Its been a little while since I sat down and written a blog about the Dallas Cowboys. The way they finished the season, missing the playoffs, was a heartbreaker. Watching the Eagles win the super bowl was the stick of dynamite to finish off my heart. Up until now, I hadn’t really much to say about the Dallas Cowboys.
Even though this team broke my heart (for the 10th time… or more) I still love them and I’m going to follow the moves they’ve been making his offseason. With that said, I will admit I truly love what the Cowboys were able to do this offseason. This team struggled with consistency last season. Part of that was because of the suspension of Zeke. The other part was not having a plan B for when Zeke served his suspension. It was as if this team never considered the possibility of Zeke missing a single game. Compounding the absence of Zeke was the often-injured Sean Lee, being often-injured! Making the defense more inconsistent without the best player. The final square kick in the dick was when Tryon Smith missed the Atlanta game. I had to watch Chaz Green and Bryon Bell give up 5 sacks to Adrian Claiborne. To anyone that is reading my blog and doesn’t know who Adrian Clayborn is, that’s the reason him getting 5 sacks was the kick in the dick. Nobody knows who Adrian Clayborn is. He so sorry that he got 5 sacks in the Cowboys game and finished the entire season with 9. Let’s do the math…. 16 games- 1 game with the 5 sacks = 15 games! Hold up, not finished yet, 9 sacks for the season – 1 game with 5 sacks = 4 sacks. That means that he was only able to scrape up a measly 4 sacks in the 15 games outside the Cowboys debacle………………………….Sorry I fell asleep as I was typing that bullshit! Oh and before you email me about Clayborn being a former first-round pick. Pump your brakes! The two season prior to the 2017-18, Clayborn averaged 3.5 sacks. His 4 sack season was par the course! The anomaly was the Cowboys game. He was able to post a career high in sacks because he got fat on Chaz Green and Bryon “Bum Ass” Bell.
I didn’t want to go off on a rant. I felt the need to justify why my heart was broken and why it hurt so bad to see the Eagles win the super bowl. The reason I wanted to type this blog was to discuss the Cowboys offseason.
During the season, the Cowboys noticed that some of their players weren’t as prepared to perform as they should be. Instead of canning the guy responsible for that, Head Coach Jason Garrett, they canned some of the position coaches and assistants around him. Listen I’ve been calling for Garrett’s job since the three straight 8-8 seasons. He is two years removed from receiving the coach of the year award. If we’re being honest he is a Tony Romo injury and Zeke suspension away from having four straight double-digit winning seasons. Many would say well Whoop ti Doo! When you’ve had to endure the 5-11 seasons of Dave Campo and the 8-8 mediocrity that is Jason Garrett, you worship some double-digit winning seasons. The one good thing that has come out of the Cowboys canning some assistants is Kris Richard!
Many sports writers are crediting Kris Richard with assembling the “Legion of Boom” secondary in Seattle! He was the secondary coach when LOB was formed and he became the defensive coordinator at the height of that unit. Richards is a forward-thinking defensive mind. He has an aggressive style of coaching and he wants aggressive players on the field. Richards likes size but more importantly, he wants physical cornerbacks that are smart. Allowing Richards to come in and assemble the secondary the way he wants, will take this defense to the next level. Reports are already coming out that he likes the bigger cornerbacks on the roster. That’s a great thing because the most talented defensive backs on this Cowboys roster are Bryon Jones, Chidobe Awuzie, and Jourdan Lewis. Jones and Awuzie are both 6ft tall. Lewis is 5’11” but has the instincts and ability of a natural shut down cornerback. I’m comfortable as a fan knowing that talent like this will be in the right hands and should be utilized correctly.
The 2018 NFL draft was another highlight of the offseason. In typical Cowboys fashion, they were able to hit a home run via the draft. This team has been putting together some amazing drafts the last 6-7 season. When I say amazing, they’ve been able to find valuable talent in the 3rd round or later. Dak Prescott was a 4th round pick! That trend continued in this year's draft as well.
Leighton Vander Esch is the highlight of the Cowboys 2018 draft. I love the pick for two reasons. The Cowboys are continuing to put the resources into the defense and he should allow the Cowboys to move on from Sean Lee. Don’t get me wrong Lee is a great linebacker when he is on the field. The problem is getting him on the field. He misses too many games at a position that takes on so much contact. This Cowboys defense has to have their field general. When he isn’t there, someone else should be stepping up, but they don’t. That should change with the addition of Vander Esch. LVE is the highlight of the Draft but the picks after him are who will make or break this Cowboys team.
Second round pick Conner Williams is a projected starter. He played Left Tackle in college for the Texas Longhorns. The Longhorns have stunk recently but they continue to produce quality offensive and defensive linemen. Williams was undersized to play tackle in the league, weighing 295 pounds at the combine. That is the perfect size for a guard in the league, and he has the athleticism to play tackle. Williams should be a welcomed addition to the best offensive line in football.
Third-round pick Michael Gallup is another player that may have an immediate impact for this Cowboys team. Gallup is a quick, physical, playmaking wide receiver that runs good routes. He is exactly what this Cowboys team needs. This guy can be Dak’s Doug Baldwin or Adam Theilen. These two guys run crisp routes and always seem to come up big when their team needs them. They’re two very good wide receivers. Gallup may end up being the reliable option Dak needs, similar to how Michel Irvin was for Troy Akiman. Now Irvin was a beast, and one of my all-time favorite players. What Irvin did was make big plays, thus the nickname Playmaker! The Cowboys don’t need a receiver that runs past everyone or catches on top two and three defenders. Right now this team needs a receiver that makes the catch when the ball hits them in the hands.
Some other interesting Cowboys Draftee’s are Dorance Armstrong Jr, Dalton Schultz, and Chris Covington. The reason these players are interesting is that they have the chance to make the roster at positions of need for the Cowboys. Armstrong is a solid pass rusher out of Kansas. He didn’t produce great numbers at pre-draft workouts, but he was effective at getting to the quarterback. With the issues the Cowboys are having right now on the defensive line, Armstrong could earn a roster spot and work into the rotation. Covington is a linebacker prospect and was taken in the 6th round. Linebacker is a thin spot for the Cowboys and any contribution to this position can only be a positive. Losing Hitchens will be a huge blow to this defense. Players like Covington can ease that blow a little bit!
Dalton Schultz is the blocking tight end out of Stanford. I emphasis blocking tight end because they produced a receiving tight end (Coby Fleener) and I hope he isn’t anything like that. Keeping everything on the same playing field, Schultz didn’t have Andrew Luck to make him look good! Schultz wasn’t drafted to be the next Jason Witten. Dallas took him to be a piece in moving on from Jason Witten. Witten did everything for this Cowboys offense. He blocked, caught passes, threw passes, picked up first downs, whatever needed to be done Witten could do it. In an attempt to replace the best tight end this franchise has seen, they took Schultz to handle the blocking responsibilities. He was a solid blocking tight end in college; he should be a solid blocking tight end in the NFL. Let’s hope he helped make Bryce Love look good and not the other way around!
Comments
Post a Comment