FRISCO, Texas – Here is my expert advice to Micah Parsons, in lieu of what he had to say after the Cowboys' 34-6 loss to the Eagles Sunday night.
And with regards to Nike, Just Do Nothing!
As in what you have to say. Especially in this day and age when words can either be misinterpreted by the less knowledgeable or intentionally misrepresented to support someone's narrative, exactly what took place, especially nationally, when Micah's rather innocuous comments after the game turned into these screaming headlines and uncontrolled blathering.
So Micah, next time someone asks you your thoughts on if Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy will be here coaching next year, just stick with the first thought that came to your mind:
"That's above my pay grade about if Mike is coaching again next year."
Enough said. Button up.
And while your honesty and ability to expound on your opinions is greatly appreciated, you leave yourself vulnerable to be second-guessed. And the last thing this team needs now on a four-game losing streak with a 3-6 record, the franchise quarterback Dak Prescott undergoing season-ending surgery Wednesday to repair his partially torn hamstring avulsion and the 6-3 first-place-in-the-AFC-South Texans coming to town Monday night is anything more to create a stir.
Now nice you were sticking up for your teammates when you expanded your thoughts by saying, "But all coaching aside, Mike can leave and go wherever he wants. But guys, I kind of feel bad for these guys like Zack Martin and guys who might be on their last show, on their way out, who I wanted to hold a trophy for. You want to win games and do great things for those type of legends who put in more time and work than Mike McCarthy ever did. So those are the kind of guys that I have so much sympathy and hurt for."
Too much. Because someone, intentionally or not, then can misconstrue what you were trying to say. And certainly sure Zack appreciated your sentiments, knowing he's been here for 11 seasons now and just might be in his last in the NFL. But you went too far with the "work" thing and left yourself open for the critics waiting with bated breath.
Just learn what so many previous Cowboys quarterbacks have learned when realizing when they spoke, they were considered the face of the franchise. They would say a lot while failing to provide any substance. Danny White certainly learned that in the 1980s. Became the starter after the beyond-reproach Roger Staubach retired and a tough interview. Troy Aikman learned that same lesson in the 1990s, great personality when the cameras weren't rolling, but measured his words very carefully in those group interviews. And once Tony Romo got burned for his innocent comments after a tough loss at Philadelphia in 2008, he went on to rarely say anything of substance yet holding back great insight in one-on-one conversations.
Now your turn, because with Dak out for the season, Zack having learned how to handle things and DeMarcus Lawrence still on IR, you and CeeDee Lamb are sort of the faces on this franchise. Say a lot by saying little if you get my drift.
- Still Paying For 2023: Sure was great the Cowboys finished the 2023 season with a 12-5 record, first place in the NFC East for the second time in three years and earning the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs. But now the Cowboys still are paying dearly for that first-round playoff loss, having to play that first-place schedule. Heading into Week 11, the Cowboys have played the third most-difficult strength of schedule, their nine opponents owning a .553 winning percentage. The only two teams with a more difficult strength of schedule are Arizona at .581 and Tampa Bay at .656, if you can believe that. And it doesn't get that much easier for the Cowboys the rest of the way, their remaining eight opponents with a .506 winning percentage, ranking 17th in the NFL, that mostly thanks to remaining games with the 2-8 giants and 3-7 Panthers.
- Nothing Given: Here is an interesting position to keep an eye on going forward: left tackle. With starter Tyler Guyton, the Cowboys rookie first-round draft choice, missing the Eagles game with a neck injury, Asim Richards, last year's fifth-round pick, started in his place. This was Richards' first NFL start, and sure seems he played awfully well, considering the Eagles' talented defensive front he faced. Richards had his hands full with Eagles outside pass-rusher Josh Sweat, who finished with just one tackle. As fate would have it, facing the Eagles in his first NFL start meant the Philadelphia native went up against the team he grew up cheering for. And that meant also with Eagles pass-rushing defensive end Brandon Graham in his 15th season, the 24-year-old Richards was just 9 when Graham entered the NFL.
- Pulling Back The Curtain: So much has been made of the sun beaming through the glass doors on the west side of AT&T Stadium, the reason for CeeDee Lamb losing the ball in the end zone. But that incompletion wasn't the only problem on those three plays run from a first-and-goal at the 6-yard line. On the first-down play, tight end Jake Ferguson missed his block on Sweat, the Eagles' outside linebacker hitting Ezekiel Elliott almost as soon as he got the handoff at the 9-yard line, making a great spin move to avoid the tackle and actually gaining 3 yards. Then on the second-down play, with Cooper Rush rolling out, Ferguson didn't get a good enough hit on Milton Williams before releasing into his pass route. Williams then was bearing down on Rush and hit him just after he threw the ball to Lamb. Had Williams not been in his way, Rush wouldn't have rushed his pass to Lamb, who was two steps from the shade. And on third down, Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter beat center Cooper Beebe's block to nail Rico Dowdle for a 2-yard loss, and don't think the sun was in any of those guys' eyes blocking.
- Being Offensive: KaVontae Turpin hasn't lost his mind trying to return kickoffs from deep in the end zone, like the one he brought out in the first quarter against the Eagles, 7 yards deep, and going 47 yards to the Cowboys 40. Or the one 6 yards deep to the 30 for 36 yards. Special teams coach John Fassel reveals that is the plan for kickoffs in the field of play, trying to create some offense since Turpin leads the NFL with an average of 35.1 yards on his kickoff returns. "We're trying to score," Fassel says. "We have an electric guy back there. He's special, man. We got to get him across the goal line."
- Small Bites: Pretty cool during the Medal of Honor halftime Salute To Service celebration on Sunday to have 43rd President George Bush and wife Laura at the game, residents of Dallas … That DeMarvion Overshown had two sacks in Sunday's game against the Eagles gives him four in his first nine NFL games, only the fourth Cowboys player since sacks became an official statistic in 1982 to do so, joining Micah Parsons (6.0), DeMarcus Ware (4.0) and Jay Ratliff (4.0), the latter two during their 2005 rookie seasons … Trevon Diggs picked off the 20th pass of his career on Sunday, second most by a Cowboys player through his first 56 career games, trailing just Everson Walls (25) … Though the Texans were beaten by Detroit, 26-23, Sunday on a walk-off field goal, they became only the fifth team since 2018 to record five interceptions in a single game … Texans running back Joe Mixon (655 yards rushing) will be the eighth runner the Cowboys have faced this season currently ranked among the NFL's top 15 rushing leaders.
And for this week's last word, we turn to Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, explaining just why the Cowboys are committed to going with Cooper Rush as the starting quarterback and Trey Lance the backup now that they know Dak will be out for the remainder of the season.
"Well, because Cooper has shown that he has the capability to compete and win games, and he does give us our best chance," Jones says of starting Rush over the inexperienced Lance. "Frankly, that (Eagles game) was really an out of character game for him, based on what we've seen, and we know about Cooper. I'm not so sure he had quite a neck strain on that very first play, that first fumble where he went down and he didn't get the football recovered, but he had quite a neck strain.
"I'm not at all making excuses, at all, but he was not the Cooper Rush that we know and how he can play. His footwork was discombobulated. A lot of things went wrong for us out there (Sunday). Now you say, well, it went wrong the last time he played in Philadelphia. But bottom line is that I'm not cutting him. I guess I am saying that he can play better than that. He can play better than that."
Jones then went on to say why Cooper over Lance, "But the bottom line is that's our best bet. A guy that's got the qualities to run this offense, and our best bet is to stay consistent with this offense. Having said that, don't be surprised if Mike jumps in there with Lance and runs some packages that give our opponents something to think about."
Maybe the rest of us too.
