Dallas Cowboys News

[DC_fan]

Their are are reports suggesting the Texans want to speak to Cowboys vice president of player personal Will McClay for the position of General Manager with the team.

Will McLay has declined to be interviewed by the Texans and will stay with the Cowboys

 

[shiznit]

Sounds like Gary Brown will be offered the RB coach role... I’m not familiar with him.

Is he any good?

 

[DC_fan]

Sounds like Gary Brown will be offered the RB coach role... I’m not familiar with him.

Is he any good?

Only so so as a player in the NFL. But as a coach with Dallas he proved himself quite capable. In his five years as Cowboys RB coach he had DeMarco Murray, Darren McFadden and Elliott under his control. All of who had 1,000 yards seasons and two of whom led the league in rushing.

I believe he will a god coach for the Raiders.

 

[DC_fan]

Sounds like Gary Brown will be offered the RB coach role... I’m not familiar with him.

Is he any good?

Well it appears their is a late change to this Jemal Singleton is now the Reaiders RB coach

 

[DC_fan]

Dallas Cowboys Review for 2017
Quarterback: C Dak Prescott went backwards this season. Obviously missed the presence of Elliott, but did he also miss the presence of Tony Romo and Mark Sanchez. Some reports that Kellen Moore gave him little if any support. Needs to rebound big time next season, or else the Cowboys will go looking for a new quarterback. Backup, Cooper Rush shows some potential.


Running back: B the team missed Ezekiel Elliott big time when he was suspended. Though he played in just ten games still managed to clock up 983 yards rushing with 7 touchdowns. Needs to keep his head on straight. Not sure if Alfred Morris will return next season. However, it appears that Rod Smith will be that backup to Elliott next season.


Wide receiver: C though the stats look reasonable, it was not a good season for the receivers. Dez Bryant led the team with 69 receptions, but that was from 132 balls targeted at him. He also finished with 832 yards and just 6 touchdowns. Next best of the receivers was Terrance Williams who caught 53 passes for 568 yards and zero touchdowns. Season 2015 ace, Cole Beasley had a down year finishing with 36 receptions for 314 yards and 4 touchdowns. Brice Butler, a big and powerful receiver had a quiet season with 15 receptions for 317 yards and 3 touchdowns. Prescott and the coaches do not appear to have confidence in him.


Tight ends: C Jason Witten has had a long and storied career with the Cowboys, but after 15 years questions need to be asked about his future. He was targeted just 63 times this season, which is the lowest total since his 2003 rookie year. His reception and yardage totals were also the lowest since his rookie season. Does this relate to poor quarterback play, or is it more related to a declining Witten. He still played in every game this season a feat he has accomplished every season bar his rookie season. The only other TEs to have receptions were Hanna and Swaim, who between them totalled 6 catches.


Offensive line: C While the Cowboys OL is still a very good line, it has not been the same since former position coach Bill Callahan departed after the 2015 season. His replacement Frank Pollack has proven to be a failure. So much so, he will not return in 2018. Zack Martin is the best guard in football, and when fit

Tyron Smith maybe the best OL in the game. The problem for Smith is that he is often injured. When he is not there the team has no quality backup for him. Even though Travis Frederick made the Pro Bowl his play took a step backwards this season. La’el Collins made the move from LG to RT this season and is still adjusting to the move. New LG Jonathan Cooper, is adequate at best.


Defensive line: B For mine the defensive line was the big surprise this season. DE, Demarcus Lawrence led the team with 14.5 sacks, which placed him second in the NFL. DT, David Irving despite missing a number of games finished with 7 sacks. Rookie DE, Taco Charlton showed promise towards season end finishing with 3 sacks. The Cowboys were 8th best in the NFL at stopping the run. They could even be better if they found a big run stopping tackle.


Linebackers: C Sean Lee was the Cowboys defensive, maybe even the teams MVP this season. When he played the Cowboys had a very good chance of winning, when he did they had a very good chance of losing. Lee led the team in tackles with 101, followed by fellow ‘backer Hitchens with 84. Jaylon Smith finished with 81 tackles. Against the run they were quite good. Rushing the passer and in coverage not so good, with just one sack and interception between the top three LBs.


Defensive backs: C The Cowboys went with young and inexperience in this position, and at times it showed. Veteran Jeff Heath led the team in interceptions with three of the teams total of ten. But really he is nothing more than a good special teams player, who can occasionally back up starters. Rookies Jourdan Lewis, Xavier Woods and Chidobe Awuzie all finished with one apiece. Though there were times when each was caught out, they showed potential for the future. The real down side with this position come with two players. Firstly, second year player Anthony Brown who had a very good rookie year was found wanting this season. So much so that playing time was taken away from him and given to the three rookies previously mentioned. Secondly, Byron Jones in my opinion was a major disappointment this season. In fact, I will take it a step further and say his career so far, has been a major disappointment. The third-year player was drafted with high expectations based on his athletic ability. So far, he has failed to live up to those expectations. He is too often caught out of position and fails to complete tackles.


Special teams: B Chris Jones is as solid a punter as you would find on any NFL roster. A very good directional punter. Because of injury, kicker Dan Bailey had a down season, missing his first ever extra-point attempt, which was quickly followed by his second. His field goal success average of 75 percent was way down on his career rate of 88 percent. Injuries may become a real problem for Bailey, and he needs to be watched. If he cannot rebound from injuries next season, and his form continues to struggle then the Cowboys will go shopping for a new licker. Rookie, Ryan Switzer proved quite capable at returning kicks, averaging 8.8 yds per return in punts and 25 yds on kick returns. He scored on an 83 yard punt return.

 

[DC_fan]

The Cowboys have hired former Bengals OL coach Paul Alexander to fill the same position with the team. It is basically a straight swap between the two teams as former Cowboys OL coach Frank Pollack now fills the same position with the Bengals. It will bee interesting to see who gets the best value out of these moves.

 

[Haffa]

 

[DC_fan]

I heard this yesterday. While the positions of HC, OC & DC remain the same, there is number of positional coach changes. Some like TE coach are still to be named. So their is still some work to be done in that area.

 

[Haffa]

The Clapper has had 8 years in a HC role and he's now busy studying what other teams do on offence when you're suppose to be a offence minded HC?

 

[DC_fan]

The Clapper has had 8 years in a HC role and he's now busy studying what other teams do on offence when you're suppose to be a offence minded HC?

As you would know each season brings changes to how teams play, both offensively and defensively. What Dallas is doing is no different to what teams who missed the playoffs are doing. The NFL is a copycat league. What works for the best teams gets copied by the rest. This has happened throughout the history of the NFL.

It is pretty obvious the offence had some problems this season, so changes had to be made to the playbook and philosophy. While Garrett is the head coach, and in most cases has the final say, the offensive playbook is influenced by people other then Garrett. OC Scott Linehan has a major say, as does RB coach Gary Brown. We have a new OL coach and WR coach,both of who will bring new ideas. I suspect the offence will look a little different next season and their is nothing wrong with that.

 

[DC_fan]

Byron Jones the Cowboys safety was the fastest player in the NFL this season. He was clocked at a speed of 22.11 mph in a game against the Eagles. This converts out to a 4.36 in the 40 yard dash.

https://247sports.com/nfl/dallas-co...s-fastest-player-in-the-NFL-in-2017-114145938

 

[nick87]

Haha. The clapper

Here's the skinny of it. Dak actually kind of isnt a true elite franchise QB. He's good, dont get me wrong, he's a top 15 Qb but he's not a guy you plan the offence around. He's a little Alex Smith-ish, he needs everything to be perfect. If his receivers kind of suck, or his line isn't perfect, he cant win games routinely on his arm.

Also how the f**k is Lane Johnson on that chart of fastest players. Good LOOOOORD. A man of that size moving that fast. Christ.

 

[DC_fan]

Haha. The clapper

Here's the skinny of it. Dak actually kind of isnt a true elite franchise QB. He's good, dont get me wrong, he's a top 15 Qb but he's not a guy you plan the offence around. He's a little Alex Smith-ish, he needs everything to be perfect. If his receivers kind of suck, or his line isn't perfect, he cant win games routinely on his arm.

Also how the f**k is Lane Johnson on that chart of fastest players. Good LOOOOORD. A man of that size moving that fast. Christ.

Probably took him a half an hour to build up to that speed.

As for Prescott, well you may well be right with your comments. That is why they have Elliott, and are looking to improve at WR and on the OL.

 

[Shorty]

Haha. The clapper

Here's the skinny of it. Dak actually kind of isnt a true elite franchise QB. He's good, dont get me wrong, he's a top 15 Qb but he's not a guy you plan the offence around. He's a little Alex Smith-ish, he needs everything to be perfect. If his receivers kind of suck, or his line isn't perfect, he cant win games routinely on his arm.

Also how the f**k is Lane Johnson on that chart of fastest players. Good LOOOOORD. A man of that size moving that fast. Christ.

You might be right but it's still fairly early.
It's not uncommon for new QB's to have crappy years after good debuts.
We'll see where he's at this time next year.

I don't think the controversies helped this year either.

 

[DC_fan]

February
February 20: First day for clubs to designate franchise or transition players.

February 27-March 5: NFL Scouting Combine, Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis.

March
March 6: Prior to 4:00 p.m., New York time, deadline for clubs to designate franchise or transition players.

March 12-14: Two-day legal tampering period. Teams may enter into contract negotiations with agents representing the players who will become free agents at 4:00 p.m., New York time, on March 14.

March 14: The deadline for all teams to exercise option clauses and submit offers & tenders to their 2017 RFAs & ERFAs occurs at 4 p.m. EST. All teams must be under the salary cap with their top 51 players.

March 14: The 2018 league year, free agency period, and trading period begins at 4:00 p.m., New York time.

March 25-28: Annual League Meeting, Orlando, Florida.

April
April 16: Clubs with returning head coaches may begin offseason workout programs.

April 20: Start of NFL's annual substance-abuse testing program. All players under contract with an NFL club will be tested once during the period beginning April 20 and continuing through August 9.

April 20: The deadline for Restricted Free Agents to sign offer sheets.

April 26-28: 2018 NFL Draft, AT&T Stadium, Arlington, TX. The Cowboys currently hold the 19th overall pick. In addition to their regular draft picks, the Cowboys should have an extra four compensatory draft picks in the 2018 draft.

May
May 4-7 or May 11-14: Clubs may elect to hold their one three-day post-draft rookie minicamp from Friday through Sunday or Saturday through Monday.

May 21-23: Spring League Meeting, Atlanta, Georgia.

End May - early June: Voluntary OTAs begin (veterans and rookies). Teams may conduct a total of 10 days of organized team practice activity. No live contact is permitted, but 7-on-7, 9-on-7, and 11-on-11 drills are allowed.

June
Mid-June: Mandatory Minicamp (veterans and rookies)

Late-June: Rookie Transition Program to be held at individual clubs. Attendance is mandatory for all rookies.

July
Mid-July: Clubs are permitted to open preseason training camp for rookies and first-year players beginning seven days prior to the club’s earliest permissible mandatory reporting date for veteran players.

End-July: First possible practice of training camp is 14 days prior to each team's first preseason game.

August
August 2: Hall of Fame Game, Canton, Ohio.

August 2-5: Hall of Fame Weekend, Canton, Ohio. Terrell Owens will be honored in the Class of 2018.

August 8-12: Preseason Week 1.

September
September 1: Clubs must reduce rosters to a maximum of 53 players by 4:00 p.m., New York time.

September 2: Clubs may establish a practice squad of 10 players.

September 6, 9-10: Regular season opens. The exact dates and times of each game have yet to be released, but the Cowboys’ 2018 home and road opponents are already set.

https://www.bloggingtheboys.com/201...draft-training-camp-and-other-important-dates

 

[DC_fan]

Charles Haley was surprised by Taco Charlton’s lack of football knowledge

The expectations are going to be high for Taco in his second season.

We’ve had a lot of time to digest the 2017 Dallas Cowboys season, its ups and its downs, in an effort to move on to 2018.

The first non-football Sunday is always a reminder of exactly how long the offseason can be, and the Cowboys have a lot to improve upon. One of those points could be their first-round draft choice, pass rusher Taco Charlton.

Taco may have been the least popular first-round pick by the Cowboys in quite some time, but he did have moments throughout his rookie campaign that made you understand what the Cowboys see in him. For what it’s worth, Cowboys legend Charles Haley didn’t see a lot at first either.


Haley joined ESPN San Antonio last week during Radio Row in Minnesota. If you head over to about the 5:30 mark, you can hear Haley’s thoughts on Taco Charlton.

Charles starts kindly, noting that Taco came on at the end of the season, but he then starts to peel away layer by layer. He says that Taco, similar to all first-rounders, put too much pressure on himself.

One of the first disconcerting things that Haley notes is that in his initial impression of Taco, he didn’t know if he (Taco) enjoyed playing football or was just good at it.

What’s more is that Haley says he heads out to work with the Cowboys pass rushers about once a week, admitting this is only a small glimpse, and that when he did some film study work with Taco... he was surprised at Charlton’s lack of football knowledge.

Charlton finished 2017 with three sacks on the season, and his struggles early on do lend to the idea that maybe he doesn’t have the same grasp on the subject material as his peers. Charles Haley is a five-time Super Bowl Champion, so it’s not like he has no idea of the magnitude of what he’s saying.

There were previous discussions that maybe the Cowboys could have been changing defensive coordinators from Rod Marinelli to Matt Eberflus, and while that wouldn’t have been an incredible schematic change, it is certainly helpful for Taco that what he’s learning is more of the same.

The pressure for Taco Charlton to live up to his first round draft status will be high in 2018, hopefully Charles Haley or whoever else can help him achieve it.

https://www.bloggingtheboys.com/201...ons-lack-of-football-knowledge-dallas-cowboys

These comments by Haley have to be of concern. Season 2018 may tell us a lot about the future of Charlton

 

[DC_fan]

Dallas have picked up a further 4 compensatory draft picks. One in the forth round, two in the fifth round and one in the sixth round. Which gives the team a total of ten draft picks in this years draft

 

[DC_fan]

Report: Roger Goodell expected to fine Jerry Jones millions of dollars
281
The Cowboys owner could be a lot lighter in the wallet.
By RJ Ochoa@rjochoa Feb 26, 2018, 3:15pm CSTSHARE
The Dallas Cowboys became entangled in what would be two major public storylines throughout the year in 2017. There was the suspension of Ezekiel Elliott and the impending fight, un-suspensions, re-suspensions, legal battles, throughout the first-half of the year.

Then Jerry Jones threatened to sue the NFL, Roger Goodell, and basically everyone that supported him. It was the makings of a civil war that ultimately fizzled when Goodell’s new contract was approved.

The story was seemingly over, but not really as we now see. The New York Times reported on Monday that Roger Goodell is expected to fine Jerry Jones millions of dollars for conduct detrimental to the league.

With the support of many N.F.L. owners, Commissioner Roger Goodell is prepared to escalate his public feud with Jerry Jones, the owner of the Dallas Cowboys and long one of the most influential people in the league, by fining him millions of dollars for his efforts to derail negotiations to renew Goodell’s contract and for his outspoken defense of a star player who was suspended, according to five league officials with direct knowledge of the situation.

Immediately one starts to wonder who the NFL owners are that are supporting Roger Goodell in this cause, but then one remembers Goodell has had support in this fight all along. The “all along” in question is a great length of time that covered many a battle in court, all of which Jerry Jones is going to be expected to pick up the tab for.

Jones will be ordered to pay the legal fees that the committee incurred defending itself, as well as the legal expenses the N.F.L. spent defending its decision to suspend Elliott.

The HBO classic The Wire is famous for birthing the “You come at the king, you best not miss” line, and that’s what this drips of. Jerry Jones took a swing at Roger Goodell throughout the 2017 season (when Goodell was vulnerable with protest issues circling the league), Goodell survived, Goodell got stronger, and Roger is now raining down on Jerry with all sorts of ammunition.

It seemed like the whole saga was over when Elliott accepted his suspension the week that the Cowboys traveled to face the Atlanta Falcons (Jerry and Falcons owner Arthur Blank, who’s on the compensation committee Jerry attacked, infamously avoided each other) the week that their season broke. Apparently, Roger Goodell was not done.

At this point neither the NFL nor the Cowboys are commenting on this report. The fallout won’t be fully known until something official is presented by the NFL, and then we’ll have to see Jerry’s response.

https://www.bloggingtheboys.com/201...ons-of-dollars-dallas-cowboys-ezekiel-elliott

It will be interesting to see what happens here. Jerry doesn't give in easily.

 

[DC_fan]

After failing to reach a longterm agreement, the Dallas Cowboys have placed the franchise tag on defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence. The one-year contract guarantees Lawrence $17.143 million for season 2018.

 

[DC_fan]

Jason Witten has officially retired, and will become a commentator with ESPN.
Jason thank you for the past 15 years of great service. The HOF awaits you.