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Yes, there were times, I’m sure you knew.
When I bit off more than I could chew.
But through it all, when there was doubt.
I ate it up and spit it out.
I faced it all, and I stood tall.
And did it my way.
These words from the legendary Frank Sinatra have sat in my mind for the last few months as the Dallas Cowboys have stubbornly made their way towards the 2022 NFL season.
At different turns it seemed like the Cowboys could have made things easier on themselves. They could have signed another wide receiver (or you know, not traded that particular one away). They could have not released that particular tackle (and done more to prepare for that other one’s inevitable injury). They could have made the contract language work.
We discussed everything from Monday night’s action on our Dallas Cowboys Postgame Show on the Blogging The Boys podcast network. Make sure you subscribe to our network so you don’t miss any of our shows! Apple devices can subscribe here and Spotify users can subscribe here.
Very little of how the Cowboys have gone about preparing for this season has made sense on paper and they have been chastised by just about every major and minor publication in the process. But here we sit. With October suns right around the corner. And the team is fresh off of a trip to the very city which never sleeps where Frank Sinatra sang those words oh so many times with their second win of the season well in hand.
Today belongs to the Dallas Cowboys. They did it their way.
Welcome to our Stock Report for the New York Giants win.
Stock Up: DeMarcus Lawrence
BUT HE DOESN’T GET ANY SACKS.
How about three of those bad boys?!
DeMarcus Lawrence has made it a point to openly tease the New York Giants and their quarterbacks over the years and on Monday night he put his money where his mouth is. Tank lassoed Daniel Jones in three times for a hat trick which is super impressive to say the least.
We have spoken many times about the presence of DeMarcus Lawrence and how dominating it is regardless of what the box score shows. He was the team’s best player on Monday night.
Stock Up: Noah Brown
This is one of those “My Way” players for the Dallas Cowboys. They believed where a lot of us (I will raise my had) did not. Noah Brown had a bit of a breakout game last week in the win against the Cincinnati Bengals, but he was so clutch on Monday at MetLife.
Brown “only” had five receptions for 54 yards, but it was the tenacity with which he played that was admirable. He is somebody who you want to play this game with, a player who is truly all the way in.
Stock Up: Tyler Smith
While we are on the subject of the Cowboys taking their victory laps... hello Tyler Smith.
We are but three games into Tyler’s NFL career so it feels really unfair to him to say that he is going to be a dominating left tackle for a long time at the professional level, but he has played so well and made it feel like he is more than trustworthy at the position.
Personally speaking I would have loved to see him kicked inside to guard with Jason Peters finally playing, but how can you argue with the results? Smith has dealt with A LOT of change very early on as a professional and has answered each and every challenge. It is still early as noted but this pick looks quite good.
Stock Up: Donovan Wilson
The attention over the last two weeks has obviously centered around quarterback Dak Prescott and his absence, but safety Jayron Kearse has also missed the wins as well.
Never fear, we were super excited about Malik Hooker in camp. He’s got this.
Oh and Israel Mukuamu was starting to flash. He will surely carry the load. Not to mention Markquese Bell has been impressive so far.
With no disrespect intended for any of those three, the forgotten man has emerged from the shadows in Donovan Wilson. He looks like one of the best safeties in the NFL right now.
Wilson finished with the most tackles of any player (9) and had one of the two non-Lawrence sacks thanks to a well-timed send from Dan Quinn. Give him his props.
Stock Up: Ezekiel Elliott AND Tony Pollard
This has never been a question about it having to be one or the other. As many have noted often throughout the debate surrounding the Dallas Cowboys backfield, you can have both.
It seems that the Cowboys have finally learned this idea.
Elliott finished with 15 carries for 73 yards (4.87 YPC) and had the one score while Pollard finished with 13 carries for 105 yards (8.98 YPC) although he did have one gain of 46 yards that he ripped off.
This isn’t about numbers, though. This is about the fact that both Elliott and Pollard can help the offense as a whole and they are both being given opportunities to do so.
Stock Up: Dorance Armstrong
This game was won by one possession for the Dallas Cowboys and Dorance Armstrong was directly responsible for keeping points off of the board for the Giants by way of a blocked field goal early on. That automatically ups his stock.
But Armstrong is yet another example of a player who the Cowboys bet on, a wager that looks smart so far through the early parts of the season. It was he who had the other non-Lawrence sack and if he were putting up these numbers for another team that didn’t have so many defensive superstars you’d have to wonder whether or not he would get more national love.
Stock Up: Cooper Rush
What else is there to say at this point?!
Cooper Rush is not overly flashy, but he is bold enough to test the waters when they need testing. He has the trust of the coaching staff and of his teammates. It is as if he was designed in a secret lab where the manufacture backup quarterbacks perfect for your team.
It was clear that the pressure picked up for Dallas late in the third quarter and Cooper did not shy away from the challenge. He delivered a strike to CeeDee Lamb that the wideout held onto on fourth and short (more on that later) and then hooked up with CeeDee after that for a critical touchdown.
Cooper Rush has been exactly what he has needed to be. And that is commendable.
Stock Up: Jason Peters
The sample size is extremely small obviously, but it is very clear that Jason Peters can contribute to this football team in a positive way. That is all.
Stock Up: CeeDee Lamb
The first half of this game had CeeDee earning one of the only stock downs, but that is why they play four quarters, people.
To be clear CeeDee was downright awful for over half of this game. He had the drop that everybody agrees is unacceptable and another one on a third down after that. Simply put those things cannot happen in general let alone from the receiver who you tout as your top option.
But you know what? CeeDee didn’t fold. He didn’t wave the white flag. He took his opportunity on that fourth and short and was the more physical player when it was necessary to keep his team’s drive and hopes alive.
He broke free for the touchdown and had an incredible one-handed catch for the score in the process. Somewhere a former Dallas Cowboys head coach has a “Fight.” t-shirt ready just for Lamb after Monday night’s performance.
Stock Up: Jake Ferguson and Peyton Hendershot
In the most respectful way possible... it did not feel like Dalton Schultz’s absence was a big deal for the Dallas Cowboys on Monday night.
A huge reason for that was obviously the play of rookies Jake Ferguson and Peyton Hendershot. We know that the Cowboys ask their tight ends to block which was not an issue against the Giants and what’s more is they also contributed through the air when called upon.
How about Peyton Hendershot with the longest reception of the game at 29 yards?!
Stock Up: Mike McCarthy
Mike McCarthy is not a perfect head coach. But man alive he sure can find a way.
This season was done two weeks ago. The Dallas Cowboys were through. Sean Payton, Lincoln Riley, maybe both of them were preparing to fulfill all of the speculation that has existed around the post that Mike McCarthy holds for years now.
But Mike found a way. He found a way to get it done without Dak Prescott, Michael Gallup, Jayron Kearse, Connor McGovern, oh and Tyron Smith while we are at it. Not to mention James Washington.
Personally speaking I was not a fan of the way that Mike handled the end of the first half what with risking so much for what felt like a marginal gain, but I will take that aggressive disposition over the alternative 100 out of 100 times. I will live with the rewards and the consequences equally because we have lived with the alternative and know it to not be fruitful. I will take that because that leads to the decision to go for it on fourth down and to go for it to CeeDee Lamb, someone we know is able to pull it off just the way that he did.
Much like the Cowboys themselves Mike is going at all of this how he wants to. These are unquestionably his Dallas Cowboys doing things how he wants to and risking when McCarthy feels it is appropriate to do so.
He is Frank Sinatra. This is his way. And right now it is the way.
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