FRISCO, Texas – The locker room is buzzing.
The practices these past few days have been more intentional.
The season opener is just four days away.
These guys, no different than when we played Little League, butterflies yes, but just can't wait to play again.
Time to go, and the 2024 Cowboys are no different, so time to get ready for 3:25 p.m. Sunday, Cleveland's newly renamed Huntington Bank Field, Cleveland, Ohio, and no matter what took place in 2023 it's the 0-0 Dallas Cowboys vs. the 0-0 Cleveland Browns on national TV.
"I think they are excited to get going," Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy said, kicking off this first week of practice to open the 2024 season. "I think we all are."
And we all can't wait to see what we think we know and to find out exactly what we didn't know, the Cowboys about to take their shots at trying to become the first NFC East team to repeat as division champs since the Eagles did so in 2004.
So we better get going.
- On The Road Again: For the fifth time in the past seven seasons the Cowboys are opening on the road, the NFL doing them no favors, judging from last year. Now, was it the road or just who they were playing on the road? Because of the Cowboys' five losses in a 12-5 regular season in 2023, all five of those occurred on the road: Arizona, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Buffalo and Miami. But with the exception of at Arizona, those other four losses were administered by eventual NFL playoff teams. In fact, at the hands of the first-seeded 49ers, second-seeded Bills, fifth-seeded Eagles and sixth-seeded Dolphins, the Cowboys finishing with an overall 4-5 road record. At home the Cowboys went 8-0 and beat three playoff teams, the sixth-seeded Rams, third-seeded Lions (barely) and fifth-seeded Eagles. That is until the seventh-seeded Packers thumped them in the first-round playoff game, 48-32. So in eight regular-season games against playoff teams, counting Green Bay, the Cowboys finished with a 3-5 record. So was it the road, or the quality of opponents the Cowboys must adjust to?
- Young & Restless: For just the second time since the NFL-AFL merger in 1970, the Cowboys will be starting two rookies on the offensive line: first-round pick Tyler Guyton at left tackle and third-rounder Cooper Beebe at center. The only other time this has happened in the past 54 seasons occurred in 2011, when first-round pick Tyron Smith started at right tackle and seventh-round pick Bill Nagy started at left guard. Now, Guyton and the Cowboys know they will have their hands full anticipating the Browns lining up defensive end Myles Garrett, the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year, over the rookie tackle. But no sense being stubborn. Let Guyton get his sea legs under him early by lining up a tight end or two over there to help out in predictable passing situations. Maybe let a back chip at times. Can't expect that help for 60 plays, but at least at times to preserve the rookie's confidence.
- Traveling Times: So speaking of help, the Cowboys will be starting another rookie at a critical position, fifth-round draft choice Caelen Carson at cornerback in place of the injured DaRon Bland. The Cowboys can give Carson some help with a safety over the top if needed or running a linebacker underneath at times for support. But here is another logical thought: What about locking cornerback Trevon Diggs on to, say, Amari Cooper, though rarely have we seen that take place. But remember, a new defensive coordinator, with maybe a new thought. And again, remember, this will be the first game Diggs is playing since Sept.17 of last year, suffering his torn ACL in practice heading into the third game of the season. Carson, though, is not shying away from whatever challenge this season opener presents, basically saying he just needs to go out there "and play football," just as he has since he was 5 years old.
- Brown Out: Hey, it's not as if the Browns don't have their own injury concerns. Running back Nick Chubb has been placed on PUP, meaning he must miss the first four weeks of the season. Next man up is Jerome Ford, a third-year running back who led the Browns last season with 813 yards rushing while also posting four rushing touchdowns, five more receiving and a 4.0 average per carry. And with sixth-year veteran Nyheim Hines still on reserve/non-football injury, behind Ford is Pierre Strong and D'Onta Foreman, the eighth-year veteran from Texas. See, other teams have worries too. Plus, the Browns won't have starting left tackle Jedrick Wills, who is still recovering from last year's knee surgery, and if they do not move veteran right tackle Jack Conklin to the left side, their next choice seems to be James Hudson III, who did start seven games last season.
- Wonder Who: So as the Cowboys must worry about Garrett, now the Browns must worry about Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence, who have been moving around to different sides depending on weak and strong – that's formation, not necessarily depending on the strength of either tackle. Or maybe it will be. Remember, Parsons did match Garrett's 14 sacks of last season.
- Oh, That Committee: The running back committee that is. Not sure why this came as a surprise to so many, the Cowboys listing Ezekiel Elliott the first-team running back with Rico Dowdle behind him. For those of us watching all these practices from the start of training camp, that is how the Cowboys have been running out with the first-team offense. Maybe my eyes are deceiving me, but think Zeke is going to surprise a lot of people with how effective he'll be running. Not necessarily carrying the ball 200 or more snaps, but quality snaps he gets for sure.
- Not So Elementary: Dear Watson, and that's Deshaun, the Browns starting QB after suffering last year's season-ending shoulder injury. Look, Watson has played only six games in each of the past two seasons, with a combined 14 touchdown passes, nine interceptions and averaging just 6.5-yards an attempt. He finished with an 84.4 QB rating in 2023 when sacked 17 times in those six games. It's been awhile since his 2020 season with Houston when he threw for 4,823 yards, 33 touchdown passes and had a QB rating of 112.4. Remember, Watson has played only 12 games since that season.
- Football Sides: The Cowboys have just 52 players on the 53-man roster, that final spot being reserved for wide receiver CeeDee Lamb when he comes off the reserve/exempt list before Sunday's game … That the Cowboys only had tight end John Stephens listed Wednesday as DNP (hamstring), he likely becomes a candidate for one of the seven inactives on game day, which is going to be a tough call for the Cowboys to get down to the allowed 46 … Would seem Trey Lance will be the inactive third QB, but after that there is going to be a lot of head scratching with decisions might affecting which two players are potentially called up from the practice squad … See where the Chiefs, who claimed Cowboys Eric Scott off waivers last week and then released him from the 53-man roster, have re-signed the second-year cornerback to the practice squad, the guy the Cowboys spent two draft choices on, the one used to draft him with the first pick in the sixth round and the 2024 future fifth-rounder they gave the Chiefs to acquire that pick … Defensive tackle Justin Rogers, a seventh-round pick this year, is the only draft choice the Cowboys have lost rights to, signed to the Cincinnati practice squad … Beebe is used to seeing his parents travel to his games, saying he could not remember the last time they missed one, maybe his red-shirt freshman year, but pointing out even though he wasn't going to play at Mississippi State, they drove down to the game, his dad videoing him dressed out for merely warmups.
This question will not go away anytime soon for Mike McCarthy, having to repeatedly answer about being in the last year of his five-year contract and how he deals with the pressure. And once again for maybe the umpteenth time since the start of training camp, here we go again, Mike prefacing his answer with not agreeing with the wording of the question.
"This business is about opportunity. I'm thankful and appreciate the opportunity in front of me, and that's really how it's been," he began. "I get what goes in contracts, and I really don't want to speak on it because I haven't spoken on it because there really is nothing to talk about because it doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is today, and that's really, I think, something that we all can just stay in touch with because we do have responsibilities outside of winning games. But the only thing that truly pays the bills is winning games, and that's where my mind is at.
"I mean, I'm 30-plus years into this, so we know how things work. I can't stand up in front of a group of men and consistently on a daily basis demand they focus their time and energy on winning when I'm here talking about things that have nothing to do with winning. So I guess that's how I deal with it."
And pretty soon wouldn't blame him if he gives a verbal Heisman to dealing with it the next time contract talk comes up.
