Micah Parsons said after the game that Mike Zimmer's scheme was good against the Saints, but that players weren't always giving 100 percent. Was there indeed a problem with the Cowboys' effort? If so, that seems like it could be a bigger issue going forward than anything else. – Riley Williams/Little Rock, AR
Nick: Always hard to prove that one. Unless you're seeing a lot of guys just loafing to the ball, it's tough to really question effort. Same with heart, intensity, leadership, focus. All of those "sports words" get thrown out to make sound arguments and they're easy to do because nearly impossible to prove. But I get it. It has to be something other than the fact the Saints just lined up and whooped the Cowboys that bad. I do think that's what happened. Where "effort" does come into play is more in the middle of the week with the preparation. Sure, most players actually give their all when the lights are on. But are they watching enough film? Do they have the best understanding of their assignments. Are they as prepared physically as possible? That's the kind of effort that can hurt a team if it's not there. Either way, it wasn't good enough and that's pretty easy to see.
Mickey: Not totally sure if it was an effort problem. I mean, think about it: How would you not be ready to play or give 100 percent effort in your home opener in front of 93,000 people with an opportunity to go to 2-0, knowing Baltimore is on the horizon. That to me seems like a flimsy excuse for getting your butts whipped. Plain and simple the Cowboys weren't good enough on this day. And as the coaches said, Mike McCarthy and Mike Zimmer, they had to take some blame for how they prepared the offense and defense to play this game. The NFL is a weird bird. After that disaster on Sunday, the Cowboys are tied for first place in the NFC East.
