Randall Cobb - a Cowboys 'pain in the ass' - set to face former Packers pals
FRISCO - The impact that Randall Cobb has had on Packers vs. Cowboys games over the years is such that it motivated Dallas coach Jason Garrett to cuss about it.
to signing former Packer Randall Cobb as a free agent?
There was "not a specific play,” Garrett said on Wednesday when asked to pinpoint the reasons for Dallas' offseason signing of the accomplished slot receiver. “But just the understanding he’s a pain in the ass.''
Garrett - who really does cuss, like a normal person, just not often in front of the microphone - can be excused for the enthusiastic profanity here. The coach's point, simply, is ...
"He was always in the game,'' Garrett said, "making the play.”
Cobb, who faced the Cowboys four times as a member of the Packers and averaged 6.8 catches and 69.8 receiving yards per contest, understands the nature of the compliment. He also knew that eventually, the media would corral him for Packers-Cowboys talk as it relates to Dez Bryant’s fourth-down catch being overturned in the 2014 playoffs.
“I was waiting on that (Dez Caught It question,” Cobb said, laughing. “I’ve been getting that a lot since I’ve been here. We didn’t know what the rules were back then. It’s probably a catch nowadays.”
On Sunday, Cobb will attempt to be a pain in the ass of his former team as the Cowboys play host to the Packers in a matchup of two of the NFL’s marquee franchises.
Green Bay didn't make Cobb an offer when he reached free agency in March; its simple believe was that injuries were starting to take their toll on the 5-10, 195-pound receiver, who turned 29 this summer. ... and that his spectacular 91-catch, 12-touchdown season in 2014 was well behind him.
Dallas did not hesitate in saying goodbye to trusty but pricy Cole Beasley (who signed with Buffalo) and replacing him Cobb on a one-year, $5 million deal.
“Randall Cobb is someone that we have been trying to cover for seven or eight years now,” Garrett said recently. “He had such a big impact on what they were doing up in Green Bay, they used him a lot of different ways. Inside, outside, they handed him the ball, he lined up in the backfield.
“Just a lot of that versatility we feel like can have an impact on our offense. From afar, you feel like you know guys, and he struck me as someone who was just a real pro. Knew the game, understood the game, played with great poise.”
photo art courtesy of ClutchPoints
Indeed, Cobb has proven to be a high-FBIQ guy and productive, too, as through four games he has 14 catches for 157 yards and one touchdown. He and the Dallas offense didn't play at a high-enough level in a loss at New Orleans last Sunday, dropping the Cowboys to 3-1, same record as his old Packers team.
But fellow receiver Amari Cooper is getting healthier and fellow receiver Michael Gallup plans on coming back. This can all be great for Dallas while also be a little confounding for Cobb's old pals, as one of them conceded on Wednesday.
Said Green Bay QB Aaron Rodgers, a good friend of Cobb's: "“It will be strange to see him.''
And it might even be a pain in the ass.
