FRISCO, Texas – When Micah Parsons walked into The Star on Wednesday, he was surprised to see he had a package waiting for him.
No, not something from UPS or anything he had to open, but even better for the All-Pro pass-rusher.
Parsons said defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer told him he had some ideas on how to rush the quarterback better this week, creating some ways that might limit the amount of "chip" blocks he might see this week against the Saints.
"He's got ideas," Parsons said of Zimmer said. "As soon as I come in this morning, I'm sitting with him, he's like, 'I got this new package in for you. This will help you clear away some of the chips and get you away from some of them.' Things like that. So it just goes to show you he doesn't just talk about it, he does it and he plans on using it."
That's music to the ears of Parsons, who did have one sack last week against the Browns, despite plenty of attention from Cleveland's blocking scheme.
Regardless if Zimmer has a new scheme to free him up, Parsons said he's sure he will always have to deal with more than one blocker.
"For sure. I think I'm in that realm now where I'm always preparing for that double team and I'm finding ways to create the 1-on-1s," Parsons said. "But like we said in camp it's almost expected at this point. I don't think anyone in the league's going to leave me 1-on-1."
While Parsons did get Watson for one sack, he was slightly disappointed with himself after the game, saying in the locker room, he could've had "at least three more. Parsons was credited with 11 of the Cowboys' 31 quarterback pressures.
The Cowboys did get six sacks total, much to Parsons' credit, as he was moving Watson from the pocket throughout the game. And he created that pressure from different spots on the field. He did move around a little more before the snap, not just switching from the left and right side, but sometimes rushing from the middle of the line.
"A little different look. Yeah, I just want to test everyone's water. I just want to test the pot," Parsons said. "I want to see which guy I can, I feel like I can manipulate.? But I really don't care who it is. It's just about me feeling like I'm the best and I can just go against whoever."
He's just trying to limit how many "whoevers" he sees on one play – something maybe Zimmer and the new defensive package can help with.
