Cowboys 1st & 10: Title Talk? Prove It - Top 10 Notes From The Star
FRISCO - Coach McCarthy says 'we're here to win a championship.' We've heard that before. So ... Dallas Cowboys 1st & 10: Title talk? Prove it - Plus Top 10 notes from The Star ...
1) PROVE IT “We're in this to win a championship. Make no bones about it.”
Well, I’m so glad we have that cleared up. I was worried Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy was in this to be, you know, just a playoff team.
McCarthy said that on Friday as part of a larger quote about his expectations for the Cowboys in 2020, even in the wake of a COVID-19 pandemic that has eliminated the preseason and forced NFL teams to have training camps at their own facilities.
To be fair, McCarthy called the whole “Super Bowl or Bust” thing nonsense, saying that everyone in the NFL is out to do the same thing.
No 'Nonsense - Super Bowl Is Cowboys Goal,' Says McCarthy
He knows this. We know this. Everyone knows this. This is the NFL. Every NFL facility could be on fire at the same time and the goal would STILL be to get to the Super Bowl once the fire is put out.
So why ask the question, then? Honestly, those of us who are in the media and get the chance to ask these questions are waiting for that ONE coach that says, “Yeah, you know we’d be happy just to have a winning season.”
Now, THAT would be news.
What McCarthy said on Friday isn’t news (even though we all reported it because, well, that’s our job). It’s just how it is in the “what have you done for me lately” NFL.
Perhaps the better question is, “Coach, do you have the tools you need to win a Super Bowl?” And just about every NFL team can say that at this time of the year.
The NFL is built in a way in which every team does have a chance to be a champion. Unlike baseball, basketball and hockey, where there are always a few teams that are just plain bad, you know they’re going to be bad and they live up to that expectation that season, the NFL features one-year turnarounds that can sometimes reach the promised land (see the St. Louis Rams).
McCarthy, however, didn’t inherit a bad team. Quite the contrary. He inherited a team that in the past six seasons had four winning seasons, three division titles and just one season below .500. He taking over a group of tools that needs to be guided toward the next step. So, of course the goal is not JUST getting past the divisional playoffs, something the Cowboys haven’t done since the 1990s. Of course the goal is to end up in Tampa this February for the Super Bowl. Of course the goal is to win it. And McCarthy has the tools to do it.
Plus, McCarthy works for Jerry Jones, who, whether his team is coming off a 4-12 season or an 12-4 season, has expectations higher than any of the yields for any of the oil fields he drilled on his youth. Jerry Jones is 77 years old. His window to celebrate one more title is closing. The window is open for this team to win a championship.
Then, there are Cowboys fans. And you know how they are (I kid, I kid. But seriously some of you on Twitter are crazy).
And, know that McCarthy’s predecessor, Jason Garrett, said basically the same thing every season (even though, good lord, try pinning him down to some specific language, why don’t you?). And, of course, you saw what happened.
McCarthy is here to win a championship. He knows it. Jerry knows. We all know it.
So, let’s dispense with that ‘what are we in this for?’ talk and understand that what Cowboys fans are REALLY asking for this season is for everyone — Jones and McCarthy on down — to PROVE it.
And there is only one way to prove it and we all know what that ‘one’ way is.
2) MCCOY OUT, SO WHAT’S NEXT?
Gerald McCoy’s quad tendon tear ended his 2020 season before it even started, and served as the first major injury for the Dallas Cowboys this training camp. And shortly after McCoy went to social media to thank Cowboys fans before his surgery, the Cowboys released him as a cost-savings measure for the 2020 season. But our Mike Fisher noted that both sides would be open to McCoy returning in 2021 (though, frankly, I have to wonder why McCoy would want to come back after that).
Head coach Mike McCarthy was ‘sick’ about the injury, but McCarthy had to move on fast because the Cowboys had to figure out how things would shake out without McCoy.
Fisher broke down whether Cowboys veteran Tyrone Crawford might be the lineman that benefits most from the absence of McCoy. The Cowboys made some roster moves in the wake of the injury. And they worked to bolster their overall defensive line by signing former Pro Bowl selection Everson Griffen.
In other words, the Cowboys feel, at least right now, that they have the depth to handle the loss, although they would rather have McCoy on the field.
3) DREW PEARSON WILL (MOST LIKELY) BE A HALL OF FAMER
Earlier this week the Pro Football Hall of Fame started laying the groundwork for its Class of 2021. That usually starts with the announcement of the senior nominees, of which there are usually one or two players or coaches that are presented for a vote at the following year’s Super Bowl.
Well, this year there is just one senior nominee — Cowboys wide receiver Drew Pearson.
Our Mike Fisher wrote about Pearson’s nomination after the announcement. And I’ve written in this space that Pearson should already be in the Hall of Fame, considering he’s a member of the NFL’s Team of the 1970s. The vast majority of those players are already in, and one of the few that aren’t, Cowboys safety Cliff Harris, will be inducted as part of the NFL’s Centennial Class.
Pearson should have been a part of that class but was passed over, something that caused a great deal of heartbreak for Pearson and his family earlier this year.
To be clear, this doesn’t mean that Pearson is automatically getting into Canton. However, since the Pro Football Hall of Fame started considering two seniors candidates back in 2004, 24 of the 29 seniors finalists have been voted into the Hall. That includes a pair of former Cowboys — wide receiver Bob Hayes and offensive lineman Rayfield Wright. It should also be pointed out that Hayes failed to make the Hall as a seniors finalist in 2004 before finally getting in the Hall in 2009.
But, the odds are with Pearson on this one. Cowboys fans everywhere have their fingers crossed.
4) THIS WEEK AT TRAINING CAMP
On Monday, Mike Fisher had a story about Blake Jarwin’s hope to be a big part of the Cowboys’ offense in 2020, and why the heir to Jason Witten won’t accept any Witten slander.
We’ve heard this song-and-dance before — Cowboys offensive creativity. Seems like the last head coach promised that and, in the opinion of some, didn’t deliver. Head coach Mike McCarthy seems to be teasing something like that, opening up the possibility that running backs Ezekiel Elliot and Tony Pollard could be on the field at the same time this season.
Plus, we visited with Cowboys backup quarterback Andy Dalton about a variety of topics related to the Cowboys, including his mantra for backing up Dak Prescott — “I just want to help.”
We wrapped up the day with a Q&A with McCarthy and the idea that Elliott is “juiced” about this season and the new head coach (that means excited).
On Tuesday, McCarthy talked about his receivers and the idea that Michael Gallup was a “No. 1 receiver.” Our Mike Fisher pointed out that McCarthy wasn’t saying that Gallup is the “No. 1 receiver.” He was pointing out that Gallup has that capability and skill set. Turns out McCarthy thinks the same thing about Amari Cooper and first-round pick CeeDee Lamb. Fish has more here.
On Wednesday, Fish has the details on injuries and roster moves, while McCarthy and his offensive coordinator, Kellen Moore (remember him?) talked about what play-calling could look like this year.
On Thursday the coordinators took center stage, as Moore, defensive coordinator Mike Nolan and special teams coordinator ‘Bones’ Fassel talked about the Cowboys to this point in training camp. Fisher had the update on the minor car accident involving offensive lineman La’el Collins and the minor hamstring injury that sent offensive lineman Tyron Smith off the practice field.
On Friday Fassel talked more about special teams, including those four traits that he believes makes any Cowboys player a great special teams player. Jerry Jones called Tyrone Crawford a ‘bad boy’ (you’ll have to read the story to find out why). But it left Jones optimistic that Crawford can help fill the hole left by the injury to Gerald McCoy. And the camp notebook leads with a game of ‘Jeopardy,’ no Alex Trebek included.
And Fish shared DallasCowboys.com having captured some great video of first-round pick CeeDee Lamb doing first-round draft pick-type things.
5) COWBOYS BLITZCAST: TRANSLATING MCCARTHY AND ‘THE ROCK’
As we wait for the next Cowboys Blitzcast podcast to drop, we look back at their most recent pod, as the hosts talk about translating the language of head coach Mike McCarthy and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s purchase of the XFL.
6) PLANNING AHEAD FOR DAK?
One thing the Dallas Cowboys have gotten much better at in recent years is planning ahead, especially from a salary cap standpoint. The fact that Cowboys COO Stephen Jones, and not his father, Jerry, is now in charge of the cap does not make that fact a coincidence. Stephen is not the emotional decision-maker that Jerry has always been, and when you’re talking about dollars and cents, that’s a good thing.
So doing a restructure of offensive lineman Tyron Smith’s contract, which our Mike Fisher wrote about on Saturday morning, makes sense, especially when viewed through the prism of Dak Prescott and what will certainly be a contentious negotiation next spring to get him into a long-term deal (and by contentious I don’t necessarily mean that it will be mean-spirited, only that there will be a lot of back and forth between both sides).
Fish wrote about the cap savings, how it can help the Cowboys in 2020 and 2021 and why it’s not your typical “kick the can down the road” financial move.
7) SMITH’S EARLY RETURNS
If the first week of training camp were an election, then Aldon Smith would be president of the Dallas Cowboys right now.
The early returns on the defensive end are in and, frankly, the Cowboys seem elated with his progress in the first week of training camp, says Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy:
“’Hey, the who hell is No. 58?’ That (would be) my thought (if I were new here) ... He looks good. He’s hitting all the targets. You can see his power, his length is extraordinary. I’m very, very happy with where Aldon is right now. … He’s impressive.”
Mike Fisher wrote in-depth about what the Cowboys are saying about the former Pro Bowl defensive end, what Smith is saying about himself and a reminder of where Smith was just a short time ago.
Quite frankly, Smith could be the biggest bargain in the NFL this season, especially if he produces at the level he was at before his off-the-field issues began (42 sacks in his first 43 games). Don’t believe me? Then believe Fish.
8) DAK’S BACKYARD IS BETTER THAN YOURS
From Mike Fisher:
Dak Prescott is the proud new owner of a lovely home in Prosper, just a couple of deep throws away from Dallas Cowboys team headquarters at The Star in Frisco. The house has everything — now even a recently-installed backyard football field.
"I started working on it during quarantine, but obviously it's not a thing that just happens fast,'' said Dak of the 60-yard-long feature. "I'm a guy that kinda likes to work in the dark, I guess you could say.''
Dude even has his own logo at mid-field. Seriously, as Jori Epstein of USA Today reports (photo via Dak's social media accounts).
9) WHITT'S END: THE COWBOYS’ BEST-EVER HUDDLE; MAJOR DFW RADIO CHANGE
The best huddle in Dallas Cowboys’ history? No offense to today's roster as it works toward a big goal with what many think is a loaded group. Lotsa talk no action.
Even linebacker Jaylon Smith says, "It's been too long.''
Meaning, "too long'' since Dallas has truly been great.
But ... and again, no offense to Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, Larry Allen and Michael Irvin (four Hall-of-Famers on offense) dominating in the ’90s. "Best-team-ever'' status has long been thought to be merited there.
But ... the best huddle ever?
The ’71 offensive signals were shared by five future Hall-of-Famers: Roger Staubach, Hayes, Rayfield Wright, Mike Ditka and Lance Alworth.
Read Whitt’s End by clicking here.
10) TWEET OF THE WEEK
Wanna talk Cowboys? Hit up Postins on Twitter at @PostinsPostcard and Mike Fisher on Twitter @FishSports
