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Cowboys not willing to deal WR Michael Gallup ahead of NFL trade deadline - Michael Gehlken, DMN
The Cowboys are making it clear they will not be dealing Michael Gallup.
A Cowboys official was approached Wednesday about the concept of Gallup possibly being dealt before Tuesday’s NFL trade deadline. The short but straightforward response clearly closed the door on the notion, dismissing the possibility out of hand. And it is easy to see why the team is so bullish on Gallup.
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Gallup runs the deepest routes of any player on the roster. On average, he is 15.9 yards from the line of scrimmage when an intended pass arrives, the fifth-largest depth among NFL players with at least 30 targets. Of course, amid quarterback instability, behind this crooked line and on a receiver-deep roster, his 2020 production has suffered.
The future is nonetheless bright.
Gallup, 24, is an affordable option in 2021, when the salary cap, because of the impact of COVID-19 on league revenue, will be lower than initially projected. Barring an offseason extension, he will be owed $920,000 in the final year of his rookie contract.
That alone makes the Cowboys less inclined to move him. There also is the matter of Gallup as a player and person. How he’s regarded in the locker room, how he fights for the football on contested downfield catches are the sort of traits of which the Cowboys need more.
Dallas Cowboys QB Dak Prescott to rookie Ben DiNucci: ‘Go out there and do you’ - Todd Archer, ESPN
From one quarterback to another...
[Ben] DiNucci, who has taken the starter’s reps in practice the past two days and would replace Andy Dalton, saw [Dak] Prescott, who is out for the year because of a compound fracture and dislocation of his right ankle, on Wednesday at The Star.
“Kind of just walked up to him and said, ‘Hey this isn’t what you said my rookie year was going to be like,’” DiNucci said. “He laughed and gave me a hug and just said, ‘We’ve talked about this. Go out there and do you. Take completions. Trust the guys around you. You’ll be great. Don’t overthink it. Football’s football.’ It’s a game I’ve been playing since seventh grade. Not going to try to make it any more than it is. Going to have fun with it, bring a lot of energy, bring a lot of confidence and let my play speak for itself.”
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“I think the biggest thing he told me is just, hey, do you, protect the ball. As long as we have the ball at the end of every play, as long as every drive ends in a kick, whether it’s a field goal, an extra point, a punt, that’s a plus for the offense,” DiNucci said. “I’m going to do what I’m coached to do, take completions, play inside myself and let the rest take care of itself.”
Ezekiel Elliott impressed with Cowboys rookie QB Ben DiNucci - Calvin Watkins, DMN
Ben DiNucci is likely to get his first start, and he has a fan already.
Rookie quarterback Ben DiNucci got first-team reps in practice Wednesday and is expected to get more Thursday with starter Andy Dalton out with a concussion.
DiNucci might get his first NFL start Sunday against the Eagles, if Dalton isn’t cleared by team medical officials.
“He definitely has a little [expletive] to him, confidence,” running back Ezekiel Elliott said. “He takes command of the huddle and that’s great, especially coming from a young guy since you honestly don’t know he hadn’t played any snaps in this league up until last week. So you don’t know what you’re going to get but it definitely is a big, big, big help that he’s in that thing confident.”
Mailbag: Who Stands To Get More Playing Time? - David Helman & Rob Phillips, The Mothership
The Cowboys are looking to the future with their recent moves.
We seem to be purging our defense of our disappointing defenders. Is it time to pull up our young practice squad players and let them show their stuff? ROLSCH COOPER / BROKEN ARROW, OK
David: It doesn’t have to just be practice squad guys, but yes I’m hoping we can see some of the youth. Trading Everson Griffen should free up a lot of snaps for Randy Gregory and Bradlee Anae, so that’s exciting. And with Dontari Poe and Daryl Worley being released, I’m hoping we can see more of Neville Gallimore and Reggie Robinson.
Rob: I think the approach is still win football games. Yes, they moved on from three veteran players, but with the Griffen trade in particular, I think they’re confident they can get solid production from Gregory, Dorance Armstrong and Bradlee Anae. It’s not just a “let’s play the young guys” approach here. I agree with Dave on Robinson. He has a lot of talent, though I wonder if they’re ready to give him snaps at safety yet since it’s a new position for him.
Writer’s Blocks: Don’t Call It A Fire Sale - David Helman, The Mothership
This yearly is eerily similar to another recent Cowboys season.
That brings me back to the déjà vu part. Doesn’t this remind you just a tad of 2015?
It was oh-so similar, if you’ll recall. The Cowboys had Tony Romo coming off an MVP-caliber 2014. They had a decent backup in Brandon Weeden — who definitely was not as good as Dalton, but did have 20 starts and 5,000 career passing yards to his name.
Now think about where things went from there. Weeden lasted precisely two weeks after Romo broke his collarbone before the front office traded for Matt Cassel. It was a move that felt pretty desperate, but the desperation was justifiable given that the team only needed to hold the rope long enough for Romo to return.
When Romo re-injured himself on Thanksgiving, though, things got real whacky. Cassel made several of the most spectacularly bad starts you’ll ever see, the team yo-yo’ed Kellen Moore off and on the active roster. And when it was all said and done, Moore wound up getting an extended audition over the final three weeks of the season.
Hopefully, it doesn’t get too strange this season. You’d like to think Dalton can re-assume the starting role when he’s healthy again. But given the status of this depleted offensive line, who can say how quickly things might change?
With all due respect to Cooper Rush, hopefully this team doesn’t need him to play a snap in 2020. But it just serves as a reminder of the choices you’re forced to make when you don’t have healthy quarterbacks.
Richard Sherman questions Cowboys’ response to Bostic hit on Dalton - James Scibilia, Yahoo Sports
The Cowboys are still taking flak for their lack of response when Andy Dalton was leveled by a dirty hit.
Much has been made of the Cowboys lopsided Week 7 loss to the Washington Football team. While their performance on the field has been rightly scrutinized, their emotional responses are now being called into question as well.
Quarterback Andy Dalton had to leave that game following a nasty third quarter hit to the head by Washington linebacker Jon Bostic, who was ejected but not suspended. Dallas did not seem to respond in the moment, something not lost on 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman.
“If you’re in Tampa, and somebody hits Tom Brady like that, I don’t think that guy makes it off the field,” Sherman said on The Cris Collinsworth Podcast. “If you’re in Seattle and that happens to Russell Wilson? I don’t think that guy makes it off the field. If you’re in New Orleans and it happens to Drew (Brees)? That guy does not make it off the field, that’s how football goes.”
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“I think there’s something to be said about the leadership of Mike McCarthy and the way his team is responding in general to adversity,” Sherman said. “I don’t think that’s being talked about enough. I think people definitely need to hold players accountable for what’s happening on the field - there’s poor blocking, there’s poor defense, there’s poor tackling, there’s poor execution, guys are fumbling everywhere, they’re not protecting the quarterback, they’re not opening holes – I mean, it’s disaster everywhere.”
“I think Jerry Jones is regretting that decision to some degree.”
Eagles host Cowboys in Week 8 with NFC East lead on the line - Joseph Pantorno, Metro
What’s kind of comical is that this game is still about possibly getting into first place in the NFC East. How can that even be?
At this point, it feels like no team really wants to win the NFC East, but something will have to give on Sunday night.
The first-place Philadelphia Eagles at 2-4-1 host the second-place, 2-5 Dallas Cowboys in primetime Week 8 action with the NFC (L)East lead on the line.
It appears the NFL didn’t want to flex any sort of more entertaining game into its primetime spot, because there likely will be many more enthralling contests than what is expected to be seen at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday night (8:20 p.m. ET, NBC).
The Cowboys have been shellacked over their last two weeks without Dak Prescott, who suffered a gruesome, season-ending injury in their victory over the New York Giants. With Andy Dalton at the helm, they were blown out in Week 6 by the Arizona Cardinals before getting thrashed by the Washington Football Team.
Even more concerning was that Dalton was knocked out of Week 7 action by a dirty hit form Washington linebacker Jonathan Bostic, forcing the team to turn to third-stringer, Ben DiNucci, who was drafted in the seventh round this season out of James Madison.
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