. The Cowboys in unison kneeled prior to the anthem in prayer once upon a time. Now, just years later, owner Jerry Jones still doesn’t have a concrete plan in place for when the time comes.

Darian Thompson stepping into occupied void in Cowboys safety competition :: The CowboysWire

While Cowboys media has been focused on if or when Earl Thomas will be signed, Darian Thompson has been outworking the safety room and has himself in a position to snag a starting spot if he keeps up the effort. Ha Ha Clinton Dix will have to have a great next two weeks to make Mike McCarthy’s decision harder.

Cowboys patient approach with Earl Thomas reflects Mike McCarthy’s influence :: Blogging The Boys

The fact that Earl Thomas has not been sign sealed and delivered to the Cowboys yet might be an indicator that Mike McCarthy has heavy influence on his entire roster. There is quite the chemistry being built in Frisco lately and a new player being added to the mix might not be the best idea.

Ezekiel Elliott clearly wants to win above all else :: Blogging The Boys

It’s not about the carries this year for Ezekiel Elliott. The running back coming into his fifth year of action in the NFL says he’s willing to take a few snaps off in order for other electric players to make plays. As long as the wins pile up.

CeeDee Lamb, Trevon Diggs Living up to Early Hype in Camp :: Inside The Star

The first and second round picks for the Dallas Cowboys in the 2020 NFL Draft seem to be home runs. Lamb continues to score touch downs and Digg’s is making it difficult for wide receivers to get open.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones looking for compromise regarding national anthem :: NFL.com

There’s no clear cut plan as to what Jerry Jones will ultimately decide about the National Anthem. Some Cowboys are already set in their ways but ultimately it will be Jones’ grace that makes the ultimate decision.

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DBs in heavy rotation on first day of camp as Cowboys coaches preach takeaways

Returning veterans, newly-signed free agents, and a fresh-faced rookie all got reps in the Cowboys secondary as training camp opened.

Perhaps no position group on the entire Dallas roster has been more of a sore spot in recent years than the defensive backs. A brutal interception drought, letting Byron Jones leave, and the failed courtship of several name-brand safeties has left many Cowboys fans feeling like maybe the coaching staff views the secondary as, well, a secondary concern.

But now there’s a new sheriff in town. And in the McCarthy era, everybody gets in on the action. Or at least they did on the first day of full-team practice.

It was a revolving door at cornerback on Friday at The Star in Frisco, with the depth chart apparently “wide open,” according to David Helman of the team website.

“Chidobe Awuzie and Daryl Worley split reps on the left side,” Helman writes, “while Anthony Brown and Trevon Diggs split reps on the right side. Jourdan Lewis and Brown split time as the slot cornerback.”

Behind them, Helman notes, “Xavier Woods and HaHa Clinton-Dix were the initial starting safeties, but both Darian Thompson and Donovan Wilson got a chance to work with the starters.”

Clinton-Dix brings six seasons of NFL experience with him to his first year in Dallas. With the better part of five seasons coming under the watchful eye of McCarthy in Green Bay, he had a good idea of what to expect from Day One of the coach’s 2020 camp.

The veteran also had good things to say about the Cowboys’ second-round rookie cornerback and fellow Crimson Tide alum.

While that pair of fresh faces look to bring a new ballhawking mentality to the Dallas DB room, another guy who flew under the radar may find himself getting a new lease on life under the new regime.

Safety Donovan Wilson got into 11 games in his rookie campaign last year; Friday he started his sophomore season on a strong note.

“The coaching staff gave Wilson an opportunity to work with the first-team defense,” Helman explains of Friday’s opening practice, “and he definitely made the most of it. Wilson read Dak Prescott looking to make a near-side throw outside the numbers, and he darted in front of the ball for a nifty interception. It was the first takeaway of training camp for a defense that is stressing the importance of generating turnovers.”

It seems the new-look Cowboys secondary has a primary objective for 2020.

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News: Cowboys run NFCE, shortened preseason not set in stone

Also, the most experienced McCarthy team ever, all-time W-L records in the NFC East, and four positional battles to watch at Cowboys camp.

The NFL preseason has never had so much hype. After scrapping the annual Hall of Fame Game between the Cowboys and Steelers, the league announced it planned to call off two games from every team’s summer schedule on Wednesday. But as of Wednesday night, the player’s union had reportedly not agreed to that yet, and was even calling into question whether there should be any preseason games at all in 2020. The exhibition games no one ever cares about are suddenly the top story in the sport.

Also worth noting in Cowboys Nation are looks at the Dallas roster in terms of experience, as well as what they could steal from having watched another club’s recent successes. There’s a deep dive into sack stats and how O-line play and QB skills both factor in. We’ve got video of Cowboys rookies showing off their moves, and a preview of several compelling camp battles at certain key positions. 49ers fans are reliving the day they denied the Dallas dynasty, but Cowboys fans are tallying up the total wins to determine an all-time division leader. Here are your News and Notes for July 1.

NFLPA has not signed off on shortened preseason :: NFL.com

Just hours after word leaked that the league would drop two preseason games for each team from the preseason schedule, NFL Network’s Mike Garofalo and Tom Pelissero report that the Players Association has not come to any decision on the move. In fact, “there are some within union leadership who continue to question whether it’s a smart move to play any preseason games at all.”

Cowboys lose 2 preseason games to Covid-19, NFL alters schedule :: Cowboys Wire

Pray they don’t alter it further. The Cowboys are now down a total of three (of a scheduled five) preseason games, though one was even more meaningless than the rest.

Is This Mike McCarthy’s Most Experienced Team? :: The Mothership

When thinking of experienced teams, the default is to focus on the quarterback. Interestingly enough, scribe Rob Phillips points out that only 12 quarterbacks in the current NFL have more starting experience than Dak Prescott. Time flies.

Ultimate all-time Dallas Cowboys rosters: Bob Sturm breaks down his draft :: The Athletic

Sturm fires back at Jon Machota and drafts basically the entirety of the 90’s dynasty that won three Super Bowls in four years. It’s a sound strategy, to be honest.

Reliving the 49ers vs. Cowboys NFC Championship games from the ‘90s :: Niners Nation

The 49ers-centric SB Nation blog does a trip down memory lane with one of the greatest rivalries the sport had to offer. Unsurprisingly, they focus on the 1994 NFC Championship- where the Cowboys spotted San Francisco 21 points yet still managed to make the game close late- instead of the previous two losses. There’s no accounting for taste.

Prescott, not Cowboys’ vaunted OL, responsible for big-play development :: Cowboys Wire

Is Dak Prescott’s ability to stay alive for long-developing plays a product of the usually-stellar offensive line in front of him… or his own athletic skills at the position? Our Tony Thompson dives in to the stats.

Some teams are thinking about game-day travel in 2020 :: ProFootballTalk

This is pure speculation at this point, and for some teams it seems nearly impossible. It’s unclear how players would have to deplane after a long flight and start playing almost immediately.

Four Cowboys training camp battles to keep an eye on :: Blogging the Boys

Look for veteran Joe Thomas and promising second-year man Luke Gifford to duke it out on the linebacker depth chart. Darian Thompson and Donovan Wilson will compete in the secondary. Trysten Hill looks to prove his doubters wrong as he battles rookie Neville Gallimore along the defensive line. And Joe Looney gets competition from newbie center Tyler Biadasz.

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2020 Free Agency: Cowboys release 2 players as 3 others sign new deals

Dallas inked its WR1 on Wednesday plus backups at QB and safety; they released Donovan Olumba and Daniel Wise from the practice squad.

It’s a dizzying time for Cowboys fans, as players are coming and going faster than even the most hardcore followers can refresh their news feeds. Wednesday was a busy day, with the signings of three current players and the release of two others from the practice squad.

A major item on the Cowboys’ offseason to-do list got checked as wide receiver Amari Cooper officially inked his lucrative new contract with the club. After a career-best season (in yardage and touchdowns), Cooper’s deal ranks him at the top of the WR heap in terms of pay.

Safety Darian Thompson also signed his new deal, a two-year pact worth $2.8 million. Thompson has been with the organization for two seasons after two years as a New York Giant.

Additionally on Wednesday, backup quarterback Cooper Rush took another step in cementing his spot with the club. Rush’s role could change in a hurry if start Dak Prescott ends up holding out as he and the front office continue to navigate his new franchise tag designation.

But in addition to the marquee names securing new deals, this time of year also sees the often-unceremonious exit of lesser-known roster-fillers who never quite caught on.

 

Such is the case with cornerback Donovan Olumba and defensive end Daniel Wise. Both were released by the team on Wednesday.

Olumba was signed as an undrafted free agent after the 2018 draft. Thought to fit the mold of a Kris Richard defensive back, he ended up spending most of his time with the club on the practice squad, only ever seeing the field during last season’s regular season finale versus Washington. He logged no official stats.

Wise also joined the team as an undrafted free agent following the 2019 draft. He spent the season on the practice squad and had been signed to a futures/reserves contract after the year ended.