Tag: Mike McCarthy

Breaking down Cowboys’ offensive breakdown, how Dolphins will mirror Buffalo

After getting stonewalled last week by frequent 2-high looks, the Cowboys can safely assume they’ll see the same in Week 16 in Miami, says @ReidDHanson

If it wasn’t for the Cowboys’ horrific run defense against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, the Dallas offense would be facing significantly more criticism than they currently are. They were stagnant offensively, and aside from a garbage touchdown late, they were held out of the end zone all day.

In some ways, the Bills took a page from the recently unemployed Brandon Staley and his 2-high scheme that slowed Dallas in Week 6. Buffalo pushed back the coverage and took away big shots downfield. Because their pass rush was routinely getting home, they didn’t need to blitz much. They were able to sit back in coverage and keep things thick in the secondary. They allowed the Cowboys to run the ball and dared them to throw it to the sticks.

And the Cowboys did well rushing the ball. Their success rate on early down runs was at 50.0%, which is well above their season average of just 36.7%. Unfortunately, the Cowboys defense had issues of their own and after falling behind rather quickly, the offense felt compelled to abandon the running game – thus playing into Buffalo’s hands.

Dak Prescott has been phenomenal for most of this season. While he’s played well against many different coverages in 2023, he’s at his best against middle of the field closed looks. He rates at the top of the NFL against those Cover-1 and Cover-3 coverages. It’s just when the safeties split, he slips back into average territory. Part of this is scheme and strategy, but part is also execution.

Absent in Buffalo were the middle of the field throws that he had been executing with precision all season long. It’s a great way to attack split safeties but Prescott only attempted two passes of 10+ yards between the numbers all day. He was pressured last week but all four of his turnover-worthy throws were without facing pressure.

After they watch the film, Miami will no doubt employ a similar plan of attack. When Nick Bosa declared the blueprint to beating the Eagles had been laid out by his 49ers defense, he did so knowing film is public information in the NFL and teams love to copycat and attack weaknesses once they’ve been identified. The Cowboys should expect the same treatment from their upcoming opponents.

The Dolphin’s defense has different strengths and weakness than Buffalo’s, but they’d be fools not to try the same thing that essentially stonewalled the Cowboys. Mike McCarthy’s task is planning for what surely lies ahead.

Dump offs and early down runs are fine if the situation warrants it and the offense is successfully executing such plays. The opposing defense wants Dallas in a third-and-long so there’s nothing wrong with the Cowboys taking some easy early gains so they can avoid bad third down situations.

The Cowboys also have to remember the middle of the field is a great way to get big plays against split safety looks as well. And when the defense plays 2-man like Buffalo often did, (man coverage with two safeties over the top), opportunities for scrambles open up.

In Week 15 the Cowboys appeared ill-prepared to play the Bills defense. In Week 16 they will have no such excuse because what’s coming is fairly obvious.

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Momentum Dependent: What we learned about the Cowboys in Week 15

People shouldn’t overreact to what the Cowboys showed in Buffalo in Week 15 because their true identity is more complicated than one game. | From @ReidDHanson

Famous 20th-century philosopher Michael Gerard Tyson probably said it best when he plainly stated, “everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” Tyson, a savant of fisticuffs and the most feared pugilist of his generation, spoke from experience. Not as the man with the plan, but rather the puncher, hellbent on destroying said plan.

In Week 15 against the Bills, the Cowboys found themselves on the receiving end of that prose. And like the man with the plan in which Tyson once spoke, everything fell apart once that first punch landed on their jaw.

In a game which was eerily similar to the Week 5 disaster in San Francisco, things got ugly fast in Buffalo and all of the Cowboys’ presumed strategy flew right out the window the moment the first punch landed. Dallas played timidly on both sides of the ball. The game plan was a mess; game management was nonexistent. The offensive line couldn’t protect the QB, the QB couldn’t find the WRs, the defense couldn’t tackle, run fits weren’t filled, foolish penalties ruled the day, and effort was shamefully absent.

The Bills scored touchdowns on three of their first four drives and at no point did it appear Dallas was up to the task. The game would end with a score of 31-10 but to those who watched, it likely felt far, far worse.

Cowboys fans shouldn’t be distracted by McCarthy contract headlines

From @ToddBrock24f7: Sunday morning brought whispers of a supposedly imminent extension for the head coach, but Jerry Jones is keeping his options open.

The Dallas Cowboys have one of the NFL’s best records through the first 14 weeks of the 2023 season.

Mike McCarthy is under contract with the team through 2024.

These are incontrovertible facts. Black and white. But things get myriad shades of gray in a hurry if you ask owner Jerry Jones to make any sort of proclamation beyond that.

Despite a Sunday-morning headline from NFL insider Ian Rapoport that almost makes it sound like Jones is working on a contract extension for the 60-year-old head coach and play-caller, the truth is there is no news whatsoever on that front.

According to Rapoport, Jones was asked at this week’s league meeting in Dallas “whether he envisions” an extension for McCarthy. Rapoport goes on to state, “The indication was yes.”

But was it really?

Look at what Jones actually said in response:

“That’ll have a course that seeks its own time frame.”

Read that again.

That is a big fat helping of typical Jerry Jones word salad. Ten words that come across as profound on the surface but say absolutely nothing of consequence, a sentence that borders on nonsensical rambling.

He was at least somewhat more definitive with his next utterance:

“I don’t do anything of that sort until the season is over.”

While the Cowboys are, in fact, in great shape heading into Week 15- near the top of most sets of power rankings and a favorite to do damage in the playoffs- they haven’t even matched their win total of last season… or the season before… and there was a not-insignificant faction of Cowboys Nation ready to run McCarthy out of town after both of those January exits.

If the team were to catastrophically collapse over the final four games, or get bounced out of the bracket on Wild Card Weekend, or get spanked in the divisional round, or get blown off the field in the NFC championship, the seat under McCarthy would no doubt- once again- get pretty toasty pretty quickly.

And Jones is a man who insists on keeping his options open.

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Add in the probability that defensive coordinator Dan Quin- (the obvious choice if McCarthy were to no longer be the guy- is eventually going to be offered a head coaching position somewhere he actually wants to go (and would likely take assistants with him), and Jones would be downright foolish to call any sort of a shot now.

A Super Bowl ring (or even, really, just an appearance in the big game) would almost certainly make a McCarthy extension a foregone conclusion, especially after the improvements he’s made to the offense’s production since taking over playcalling duties. As Rapoport rightly suggests, “in most other situations, McCarthy would be the subject of coach of the year talk.”

But despite how casually tossing out a headline about McCarthy and an imminent contract extension makes for a great tease on the Sunday pre-game shows, it’s simply too early for the front office to actually make that kind of decision about McCarthy’s future, despite the way things look right this minute.

And that’s what Jones’s non-answer really means.

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3 major takeaways as Cowboys pass the quarter pole of the 2023 season

After Dallas took out the Eagles, there are major takeaways to how the first 3/4 of the season have played out. | From @cdpiglet

The Dallas Cowboys are continuing to answer questions, eliminating excuses and narratives. Prior to the midpoint of the 2023 season, many said the defense is excellent but the offense can’t win games if they had to. Now, the offense might be their best unit. Could they execute in close games, or do they just win in blowouts? The Los Angeles Chargers and Seattle Seahawks were both close victories. They asked what would happen when they played teams with a winning record. The Philadelphia Eagles had the best record and were beaten.

So what’s next?

With every week that has passed, Dallas has continued to win and win big in the majority of their games. There isn’t any doubt the 10-2 Philadelphia Eagles were a good team, sporting the best record in the league going into the contest. The Cowboys beat them like they beat most every other team at AT&T Stadium.

The offense is one of the best in the league. The defense held Philadelphia to six points and forced three turnovers. They have the best kicker in football for times when the offense stalls, making all of his kicks no matter how long distance. The team is on fire, and acknowledging the reasons why are the big takeaways as the season enters its final four games.

Cowboys’ Micah Parsons compares Bills’ Josh Allen to certain type of drinking buddy

Micah Parsons with an all-time comparison for Josh Allen:

Micah Parsons is not going to be a fan favorite on Sunday when the Cowboys head to Orchard Park to face the Bills.

Parsons is an All-Pro pass rusher and one of the best in the business at getting to opposing quarterbacks. Even so, someone like Josh Allen always makes it difficult on opponents because of his size and mobility.

The Cowboys (10-3) and Parsons are preparing to put their best foot forward to stop the Bills (7-6) quarterback.

“I mean, he’s a dynamic football player. The way he plays the position, he reminds me of a young Brett Favre, just the ability to throw the ball in any quadrant of the field,” Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy said via video conference. “They are never out of it when he has the ball in his hands.”

Plenty of truth from McCarthy.

Parsons’ explanation was much, much better.

In terms of Allen’s dual-threat abilities, Parsons explained Allen is a “wild” player. Taking it a step further, Parsons compared him to a college friend that just really likes to have a good time while having some drinks.

“I probably would have hated being with Josh in college. That guy, doing that, making all his friends get all the way drunk and you just be like, ‘ugh, I hate going out with this guy,'” Parsons joked.

An all-time comparison right there.

Parsons’ full breakdown of Allen can be found in the clip below:

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‘These are going to be juggernauts’: McCarthy gears up to take Cowboys’ show on the road

From @ToddBrock24f7: The Cowboys are treating this December stretch of quality opponents as playoff prep; their next task is to beat a good team on the road.

“Every season I’ve been a part of, there’s a path, and the path is always under construction.”

That’s what Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy told reporters at The Star on Monday when asked about the difficult stretch of games the team is in, facing five dangerous teams in a row, all of whom are battling for a playoff berth.

Dallas has navigated the first two-fifths of that treacherous piece of road with skill, starting with a hard-fought win over Seattle and then getting the engine firing on all cylinders with a 20-point blowout of Philadelphia to claim a share of the NFC East lead.

But this next chunk of path isn’t just under construction, it’s also going to traverse unfamiliar territory in unfriendly weather.

Unfriendly, yes. But at least not downright nasty.

When the Cowboys visit Orchard Park this Sunday, there shouldn’t be any snow on the ground, and temperatures are expected to reach a high of 47 degrees.

The game will be a punishing affair nonetheless, with the home team literally fighting for their postseason lives. At 7-6, the Bills have not lived up to expectations this season. They are currently on the outside of the playoff picture looking in, holding the 11th seed in the AFC. But if they can win out, they’re in.

So the postseason basically starts now for Buffalo.

McCarthy has his Cowboys- who are almost assuredly in the dance but have not yet clinched- in a similar mindset.

“It’s always important in December. There’s confidence that comes in these games, and I’m looking forward to the competition of it,” he explained.

Dallas answered a lot of questions about strength of schedule and quality of opponents in Week 14, dismissing the two-loss Eagles by a wide margin. But the high-powered Bills, Dolphins, and Lions are lying in wait around the next three bends.

Call it an ideal three-week test-run for the gauntlet that is the NFL postseason.

“To play in these kind of games, I think, is great preparation for playoff football, because these are going to be juggernauts,” McCarthy shared. “I think this is what you need as part of that opportunity to win and grow.”

The next area of growth for the 2023 Cowboys is beating a top-tier opponent in their building. All three Dallas losses this year have come on the road. And the three away games they won? Those came against squads that are today a combined 11-28.

Beating a team like Buffalo- at their house, in December- would be an important step toward what’s likely to be required in January.

“Your team has to be able to be built to go win anywhere,” McCarthy noted, “and that’s the reality of this league.”

The Cowboys certainly hope what they did Sunday night in front of their own crowd is a show they can take on the road the next two weeks. The offense ran 74 plays and held the ball for over 36 minutes, racking up nearly 400 yards and putting up points on seven of their nine drives. The defense held Jalen Hurts & Co. out of the end zone all night and notched three takeaways (four if you count a turnover on downs), all on their own side of midfield. Special teams contributed, too, with rookie kicker Brandon Aubrey booting four field goals, all from 45 yards or beyond.

“Complementary football is how you win,” McCarthy raved. “[With] complementary football, you win anywhere. You can win in a parking lot, on the road, at home. That’s the vision. That’s why I talk about it. That’s why it’s so important.”

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The Cowboys certainly did it at home on Sunday night with their fifth consecutive victory, leading to a confidence level in the facility that the coach says is palpable.

“It’s definitely high, and it should be. Is it the highest of the year? Probably so,” he said, even while admitting that the buzz would be quickly tempered by the next task on the team’s to-do list.

“I think we all had great moments with our family and friends. But it was midnight, 1 o’clock in the morning. The reality is, you wake up in Buffalo [preparation]. Buffalo’s an uncommon opponent. There’s a lot of new faces on tape, even for me personally- players that I’ve never competed against.”

So while this weekend’s road trip will take the Cowboys to an out-of-the-way destination where they’ll experience some inhospitable weather and an even colder reception from the locals, their coach isn’t yet looking ahead to the next stop in their travels.

“We need to beat Buffalo,” McCarthy stated plainly. “And then we’re standing here with 11 wins, and then we’ll look around, and I think it’ll be a little more clear what needs to be done.”

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Mike McCarthy back home, working remotely to prep Cowboys for massive Eagles rematch

From @ToddBrock24f7: The 60-year-old coach plans to handle all his normal duties this Sunday night after undergoing an emergency appendectomy Wednesday.

Mike McCarthy is back at home after an emergency appendectomy on Wednesday. And while the Cowboys head coach isn’t fully up and around quite yet, just 24 hours after the procedure, he is still planning on manning the sideline Sunday night when his team takes the field against the division-leading Eagles.

“Full steam ahead,” said offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer on Thursday at the pre-practice press conference normally handled by McCarthy. Schottenheimer confirmed that McCarthy has already gotten back to work, doing what he can remotely on refining the Philadelphia game plans that were put in place earlier in the week and with an eye toward resuming normal playcalling duties for the Week 14 clash.

“We don’t anticipate anything different,” Schottenheimer explained. “Again, he’s involved in all the things. We’ll have a long conversation again this afternoon. He’s watching the practices and yeah, full steam ahead.”

McCarthy, 60, wasted no time in reconnecting with his staff after Wednesday’s surgery; Schottenheimer told reporters that he and McCarthy spoke by phone Wednesday night and again multiple times on Thursday, with the coach giving notes on the week’s game prep.

“He’s been very involved. He’s in good spirits,” Schottenheimer said. “It’s always good when he has a lot of suggestions when you talk to him on the phone: ‘Well, what do you think of this?’ That’s when I know he’s feeling good.”

McCarthy was not feeling so good Wednesday morning. Defensive coordinator Dan Quinn said that he saw McCarthy at the facility early and that his boss “just didn’t look good” while complaining of abdominal pain. After consulting with the team’s medical staff, McCarthy went to a hospital for further evaluation, where a diagnosis of acute appendicitis was given.

The players didn’t even find out what was happening until McCarthy wasn’t at the team’s midweek walkthrough; Quinn and special teams coordinator John Fassel led the day’s practice on next to no notice.

“There wasn’t much warning. It was like, ‘Here you go. You’ve got it.’ [Practice] was already scripted,” Fassel said, per the team website. “We just followed along with the plan that was already in motion, and we’ve got good bodies that can pick it up and keep it going.”

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The Cowboys staff quickly fell back on lessons learned during the 2020 and 2021 seasons, when any player, coach, or staffer was just a nasal swab away from being sent home.

“You always have to have a contingency plan. Mike’s great about that; he does,” Quinn explained. “I think we all learned a lot a few years back in COVID: when a coach is down or a player is down, how does that go? He’s done a fantastic job of mapping- not just him or me or anybody else- who could then in that same spot say, ‘Hey, this is the next step and this is how we go.’ So we’re super organized and ready for that.”

Adjustments were made on the fly, and the business of football has continued in Frisco. The Cowboys don’t seem to have missed a beat in prepping for the biggest game of the year, even without their recuperating head coach. And all indications are they won’t be missing McCarthy, either, when kickoff finally rolls around.

Joked Quinn: “Do you think that tough Irishman is going to miss this game?”

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Cowboys HC Mike McCarthy to have appendix surgery, plans to coach vs Eagles Sunday night

From @ToddBrock24f7: The 60-year-old coach experience abdominal pain Wednesday morning, but is expected to be released from the hospital later in the day.

Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy is set to have appendix surgery on Wednesday, according to the team, but he still plans to be on the sideline Sunday night when the Cowboys host the division-leading Eagles.

McCarthy, who just turned 60 last month, reportedly experienced abdominal pains Wednesday morning “that warranted further evaluation and resulted in a diagnosis of acute appendicitis,” the Cowboys said via a statement.

The coach is expected to be released later in the day; coordinators Brian Schottenheimer, Dan Quinn, and John Fassel will run team practices until McCarthy returns. Additionally, Quinn will handle Wednesday’s regularly-scheduled press conference; Schottenheimer will do Thursday’s.

The typical recovery time from an appendix surgery is only a few days, provided the appendix has not burst. If the appendix has burst, recovery time can be longer.

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McCarthy reportedly intends to be back on the job in time for an NFC East showdown that could see the 9-3 Cowboys move into a first-place tie with a win over the 10-2 Eagles.

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Tyreek Hill says FedEx Field was like a home game for Dolphins

Tyreek Hill noticed all those Dolphins fans.

Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill looked like he was at home in Miami’s 45-15 win over the Washington Commanders on Sunday. Hill caught five passes for 157 yards and two touchdowns. His two touchdowns were for 78 and 60 yards.

Hill probably could have had a lot more against Washington, but Miami head coach Mike McDaniel took it easy on the Commanders in the second half.

On this week’s episode of “Hard Knocks,” the cameras looked back at Miami’s preparation for the Commanders last week and filmed through Sunday’s game at FedEx Field.

The Commanders announced a sixth consecutive sellout at FedEx Field on Saturday, but it was clear by game time on Sunday many of those tickets sold went to Dolphins fans.

After the game, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa noticed, thanking Miami fans for coming to the game.

On the new episode of “Hard Knocks,” Hill had the following to say when seeing all the aqua, orange and blue in the stands.

“It’s like a home game,” Hill said. “Look at all these Fins fans in here, man.”

You can watch the episode here, with Hill’s comments coming at around the 24:39 mark.

https://youtu.be/G5CtR_EBLnE?si=04YWQVAPXTJdbq7o

It was another embarrassing scene for Washington on its home field. It’s expected that Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Dallas, New York Giants, or even Green Bay fans to invade FedEx Field, but seeing so many Miami fans was surprising.

Owner Josh Harris has his hands full. Fortunately for Washington fans, a new era will begin in exactly one month.

Dak Prescott forwards his MVP chances at Cowboys edge Seahawks

The Cowboys’ 41-35 win over the Seahawks proved one thing: If you don’t have Dak Prescott as your MVP frontrunner, you’re not paying attention.

Coming into Thursday night’s game between the Seattle Seahawks and the Dallas Cowboys, Seattle was 36-0 in games in which they had scored 35 or more points.

Now, they’re 36-1. Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith put up a valiant performance, completing 23 of 41 passes for 334 yards, three touchdowns, one interception, and a passer rating of 97.0. With no run game to speak of — Kenneth Walker was out with an oblique injury, and Zach Charbonnet left the game in the fourth quarter with a knee concern — it was all up to Smith to keep up with the Cowboys.

Smith’s performance would have made it work against most teams and most quarterbacks, but not the Cowboys and Prescott right now. In Dallas’ 41-35 win, Prescott completed 29 of 41 passes for three touchdowns, no interceptions, and a passer rating of 115.8.

We’ve talked a lot about how well Prescott has been playing since Dallas’ Week 7 bye, and since Week 8, he has 20 touchdown passes. C.J. Stroud of the Houston Texans and Justin Herbert of the Los Angeles Chargers are tied for second with 10.

In this game, Prescott hit three different targets — receivers CeeDee Lamb and Brandin Cooks, and tight end Jake Ferguson — for touchdowns.

There is an aura of inevitability about Prescott’s play right now. No matter how much the opposing team scores, you just have the feeling that Prescott will find a way to match and exceed his opponents’ efforts.

As for the Seahawks, it was a frustrating game at a lot of levels. Head coach Pete Carroll was apoplectic at times with referee Clete Blakeman and his officiating crew, and for good reason. But in the end, they were left to deal with the fact that the Cowhoys are the better team, and Prescott is the better quarterback.

And at this point, if you’re not speaking his name as the prohibitive MVP favorite, you’re simply not paying attention.