Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Hosts William “Skywalker” Steele, “Law Nation” Thomas and “Big Game” James Yates go to work dissecting the state of the franchise, the trade of defensive end Everson Griffen and much more in the latest episode.
The Dallas Cowboys took an L on the chin in Sunday’s divisional matchup with the Washington Football Team. Their quarterback also took a helmet on the chin and the fall out has been severe from that as well as the team’s 2-5 record.
Hosts William “Skywalker” Steele, “Law Nation” Thomas and “Big Game” James Yates go to work dissecting the state of the franchise, the trade of defensive end Everson Griffen and much more in the latest episode.
The Dallas Cowboys are in a precarious position when it comes to their 2021 cap space and draft haul, and the two work hand in hand. Due to COVID-19 taking away fan attendance in most venues for much or all of the season, the NFL isn’t reaping the …
The Dallas Cowboys are in a precarious position when it comes to their 2021 cap space and draft haul, and the two work hand in hand. Due to COVID-19 taking away fan attendance in most venues for much or all of the season, the NFL isn’t reaping the revenue that they originally forecasted for the season. While TV numbers are down across all sports, TV numbers are down across all shows, too, and the NFL continues to reign supreme when it comes to live viewing.
Still, there’s going to be a major dip in the 2021 salary cap, as that is based on a percentage of league revenue. The league agreed to cap the falling cap at $175 million for 2021. Any worse than that, and they’ll start taking cap space away from subsequent seasons. Before COVID-19, the projections were at around $215 million for next year’s cap.
That matters, because teams signed players to long-term deals in 2017, 2018 and 2019 with those ceilings in mind. The Cowboys played the Dak Prescott situation with those ceilings in mind, and now that he’s almost destined to be on a second consecutive franchise tag, thoe team’s head is bumping into that lowered ceiling.
According to the NFLPA, the Cowboys currently have $23.2 million of cap space available for 2020, third-highest in the league. Over the Cap is a little above that as they project different things, at $24.2 million.
This was before Griffen’s trade, which will remove $3.2 million from the 2020 books.
The Cowboys have 42 players under contract for 2021, and a current cap number of $177.7 million when figuring in those players and the dead money from Travis Frederick and Gerald McCoy’s contracts.
Using OTC’s numbers, Dallas stands to have around $27.5 million roll over to 2021 in unused cap space (pending any additional deals and end-of-season calculations for likely and not-likely-to-be-earned bonuses).
Adding that $27.5 million to the lower $175 million cap projection, and Dallas would have $202.5 million in space in the worst-case scenario.
Take away the $177.7 million they have on the books and that means Dallas has around $24.8 million to spend.
Dallas of course will sign at least 9 players to get to the 51-man offseason number, and after that’s all said and done, and even if they are all base-salary-no-bonus signees, that will eat up $6.5 million of space.
Dallas has around $18.3 million to spend.
But again, Dallas is going to have to tag Prescott. That will eat up $36.9 million in 2021 cap space. Dallas still has to find another $18.6 million in space prior to the start of the league year.
That can be accomplished in a multitude of ways, but it isn’t pretty. The team may be able to jettison some salary prior to next week’s trade deadline (November 3). There are a handful of players who could be released in the offseason for savings, but most of it will come from restructuring deals on their highest-paid players.
With those efforts, Dallas will likely be able to create enough room to tag Prescott again. Without a long-term agreement though, there will not be much room to re-sign some of their own players who are free agents.
If the Cowboys have any plans to re-sign CBs Chidobe Awuzie or Jourdan Lewis, DE Aldon Smith or safety Xavier Woods, they may have to make other moves to make that happen. If they plan to add other outside talent, they will definitely need to make other moves.
That’s why getting draft picks for players on expiring contracts may not be done with getting rid of Griffen.
The Cowboys are going to have a lot of holes to fill on their roster, and not a lot of cap space. They may need to increase their draft haul. Not all players may stick, but using picks in draft-weekend trades to move up (like what they did to acquire Tyler Biadasz) may be the only way the team is able to get a handful of ready-for-action players. 10 picks (their current haul) may not be enough.
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The Dallas Cowboys followed through on the first of what may be many changes to their roster over the next week as the trade deadline approaches. On Tuesday, the team agreed to send Everson Griffen to the Detroit Lions. The return is not yet …
The Dallas Cowboys followed through on the first of what may be many changes to their roster over the next week as the trade deadline approaches. On Tuesday, the team agreed to send Everson Griffen to the Detroit Lions. The return is not yet determined, but as a conditional pick it could rise as high as a fifth-rounder in 2021.
Dallas signed Griffen as a late free agent this offseason after he worked his way out of his deal with Minnesota last season. Ironically, after a very slow start Griffen had begun to increase his statistical output, including a sack in Sunday’s loss to Washington. Griffen was second on the team with 2.5 sacks on the year.
The #DallasCowboys have traded DE Everson Griffen to the Detroit Lions for a conditional draft pick.
Breaking News | @LGUS
— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) October 27, 2020
This move of course opens the door for Randy Gregory to get more snaps. Gregory was activated for the first time since 2018 and recorded just six snaps on Sunday. The team also made rookie fifth-round pick Bradlee Anae inactive for that game, so jettisoning Griffen will open the door for him to regain some snaps as well.
Griffen had signed a one-year deal worth up to $6 million in salary and game-day roster bonuses. The former Viking, 33, received no signing bonus but was to make $3 million in base salary in 2020, as well as another $3 million in game-day roster bonuses.
After seven games with Dallas, he still has 10 weeks of salary remaining and 8 of 9 games worth of roster bonuses remaining (Griffen played 15 games in 2019, so only 15 games of roster bonuses counted against the Cowboys’ cap). All of that will be removed from the Cowboys’ 2020 cap total
Dallas will save just over $1.76 million in base salary and another $1.5 million in roster bonuses, to clear $3.26 million off their 2020 cap. With the 2021 cap expected to drop precipitously from projected figures, to as low as $175 million, every penny counts, especially for a team that does not look to be competitive for a 2020 title.
Dallas’ injuries on offense and dysfunction on defense are the reasons it may be time to move on from several players. On Monday, Cowboys Wire ran a feature outlining the draft pick hauls that could be reaped by moving several players and the list included Griffen. On Tuesday morning, owner Jerry Jones admitted the club would be looking into personnel changes after the dismal 2-5 start to the season.
Last week, an anonymous player discredited the maligned Cowboys coaching staff as not knowing what they were doing. Several players have complained about Mike Nolan’s scheme throughout the season and once the position coaches started being the subject of ire, it’s no surprise things are changing.
Griffen has been a top player in the league for years and was expected to boost the Cowboys’ defense, but that wasn’t the case. Known as a stout run defender and skilled pass rusher, Griffen was initially asked to play from a two-point stance in Dallas, something that didn’t suit him well.
Those efforts were ditched, and there had been some progress the last few weeks, but with the team being so bad, there was little point to watching the experiment play out.
Now, Dallas adds to their draft pick haul in 2021.
The club already had nine picks lined up, and that now moves to 10.
Dallas has their own pick in Rounds 1-4, as well as Round 6. The now add the Lions sixth-round pick, which could move to a fifth depending on how much Griffen plays.
In addition, Dallas is in line for four compensatory picks for losing Byron Jones (3rd), Robert Quinn (4th), Randall Cobb (5th) and Jason Witten (6th) in free agency last year.
The club traded their fifth-round pick last draft to move up and select center Tyler Biadasz in the fourth round. The seventh-round pick was traded to New England for Michael Bennett during last season.
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NFL network’s Ian Rapoport that the Detroit Lions are trading a conditional 6th round pick to the Dallas Cowboys for defensive end Everson Griffen.
NFL network’s Ian Rapoport and ESPN’s Adam Schefter are reporting that the Detroit Lions are trading a conditional 6th round pick to the Dallas Cowboys for defensive end Everson Griffen.
The Lions have refocused their approach on defense and are now leaning on more defensive linemen to stunt the run and open up the pass rush — and it’s working.
Since the bye week, that has meant more time with versatile defensive linemen on the field and a sudden need for big bodies who can lineup at multiple spots and rush the passer.
Enter Everson Griffen.
Trey Flowers and Romeo Okwara are thriving on the EDGE but with Julian Okwara on injured reserve and Austin Bryant still working his way back from the PUP list, the Lions were painfully weak on depth. Griffen instantly corrects that.
Griffen has always been a menace when playing against the Lions and now the Lions are getting an opportunity to unleash him on someone else. He has the ability to play all along the defensive line similar to how Flowers and Okwara are used.
Griffen is a natural fit in the Lions scheme, and while he will probably only be asked to play a pass-rushing role early as he acclimates, he is coming to Detroit at a time when the team is on the rise — winning three of the last four games and entering a stretch of very winnable games.
Buckle up Lions fans, they’re making a run at this.
Postgame quotes from Cowboys coaches and players show a team that has no answers on how to fix their 2-5 season, except to say they will.
For Cowboys fans watching Sunday’s debacle in DC, it was a numbing feeling. Like watching a video compilation of slow-motion car wrecks. There’s no real question about what’s coming; the only uncertainty is how bad the next one will be.
Even head coach Mike McCarthy acknowledged the familiar sense of despair that had seeped into the Dallas locker room by intermission of the 25-3 embarrassment.
“Frankly, we talked at halftime about the ‘here-we-go-again’ mode on the sidelines,” McCarthy admitted to reporters during his postgame press conference. “We’ve got to move past that. That’s part of making progress throughout the season. We need to learn from our mistakes. We can’t keep letting our mistakes hold us down and hold us back.”
And yet, that’s precisely what happened once again. Another costly turnover deep in the red zone. Six sacks allowed. Abysmal third-down efficiency. Only 142 yards of total offense, to Washington’s 397. Less than three yards per offensive play. Half a dozen penalties. No rushing attack to speak of. Only one wide receiver with any receptions. Another starter escorted off the field by medical staff.
“I’ve stood in front of this camera too many times this year and spoke about the basics that we just haven’t put together yet,” McCarthy told the media Sunday via videoconference call.
The Cowboys have managed to get worse with every week. While the historically-bad defense managed to hold their opponent to under 34 points for the first time in six games, the offense- formerly the strength of the roster- was held to three. The unit that was nicknamed ‘Team Fortyburger’ for its expected points-per-game prowess before the season has recorded one touchdown and two field goals over their last eight quarters of play.
“It’s not what we’re looking for,” McCarthy said. “We need to be much better, and we’re running out of time.”
The 2020 season is slipping away, to be sure. It’s already a lost cause for players like Dak Prescott, Tyron Smith, and La’el Collins, out for the remainder of the campaign. The players left are trying to stop the bleeding, but the carnage has been relentless.
When backup quarterback Andy Dalton was knocked cold by an illegal hit from Washington linebacker Jon Bostic, the cumulative gut punch of watching yet another teammate go down was the first thing to cross Ezekiel Elliott’s mind.
“Just how [expletive] this year’s been,” the running back relayed to reporters. “Yeah. Just how bad this year has been. But we’ve still got a lot of time left. We’ve got a big division game next week, so we’ve got to go out there and find a way to win.”
Dallas’s two wins have come more from luck than anything the Cowboys have actively made happen. Despite weekly assurances from the coaching staff that practice sessions have been encouraging, something is getting lost in translation between the practice field on Thursdays and actual games on Sundays.
“Obviously, you want to practice good and you want it to translate to the field, and it’s very disappointing when it doesn’t. We put our all into this. This is our craft, our livelihood. It’s disappointing when it doesn’t [translate],” wideout Amari Cooper said in his postgame remarks. “It’s pretty surprising, too, when it doesn’t happen. You don’t go out there and practice and even think that it won’t translate. So when it doesn’t, yeah, it’s a surprise.”
Elliott was just as lost for an answer.
“I’m not sure,” the two-time rushing champ said. “I’m not sure why it’s not translating. But we’ve got to figure out a way to get this thing together, get this thing going.”
Frustration has had hold of the defense for an even longer stretch this year. Early questions about defensive coordinator Mike Nolan’s system being too complex have turned to doubts about certain players’ hustle and effort.
“It’s got nothing to do with scheme,” linebacker Leighton Vander Esch shot back when asked on Sunday.
But even fundamental building blocks like how the defensive players communicate with one another on the field has been up for debate.
“I don’t think it’s a communication issue,” Vander Esch said after Sunday’s loss. “I think we communicate well. I think everybody just needs to do their job on every single play. I think it comes down to that. Just focusing in, relaxing, and doing your job every play.”
Defensive tackle Everson Griffen agrees with that assessment.
“We’re ticked off. Everybody’s tired of it. I feel like in order to do something about it, we have to do it as a team,” Griffen offered.
“I think at the end of the day, it’s up to the players on the Dallas Cowboys to be able to go out there and execute our assignments. It never has to do with the other team. I feel like we have to go out there and play better, and that’s the end of it.”
That, of course, is proving to be easier said than done. Especially considering the Cowboys have been saying it every week.
Edge rusher DeMarcus Lawrence suggested the problems go well beyond scheme or communications or even how well the squad practices. He’s using words like belief, fight, and backbone.
DeMarcus Lawrence was asked if he thinks the Cowboys can turn it around and said “absolutely.”
Love his honesty here when explaining how they can do it. But man if it ain’t a pretty damning statement on where things are. pic.twitter.com/xRglMc6rlK
— David Helman (@HelmanDC) October 25, 2020
Those things speak to deeper issues. Something internal. The-makeup-of-the-man kind of stuff.
The coach responsible for cultivating a winning makeup out of these men knows they’re in the middle of a rough patch. He vows he’ll respond the only way he knows how: by continuing to work with his players on the basics… and letting things happen from there.
“Obviously, there’s a high level of frustration and emotion from them,” McCarthy allowed. “I’ve been in this league and been a part of sports long enough to understand that you have to trust the evaluation process. At the end of the day, until everybody plays together as a team, keeps pushing forward together… We’re not doing the basics. Let’s quit candy-coating it. I can’t stand up here and keep talking about talking care of the football, taking the ball away, just the fundamentals.
“We’ll continue to work, and I do believe we will turn this in the right direction.”
What McCarthy says he won’t do is make a broad, sweeping change based on a disappointing 2-5 run.
“We’ve had so much change, just in our everyday functions. I think the important thing is to stay the course.”
And that includes sticking with Mike Nolan. Despite growing calls for his removal, McCarthy says a change at defensive coordinator is not part of the plan.
“It hasn’t crossed my mind. I’m focused on getting better each and every day. That’s where we are.”
Adversity has been the story of the Cowboys’ first seven weeks. But McCarthy maintains that it won’t be the determining factor of the season by the time 2020 is said and done.
“I would say that there’s adverse moments we didn’t respond to,” he said. “I clearly feel we’ll overcome the adversity of the experiences we’ve had in our season. I do believe that.”
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None of Andy Dalton’s teammates came to his defense after a dirty hit suffered Sunday. Their coach expected something different.
Washington linebacker Jon Bostic will catch a lot of heat this week for his illegal hit on Cowboys quarterback Andy Dalton in the third quarter of Sunday’s meeting between the rival teams. He was ejected from the game, he’ll almost certainly receive a hefty fine, and he probably deserves a suspension for the head shot he delivered to a sliding quarterback.
But all of that could actually pale in comparison to the blowback that Dalton’s teammates will hear over the coming days about the hit they didn’t deliver. In the moments after the vicious cheap shot laid out their field general, not a single Dallas player came to Dalton’s defense. No retaliatory blows. No in-your-face exchanges. No pushes. No shoves. Seemingly not even a cross word as the 32-year-old passer (he’ll turn 33 on Thursday) lay motionless on the turf.
In a thoroughly disappointing season that has already seen historic lows, the Cowboys’ failure to defend their fallen teammate may have been the lowest moment of them all.
Andy Dalton took a nasty hit to the head pic.twitter.com/Yg913OGotr
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) October 25, 2020
Even head coach Mike McCarthy was surprised at his players’ lack of response.
“It was definitely a hit that caused a disqualification,” McCarthy said after the demoralizing 25-3 loss. “We speak all the time about playing for one another, protecting one another. That was definitely probably not the response that you would expect.”
That’s a gross understatement. But nothing about the 2020 season has been close to what Cowboys fans expected. Dalton’s offensive mates standing around in silence after watching him get almost decapitated is just the latest manifestation of a season gone way off the rails.
As vicious as the hit was, NFL insider Adam Schefter reported Monday morning that Bostic does not expect to be suspended for the play.
After being ejected Sunday, Washington LB Jon Bostic is not expected to be suspended for his hit on Dallas QB Andy Dalton, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 26, 2020
The hit on Dalton didn’t spur the Cowboys players to action in the moment, but it was the first thing running back Ezekiel Elliott referenced after the game.
“We’ve got to protect the quarterback better,” Elliott offered to reporters. “I’m not sure how many times he was sacked today, but we’ve got to keep him upright and clean in the pocket.”
The Dallas offensive line is in shambles and has been decimated by injury; Connor Williams served as the line’s elder statesman on Sunday. But Elliott knows that he also has a huge responsibility in pass protection. He normally prides himself on his blocking skills, but, like everyone else wearing a star on Sunday, failed to put forth his best effort.
Zeke gets ROCKED by Cole Holcomb 😱
(via @WashingtonNFL)pic.twitter.com/wTCFln986J
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 25, 2020
“We’ve got to stick together during these times,” Elliott said of the season that seems to be getting worse with each week. “We’ve got to have each other’s backs.”
No one, though, had Dalton’s back after the violent hit that took his helmet clean off. And media members were quick to ask Elliott and other Cowboys players why: Shouldn’t someone have defended Dalton? Shouldn’t someone have confronted Bostic and gotten physical in return?
“I think you can say that’s fair,” Elliott admitted. “But doing that, you’ve got to be careful, because we’re already down a bunch of guys. If you go in there and throw a punch, you get kicked out of the game, you can’t help the team from the sideline. You can’t help from the team from the locker room. We’ve got to find a way to not cross that line, but we’ve still got to protect our guys.
“I honestly can’t really remember the situation that well or what exactly happened. But if you’re asking that question, I guess I do wish we would have acted stronger.”
It’s not like Bostic’s hit wasn’t clearly a flagrant cheap shot. Players weren’t bashful about labeling it as such after their showers.
“Man,” wideout Amari Cooper reflected when asked if it was a dirty hit. “Yeah, I would, to be honest. Because he was sliding. It was obvious. That player could have easily avoided doing what he did.”
But when asked if some sort of retaliation would have been appropriate, Cooper was less than definitive.
“I don’t know. I don’t know.”
Defensive tackle Everson Griffen has been in that situation before, chasing a quarterback who suddenly gives himself up. And he was sure of what he saw on the play.
“Terrible hit,” Griffen stated in his postgame remarks. “He’s going to get fined, as he should. I feel like, honestly, if you see a quarterback sliding, you’ve just got to let him go down to the ground.”
Even Washington coach Ron Rivera acknowledged the reckless play of his linebacker. According to ProFootballTalk, Rivera sought out McCarthy on the field as Sunday’s game ended to apologize.
“I went up to him and apologized to him for it,” Rivera said, as per Mike Florio. “I wanted him to know that we don’t play that way, and it’s unfortunate that it happened.”
Ron Rivera told me that he apologized after the game to Mike McCarthy for Jon Bostic's hit on Andy Dalton. Rivera also told Bostic, "Jon, you're a veteran guy; you should know better."
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) October 25, 2020
It was unanimous that the hit on Dalton was wildly unsportsmanlike. The players and coaches, to a man, also held to the party line when they all talked- yet again- about sticking together, holding each other accountable, having their teammates’ backs, overcoming adversity, and playing for one another.
Only no one actually did it when Dalton went down.
The stunning lackadaisical response by the Cowboys players will be scrutinized and criticized by every football analyst with a microphone this week.
But will it be addressed by the Dallas coaching staff during practice?
McCarthy wouldn’t even say.
“I’ve answered the question.”
But there are obviously far more numerous and troubling questions still to be answered about the woeful 2020 Cowboys.
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A Cowboys injury update, breakdown of the matchup Seattle, and much more on this week’s news and notes.
The Dallas Cowboys have to quickly move on from and build upon their comeback win in the home opener, as they travel to Seattle to take on the Seahawks in just a few short days. One of the best matchup’s in the season so far, Dak Prescott and company face off against arguably the league’s best player, quarterback Russell Wilson.
In a game with the highest projected point total of the week, it feels like whichever teams defense can create stops will take this close game. Luckily for Dallas fans, the Trevon Diggs injury scare was just that, a scare, as the Cowboys cornerback was back at practice Thursday. Get the full injury report, matchup breakdown, Cowboys Wire podcast, and even hear John Fassel discuss the memorable onside kick, on this edition of news and notes.
NFL analyst Bucky Brooks breaks down the most important aspects of this weeks Dallas-Seattle matchup. Brooks discusses key matchups, names to remember, and even the Seattle defensive scheme.
An update on the Cowboys injury report, including the latest on crucial players like Trevon Diggs, DeMarcus Lawrence, and Tyron Smith
Since the beginning of the 2019 season, the Cowboys are only 3-6 on the road. This Sunday, they’ll need to find a way to rectify that against a tough Seattle Seahawks team.
CeeDee Lamb among all rookie receivers
⭐️Yards: 165 (1st)
⭐️Yards after Catch: 83 (1st)
⭐️First Downs: 7 (1st)
⭐️Dropped passes: 0pic.twitter.com/GjUgf5RjEp— PFF (@PFF) September 24, 2020
After spending the first two weeks in a two-point stance, veteran defensive end Everson Griffen is going back to a three-point stance this week to hopefully apply plenty of pressure to Russell Wilson.
In this weekly piece, Cowboys’ staff writer David Helman goes over his biggest talking points of the week. This week includes Dak Prescott’s amazing start, the tough road ahead of the impressive Trevon Diggs, the Cowboys tricky tackle situation, and more.
Special teams coordinator John Fassel gets into the intricacies of what went into the onside kick that capped off the Cowboys 20-point comeback win vs the Atlanta Falcons.
WEEK 3 #DallasCowboys pic.twitter.com/1ptRLSREyg
— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) September 24, 2020
In the latest edition of the Cowboys Wire podcast our own K.D. Drummond and Ryan O’Leary discuss last week’s epic comeback, and what to expect in Week 3.
Early-down passing, unexpected play, and how the Cowboys have less pressure to win after beating the Falcons is broken down by Tom Ryle of Blogging The Boys.
Amari Cooper’s one handed catch against the Falcons was one of the best plays all day, and helped spark a comeback win. However, Cooper believes he should have scored on the play. A foot injry was limiting his speed, but the Cowboys star wideout says his foot is back to 100 percent now.
K.D. Drummond sat down for a one-on-one with George Teague to talk about a variety of topics for the 20th anniversary of the clash at the star, when he took out Terrell Owens who was trying to once again celebrate on the Dallas logo. Teague’s retelling of the story was hilarioous and it can be read, or if you’re a subscriber to the Catch This Fade podcast, can be heard along with other insights such as his not getting along with Jimmy Johnson, being the flagbearer after 9/11 and many other topics.
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Also, the inside story on Dak Prescott and Hayden Hurst’s viral moment, defensive concerns, and Tony Dorsett pays tribute to an all-time RB.
Thought the Dallas DB unit was looking like a skeleton crew with Chidobe Awuzie suddenly set to miss time? Impressive rookie Trevon Diggs has now found himself on Wednesday’s injury report, too. Not an encouraging nugget heading into a showdown with early MVP candidate Russell Wilson.
Elsewhere in Cowboys Nation, more accolades for Dak Prescott after his Week 2 wizardry, concern over the lack of a Dallas pass rush, and what Ezekiel Elliott plans to do to win the time of possession game. We also have a look back at Cowboys-Seahawks history, the good reason DeMarcus Lawrence was absent on Wednesday, and what past Dallas rallies can predict about the team moving forward. Also, the inside story on that moment Dak Prescott and Hayden Hurst shared on the field just after Week 2 went final. All that, plus Coach McCarthy plans to stay behind the mask, and a legendary Cowboys running back pays tribute to one of the all-time greats. Here come the News and Notes.
The Cowboys secondary is getting thinner by the day. Hot on the heels of the news that cornerback Chidobe Awuzie would miss multiple weeks with a hamstring issue, word out of Frisco is that rookie Trevon Diggs is also dinged. The second-round draft pick missed Wednesday’s practice session with a shoulder injury after playing all 75 defensive snaps against Atlanta.
Yeah, three rushing touchdowns, 450 passing yards, and spearheading a comeback win for the ages deserves a little bit of hardware. Prescott won the award twice last season, too.
Jori Epstein talks with the Atlanta tight end to learn more about his now-viral moment after Sunday’s Week 2 game. Hurst sought out Prescott to thank him for his recent public comments about the seriousness of treating mental health issues. Hurst shared his own struggles from 2016 and says he hopes he and Prescott can make good on the quarterback’s offer to collaborate on some sort of future initiative.
Obviously after making NFL history with his performance on Sunday, Prescott is on this list. But the Hall of Famer somehow found two other quarterbacks who he thinks had a better outing in Week 2.
McCarthy was just asked for his thoughts on coaches getting fined $100k for mask infractions.
“What do I think? I think it’s a lot of money, so I will keep wearing my mask.”
— David Helman (@HelmanDC) September 23, 2020
Take a deep dive into coordinator Mike Nolan’s unit to dissect why it’s ranked in the bottom third of the league in all the major categories. From takeaways to sacks to allowing explosive plays to third down stops, it’s a sobering look at the unit who’ll be tasked with stopping Russell Wilson this Sunday.
The Cowboys’ new defensive end says he’ll switch back to the three-point stance he’s played out for his previous ten seasons after an upright experiment has resulted in just one sack for the four-time Pro Bowler.
John Owning gets into the nitty-gritty of defensive techniques and explains why a few minor tweaks to something as simple as body positioning is having a negative impact on DeMarcus Lawrence’s play thus far this season. Griffen’s proposed cure (as mentioned above) could well be the fix for Lawrence, too.
DeMarcus Lawrence is out today because his wife is in labor.
— Clarence Hill Jr (@clarencehilljr) September 23, 2020
Russell Wilson is only dangerous when he’s on the field. So the Cowboys are looking to turn around a two-game trend of losing the time of possession battle. Elliott says his focus in Week 3 will be on ball security and converting third downs, especially early in the game.
Is Week 2’s wild win a foreshadowing of greatness to come in 2020? Todd Archer looks back at signature rallies by the Cowboys under Bill Parcells, Wade Phillips, and Jason Garrett to see how each of those squads responded to snatching a victory from the jaws of defeat.
From Tony Romo’s bobbled hold in 2006 to Dak Prescott’s somersault in the 2018 playoffs and several memorable meetings in between, big things have often happened when Dallas and Seattle have hooked up over the past two decades.
Rest in heaven, Gayle. That was a baaaaddd man. https://t.co/7u4VXFil5Y
— Tony Dorsett (@Tony_Dorsett) September 23, 2020
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The four-time Pro Bowler says he’ll go back to a three-point stance after his upright experiment generated only one sack in two games.
Everson Griffen is going back to what’s worked for him in the past. Considering he went to four Pro Bowls during his ten seasons with the Minnesota Vikings, accumulating 74 and a half sacks along the way, that should be music to the ears of Cowboys fans wondering when the team’s pass rush is going to show up in 2020.
The 32-year-old, in his first season in Dallas, told reporters on a Wednesday conference call that he would be playing more often in a three-point stance, as opposed to the upright technique that he’s employed for the first two games of the season.
“That’s what I am more comfortable at,” Griffen said, per the team website. “I was trying to work it in and out and seeing where my comfortability [sic] was, trying to see, ‘Do I like the two-point? Do I like the three-point?’ And I’m a three-point man.”
Griffen has one of the Cowboys’ two sacks over their 1-1 start, bringing down Matt Ryan in the fourth quarter this past Sunday. But those numbers are not where the players or coordinator Mike Nolan want them to be; Dallas ranks 30th in total sacks thus far this season, trailing only Las Vegas and Carolina.
The Southern Cal product hopes a return to his favored technique will help him be more effective in Week 3, when the Cowboys will be chasing down the Seahawks’ red-hot Russell Wilson.
“I’m going to make sure I get down in my three-point, where I can be more powerful with my hands, and then my feet,” he said. “I can get on guys quicker and be able to attack and move my feet better and go out there and execute my assignment and get the job done.”
Griffen was called out on Twitter earlier in the week by Dallas radio host Jeff Cavanuagh for his slow start to the season after being signed by the team in mid-August. Griffen responded colorfully, reminding Cavanaugh and followers that everyone is playing catch-up, thanks to the abbreviated training camp and the lack of hitting that normally comes in preseason games.
He emphasized that point again on Wednesday’s media call.
“It’s early. It’s Week 2 of the regular season. No offseason training,” Griffen explained. “I was training on my own, doing everything possible to be able to get ready for this season. But in football, rushing the passer is the hardest thing to do in any sport – you’ve got to beat the tackle and you’ve got to get to the quarterback.”
But Griffen’s technique tweak isn’t coming solely because of a social media kerfuffle. His own defensive coordinator has made it clear he’s expecting bigger and better things from the unit as a whole.
“To be perfectly honest with you, I think we need to do a better job executing our pass rushes,” Nolan said on Monday, “whether it’s the rush, [or] whether it’s how we handle the pocket. The challenge this week is going to be that we have a quarterback who’s very mobile, more mobile than the last two we’ve faced. That will be a bigger challenge. It won’t always be the pocket, as it’s been these past two weeks; it’s going to be more on the perimeter.”
For Griffen, meeting that challenge starts with getting back to basics.
“Getting the call, getting lined up, getting in the right position, coming off the ball, executing assignments, getting off the ball, playing fast. I think it’s just the fundamentals of the game.”
Like a dominant defensive end playing with his hand in the dirt.
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[lawrence-newsletter]
Griffen responds to criticism, injury updates on Tank and Tyron, coaching decisions, playoff odds and a uniform that is dead may never die.
Jeff Cavanaugh of 105.3 Fan tweeted Dallas Cowboys defensive end Everson Griffen hasn’t played well in the first two games. The veteran responded in a series of profanity-laced tweets of his own that set to Cowboys fan base on fire. Tyron Smith is currently suffering from neck stingers, and DeMarcus Lawrence also has some ailments he’s working through, but Jerry Jones isn’t concerned about it.
After rookie WR CeeDee Lamb caught five passes on six targets in his NFL debut, he took it up a notch vs the Atlanta Falcons. Former Cowboys guard Ron Leary was close to being back with the team, but the deal fell through. How the Cowboys are expected to have more fans at home games, and why the decision to go for a two-point conversion early was the right call and more are covered in the news and notes.
In recent years the Cowboys, like all NFL teams, have had their fair share of players who search for themselves on social media, or perhaps have instigating followers who look to tag them whenever they are mentioned. Jeff Cavanaugh of 105.3 The Fan put out a tweet saying defensive end Everson Griffen hasn’t played well in the Cowboys first two games. The 11-year veteran was not pleased and fired back viciously.
His point is a solid one, that he’s just rounding into shape and that the pandemic is the reason he and many are starting slowly. How that means the assessment of his early play is wrong though is up for debate.
The Cowboys injury list, unfortunately, is increasing ay a rapid pace. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones told the media on Tuesday that Tyron Smith, who is dealing with neck stingers, was held out of the Cowboys Week 2 matchup to make sure he’s available down the road. While DeMarcus Lawrence, who played just 33 snaps last week, is fine physically but “has some nicks”.
It’s been debated since Sunday. Should the Cowboys have kicked the extra and then went for a two-point conversion later? Or did they handle it right by going for two first? ESPN’s Brian Burke explains why the latter was the right choice.
After a solid five catches on six targets in his NFL debut, CeeDee Lamb was the Cowboys top receiver in Week 2 with his 106-yard performance.
Since playoff realignment in 2002, 88 teams have started 0-3 with only three making the postseason. The Cowboys win Sunday not only got them to 1-1 on the season but greatly increased their playoff chances.
The Cowboys worked out veteran guard Ron Leary last weekend in hopes of reunion due to their offensive line injuries. However, late Monday night, the potential fell through
In an improbable comeback win vs the Atlanta Falcons, the Cowboys three-headed monster at wide receiver of Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup, and CeeDee Lamb were all key contributors in making that possible.
NFL Media analyst Bucky Brooks raves about Dak Prescott, encourages Mike McCarthy to cut back on taking risks, and gives his thoughts on several areas the Cowboys need to improve on.
COVID-19 restrictions only allowed 21,000 fans at the Cowboys home opener. However, that number is expected to increase going forward.
An ode to the uniform combination that never was.
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