Tag: local

Cowboys CB Trevon Diggs goes after reporter outside locker room following criticism in loss

From @ToddBrock24f7: The Cowboys CB stormed out of the locker room in full pads to confront WFAA’s Mike Leslie after a social media post criticizing his effort.

The 2024 season is turning ugly in a hurry for the Dallas Cowboys. The first eight weeks of action have already featured a rash of injuries to high-profile players, a total breakdown of the once-vaunted rushing attack, a disastrous showing for the defense under a prodigal son coordinator, open questions in the locker room about effort, the contract-year head coach getting snippy with the media in a press conference, the owner threatening the jobs of radio talk-show hosts during a live interview, and fan tours- of all things- becoming a major talking point during the bye week.

Now this.

Cornerback Trevon Diggs went after a reporter Sunday night outside the visitors locker room, just moments after the Cowboys’ 30-24 loss to San Francisco went final.

At issue was a post on X criticizing the two-time Pro Bowler’s seeming lack of effort during a third-quarter play.

On 49ers tight end George Kittle’s 43-yard catch-and-run in the opening minutes of the second half, replays show Diggs covering wide receiver Chris Conley at the moment of Kittle’s reception at the Dallas 40. Diggs’s back is turned as he follows Conley through his route for another few seconds. By the time Diggs turns his head to realize that Kittle has the ball, he is five yards further downfield from Kittle.

Diggs maintains his stride and pursuit angle, appearing to leave teammates Donovan Wilson, Eric Kendricks, and Malik Hooker – all much closer to Kittle than Diggs- to make the play.

Except they don’t. Wilson falls after barely clutching at the back of Kittle’s jersey, and Kendricks never catches up. Hooker and Diggs finally converge on Kittle as he nears the pylon, with Diggs making a last-gasp push to force him out of bounds shy of the goal line.

The 49ers would score on the next snap to re-take the lead which they never gave back. San Francisco scored 21 unanswered points in a third-quarter onslaught that demoralized the Cowboys on both offense and defense. While Dallas fought back to make the final tally close, the loss dropped their mark to 3-4 and provided very little in the way of hope for a dramatic turnaround, with four straight opponents with winning records coming down the pike.

For some, though, that one play- along Diggs’s perceived lack of urgency and avoidance of tackling- summed up what’s wrong with the Cowboys in this frustrating season.

Mike Leslie of Dallas ABC affiliate WFAA reposted video of the moment afterward, adding, “What is Trevon Diggs doing on this play?”

Diggs apparently saw the post, and very soon after hitting the locker room. Still in full pads, the former second-round draft pick stormed back out to the media gaggle at Levi’s Stadium and got in Leslie’s face about it.

“Out of that whole play, that’s what you took from that?” Diggs demands, in a clip from NBC DFW’s Newy Scruggs. “You don’t know football. You can’t do nothing that I do. You can’t go out there and do nothing. Stay in your lane, buddy. Stop playing with me, bro.”

The confrontation continued, even after Diggs turned to go back into the locker room.

“Just asking the question, Trevon,” Leslie replied. “I mean, I’m happy to have you answer the question.”

Diggs came back and re-engaged with more of the same.

“Out of that whole play, that’s what you took from that?” he barked. “That’s what you got from that? That whole play, that’s what you got from that?”

With that, Diggs fired off a few expletives and retreated to the locker room, while Leslie attempted to get clarification.

“We can talk about it more,” the reporter offered. “What were you doing then?”

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Since his rookie season of 2020, Diggs has gained a reputation as a dice-rolling defensive back who often makes the breathtaking interception, but also frequently gives up a monster play when the risk doesn’t pay off. He’s also been tabbed- perhaps unfairly- as a defender who is unwilling to tackle. In truth, Diggs has the third-most solo tackles on the entire Cowboys roster through seven games.

It’s easy to debate- after the fact- that Diggs could have taken a different pursuit angle of Kittle or that he didn’t seem to have a lot of urgency in helping to make the play. The same could be said of several Cowboys players on several occasions Sunday night.

That one play, though, didn’t cost Dallas the chance to win a game in which very few people thought they would come out on top. A six-point loss, halfway through the season, on the road, to the defending NFC champs, in the grand scheme of things, isn’t even the sort of thing that spells certain doom.

But a star player apparently searching his own name on Twitter after a hard-fought game and before he’s even out of his pads to see what people have said about him… and then marching out into the tunnel fully-dressed to angrily confront and belittle a local reporter about some online criticism?

That just might end up being the moment that really decided for sure that this 2024 Cowboys team is an unsalvageable wreck.

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Cowboys CB hopes to turn tide vs depleted 49ers receiving corps: ‘Opportunity’s going to come’

From @ToddBrock24f7: The Dallas defense is lacking in takeaways in 2024. Caelen Carson, who is coming back from injury soon, believes that will change.

Of all the things that have not lived up to expectations about the first trimester of the Cowboys’ 2024 season, a distinct lack of interceptions is among the most disappointing.

The secondary that has produced the league’s picks leader in two of the past three seasons has managed only four interceptions through their first six games this year. Add in just one fumble recovery and, coupled with the third-most giveaways in the NFL, the team’s up-and-down rollercoaster ride to a mediocre 3-3 mark perhaps isn’t all that surprising.

“We’re minus-six in the turnover ratio,” McCarthy said on Wednesday, “so that’s the huge, blinking light for us.”

The Cowboys hope they’ve got players on the way who can provide the fix.

While edge rusher Micah Parsons and cornerback DaRon Bland were among the team’s DNPs on Wednesday, rookie corner Caelen Carson participated in full and appears to be trending toward making a return this week from a shoulder injury suffered in Week 3’s loss to Baltimore.

“I’m feeling a lot better. Progressing good. Way better than a couple weeks ago,” Carson told reporters this week. “I’m trying to get back on the field as fast as I can and help my team win.”

The promising 22-year-old has made his first NFL start, and now he’s working his way back from his first NFL injury. He hopes what follows soon after will be his first NFL interception, something that’s been tough for anyone wearing the star to come by lately.

“It’s been an emphasis all year; it just hasn’t happened,” the fifth-round draft pick explained. “Ball drills, we’ve been doing that since day one. But they’re going to come. Opportunity’s going to come. I’m sure we’re going to make plays.”

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The chances have indeed been few and far between for Cowboys defenders, mainly due to the way offenses have been attacking. Opponents are throwing an average of just 28.5 passes per game versus the Cowboys; only five defenses are seeing fewer air attempts. Conversely, teams know that Mike Zimmer’s run-stop unit is still a weak spot, and they’re averaging 31.5 rushes per contest. Only three teams are getting pounded more often by the ground game.

The 49ers and quarterback Brock Purdy are near the top of the charts in passing attempts and passing yards per game, but Purdy has also thrown seven interceptions already this year, tied for second-most leaguewide.

Now they’re also reeling with injuries to some of their biggest offensive playmakers. Of their receivers, Brandon Aiyuk has been lost for the year, Deebo Samuel was hospitalized earlier in the week with pneumonia, Jauan Jennings hasn’t practiced this week with a hip injury, Chris Conley is nursing an ankle, and George Kittle is considered day-to-day with a sprained foot.

But given that superstar running back Christian McCaffrey hasn’t even had his 21-day practice window opened yet and backup Jordan Mason has been limited with a shoulder issue, the 49ers may have no choice but to lean on Purdy, asking him to air it out to a piecemealed corps of banged-up and fresh-faced pass-catchers.

Carson admitted that the Cowboys secondary would try to capitalize on a depleted 49ers offense. The timing may work in his favor as he looks to help turn Dallas’s turnover numbers around.

Cowboys fans tuning in Sunday night may end up having the same reaction to Carson’s return as McCarthy did in talking about him rejoining the team in practice this week:

“We’ll see what he can do.”

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Cowboys lose up-and-coming weapon to another ACL injury

From @ToddBrock24f7: The 2nd-year tight end suffered the same injury to the same knee last preseason. He’s expected to undergo surgery and miss the rest of 2024.

Just as the Cowboys were starting to look like they were getting healthy coming off the bye week, a promising emerging talent has suffered a brutal setback to his young career.

Tight end John Stephens Jr. tore an ACL in Wednesday’s practice, according to a report from ESPN’s Todd Archer, who cited sources.

The 25-year-old joined the club as an undrafted free agent last spring. A wide receiver at both TCU and Louisiana, the 6-foot-5-inch Stephens was converted to tight end during his rookie training camp with the Cowboys.

While the team had high hopes for Stephens, his first pro campaign was lost to an ACL injury in the second game of the 2023 preseason.

This latest injury is to the same knee; Stephens is expected to undergo surgery and be placed once again on season-ending IR.

Stephens had not been active for a game yet in 2024, but the team had positive reviews for him and his development.

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Jake Ferguson remains the starter at the position in Dallas. Behind him are Luke Schoonmaker and Brevyn Spann-Ford. Princeton Fant occupies a spot on the practice squad.

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Cowboys open 21-day practice window for injured defensive lineman

From @ToddBrock24f7: Jordan Phillips played sparingly over 2 games and was then placed on IR under confusing circumstances. He has 3 weeks to be activated.

The Cowboys had hoped to use their bye week to get healthy, bringing several injured players back to action for the difficult 11-game gauntlet that will comprise the remainder of the 2024 season.

On Wednesday, one veteran took a big step closer to a return to the field, though how much difference it will make is a matter of opinion.

Defensive tackle Jordan Phillips, who was placed on injured reserve on Sept. 18 under somewhat confusing circumstances, has had his 21-day practice window opened by the club. The Cowboys now have three weeks to evaluate the 32-year-old and decide if they want to move him to the active roster or end his season.

Phillips, originally a second-round draft pick by the Dolphins in 2015 and also a former Bill and Cardinal, was traded to Dallas in the middle of August after he spent the summer with the Giants.

But the 330-pounder played only sparingly once the Cowboys’ season got underway. He logged 15 defensive snaps in Week 1 versus Cleveland and played just 19 more the following week against New Orleans.

It was after that game that the Cowboys placed Phillips on IR. Team owner Jerry Jones said the lineman had been “favoring his wrist,” even though the Oklahoma product claimed at the time that he knew nothing about it and said his wrist was fine when asked.

At the time, his PFF grade stood at 29.6, among the lowest in the league for a defensive lineman.

Phillips had indeed undergone surgery the year prior to repair a dislocated wrist, but based on his own comments, many wondered if the Cowboys were really making the move in order to give Phillips a four-week window to perhaps improve his conditioning and better acclimate himself to Mike Zimmer’s defense.

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After six games, the Cowboys are giving up an average of 143.2 rushing yards per game, the sixth-worst mark of all defenses leaguewide. They have allowed 10 rushing touchdowns, a total surpassed only by Carolina.

The Dallas defense has also been without Micah Parsons, DeMarcus Lawrence, Marshawn Kneeland, Eric Kendricks, and Caelen Carson at various points this season. Sam Williams and DaRon Bland have not played at all in the Cowboys’ six games.

The Cowboys’ next five opponents all currently rank in the top half of the NFL in rushing yards per contest. Three of them- San Francisco, Philadelphia, and Washington- are in the top seven, so reinforcements along the defensive line will be most welcome.

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Jerry Jones addresses radio rant, justifies Derrick Henry non-pursuit, shares his lone regret as Cowboys owner

From @ToddBrock24f7: The Cowboys owner expressed surprise over the headlines he made last week, then tried to justify several questionable decisions he’s made.

Jerry Jones called in Tuesday morning- as scheduled- for his weekly radio appearance on flagship station 105.3 The Fan. And the first question he got, naturally, was about last week’s headline-making tirade, when he awkwardly went after the hosts and even seemed to threaten their jobs, all for their prodding regarding the lack of personnel moves made by the front office over the offseason.

“I don’t have anything to say about last week,” the Cowboys owner said…

…And then he went for another seven minutes on the topic.

“I must tell you, I’m surprised that last week got the attention it got.”

The tl;dr version is that Jones isn’t holding a grudge, the hosts aren’t getting fired, and everyone in the long-term relationship understands and expects that there will be tough questions and emotional answers from time to time, because it comes part and parcel with the unique inside exposure that Jones regularly gives to the Dallas media when it comes to the most valuable and recognized sports franchise on the planet.

Yet Jones talked a good bit about some of the controversial decisions he’s made, and why, and which one he might do over if he could.

The 82-year-old billionaire wandered into his past and brought up a few of his greatest-hit stories, like the coin flip that helped determine the final price he’d pay for the team back in 1989.

Oddly, he rehashed that one while trying to explain for the umpteenth time why the Cowboys didn’t pursue free agent running back Derick Henry in the spring. (Jones mentioned Henry twice without ever being prompted; it’s clearly top of mind at the moment.)

“In my mind, we’re not playing very good football right now, at all,” Jones said. “And it’s beyond whether or not we have Derrick Henry or not. Derrick Henry is having a career year. I don’t know if he’d be having that career year in our situation. And that’s really something you really do have to look at, because if he had not had as many carries as our running backs have had, then he certainly probably wouldn’t have attained the level of impact he’s had.”

For what it’s worth, Henry has 134 rushing attempts so far this season for Baltimore. He’s amassed 873 yards through seven games, averaging 6.5 yards per carry.

The entire Cowboys team has 133 carries for 463 yards (over six games), a 3.5 per-attempt clip.

“He’s a real good complement to the type of offense they run,” Jones continued of Henry. “We don’t run that type of offense, at all.”

No, they sure don’t. Baltimore has a 5-2 mark, having scored a league-high 31.1 points per outing, while 3-3 Dallas is scoring 21 points per game, worse than all but one other club.

But the offensive approaches aren’t that dissimilar: the Ravens are currently averaging 28.4 passing attempts and 250.6 passing yards per game; the Cowboys are at 39.7 attempts and 259.3 yards. Baltimore is, in fact, running more than the Cowboys- 34.1 attempts per game as opposed to 22.2- but it’s worth noting that many of the Ravens’ “rushes” are scrambles or designed runs by quarterback Lamar Jackson (about 10 per game).

It’s also safe to assume that if Henry were wearing a star on his helmet, there would be a few more runs being called.

Be all of that as it may, Jones claims he has no regrets about not pursuing Henry- because of money, because of fit, because of whatever.

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With the team reeling and on the precipice of a complete crash-and-burn, though, Jones spent a lot of his time justifying other past decisions. Over the course of the Q&A, he defended trading wide receiver Amari Cooper for only a fifth-round pick in 2022, despite the fact that Cleveland turned him for a third-rounder just last week.

“We went for the dollars,” Jones explained. “We saved almost $20 million for our cap and the future. We took a lesser draft pick to get that savings. When he made this move the other day, Cleveland went for more draft pick and less savings. It was very simple.”

Cooper has played in 39 games since leaving Dallas. He’s totaled 178 catches for 2,726 yards and 17 touchdowns and made a Pro Bowl. The Cowboys used that fifth-round selection on offensive lineman Matt Waletzko, who- in two and a half pro seasons- has played all of 19 snaps, mostly on special teams.

Yeah, but they did get that cap savings, too.

Jones was willing to admit there was at least one thing he’s gotten wrong over his tenure as owner.

He told 105.3 The Fan that he regrets firing head coach Wade Phillips midway through the 2010 season. The Cowboys were just 1-7 when Phillips got the axe and offensive coordinator Jason Garrett was named interim head coach. The move turned the season for Dallas; the Cowboys went 5-3 the rest of the way, and Garrett stayed on in the position for another nine seasons.

But Jones pointed out that things worked out for Phillips, too. Just a few years later, Phillips won a Super Bowl ring with the Broncos, a title that, according to many, likely would not have happened without him as Denver’s defensive coordinator.

It was the only time Jones has ever fired a head coach during a season. He’s said he won’t do it again, despite rumors swirling that Mike McCarthy- coaching without a contract beyond 2024- is on borrowed time.

Jones seems more than willing to lie in the bed he’s made- with a lame-duck head coach that he won’t dismiss now because of a 14-year-old regret, with a benchwarming lineman that he won’t admit was too little payment for a Pro Bowl receiver he wanted gone, with a broken running game that he insists is fine because he wants the fanbase to believe the league’s current rushing leader wouldn’t have been a good schematic fit.

And Jones is somehow surprised that his nonsensical radio rantings get the attention they do.

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Cowboys’ Micah Parsons: Return from injury for 49ers showdown ‘still in the air’

From @ToddBrock24f7: Parsons has missed 2 games with a high-ankle sprain. He says it’ll be up to the Cowboys training staff as to whether he returns for Week 8.

The last time they were on the football field, the Cowboys defense gave up nearly 500 yards and 47 points. If you’re measuring solely by point margin, you’d have to go back to 1988 and the final year of the Tom Landry era to find a worse defeat.

While the bye week offered Cowboys coaches a chance to take a step back and figure out what has gone so off the rails this season, it also gave several injured Cowboys defenders an extra week to heal up before the next game versus the San Francisco 49ers.

While DeMarcus Lawrence, Eric Kendricks, DaRon Bland, Marshawn Kneeland, and Caelen Carson were certainly missed versus Detroit, no one’s absence on the defensive side of the ball was felt more acutely than that of Micah Parsons.

But the 25-year-old, who sat out his first game ever because of an injury in Week 5, then missed a second straight game in last Sunday’s 38-point loss, says he’s optimistic he’ll be ready to go by the weekend.

“My hopes are always very high,” Parsons said Monday, regarding his chances to suit up at Levis’s Stadium on Sunday. “I love great challenges. I love being able to beat the odds. I’m going to put this up to my trainers and my coaching staff.”

The two-time first-team All-Pro suffered a high-ankle sprain in a late-September win over the Giants. Since then, the Defensive Player of the Year hopeful has been working hard just to get back in the lineup.

“Micah’s making progress,” head coach Mike McCarthy told reporters Monday, even confirming that Parsons had put in additional work over the bye week.

“Micah was here. He”s doing good; he was in here every day going through rehab. We had, obviously, a big group in here all week last week. Hell, there’s a lot of guys in here working extra. I’m always appreciative and impressed with that… You couldn’t tell it was a bye week, just based off the number of guys I saw in the building throughout the week.”

Monday was scheduled to be a light day for players in terms of actual drills, so the coaching staff may not get a strong indicator of Parsons’s readiness until midweek.

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“It’s still in the air,” Parsons explained. “Obviously, it’s more than just me. I have to clear it with Britt [Brown, Cowboys director of rehabilitation], the coaches, the head coach. They want to make sure — obviously because there’s so many games left — that I come back at the best result. Sometimes, it’s not always the player’s decision. It’s the people with the higher pay grade.”

Parsons admitted to media members that he wasn’t really close to playing against the Lions in Week 6, though he’s been taking it day-by-day since.

“The thing with my injury is that it’s determined person-to-person,” Parsons said.

“It’s more of just getting the sense of how I explode back. Just acceleration and things like that. That’s the biggest thing for me.”

It will also be an awfully big thing for Dallas as they face a longtime NFC nemesis and begin a brutal five-game stretch that could go a long way in deciding the season before Thanksgiving.

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McCarthy: Cowboys coaches to focus on one basic thing to help solve team’s issues

From @ToddBrock24f7: There’s plenty for the Cowboys to work on after their week off, but the head coach keyed in on one thing he feels may help solve it all.

Mike McCarthy is ready to get back to work. Actually, he’s been at work through the bye week, as have all the Cowboys coaches, and now he’s ready to welcome the players back into the building to gear up for the 11-game stretch that will comprise the rest of the regular season.

The team traditionally uses the beginning of the post-bye work week for its “across-the-hall” meetings, where offensive positional groups hear from defensive coaches and vice versa, so that players can hone in on details that their opponents have scouted. And while that will happen again this year, McCarthy says there will be more emphasis on this Cowboys team preparing… as a team.

“We’re doing a little more group-oriented [work], because we feel like we needed to improve the connection and understanding because of our inexperience and youth in some of the areas,” the coach told reporters Monday morning. “More group, as a whole moving forward, we want to do more work there.”

At 3-3, the Cowboys have definitely felt like a splintered bunch. One week, the offense plays well but the defense is atrocious. Or special teams has to bail out the offense over and over due to penalties and red-zone stalls. Linebackers doing too much because of deficiencies on the defensive line. The quarterback having to play hero ball because there is no run game or because receivers can’t get open.

McCarthy suggests that more group work and a more prevalent team-first mindset could go a long way in helping solve all of those issues.

If the coach’s togetherness plan has the players closing ranks somewhat, that may also help them block out some of the noise that’s escalated to a fever pitch recently around Cowboys Nation. Everyone, it seems, has an opinion on what’s wrong in Dallas, who’s at fault, and how to fix it.

Just last week, for example, franchise legend and current broadcast analyst Troy Aikman called out the team’s wide receivers– and CeeDee Lamb in particular- for route-running he called “lazy.”

McCarthy emphasized that it’s not just about any one position group.

“For me to address those comments? I don’t, because they don’t carry any weight with me.” McCarthy said in response when asked Monday. “I don’t agree with the word selection, but there is definitely need for improvement in every position.”

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Nearly everyone in the organization has been dragged under the bus recently, very loudly and publicly: the owner/GM who snapped at radio hosts during a live Q&A, a front office who didn’t go out and acquire much in the way of supplemental talent in the offseason, a lame-duck coaching staff that isn’t inspiring much confidence, superstar players not living up to their sky-high expectations or paychecks.

McCarthy chalked it all up to just a part of working for the Dallas Cowboys, no different from dealing with the daily weather at his previous stop.

“It’s all part of that external focus that, frankly, we need to move away from. Working here, the intensity of externals and potential distractions, is high. That’s part of our operation. Green Bay was cold,” he shrugged. “Everybody has something.”

There’s plenty of information to digest on exactly why the Cowboys have struggled through six games. Tons of measurables, tendencies, analytics, metrics, and stats to break down. And the coaching staff will certainly continue to pore through all of it.

But McCarthy also believes that above all, there needs to be a return to the good old fundamentals of getting everybody in the same room at the same time.

“We need to spend more time in group settings,” McCarthy continued. “We’ve got to get away from as many individual meetings; we need more group. Our connection between positions needs to be higher. You can talk about details and buzzword the hell out of these conversations, but the reality is if the connections between the positions doesn’t increase, then the unit production’s not going to be where want it to be.”

Fans haven’t seen much from the up-and-down Cowboys that would indicate they’ll end up where anyone wants them to be. So far in 2024, they’ve played like a team that’s destined to fall short, go home early, and await an inevitable blow-up.

But Super Bowl or bust, it seems they’ll all go there together.

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Troy Aikman blasts Cowboys’ lazy play, including superstar WR: ‘It’s got to get a lot better’

From @ToddBrock24f7: The Cowboys icon said he sees “terrible” route running and “lazy” effort from the current WR group, and that includes superstar CeeDee Lamb.

Cowboys fans looking to point fingers at the factors responsible for the team’s underwhelming (and often humiliating) 3-3 start will start to run out of digits in a hurry. The porous defense, the near-total lack of a run game, poor offensive line play, an absurd number of penalties, debilitating injuries to key playmakers, terrible tackling, questionable coaching and scheming- all are without question blameworthy.

But one of the franchise’s greatest legends turned his attention to another area of concern this week, and he did not hold back in his criticism.

Three-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback Troy Aikman went off on the Cowboys’ current crop of wide receivers during a call-in with Dallas radio station 96.7/1310 The Ticket on Thursday morning.

“I think the routes are terrible,” Aikman said on-air. “I think they run terrible routes. And I’ve thought that beyond this year. I think CeeDee [Lamb] has got to improve his route-running.”

Lamb would, at first, seem to be an odd choice for singling out when trying to pinpoint the Cowboys’ myriad problems this season. The three-time Pro Bowler and league’s defending receptions leader is in the top 12 in catches and third in targets through six weeks of play this year. His 467 yards are fifth-best at the position, and his yards-per-game average ranks him seventh overall.

Volume isn’t the issue, according to Aikman.

“As a quarterback, if you’re not certain where guys are going to be consistently, it’s hard to play the position. That’s what I see. I see lazy guys coming off the line of scrimmage. Sometimes they run; usually if they do, it’s because they’re anticipating they’re going to get the football on that play. But if they’re not, they don’t. And it all ties together. I’m not impressed with that part of it.”

It’s worth noting that Cowboys wide receivers coach Robert Prince, who has been with the team since 2022, took on an additional job title this year, that of pass game coordinator. Have the extra responsibilities taken some of his focus away from time spent working with his receivers on the finer points of their game?

To be fair, the Cowboys receiving corps gets very thin and very inexperienced very quickly after Lamb. Veteran Brandin Cooks hasn’t played since Sept. 26, leaving Prescott to have to lean heavily on Jalen Tolbert, Jalen Brooks, KaVontae Turpin, and Ryan Flournoy (43 combined career catches entering 2024) instead.

A cursory look at Dak Prescott’s numbers suggest that even if his receivers aren’t totally reliable, the quarterback is still somehow making it work. Prescott ranks third in passing yards and completions.

His 63.4% completion rate, however, ranks him just 23rd, a figure that lends credence to Aikman’s theory. Prescott is having to work hard to find his receivers, but they’re often not holding up their end of the bargain.

The Hall of Famer says that’s not the case with the true contenders around the league.

“I just finished watching the Baltimore Ravens because I have them this week,” said the Monday Night Football color analyst. “You put on film of theirs and watch their receivers run routes, and they come off the football. So does San Francisco’s, and Green Bay’s, and others. But it’s hard to play the [quarterback] position if you’re not certain how guys are going to run routes or where they’re going to be. And I’m not speaking for Dak [Prescott]. Dak may say, ‘Hey, I think [their routes] are amazing.’ But as a former quarterback watching it, it’s got to get a lot better.”

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But any improvement is going to have to be internal, as the Cowboys don’t appear to be considering bringing in outside help before the trade deadline. Six-time Pro Bowler Davante Adams was just dealt to the Jets, and noted route-running technician Amari Cooper– himself a former Cowboy- was just shipped to Buffalo.

And if Dallas drops another few games over their next gauntlet of games, it’s not unthinkable that they may look to send Cooks packing for whatever future draft capital they can get.

That means the route-running that Aikman is already calling “terrible” and lazy” could very well stay right where it is for the duration of the Cowboys’ 2024 season.

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Hall of Famer DeMarcus Ware: Cowboys team leaders must step up, injured or not

DeMarcus Ware has lived through in-season turmoil. He was right there in the midst of one of his nine Pro Bowl campaigns when the Cowboys fired head coach Wade Phillips in early November 2010, and all he did was keep creating havoc on the field to …

DeMarcus Ware has lived through in-season turmoil. He was right there in the midst of one of his nine Pro Bowl campaigns when the Cowboys fired head coach Wade Phillips in early November 2010, and all he did was keep creating havoc on the field to eventually lead the league in sacks that season.

So Ware knows a thing or two about playing through the kind of adversity and noise the 2024 Cowboys are facing.

But in a one-on-one conversation with Cowboys Wire this week, the Hall of Famer admitted that this year’s bunch is exponentially more hamstrung simply due to the number- and the caliber- of players currently missing in action.

“Number one, you’ve got to have everybody there,” Ware said. “When you don’t have DeMarcus Lawrence and you don’t have Micah Parsons and a couple other interior guys, you can see that everybody’s not on the same accord. When you have [coordinator Mike] Zimmer coming in with his new defense, you can see how great they played in the first game. And then as guys start to become missing and not playing as injured, the other guys didn’t pick up the pieces. You can see missed gap alignments, you can see missed assignments, guys not being where they need to be.”

Injuries are a part of the game, for every club, in every year. How a team deals with that eventuality usually ends up deciding their fate. But as Ware points out, the real work on that front should have actually happened months ago, with the younger, newer, and less experienced names who have been thrust into bigger roles.

“It’s hard to go through a stretch like that, but that’s when you start to see true leadership. When you have guys out, are you actually pouring into the guys that are second- and third-stringers? And that starts in the offseason,” he explained. “When you pour into the guys in the offseason- from minicamp to training camp all the way to the season- the starters aren’t always going to be out there, but their aura, their feel, their spirit, is going to be out there in those players, and they actually play to a higher level, and that’s what I’m not seeing.”

The seven-time All-Pro cautions that the team’s current woes, though, aren’t solely on the defense.

“You’ve got to have everybody on one accord. And some big plays have to be made for Dak to get closer to the end zone, because he’s not a guy that’s going to go from goal line to goal line.”

And while Ware hints that the Cowboys’ laundry list of issues is too long to be magically fixed with a well-timed bye week, he says a turnaround- like the one that took the 2010 crew from 1-7 under Phillips to a 5-3 mark the rest of the way under Jason Garrett- starts with getting back to fundamentals and having a select few leaders rally the troops.

“The guys that have the C on their chest, they’re always the leaders. Not because they’ve been there the longest, but because they’ve impacted the guys in the offseason, and they say, ‘You can carry us throughout the season.'”

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – SEPTEMBER 11: DeMarcus Ware #94 of the Dallas Cowboys sacks Mark Sanchez #6 of the New York Jets in the first half during their NFL Season Opening Game at MetLife Stadium on September 11, 2011 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images)

“Close the doors in the locker room and say, ‘Here’s what we need to do.’ You’ve got to quiet the media by quieting the chatter in the locker room. You can’t let the outside media separate the guys in the locker room,” he said. “How can you quiet the media? By playing well.”

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While it remains to be seen if the current Cowboys have it in them to rally this season, Ware is doing his part to help rally the community that’s become his home team since he retired from football.

The Metroplex resident will be making a timely appearance at this week’s grand re-opening of Sam’s Club Cafe in Grapevine. But this isn’t just any ceremonial meet-and-greet; this Sam’s Club location has been closed for nearly two years after a devastating F-1 tornado ripped through the town in December 2022.

“I’ve been part of the Grapevine community since ’05,” Ware offered, “and I remember when [the store] closed. It’s a huge building over there, and everybody’s been anticipating when they’re going to open back up. And it’s so cool for me to be part of this, part of the community, but now part of this grand opening in a new and inventive way.”

The remodeled store will be the chain’s first all-digital location, with no checkout lanes, payments made (and even food and beverages from the Cafe ordered for no-wait prep) via a scan-and-go app, and receipts checked at the door by AI.

And Ware himself will be on-hand to welcome the community back in person Thursday from 2 to 3 p.m. CT.

But how about a return to The Star to pitch in with a Cowboys defense that desperately needs a comeback of its own? Even at 42, the Ring of Honor enshrinee looks like he could still throw on pads and bag an opposing quarterback.

“I’ve still got about 13 to 15 plays in me,” Ware laughed.

These Cowboys could use every one of them.

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** Special thanks to Pepsi for facilitating the conversation between DeMarcus Ware and Cowboys Wire in advance of his Oct. 17 appearance at Sam’s Club Cafe in Grapevine, Tex.**

Cowboys sign little-known DT with injury history to practice squad

From @ToddBrock24f7: Jalen Dalton has appeared in 7 NFL games and 7 UFL games, but has been repeatedly hampered by injuries over a 5-year pro career.

The Cowboys are trying to patch the holes in an injury-riddled defense by bringing in more depth, this time a player who is already quite familiar with pro football trainers’ rooms.

The team signed defensive tackle Jalen Dalton to their practice squad on Wednesday following an earlier workout.

Dalton is a 27-year-old North Carolina native who has seen time with four NFL teams, an XFL squad, and a UFL club, but has very limited game experience.

After going undrafted in 2019, the 6-foot-6-inch Dalton signed with the Bears but did not survive final cuts. Late in the 2019 NFL season, the Saints brought him aboard their practice squad. Two separate season-ending injuries cost him both the 2020 and 2021 campaigns; he was released without ever seeing the field for New Orleans.

Dalton got a new chance with the Falcons in 2022, but another injury in the preseason saw him released before Week 1. Atlanta brought him back midseason, and he finally turned a practice squad stint into seven game appearances that season. He had 13 career tackles, playing 145 defensive snaps.

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A 2023 waiver claim by Carolina never worked out; Dalton was released with a failed physical designation after four days. He looked to the XFL next; he was signed by the Seattle Sea Dragons in late 2023 but never played for them before the team folded in the XFL/USFL merge. He was picked up by the UFL’s San Antonio Brahmas in 2024’s dispersal draft and logged 12 tackles and two sacks over seven games… before being moved to injured reserve in May.

https://twitter.com/WhatGoingDowney/status/1846614244164313135

Osa Odishizuwa led the Cowboys defensive tackles with 40 snaps in Sunday’s 47-9 loss to Detroit. Mazi Smith played 32 snaps; nose tackle Linval Joseph had 29.

Defensive tackle Phil Hoskins was released from the Dallas practice squad on Wednesday to make room for Dalton.

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