Check out today’s latest and greatest news surrounding America’s team.
Mailbag: The New Rotation At WR? - DallasCowboys.com
With Amari Cooper added to the mix, what will the new rotation at WR look like coming off the bye week?
David: To be perfectly frank, I hope the addition of Cooper puts an end to some of this rotating. That’s not a knock against Allen Hurns or Deonte Thompson — it’s really not. But Cooper and Beasley are now your best receivers, and Gallup has the biggest upside, not to mention he should stand to benefit from the attention defenses will pay toward Cooper and Beasley. I’m sure the Cowboys can find some snaps for Hurns and Thompson, but I’d like to roll with those main three as much as possible.
Jerry: Cooper Will Change Offense’s Dynamic - Rob Phillips, DallasCowboys.com
This is exactly what the Cowboys offense needs, a dynamic player.
Cowboys owner/general manager Jerry Jones sees Amari Cooper as a key part of the team’s present and future – and that’s why he was willing to part with a 2019 first-round draft pick for the talented 24-year-old wide receiver.
“We wouldn’t give that first-round pick up (to Oakland) if it weren’t for the long-term,” Jones said Friday on 105.3 The Fan. “And the other thing we can do is step in here and have immediate value for him for this year.”
Jones believes Cooper will “change the dynamics of the offense” as a play-making option for quarterback Dak Prescott, and his presence can also lessen the pressure opposing defenses put on Ezekiel Elliott and the run game.
This is what must happen for the Amari Cooper trade to be deemed a success for the Cowboys - Matt Mosley, SportsDay
With the Cowboys still right in the thick of the NFC East race, what must the Cowboys do to get Amari Cooper going, and make the blockbuster trade payoff.
Question: What has to happen for the Amari Cooper trade to be deemed a success?
Mosley: I think he needs to become the team’s No. 1 threat immediately. And by next season, he needs to be a true No. 1 receiver along the lines of what Dez Bryant was when he was putting up great numbers. There’s really no middle ground here. He gets to hit re-start on his career and see if he can do for Dak Prescott what he was doing with Derek Carr early in his career. If anything less than what I’m describing would be a big disappointment. Hopefully his arrival will also help the development of Michael Gallup, who obviously has some talent.
Cowboys have addressed the WR problem, now they need to figure out the Tyron Smith one - Tom Ryle, BloggingTheBoys
The Cowboys offensive line has been far from elite so far in 2018. Tyron Smith’s regression is a huge part of the reason why. Ryle breaks down what might be causing the 27-year-old to struggle as much as he has so far.
So the Cowboys really, really have to hope that Smith’s problems are temporary. That leads to the question, just what is the problem for him?
The first thing that comes to mind is injury. He has a history of back and other problems, and regularly gets “rest days” in practice. The problem there is that when the injuries get to be too much to overcome, there is not much you can do.
However, that may not be the real cause. And it ties in to a larger concern. Maybe the arrival of Paul Alexander as offensive line coach has just screwed up the entire group.
There is a little evidence for that, if you have similar opinions to mine about who you can trust out there.
Grades For Tyron Smith Are ‘Pretty Darn Great’ - Nick Eatman, DallasCowboys.com
This is why football is so great. Different people see different things. Here’s what OL coach Paul Alexander has to say about Tyron Smith’s play to start the year.
This season has been more of a struggle for Smith, at least to the untrained eye, which has seen a few more sacks allowed and some penalties. But according to his veteran offensive line coach, Smith is playing at a very high level.
“Through seven games, the grades I’ve given him have been pretty darn great,” said O-line coach Paul Alexander, who is in his first season with the Cowboys and admitted he doesn’t have previous years to compare to. “I wasn’t here before. I didn’t really know him on a day-to-day basis, analyzing completely everything. I know the grades I’ve given him have been pretty good.”
3 prospects the Cowboys could target in Round 2 of the 2019 NFL draft, including a perfect fit at safety - John Owning, SportsDay
It’s never too early for draft talk, and with the Cowboys trading their first-round pick for Amari Cooper, there will be plenty of scenarios to run through before we get to April.
One of the most intriguing second-tier defensive tackles in this class is Ohio State’s Dre’Mont Jones. Listed at 6-3 and 285 pounds, Jones is an undersized but ever-so-explosive defensive tackle who best fits as a 3-tech.
Jones is one the biggest boom-or-bust prospects in this draft, possessing a tantalizing combination of athleticism and penetration ability to go along with a lack of strength at the point of attack and some maddening stretches of play throughout his college career.
With 5.5 sacks and nine tackles for loss in eight games this season, Jones is one of the most disruptive players in all of college football. He leverages an explosive get-off and active hands to consistently penetrate the backfield. Jones uses an array of techniques to defeat blocks, demonstrating a keen awareness for hand placement and footwork to beat offensive linemen with regularity.
Cowboys set to release Terrance Williams in 2019, but not before - Patrik Walker, 247Sports
Walker speculates about the former Baylor wide receiver’s future with the Cowboys.
If they cut Williams right now, on Oct. 25, that would amount to $2.375 million. The organization would do better to simply leave him on IR as a means of late-season insurance to be called upon if healthy and if needed, considering they’d end up paying him that sum whether he’s available to them later or sitting at home eating Fruity Pebbles.
An addendum here is Williams does have to pay the team back a sum of $200,000 from the bonus he’s already received, but that’s not swaying a roster decision one way or another.
The next and easily more viable out for the Cowboys will come once the 2018 season wraps, when they can reduce their dead money hit from $4.75 million to $2.5 million, while buoying their cap savings to $2.25 million with an outright pre-June 1 release of Williams. With Cooper in the fold, Gallup coming on strong and several other options coming their way in the spring, eating a $5.25 million cap hit on a player who’ll potentially finish 2018 with only 18 receiving yards is a no-go. He’s currently the highest paid receiver on the team and Cooper’s $13.9 million salary takes hold in 2019, making it a foregone conclusion the last time Williams put on his Cowboys’ uniform could and should literally be the last time he puts on a Cowboys’ uniform.
Cowboys who need to be better after the bye - John Williams, InsideTheStar
There is always room for improvement. Here are some guys that need to be better coming off the bye week.
Chidobe Awuzie, Cornerback
After his rookie season in the NFL, there were high hopes and expectations that Chidobe Awuzie’s play, aggressiveness, and swagger would make him a good to great corner moving forward. Most thought Defensive Backs Coach Kris Richard would take what Awuzie showed in his first season and help him take a step forward in 2018.
It’s been Byron Jones, on the other side of the field however, who’s been the standout.
Meanwhile, Awuzie’s become the target of opposing passing games and he’s not given them much reason not to focus on him. Among players who’ve played at least 162 coverage snaps this season, Chidobe Awuzie has allowed the ninth highest passer rating in the NFL (128.7), per Pro Football Focus.
Dak Prescott Holding Cowboys Together While Other Teams in Turmoil Falling Apart - Mike Freeman, Bleacher Report
Here is an interesting spin on who is keeping the Cowboys’ heads above water.
If you are expecting this Dallas Cowboys locker room to fracture after a 3-4 start, it’s not going to happen. At least not anytime soon.
While teams like the Jaguars and Raiders bicker through their rocky starts, life around the Cowboys has been quiet, at least in the locker room, and that’s thanks in no small part due to the calm demeanor of quarterback Dak Prescott and the respect his teammates have for him.
Recently, I heard from NFL sources that some players in the Cowboys locker room were unhappy with the direction of the offense. Prescott, the story goes, was able to calm the locker room before things got worse, and now the offense is unified again.
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