Why would McCarthy not do the offensive play calling and leave up to second year Kellen Moore? What are your thoughts on McCarthy not taking the reins? – ROBERT LOPEZ / SAN BENITO, TX
Jonny: You could talk yourself in circles with theories about why McCarthy isn't calling plays. My guess is that it comes down to two factors. First, considering the drastic turnover in the coaching staff, he probably wanted a significant holdover from last season for the sake of continuity and that's Kellen Moore. Second, I think he probably sees Moore as an open-minded coach who won't stubbornly resist a collaborative approach to play calling. If you were to set the over/under on plays that McCarthy calls this season at 0.5 then I'd pretty confidently take the over.
Nick: I think it's a slippery slope there. Yes, McCarthy has called plays before and been successful doing it. Kellen Moore called plays last year for the No. 1 ranked offense, and it was his first year calling plays. So McCarthy isn't going to just come in and pull that from him. I think they work together on setting up the offense during the week and then it'll probably be a collective deal on game day. That isn't unusual. Bill Parcells had guys calling the play to the quarterback but not before he'd saying something like "Give the ball to Barber inside, or let's try to get Witten open in the flat." I bet they work together.
With the possible Free Agent loses of Xavier Su'a-Filo and Joe Looney, what are the Cowboys doing with Mitch Hyatt, Conner McGovern and Brandon Knight this off-season to get them ready for next year? – DAVID CORVINO / SUMMERVILLE, SC
Jonny: This probably isn't the answer you want to hear, but I don't know that there's a lot you can do to get those guys ready to live up to what Looney and Su'a-Filo provided. Those two were really valuable members of the roster, not only as backups ready to start must-win games, but as truly enthusiastic teammates. But this is the NFL, and Hyatt, McGovern, and Knight will need to be ready to prove their worth for the sake of their own careers.
Nick: They'll be doing the same things that all young players are doing. They're lifting weights, working on their conditioning and shaping their bodies a little better. McGovern and Knight have position flex so it'll be interesting to see what this staff thinks about them moving forward. But they need to get stronger and get themselves ready to compete this summer.
