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Carr Can’t Help But Smile As He Watches The D-Line’s Pressure - Rowan Kavner, DallasCowboys.com
Carr explains how the secondary is profiting from the pressure generated by the defensive line:
"When you’ve got those guys up front that can get after the quarterback without help and we can drop guys into coverage, we love it," Carr said. "We have the best pass rusher in the game right now and he’s complemented by a lot of guys right now that have tremendous athletic ability. It allows us on the back end to just kind of play loose. We’re not worried about covering too long, knock on wood for now."
Ratliff improving, making progress; Cowboys still hope he will be back in three weeks - Clarence Hill, Star-Telegram
The Ratliff countdown has officially started. According to coach Jason Garrett, Ratliff's rehab is going well and he is on target to return next month.
"You are just trying to get him better," Garrett said. "We made that decision because we wanted give him a full chance to come back off that thing healthy rather every week saying should we put him up or whatever, just giving him a chance to come back and be healthy from that thing. He is halfway through it. We feel like he is making progress and hopefully he will be back here in a few weeks."
Decoding Callahan - Week 3 - St Louis - Bob's Blog
Bob Sturm's articles are always a must-read, especially when he summarizes his article like this:
"Beautiful stuff from the Cowboys offense."
Tight ends, wide receivers also contributed to Murray’s big day against Rams - Tom Orsborn, MySA.com
Orsborn points out that the tight ends and receivers play an underappreciated role in the running game, and Garrett explains that this was particularly true when the Cowboys were lined up in "11 personnel," which denotes three wide receivers and a tight end.
"We felt that was a favorable personnel group to run from and Witt really responded well again blocking the edges and blocking those defensive ends," Garrett said. "That tight end position is part of the offensive line in the running game. The receivers did a good job at different times in the game blocking the secondary forces. We have to continue to get better in that. We’ll keep working at that, but anytime a runner takes it for 41 yards or takes it for 25, the receivers getting involved blocking that next level is a big part of that kind of success."
Jerry Jones: We’re a glass half-full team, ‘that won’t change’ - Jon Machota, DMN
Jerry Jones said he is "optimistic and will always be optimistic." In what universe is this news?
The Cowboys are piling up the sacks - Calvin Watkins, ESPN Dallas
Watkins points out that the Cowboys are have 13 sacks in three games and are ranked second in the league in sacks - despite missing two DL starters in Spencer and Ratliff.
"Rod's done a fantastic job," coach Jason Garrett said. "He's a great football coach. He's a great man. He's a great football coach. He's great for our team. I think Leon Lett has done a fantastic job working with Rod and those defensive linemen have really responded well. If you think about our defensive front, we have a couple of guys who are very established players in Ware and Hatcher. We have some other guys who have been playing since the start of this season who have come from a lot of different places. Nick Hayden and George Selvie."
With Spencer Likely Out, What’s Next At DE? - Bryan Broaddus, DallasCowboys.com
Broaddus runs through the likely replacements already on the roster, and then goes on to suggest the Cowboys may look to sign a player off another team's practice squad. He also suggests a late-round pick could be used in a trade.
Tagging Anthony Spencer was still right call for the Dallas Cowboys - Todd Archer, ESPN Dallas
Todd Archer decides to take a stand against all the hindsight trolls who are out in full force now that Spencer is looking at season-ending surgery. Good luck with that.
Cowboys VP Stephen Jones addresses loss of Anthony Spencer and the DE’s future with the club - David Moore, DMN
Looks like George Selvie will continue to start at left defensive end. Caesar Rayford will move back to DE, where he'll compete for snaps with Edgar Jones. Moore also writes that the Cowboys will "pluck a defensive end off another team’s practice squad" once Spencer moves to IR.
Emmitt Smith: "If Dallas Cowboys establish the running game, I expect championship seasons." - Jon Machota, DMN
Note the plural.
Scouting Report: Checking Out Newly-Signed DT Drake Nevis - Bryan Broaddus, DallasCowboys.com
Broaddus suggests Nevis has been playing out-of-scheme in both Indianapolis and San Diego, and that the Cowboys' 4-3 scheme may be a better fit for the former third-rounder.
2014 NFL Mock Draft 2.0 - SI.com
I'll admit that when I see early mocks at this time of year, I first check to see the Cowboys' draft position: If the Cowboys are mocked in the teens, I immediately stop reading. Here, Chris Burke has the Cowboys drafting 25th - which means they made the divisional round of the playoffs - and taking defensive tackle Will Sutton from Arizona State.
