The 2018 Dallas Cowboys Offseason

[Dracula]

Last great coach was Jimmy Johnson? A lot of people might point out Bill Parcells was the last great coach.

By the time Parcells made it to Dallas, he was on the backside of his career. I liked the idea of Parcells as head coach but Jerry worked his usual magic and Parcells left after only three seasons with a record of 0-2 in the playoffs.

[eagle eye]

By the time Parcells made it to Dallas, he was on the backside of his career. I liked the idea of Parcells as head coach but Jerry worked his usual magic and Parcells left after only three seasons with a record of 0-2 in the playoffs.

 

Parcells turned the Cowboys around. After languishing for 3 seasons under Dave Campo, Parcells came in and took the Cowboys to their first winning record in a while. He quit over the disappointment of the combination of a bad spot on a pass to Jason Witten that should have been first and goal at the one and the fumbled snap on the winning field goal attempt on the next play. That disappointment sort of broke Parcells and he resigned a few weeks later.

 

Interesting side notes: Romo still had a chance to score on the play. He was running to his left and looked according to replay that he would score a TD and at least get the first down. But, Port Arthur's own Jordan Babineaux shot around the offensive right side and made a diving lunge and caught Romo by the ankle and he went down shy of the first down The play pretty much iced the game for Seattle. Dallas had one last gasp but a third and long was converted by Seattle to seal the win and rob Dallas of it's first playoff win in 10 years.

[Dracula]

Dallas Cowboys Wikipedia page.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Dallas_Cowboys_head_coaches

games won lost playoffs won lost awards

Jimmy Johnson 1989–1993 80 44 36 8 7 1 AP Coach of the Year (1990)

UPI NFC Coach of the Year (1990)

2 Super Bowl championships (1992, 1993)

 

Barry Switzer 1994–1997 64 40 24 7 5 2 Super Bowl championship (1995)

Chan Gailey 1998–1999 32 18 14 2 0 2

Dave Campo 2000–2002 48 15 33 — — --

 

 

Bill Parcells 2003–2006 64 34 30 2 0 2

 

Switzer was playing with Jimmy Johnson's team, when he accumulated his playoff record and won his Super Bowl. The record shows that Parcells had a barely winning record but his playoff record was nothing, when compared to Jimmy Johnson's.

 

Another factor, in deciding who was the last great coach, was how they dealt with Jerry Jones and his ego. Johnson did and won back to back Super Bowls before he got tired of it. The record shows that Parcells never did successfully deal with it.

 

Jimmy Johnson was the last great coach of the Dallas Cowboys

 

So much for trying to graph it out. It looked okay when I typed it but it lost something in the posting, sorry.

Edited June 10, 2018 by Dracula

[eagle eye]

Dallas Cowboys Wikipedia page.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Dallas_Cowboys_head_coaches

games won lost playoffs won lost awards

Jimmy Johnson 1989–1993 80 44 36 8 7 1 AP Coach of the Year (1990)

UPI NFC Coach of the Year (1990)

2 Super Bowl championships (1992, 1993)

 

Barry Switzer 1994–1997 64 40 24 7 5 2 Super Bowl championship (1995)

Chan Gailey 1998–1999 32 18 14 2 0 2

Dave Campo 2000–2002 48 15 33 — — --

 

 

Bill Parcells 2003–2006 64 34 30 2 0 2

 

Switzer was playing with Jimmy Johnson's team, when he accumulated his playoff record and won his Super Bowl. The record shows that Parcells had a barely winning record but his playoff record was nothing, when compared to Jimmy Johnson's.

 

Another factor, in deciding who was the last great coach, was how they dealt with Jerry Jones and his ego. Johnson did and won back to back Super Bowls before he got tired of it. The record shows that Parcells never did successfully deal with it.

 

Jimmy Johnson was the last great coach of the Dallas Cowboys

 

So much for trying to graph it out. It looked okay when I typed it but it lost something in the posting, sorry.

 

This is one time the stats don’t tell the whole tail. Parcells won 2 two Super Bowls with the Giants and he made the Patriots relevant in the 90’s. As I posted before Parcells changed the culture in Dallas where Jerry Jones finally realized a quality coach was needed to mold a team. Parcells career shows he was a great coach. Who knows what would have happened if Romo had not fumbled that snap against Seattle. Jimmy also benefitted from Plan B free agency that was in effect for a couple of years before full blown free agency came along. It was like a carousel of players in and out of the Cowboys facility. Jay Novecek came to Dallas in Plan B. Jimmy also had the benefit of the Herschel Walker deal with Minnesota. Parcells had revamp a lousy Cowboys roster with just the normal array of picks, few of which were high draft picks. Jimmy Johnson fans don’t admit Jimmy wanted to leave because he and Jerry’s egos could not co-exist. Parcells got along great. That is documented. Jones let Parcells “shop for the groceries” in acquiring personnel and the team got better. The only player Jones signed that Parcells didn’t really like was TO. But, Parcells made it work. Parcells took a team that had gone 5-11 3 straight years and made them respectable again.

One more thing, Bill Parcells is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and Jimmy Johnson is not and probably never will be. He left Dallas too soon and he quit in Miami after just 4 years. He was 2-3 in the playoffs never making it past the Divisional round of the playoffs despite having the great Dan Marino as his QB. I still say Parcells was the last great head coach of the Cowboys.

[eagle eye]

All-Pro guard Zack Martin signed a contract extension that will pay him $84MM over six years with $40MM guaranteed. He also received a $20MM signing bonus. This deal makes him the highest paid offensive guard in the NFL and this also means the Cowboys core of their offensive line, Tyron Smith and Travis Frederick and Martin will be together for the foreseeable future. Tyron Smith was the first building block in a revamped O-line when he was drafted in the first round of the 2011 draft. Travis Frederick became the second piece of the puzzle when Dallas traded up to get the 31st pick in the 1st round of the 2013 draft. Martin became the 3rd piece of the puzzle when he was drafted in the 1st round of the 2014 draft. Martin was drafted despite Jerry Jones desire to draft Johnny Manziel and it turns out to have been the right move almost from Day 1. All three men have been perennial Pro Bowlers and All Pro selections.

At their best the Cowboys O-line has had first round caliber talent across the board. Aside from the 3 listed above Dallas has had La’el Collins and Ronald Leary in the past. Collins and Leary were first round projected talent that fell completely out of the draft. Leary dropped like a stone in the 2012 draft because of worries over a degenerative knee condition which, as yet, has not slowed him down any. He was with Dallas from 2012 through 2016. In 2017 he was signed as a free agent by Denver. Collins fell off draft boards in the 2015 draft despite being projected as a high first round pick because he became a person of interest in a murder investigation of a former girlfriend while he was at LSU. This was in the middle of the whole firestorm in the NFL over domestic violence and, despite the fact authorities said he was not a suspect in the crime, he became persona non-grata in the draft. The Cowboys snapped him up as an undrafted free agent in a heartbeat and he’s started for the Cowboys from Day 1. First at left guard while Ronald Leary was injured and then he was moved to right tackle to replace the retired Doug Free. Free was the only non-first round caliber member of the Cowboys O-line when he retired after the 2016 season as he was drafted in the fourth round of the 2007 draft. Now Dallas has what was projected as a first round pick before this year’s draft in Connor Williams from the University of Texas. For whatever reason, Williams fell out of the first round and right in the Cowboys lap at Pick 50 of the 2nd round of the draft. A lot of people thought Dallas would be targeting TE Dallas Goedert from South Dakota State, who was the highest ranked TE in the draft, because of the retirement of Jason Witten. That’s what the Philadelphia Eagles certainly thought when they traded up one pick ahead of Dallas to snatch Goedert out from under the Cowboys nose, or so they thought. Trouble was, the Cowboys were targeting Williams all along. They had major problems along their O-line last season because the depth, or lack of it, cost the Cowboys some wins last year when Tyron Smith was injured and they had a hard time replacing Ronald Leary at left guard. Drafting Williams and signing a couple of quality free agents this past offseason appears to have addressed the deficiencies along the O-line and Dallas selected Stanford TE Dalton Schultz in the 4th round to fill the void left by Witten. A decided return to dominance by the offensive line is certainly an expectation for the upcoming football season. If it is, then discussions of Zeke being the first 2000 yard rusher since Adrian Peterson in 2012 won’t be out of the question.

[eagle eye]

The Cowboys mini-camp is over and now the long, nerve wracking 6 weeks until training camp begins is under way. So far, the 2018 offseason has been pretty good. The Cowboys signed some nice free agents to shore up some deficiencies on the roster in the spring and they drafted pretty darn well and they made a couple of nice draft weekend trades that upped the talent level on the team. On the last day of mini-camp yesterday Zack Martin signed a 6-year contract extension that makes him the highest paid guard in the NFL. The only controversy, if you can call it that, was over DL David Irving. Irving had missed all the voluntary OTA’s in May and people were wondering if he was going to be a no-show at the mandatory mini-camp this week. Irving did show up and while he didn’t do much in the team practices, being relegated to conditioning work with trainers for the most part, he was there. Irving didn’t talk to the media this week until Thursday when he opened up about why he missed OTA’s and speculation over why he has been missing from The Star this offseason. Linked below is an article from a USA Today article that came out yesterday which talks about Irving’s off-field problems.

Basically, David Irving had some serious domestic issues, some of which centered around his ex-girlfriend who is the mother of his 5-year-old daughter. It’s pretty simple, the woman is crazy and in Irving’s words, “I wanted to make things work. We were high school sweethearts and she is the mother of my baby girl. I kept hoping she would get better but she just got worse.” Not long ago, Irving was awarded sole custody of his daughter and he has had to deal with his ex’s domestic abuse allegations which authorities found to be false. Irving is in the process of trying to set up his household as a single parent which includes finding a nanny to take care of his daughter while he is at work. David Irving is a damn good football player who has had to deal with issues this offseason. According to the article, those issues are passed and he is free to concentrate on football. That’s a good thing for the Cowboys and an even better thing for Irving as he is in the process of putting some bad decisions he’s made in his life in the rearview mirror and he is showing a new-found maturity as he tries to take proper care of his little girl. Good for him. More is the better. Now, if he can just stay healthy, the Cowboys have a darn nice player on their hands. I’m excited to see what this Cowboys D-line will be like this coming season. The only problem is waiting 6 freaking weeks for training camp.

https://cowboyswire.usatoday.com/2018/06/14/dallas-cowboys-david-irving-minicamp-quotes/

[eagle eye]

Just when everything seemed to be turning around for David Irving as he semi-cleared the air over his absence from the Cowboys offseason workout program and OTA’s when he attended the Cowboys mandatory mini-camp last week. Just as the 6 weeks of hell as coaches and front office people sweat out the time from the end of the mini-camp to the beginning of training camp in Oxnard California in late July the NFL dropped a bombshell at The Star in Frisco. David Irving suspended 4 games to begin the NFL season for violating the substance abuse program. Unlike the PED program where you get caught once and you are suspended the substance abuse program requires 3 to 4 incidents before a suspension is handed down. An incident can be a failed drug test or failing to go to counselling or missing a follow up drug test. At the heart, Irving had an unspecified combination of these items to warrant a suspension. Whether his issues with his ex-girlfriend and the custody battle over their child had something to do with all this is unknown but if Irving appeals the suspension all this will likely come out. Substance abuse suspensions have successfully been appealed in the past and while not all, if any, resulted in cancelling the suspension it could certainly be lessened to 2 games, or less, if there is a valid point made.

 

There is a new business that officially opened at Cowboys headquarters complex at The Star in Frisco. Baylor-Scott and White have opened a state of the art sports medicine facility and the grand opening was yesterday. Believe it or not there are places where it isn’t raining and the Dallas Metroplex was one of those places.

 

https://www.dallascowboys.com/news/innovative-sports-therapy-facility-open-at-the-star

 

The Cowboys have redesigned their website and they are still ironing out some bugs. I think the web redesign extends to all the NFL team’s websites as well as the NFL.com site. They all seem to have the same bugs. DallasCowboys.com has said the bugs will be worked out before training camp begins in late July.

[eagle eye]

Today I have a bit of a treat. DallasCowboys.com senior writer Mickey Spagnola has put out an article that is really interesting. It’s all about the history of the running back position for the Cowboys culminating in Spags top 10 all time Cowboys running backs. It’s hard to argue with Mick’s picks but there is a definite hole in his list because there is no Preston Pearson. Pearson was an integral part of the Cowboys’ offense in the latter half of the 70’s and he was a great compliment to Tony Dorsett. Like almost all things Dallas in the 70’s Pearson was an innovation of Tom Landry’s that caught on and now it’s just a given that the 3rd down back is part of a team’s offense. Pearson was the first 3rd down specialist I ever heard of and he was great on 1st and 2nd down too! For all the RB’s that passed through Dallas like Doug Dennison, Darryl Clack, Timmy Newsome, Darryl Lassick, Curvin Richards, Julius Jones, Alfred Morris that were good, the players the Cowboys top 10 is truly noteworthy. But, I just can’t help feeling bad that Preston Pearson was not even mentioned. Pearson won an NFL championship with the Baltimore Colts in 1968 (Pre NFL-AFL merger), Super Bowl IX with Pittsburgh in 1975 and Super Bowl XII with the Cowboys. He was also on the losing team in 3 other Super Bowls (III, X, XIII - the last two with the Cowboys). He was the penultimate utility back excelling as a runner, receiver and kick returner. Pearson had a heckuva career and, I love ya Mick, but you shoulda mentioned Double P in the article.

 

https://www.dallascowboys.com/news/spagnola-amazing-legacy-of-the-cowboys-running-backs

[eagle eye]

It has been a while and a thankfully quiet past couple of weeks since mini camp ended. Not just for the Cowboys but also across the whole of the NFL there hasn't really been any additions to the NFL Knuckleheads club. What that means is there hasn't been any players getting in trouble with the law or busted doing drugs or driving drunk or beating up on girlfriends or spouses. It's kind of nice although if all the Eagles players were busted for something and all suspended until the end of time I would be okay with that. But, that's just my feelings about the Eagles. In fact, if they did something that got them stripped of their Super Bowl title I would be ecstatic.

 

The Cowboys are now 9 days away from departing for training camp in Oxnard California, 11 days from their first practice and 13 days from the official opening ceremonies for training camp. The only item for worry is the case that just now became a problem for CB Marquez White. On June 18 he was arrested for aggravated assault during a driving incident on a local Dallas tollway on his way home. It was during daylight hours and was instigated, according to White, by the driver of another vehicle. Attached is the account of the incident from SI.com including a statement by White that was published in his hometown newspaper the Dothan (Alabama) Eagle.

 

https://www.si.com/nfl/2018/07/09/cowboys-practice-squad-marquez-white-arrested-gun-charge-road-rage-incident

 

This past week former Cowboys RB DeMarco Murray announced his retirement after seven years in the NFL. He was a 3rd round pick in 2011 and he emerged as a real weapon for the Cowboys. In his rookie year he exploded for 253 yards against the St Louis Rams that included a 91 yard TD run. In 2014 the Cowboys dominated thanks in large part to Murray's team record 1895 yards rushing for the season. The next year Murray left the Cowboys as a free agent signing with the Eagles in Chip Kelly's final season with the Eagles. In retrospect, the move was not a good move on his part. The following season he was dealt to Tennessee where he had a good season in 2016 which saw him return to the Pro Bowl but last season was the worst of his career as he only gained 659 yards for the Titans. Murray said that after considering the mental, physical and emotional issues he's had this offseason he decided to retire.

 

Mickey Spagnola talks about the recent discussion with officials at the NFL officiating clinic in Dallas. Al Riveron a former referee and now the Senior Vice President of Officiating in the NFL confirmed what everyone in the free world already knew, knew 4 years ago, that Dez Bryant caught the 33 yard pass from Tony Romo down 26-21 with just a hair over 4 minutes left in the game. Frustrating and I truly believe if I ever meet for head of NFL officiating Dean Blandino I would be sorely tempted to punch him in the face for overturning the call on the field that day in Green Bay.

 

https://www.dallascowboys.com/news/spagnola-darn-it-just-can-t-overturn-history

[eagle eye]

The 2018 NFL season will crank up in earnest in 6 days. 2 teams, the Baltimore Ravens and the Chicago Bears, began training camp yesterday. The Cowboys are going to Oxnard in less than a week and no bad thngs happened -- so far. There is, after all, still 6 days left.

 

One good thing did happen and, to be honest, I'm a little surprised the NFL actually did the right thing here, the League office made a decision on the Randy Gregory application for reinstatement after missing all of the 2016 playoffs and the 2017 season because of a suspension for substance abuse. I will leave the explanation to DallasCowboys.com's Mickey Spagnola in the article linked below. When Cleveland's Josh Gordon was reinstated last year the NFL waited until November to give him the word. Not fair at all for Gordon given the season was more than half way over and he had not been allowed to be in contact with the team at all during his suspension. Gregory made his appeal in June and I could see the NFL taking it's sweet time as in the Gordon case. As it is Gregory has had no contact with teammates or coaches or anyone else in the Cowboys organization since January of 2017. Expectations have to be low for a player who has played just 66 snaps in two years but, at least the NFL has given Gregory a reasonable chance to make his comeback.

 

 

 

 

https://www.dallascowboys.com/news/mick-shots-few-bet-on-this-long-shot

[eagle eye]

So fans of the Cowboys got some sad news. Former assistant coach Tony Sparano passed away. Sparano was the O-line coach for Bill Parcells when he was hired in 2003 and Parcells, who was the Pres of Football Operations for the Miami Dolphins in 2008, hired Sparano as head coach. Sparano led the Dolphins to a 11-5 record in 2008 tying for the biggest turnaround in a season after Miami went 1-15 in 2007 under former coach Cam Cameron. Sparano was the O-line coach of the Minnesota Vikings since 2016. Sparano died of an apparent heart attack today. He was only 56 years old.

[eagle eye]

All right, all right, all right!!! The Cowboys went to California yesterday and they are getting settled in at their training camp site in Oxnard California. Training camp first practice is TOMORROW! For a football-starved fan like me, this is like Christmas Eve. If there is any doubt why the Cowboys have chosen to return to California every year you only need to know that the forecast high for Dallas is 102o while Oxnard is a very pleasant 81o. As Stan Lee says when he’s made his point, “’Nuff said!”

 

All the questions we have going into training camp are about to be answered. Questions like; Who will take Jason Witten’s place? Can Tyron Smith stay healthy? Who is the real Dak Prescott, the guy who took Tony Romo’s job in 2016 or the guy who struggled in 2017? Who is the Cowboys #1 receiver? Does Dallas have a #1 receiver? Does Dallas need a #1 receiver? All these questions coming up after an offseason that saw Dez Bryant released by the club. Can Byron Jones succeed at cornerback under the coaching of Kris Richard? Who will play safety for the Cowboys? Are those players here or will they need to make a trade or sign a veteran free agent to fill the safety positions? The uncertainty on so many fronts on this team is pegging the meter out at all levels. Training camp will have a ton of story lines to follow and it’s going to be a fun ride as the coaching sorts out, and finds solutions, to all the questions that need answering. The most common question aimed at the folks at DallasCowboys.com and the #1 concern of a lot of fans is, will Dallas make the playoffs?

 

Right now, on July 25, 2018 I don’t care. There is a lot going to happen between now and January. All I know is, football is starting up again and I couldn’t be happier. For the rest of the day, this Training Camp Eve, I know Jingle Bells will be a song that won’t get out of my head. “Jingle bells, jingle bells. Football’s on the way…..”

[eagle eye]

The Cowboys are in Day 3 of training camp in Oxnard California today and this will be their first day in pads. The previous two days have been basically just walk throughs. It's not been all sunshine and rainbows. DT Malik Collins began training on the PUP list as he's still rehabbing from foot surgery after he broke his pinky toe in OTA's. DE David Irving was an excused no-show to training camp as he continues to get his life together. He is in an additional pickle because he is suspended the first 4 games of the season because of a substance abuse issue. I don't think it's because he tested positive, I believe it's because he missed a scheduled test which, to the NFL, is the same thing as failing the test. Also, DB Kavon Frazier is out due to an as yet unidentified illness. Other than that there are positive reports from Cowboys camp and I am so jealous of them as we cook in the Texas heat the high in Oxnard today will be 76.

[eagle eye]

With the Astros a raging dumpster fire lately thank goodness football has resumed! The Cowboys are in Day 4 in Oxnard and yesterday was their first day in pads. DallasCowboys.com has got some pretty darn good coverage of training camp and I encourage fans to check out the website for a number of good updates.

 

Cowboys players, as are players around the NFL, are susceptible to soft tissue injuries. You know, pulled muscles, strains and the like. This training camp are trying a new tactic. Yoga. During a portion of their special teams practices the Cowboys will do yoga to aid in their conditioning and they are hoping the stretching exercise will help prevent the soft tissue injuries.

 

An injury update would make you wonder about the yoga thing. WR Noah Brown was out of yesterday and today's practice with, you guessed it, a pulled hamstring. WR Cedrick Brown a 2018 6th round pick went out yesterday with a shoulder injury.

 

Randy Gregory has been given full clearance to play football by the NFL League Office. Gregory has been in training camp from Day 1 but Dallas has been doing conditioning work with him instead of throwing him into practices cold after missing nearly 2 years due to suspensions. The Cowboys are hoping to get Gregory up to speed in time for preseason games. You kind of root for a guy like Gregory who is working so hard to turn his life around.

 

Nothing serious or negative has happened so far and that's just the way I like it. Work hard in the cool California sun and get ready for a really important season coming up. It's important for Dak Prescott and Jason Garrett as Prescott tries to rebound from a shaky 2017 and, Garrett who seems to be on everyone but Jerry Jones hot seat, ties to get the Cowboys back to the playoffs after a very disappointing 9-7 season last year.

[Dracula]

Connor Williams. Nice call, he'll fit right in.

[eagle eye]

Connor Williams. Nice call, he'll fit right in.

 

Spoken like a guy who has been in Oxnard watching practices! According to the Cowboys website podcasts the O-line is definitely better than last year's line including the depth behind the 1's. A lot of good things have been said about 2nd year CB's Chido Awuzie and Jourdan Lewis. Byron Jones has been making people sit up and take notice of his work at CB as well.

 

Is no new good news? Not much has been said about the safety play. Does that mean the safeties are steady and playing ok? I get the feeling if nobody is talking about them they are, at very least, not stinking it up.

 

WR play has been getting some positive ink. Especially Cole Beasley who is being used not only in the slot but outside as well. The only real negative ink has been rookie 6th round pick from Boise St Cedrick Wilson's season is over before it even began. On Monday, Wilson went out with a shoulder injury and today Wilson was placed on Reserve/Injured list. During the season a team can put up to 2 players on IR and bring them back later in the season but if you are placed on IR during training camp that's it, no do-overs. See you in 2019 Cedrick. There have been a couple of dark horses in this group that have been showing up this first full week of TC. One is #19 Mekale McKay. He's a big target at 6'4'' and 210 lbs and he's reportedly catching everything thrown his way. The other is 2nd year player Lance Lenoir #14 on your roster list.

 

What is disappointing is the lack of news about the linebackers. I want to know what's going on with Jaylon Smith in his 2nd full season on the field. I want some info on first round pick Leighton Vander Esch. All we know is Sean Lee is slowly being worked into practices to protect him basically from himself. The Cowboys don't want the injury prone Lee to hurt himself in these early practices. Lee's issues have mainly come from soft tissue injuries. It's been his hamstrings that give him fits so they Cowboys want to work him in slowly so he will be ready when games start. The Cowboys did this last year but it didn't prevent Lee from missing 4 games with a pulled hammy. What you want to hear is that Smith and Vander Esch will be ready to step in if, and when, Lee goes down. Not just step in but step in and play well enough that the defense doesn't turn into a dumpster fire when Lee goes down like it did last season.

[eagle eye]

The Cowboys are feeling it in training camp. After a tad over a week in training camp they are getting more than a little chippy. The O-line and D-lines have been getting into fights with the both sides claiming their own victories. It's a good thing that the big bodies are setting the tone. The Cowboys want to go back to the physical style of play of two seasons ago. If that's the goal the fellas in the trenches will lead the charge. This defense has a chance to be better than it's been in a very, very long time. The Cowboys have the potential to be really good on defense but there are no guarantees because this group, as is the whole Cowboys roster, is very young. They have a lot to prove and they are looking up at a Philadelphia Eagles team who is favored to repeat as NFC East champs and they are also favored to return to the Super Bowl.

 

As new DB's coach Kris Richard said after practice on Wednesday the fights between the lines is iron sharpening iron which is making both units better. The lines conflict is in the heat of the moment but no animosity exists as they might have their competitive juices jacked up but they are remaining in control, not letting their feelings override their mission. That is to prepare for the upcoming season.

 

It's looking like the shake up in the coaching staff is just what the doctor ordered for the benefit of this team. In particular, Kris Richard and WR's coach Sanjay Lal have been the best pickups the Cowboys have made this offseason. Not only have both coaches come in with fresh ideas and drills to help their players get better, they are active participants in practices even talking trash to get the players engaged and fire up the competition between their opposite numbers.

 

This evening is the annual Blue-White scrimmage and it will be televised on the Cowboys website at 4:00 PM this afternoon. This will be more of a practice with the actual scrimmaging taking at the tail end of the session. This is all gearing up towards their first preseason game this coming Thursday against San Francisco, another team with high expectations for the upcoming season. 4 o'clock, be there or be square!!

[eagle eye]

The Cowboys will play their first game tonight and it will be the first time on the so-called field of battle that the Cowboys won’t have Dez Bryant and even more importantly Jason Witten. Witten may be the person the Cowboys miss most because his character, work ethic and moral integrity was the rock the Cowboys were built upon for 15 years. Witten’s mantle has been passed on to Sean Lee, a guy who has all the same, or similar, qualities that the other players, especially all the young guys on this team, will look to for leadership. The veteran 1’s won’t play much, if at all, so we can get a look at the young guys. It will essentially be an exercise in the quality of depth the teams have at this point in training camp.

There are 12 games tonight featuring 24 of the 32 NFL teams but the one’s that will be on TV are the ones I most interested in. First will be Cleveland and the Giants and people who have read my stuff know I like the Browns and root for them. There is no rhyme or reason I have always kind of liked the Browns and I hope they are finally getting it right.

The second game of tonight’s double header will be the Cowboys at the San Francisco 49ers. Both teams will have high hopes and elevated expectations so it should be a good game, or as good as a preseason game can be.

DallasCowboys.com’s scout/beat writer Bryan Broaddus put together and article on players to keep an eye on tonight. There is football on tonight people and Broaddus’ article will give you a tip or two on who to keep an eye on during the game.

https://www.dallascowboys.com/news/broaddus-what-to-watch-in-san-francisco

Last, but not least, the Cowboys website has a documentary about the tenure of Bill Parcells as the Cowboys head coach. He was with the team from 2003 to 2007 and he reversed the fortunes of the franchise changing Dallas from a miserable 5-11 team 3 years running into a 10-6 playoff team in his first year as the head man. The biggest obstacle to the hire of Parcells was just the perceived clash of strong personalities of Bill and Jerry Jones and an unwillingness of both men to give up control. Both perceptions were 180 degrees wrong. Bill and Jerry got along great and both continue to be great friends to this day. The documentary is a little over an hour long but it’s well worth the time spent.

https://www.dallascowboys.com/video/deep-blue-parcells-final-ride

[eagle eye]

I watched some games last night and I will watch more when they are aired on the NFL Network over the next few days.

I watched the Brown-Giants game and I was happy with what I saw from Cleveland on both defense and offense. The Browns O-line was able to pass protect pretty well but they need work on their run blocking. I was thinking Georgia RB Nick Chubb would be more of a factor but he wasn’t. It wasn’t his fault, the line just didn’t open any holes. The clear cut star of the game was Baker Mayfield. It’s looked like he hadn’t missed a beat from his Oklahoma days as he led the Browns to two TD’s. He will be pushing Tyrod Taylor all summer but Tyrod was pretty good in his one series. Taylor went 5-5 passing with a TD pass to 2nd year TE David Njoku. The defense showed signs of being good too even though I don’t think much of Greg Williams (Browns DC).

The Texans did well too. Braxton Miller played the whole game between Deshaun Watson, Brandon Weeden and Joe Webb I think the Texans QB situation isn’t in bad shape at all. After missing almost all of 2017 due to injury he is getting a great opportunity to show what he’s got. The Texans have a trifecta of TE’s, Jordan Akins, Stephen Anderson and Matt Lengel looked pretty good last night. Enough so that I’m excited to see them play again. Next week the Texans play the 49ers so it will be a good barometer on who is better between the Texans or the Cowboys who ended up losing to San Fran last night.

The Cowboys 1st team offense drove the field and scored on a long pass from Dak Prescott to rookie WR Michael Gallup on a pass so perfect Prescott could not have walked up and handed the ball to Gallup any better. One series and the 1’s were done. Well, not all the 1’s because the 1st team O-line played the whole first half giving backup Cooper Rush and opportunity to show what he has. What he did was lead the Cowboys to 10 points and a 17-10 lead after 3 quarters. The downside was when 3rd stringer Mike White came in and really didn’t do well at. He led the Cowboys to zero points and even cost his team field position by getting sacked. The 3rd string O-line didn’t open any holes for the run game and they didn’t give White much time to pass the ball. White did not do a good job of finding the open man most of the time. Right now, it’s Dak and Cooper Rush and everyone else is miles behind. Dallas led from the opening drive to 0:18 left in the game. It’s frustrating to lose like that but it’s preseason and W’s and L’s don’t really matter. What matters is who shows up. BTW the Cowboys 3rd team defense and offense were pretty bad so I guess you could say they didn’t show up.

Edited August 15, 2018 by eagle eye

[eagle eye]

The last couple of days news from Cowboys training camp has all been about Randy Gregory. Not in a bad way, but he began practicing with the team over last weekend and he’s been doing great, not good - but great, work. Gregory also spoke to the media on Monday for the first time and we got to see a thoughtful and grateful player. Most people know about the issues he’s had with marijuana that has caused him to miss all but 2 games over the past two seasons but, I’ll bet nobody knew about the mental and emotional issues that have been plaguing him. He did not elaborate on it but, apparently, he is bipolar and he’s been battling to get all his demons under control and appears he’s done that. It is way too early in the game to say he’s cured but he appears to be on the right path and, from a human perspective, it’s great to see a lost soul get his life together. If you’re interested, you can see the interview with Gregory on DallasCowboys.com.

 

Malik Collins is back at practice but, as usual, the Cowboys are taking his rehab slowly. Collins had surgery on one of his feet that he broke early this offseason. It will be good to get Collins back but there have been other players step up and fill his DT role nicely. You have guys like Datone Jones, Brian Price and Jihad Ward and especially Antwaun Woods that are making strong cases for themselves.

 

LB Joe Thomas is a player. That is what I keep hearing from training camp. While Sean Lee has been held out of practicing with the team for precautionary reasons, Thomas has taken all the reps at the WILL and has done a great job. I thought that Thomas was a 10-year journeyman in the NFL he’s just entering his 5th season in the NFL and he’s only 27 years old. He missed his rookie season with a knee injury but he has spent 3 years playing, and playing well, for the Green Bay Packers. Dallas signed him to a 2-year deal this offseason. With Jaylon Smith looking like a whole new player this camp and it looks like the LB position has gotten an extreme upgrade.

 

This article from DallasCowboys.com talks about the competition in this training camp. During Red Zone practice Monday there was good and great on both sides of the ball. Also, in his Scout’s Notebook Bryan Broaddus takes a look at yesterday’s practice.

 

https://www.dallascowboys.com/news/practice-recap-riveting-red-zone-drills-more

 

https://www.dallascowboys.com/news/scout-s-notebook-defensive-difference-makers

Edited August 15, 2018 by eagle eye

[eagle eye]

The Cowboys have shown this first two weeks of the preseason that their 1st and 2nd team offense and defense is far superior to the opponents they have played. That would be San Francisco and Cincinnati. But, they have also shown that their 3rd and 4th units leave a lot to be desired. Total dominance in the first halves of the games gave way to Chris Berman-like rumblin', bumblin' and stumblin' to a lost in each game.

 

Dallas did avoid a scare last week as Zack Martin did not have anything major happen to him in the Cincinnati game although it looked bad on replay. Martin and C Travis Fredrick will likely miss this week's game as Martin rests his knee and Frederick rests from a bevy of neck and shoulder stingers he suffered in practice the past two weeks leading up to the Bengals game. The good news is they should be fine and resting them is a very good thing. The O-line depth, while it was thought to be stronger this year has fallen off because of injuries and oddly enough it's the guard position that lacks the depth. Cam Fleming seems to be a decent swing tackle and Joe Looney has been good replacing Frederick but Dallas still has issues at guard.

 

Where they really have issues is at safety. Xavier Woods is out with an injury and his return date could be 4-6 weeks. Jameill Showers tore his ACL against Cincy and he's done for the season. Draft pick Marqueston Huff is out with a groin pull. The buzz since OTA's has been whether Dallas could work out a deal with Seattle's Earl Thomas but so far there's no joy in that camp. There were rumors that Dallas would sign Cincy safety George Iloka but, again, nada there. Yesterday Dallas did sign a veteran safety and he is from Seattle and he is wearing #29 but it's not HIM. It's Jeron Johnson. Johnson is about to begin his 8th season in the NFL, well technically his 7th since he spent all of last season out of football. He has played for 4 previous teams (Seattle two times) and he's familiar with Kris Richard and the way he wants his DB's to play. Johnson subbed for Earl Thomas in 2016 when Thomas tore his ACL and was lost for the season. Right now Dallas has Geoff Heath and Kavon Frazier and now Johnson at safety. A bit of a scary situation to be sure.

 

I think this WR corps will be okay. Allen Hurns has been reliable and rookie Michael Gallup has been really good. Terrence Williams has been Terrence Williams with all the good and bad that entails. The real shining star of training camp has been Lance Lenoir. And then there is Tavon Austin who has surprised everyone with his abilities playing outside receiver. All this and no Cole Beasley or Devonte Thompson who are out with injuries. This WR group will be okay I think.

[eagle eye]

Remember how I said the O-line problems were over. Scratch that because they are not. On Thursday evening Travis Frederick announced that he has a condition called Guillain Barre syndrome. It is a very rare autoimmune disease that attacks the nervous system. I severe cases it can actually be life threatening. Frederick has been suffering from multiple 'stingers' in practice. While still in California Frederick went to a specialist who ruled out a spinal condition which is the cause of most stinger. Frederick also has muscle weakness that is also part of the GB syndrome symptoms. As of Thursday Frederick has already taken a couple of treatments and he reported that he had regained some strength. The good thing is he seems to have caught GB syndrome in it's early stages which increases his chances of a swift recovery. The downside of this disease is it is not easily overcome. Former NFL lineman and ESPN analyst Mark Schlereth had this disease in 1993 and he wasn't able to play until 1994. He was on the Broncos when they won back to back Super Bowls so Frederick's career isn't necessarily in jeopardy but there is a real chance he won't play in 2018. It's a good thing Joe Looney has been as good as he's been in 2018 up to this point. It makes the loss of Frederick for however long a little less painful but it makes the depth on the O-line pretty weak. Over the next 6 days Dallas will have one practice, on Tuesday, sandwiched in between their 3rd and 4th preseason games will be played and those games will likely feature players who are trying to win a spot on the final 53 man roster or at least win consideration for the practice squad. The O-line and the safety positions have holes to fill and it will be the last chances to make an impression.

[eagle eye]

The Cowboys didn't look awful last night - at least not all of the Cowboys looked awful. Special teams needs work as do the Cowboys front office is finding some talent for backup purposes on the O-line. Joe Looney will be the starter in Week 1 but his backup was injured against the Cardinals so the O-line depth is of great concern. The defense could be a real beast and Sean Lee didn't even play in the game and the D dominated during their time on the field. Randy Gregory was a beast all by himself and he was being beastly against the Cardinals starting left tackle. Could Dallas finally be reaping the reward for taking a chance on this guy? Who knows for sure but indications look good. Kavon Frazier, who was filling in for Xavier Woods got hurt so safety depth is a real concern but the question Dallas has to answer is, what do we need more, O-line depth or safety depth? That is a huge question to answer and it will likely be up to player personnel guys like Will McClay to come up with those answers.

[eagle eye]

The Cowboys have cut their roster down to the final 53 as of 3 PM this afternoon. To say there are a couple of surprises is gross understatement as the Cowboys have parted ways with the 2nd best place kicker in NFL history. Yep, that's right, Dan Bailey is not a Cowboys any more. That noise y'all heard was my jaw hitting the floor. The Cowboys decided to keep a kid named Brett Maher out of Nebraska. He's no spring chicken as he's 28 years old and he has been on the practice squads of the Jets, Cowboys and he kicked in the CFL for 3 seasons when he returned to the NFL and he was briefly on the practice squad of the Cleveland Browns in 2017 before he returned to the CFL for the 2017 season. Maher was signed by the Cowboys for a 2nd stint on the team but it was believed by local beat writers that he was a guy who would just be a camp leg to keep Bailey from getting worn out much like he was the first time around when he was on the Cowboys practice squad in 2013. Bailey had a hip injury just past the mid-point of last season and he struggled through the rest of the season but he looked like he had regained his old form during training camp. I'm still stunned, I'm not kidding.

 

A player who is not a surprise cut is OT Chaz Green the Cowboys 3rd round pick in the 2015 draft, number 91 overall. Green battled injuries his first two seasons with Dallas and when he got his chance he mucked it up. The low point for Green came in last year's game against Atlanta when he had to fill in for an injured Tyron Smith. Green was epically bad allowing 5 sacks to Falcon's DE Adrian Clayborn before getting the hook. Green's replacement, Byron Bell, was no better and that game in particular forced the Cowboys to hit the free agent market and the draft to upgrade the talent at the O-line position. Even that hasn't helped as Dallas lost G Marcus Martin to IR with a knee injury and Travis Frederick to a rare autoimmune disorder called Guillain Barre Syndrome. Frederick will be hard pressed to play at all in 2018 so the line depth was compromised by having to use Joe Looney as Frederick's replacement as starting center. At least during the preseason Looney performed well giving the Cowboys hope he will be equally effective in the regular season. Dallas signed Cam Fleming in free agency back in March but, despite the fact he started for New England in this past Super Bowl, he has not been consistent for the Cowboys and is, quite frankly, a bit of a disappointment so far. Dallas took another hit on the O-line when the 3rd string, suddenly 2nd string, backup center/guard Dustin Stanton was waived injured after suffering a knee injury against Cincinnati in preseason Week 3.

 

Another big surprise was the cuts made at the running back position. Darius Jackson, the Cowboys 6th round pick in 2016, and Bo Scarborough, the Cowboys 7th round draft pick in this year's draft were both cut. WR Deonta Thompson who was signed in the spring to add speed to the WR corps was cut as were DE Kony Ealy and DT Jihad Ward. Ward was a surprise because Dallas has made a draft day trade with the Raiders to get Ward as Dallas gave up WR Ryan Switzer to get him.

 

The big thing is now Dallas still has depth issues at O-line and free safety they will look to the cuts made by the other 31 teams today to try to make the team better. It's a safe bet that there are still a lot of players who made today's cut who will be looking for a job by Monday morning. Listed below is the list of 37 players that Dallas cut yesterday and today to get to the final 53 man roster. Well, "final" 53 is not an accurate statement but you know what I mean.

 

K Dan Bailey

WR Deonte Thompson

WR Lance Lenoir Jr.

WR Darren Carrington

WR MeKale McKay

WR K.D. Cannon

WR Dres Anderson

OL Kyle Bosch

OL Matt Diaz

OL Chaz Green

OL Damien Mama

OL Jacob Ohnesorge

OL Jake Campos

TE David Wells

RB Bo Scarbrough

RB Darius Jackson

RB Trey Williams

RB Jordan Chunn

CB Marquez White

 

 

CB Duke Thomas

CB Donovan Olumba

S Marqueston Huff

S Kam Kelly

S Jeron Johnson

S Dominick Sanders

LB Eric Pinkins

LB Tre’Von Johnson

LB Joel Lanning

LB Kyle Quiero

DL Kony Ealy

DL Lewis Neal

DL Austin Larkin

DL Charles Tapper

DL Jihad Ward

DL Caruan Reid

LS Scott Daly