Marcus Spears: Cowboys won’t make the NFC title game in the next 3 years - Selby Lopez, DMN
A long-time former Cowboys player has little faith in the team over the next few years.
Marcus Spears isn’t high on the Dallas Cowboys.
The former Cowboys defensive end gave his former team some “tough love” on Thursday, saying Dallas won’t make the NFC title game in the next three years.
“It’s tough for me to say that because every year we pick the Cowboys to go deep into the playoffs. Here’s my issue: Number one is defensively,” Spears said on ESPN’s Get Up. “If you look at them against top-tier quarterbacks, they struggle mightily. That is my issue.”
“Aaron Rodgers may not be in Green Bay. He may go to a better team that could possibly be in the NFC. Let’s not forget that with what’s going on with Jordan Love,” Spears said. “Russell Wilson in Seattle getting better — and by the way, they just signed Greg Olsen. Tom Brady is in Tampa Bay. Drew Brees is still in New Orleans. We don’t know what Matt Ryan and the Falcons are going to do.
“It’s not necessarily that the Cowboys aren’t good enough, they just haven’t proven that they can win those types of games to get to an NFC championship.”
Dallas Cowboys training camp questions: Mike McCarthy is biggest difference-maker - Todd Archer, ESPN
A break down of the many storylines heading into training camp.
How does coach Mike McCarthy get these Cowboys to do what Jason Garrett couldn’t, namely at least advance beyond the divisional round?
It’s simple — do what he did in Green Bay. People want to remember how it ended for McCarthy with the Packers, but he went to the playoffs nine times in 13 years and made it to the conference title game four times.
The Cowboys are one of three NFC teams not to have played in a conference title game in this century, along with Washington and Detroit.
McCarthy inherits a talented team even if the Cowboys went 8-8 in 2019, which ultimately led to Garrett’s departure. The Cowboys have a stacked offense, even with the departures of tight end Jason Witten and center Travis Frederick. They have a defense that has questions but some solid pieces.
When Wade Phillips took over for Bill Parcells in 2007, he was seen as a breath of fresh air from the overbearing Parcells and went 13-3 in his first season. McCarthy will benefit from just being a new voice after Garrett’s nine-year run as head coach.
He has to use that voice to command the room and convince players he knows the path to at least a NFC Championship Game.
Season’s impact on future salary caps central to NFL talks, sources say; NFLPA reps to talk Friday - Dan Graziano, ESPN
There are still a few issues to figure out before training camps can really get going.
NFL Players Association team player representatives are scheduled to convene on a conference call Friday morning as the players work to finalize an agreement with team owners on the rules and finances of the 2020 NFL season, according to sources.
The sources said the two sides were still negotiating Thursday night on at least three key points:
> Rules for the training camp acclimation period.
> Procedures via which players could opt out of the season for coronavirus-related reasons and what would happen to the contracts of those who do.
> How to handle the league’s long-term finances and salary caps of future years in the wake of projected 2020 revenue loss as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
Sources on both sides of the talks said the hope was to get everything wrapped up by the time teams report to camp. But with Houston Texans and Kansas City Chiefs players scheduled to report this weekend and begin COVID-19 testing, the window for accomplishing that is growing smaller.
Name to Know: Safety Thompson Adds Versatility - Nick Eatman, The Mothership
Darian Thompson will battle for a regular spot in the safety rotation, but we know that he can play special teams.
How Does He Make It: Let’s not forget, certain players who have been around this team before were actually re-signed by the Cowboys and this coaching staff back in March. So yes, Thompson is a holdover, but one that was brought back with the intent to compete and possibly start. To be on the team, he’ll have to beat out Donovan Wilson and some other youngsters, but he probably has aspirations to start. To do that, he needs to be a more viable option than Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and/or Xavier Woods.
How He Can Help: Thompson showed at times last season why he was once a third-round pick. He’s got good athleticism and quickness to the ball, but also provides quite a punch when he gets there. He’s got a knack for making plays around the goal line. So Thompson should be at least the third safety who can play in nickel and dime packages. He’s also a core special teams player that will fit into that role. Last year, he finished second on the team with eight tackles on special team. Plus, he can slide into either starting spot if needed.
Mailbag: Taking A Guess At The Final Roster? - Nick Eatman & David Helman
At what positions do the Cowboys go long, and where do they go short?
With the lack of offseason in-person position battles, what positions do you see the team going long or short on? For example, I don’t see a third QB, with only Dak and Dalton on final 53. D-Line, CB, O-Line best bets? — CHIP NELSON / SPRINGDALE, AR
David: It’s important to keep in mind that there are two extra spots on the roster this year, so that’s bound to play a part in some of those decisions. To answer your question more directly, I’m guessing they go long on offensive linemen – think about all the talent they have stockpiled in that group. And if I had to pick a position they go short on, running back stands out. Obviously, they’re going to keep Zeke, Pollard and a fullback – most likely Olawale. It wouldn’t surprise me if that’s all they kept on the active roster, though.
Nick: Ok, well for starters, it’s supposed to be 55 players on the roster now – that was something they agreed on back in March. And who knows if they don’t make them a little more expanded once again. But to play along with the question, I think they will keep three QBs. They like DiNucci a lot and I would imagine he gets to stay on the roster. I see them going very long at CB. Lots of guys in the mix there. Maybe you go shorter at WR. Do you really need six if the top three should stay on the field most of the time?
Cowboys all-time 53-man depth chart: Intense battle at quarterback, defense looks utterly impenetrable - Patrik Walker, CBS Sports
An all-time 53-man roster for the Cowboys? Sounds fun.
I know what you’re thinking: Why carry four quarterbacks on a 53-man roster? Well, to put it plainly, it’s because I can. The difficult decision wasn’t whether to carry four, but which four to carry, considering Prescott is only four years into his NFL career and could’ve arguably been beat out by Danny White, the often overlooked successor to the almighty Staubach who led the Cowboys to three consecutive NFC Championship Games. The problem for White is he couldn’t take the final step, but much like Romo decades later, it was hardly entirely his fault. And considering Romo was tasked with carrying the team to the point of literally breaking his own back (and ribs, and collarbone, and and and) while also racking up franchise records through the air, White finds himself edged by the undrafted free agent who became everything he wasn’t supposed to become, and during the brutally hypercritical social media age.
The only thing Romo lacks is the same thing White doesn’t have — a Super Bowl ring — and Prescott burst out of the gate breaking franchise and NFL records previously set by Staubach and Aikman, and fell only one yard shy in 2019 of taking Romo’s single season passing record. All told, while White deserves mention and much more respect than he’s ever truly going to get, the fact is Prescott is just getting started and assuming he remains with the Cowboys beyond 2020, he’s in position to become one of the best to ever don the Star, especially if he can nab a Lombardi Trophy.
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