Mike McCarthy press conference: Jourdan Lewis looks comfortable, pre-snap motion discussion on offense

The Cowboys are moving further away from their defeat at the hands of the Rams, and closer to their upcoming contest with the Falcons. Coach Mike McCarthy spoke about where the team is at in preparations. (All answers are paraphrased and not actual quotes).

Jourdan Lewis practice thoughts

Cornerback Jourdan Lewis practiced on Wednesday for the first time in a while. Mike McCarthy said that Lewis looked good and that the plan is to give him more reps on Thursday and see how it goes but he did look comfortable.

Darian Thompson thoughts

The Cowboys have been giving more opportunities to Darian Thompson and McCarthy said that he thought he played very well. He noted that the Cowboys are trying to work as many combinations that they can in the secondary and said that you have to make sure the secondary has multiple combinations available.

Brandon Carr is in good shape

The Cowboys have a unique situation in Brandon Carr with him joining the team so recently. McCarthy noted he likes to approach things slowly sometimes when players don’t have the time that they normally would and that they are taking this approach with Carr. He did indicate that Carr would get some reps this week and that he fits into the combinations in the secondary approach he talked about previously.

Trevon Diggs covering Julio Jones

Coach gave a lot of props to rookie cornerback Trevon Diggs and said that he does not have any hesitation towards playing him against the likes of Julio Jones. He said that Diggs plays with calmness and patience in his coverage and that this is something that he’s been impressed with from day one. He also complimented his ability to attack the ball and his understanding of route-running. He noted he plays with a maturity and he doesn’t panic.

Thoughts at linebacker

The Cowboys are down Leighton Vander Esch and McCarthy noted that Joe Thomas will take the lead as far as players to step up in his absence. He did say that other young guys would have to step up as well.

McCarthy added that during the time that he worked with Joe in Green Bay that they put a lot on his plate and that it’s a natural transition that players make at a young age where they’re very good special teams performers but then get an opportunity to play a role defensively.

Pre-snap motion

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers said on Wednesday that he and Mike McCarthy did not like a lot of pre-snap motion (he didn’t specify when he was talking about). This has been a talking point with McCarthy and he noted that if you go back to his earliest days in the NFL that he has incorporated motion. He said that as Rodgers matured he read defenses without the motion and that was the way they preferred to go. He said that every team is different and that Dak Prescott can handle both the shifts in motion and reading defenses without it. He said that the most important thing is that you have to have both and can’t tilt too far to one or the other.

He also said that games don’t always play out the way you want so you have to adjust in the game. He talked about playing uptempo sometimes without the motion but that if your defense is on the field a lot like in the Rams game you might have to slow down.

AT&T Stadium is a special place for Mike McCarthy

Obviously McCarthy won his only Super Bowl to date in AT&T Stadium (Cowboys Stadium at the time) and said that he wouldn’t kid anyone in saying that he has good memories of the place. He emphasized winning home games and said that having the team’s first home game is very important and what is on his mind.