He does not have Kam Chancellor, Earl Thomas, Bobby Wagner, K.J. Wright, Richard Sherman, Michael Bennett, Cliff Avril or the other members of a Seattle Seahawks defense that finished No. 1 in yards and points per game when Quinn was the Seahawks defensive coordinator in 2013 and 14.
The Dallas defensive line is anchored by DeMarcus Lawrence, who had a fine season but 6.5 sacks. Who would be considered the Cowboys second-best defensive lineman? Neville Gallimore? Antwaun Woods? Randy Gregory? If you consider him a down lineman, how about Aldon Smith?
How about linebacker?
Jaylon Smith had a career-high 161 tackles. Do you remember any of them in a positive way after the 2020 season? Leighton Vander Esch missed six games with a broken collarbone and high ankle sprain, but has he hit the same level of play he did as a rookie in 2018? Sean Lee and Joe Thomas are scheduled to be free agents. The rest of the lot are special-teamers or young players who might or might not make the ro
FRISCO, Texas One year and two days ago, Mike McCarthy was introduced as the eighth coach of the Dallas Cowboys, sitting next to Jerry and Stephen Jones inside Ford Center on a beautiful January day without a cloud in the sky.
At the news conference, Jerry Jones spun a folksy tale regarding how he came to believe McCarthy was the right hire. My sister explained to my dad one time why she wanted to divorce, Jones said. Dad loved her husband and he said, What s gotten into you? And she said, I don t hear bells. He said, Bells? Bells? I haven t heard bells for the last 30 years. The bottom line is that is a dad trying to advise his daughter on the right move.
Quarterback Andy Dalton threw for 377 yards and had touchdown passes of 21 and 7 yards to Michael Gallup and 52 yards to CeeDee Lamb as the Cowboys took advantage of a poor Eagles secondary and a pass rush that was missing defensive tackle Fletcher Cox for most of the game.
As for winning the division, the Cowboys (6-9) still need help and it needs to come from the team they just beat. In Week 17, Philadelphia needs to beat the Washington Football Team and the Cowboys need to beat the New York Giants.
Since the Cowboys were swept by Washington, they lose a tiebreaker, requiring the Eagles to do them another favor.
FRISCO, Texas Since the 2016 NFL draft, quarterbacks Carson Wentz and Dak Prescott have been connected in many ways.
Wentz, the No. 2 overall pick for the Philadelphia Eagles, has played with outsized expectations; Prescott, the No. 135 overall pick for the Dallas Cowboys, has outperformed expectations and become a preeminent pitchman. From 2017 to 2019, either the Eagles or Cowboys won the NFC East with Wentz and Prescott as each teams predominant starter.
Even as both watch Sunday s game at AT&T Stadium (4:25 p.m. ET, Fox) Wentz from the sideline as a backup to rookie Jalen Hurts and Prescott likely from his home they are viewed as a pair when it comes to what their uncertain futures hold. For the Cowboys, Wentz can serve as a potential cautionary tale of what can go wrong when the quarterback does not play to the level of such a gigantic contract especially as Dallas prepares for a third round of negotiations with Prescott s agent, Todd France, when the season ends.