NewsBot
New Member
- Messages
- 111,281
- Reaction score
- 2,947
The latest news concerning the Cowboys...
Checking on the latest for the ‘Boys...
Cowboys’ Ryan Switzer scores All-Rookie honors as kick returner - Staff, DMN
Ryan Switzer was drafted in part to add some electricity to the Cowboys return game. Despite one huge fumble and some bad decisions on occasion, Switzer did just that. He had one punt return for a touchdown and was a consistent kick return guy. It was for that, returning kickoffs, that he was honored by the Pro Football Writers Association.
Cowboys rookie Ryan Switzer earned some end-of-season honors Tuesday when he was named an All-Rookie kick returner by the Pro Football Writers Association.
... on special teams, he racked up 600 yards on 24 kickoffs returns. He also had 256 yards and a touchdown on 29 punt returns.
It was a very promising start on special teams. Switzer wants more, though, and many Cowboys fans agree.
“I’m not just a returner,” Switzer said. “I’m a receiver as well. I did that fairly well at Carolina, and I know that can translate here.”
Lawrence, Martin, Switzer Recognized By Pro Football Writers Of America - Rob Phillips, The Mothership
Also, honored recently were Zack Martin and DeMarcus Lawrence.
DeMarcus Lawrence and Zack Martin have already been named to the Pro Bowl and the AP All-Pro second team. They’ve also been recognized the Professional Football Writers of America.
Martin was named to the PFWA’s All-NFL first team, and Lawrence made its All-NFC team.
After a back injury limited Lawrence to just nine games in 2016, he started all 16 games this season and post career-high 14.5 sacks tied for second in the NFL.
This is Martin’s third consecutive selection by the PFWA since entering the league as the Cowboys’ first-round pick in 2014. He recently had a clean-up procedure on his elbow but should be ready for the offseason program.
Challenge awaits Cowboys as they look to replace Matt Eberflus - Todd Archer, ESPN
It’s all but official that Matt Eberflus will be leaving the Cowboys to join Josh McDaniels as defensive coordinator for the Colts. The Cowboys tried to keep him, but it looks like he had too much respect for Rod Marinelli to take his job from him, or maybe he just wanted a fresh start.
Eberflus’ contract expired after the season. The Cowboys wanted to keep him, but his desire to become a coordinator and his respect for Rod Marinelli was too much for the Cowboys to overcome.
According to sources, the Cowboys were willing to make Eberflus the coordinator and promote Marinelli to an assistant head coach role, but Eberflus did not want step on the toes of Marinelli, who helped teach him the finer points of the 4-3 scheme in 2014.
You can’t blame a guy for wanting to strike out and create his own thing. He’ll be missed.
Are the Cowboys about to watch another Mike Zimmer get away in Matt Eberflus? - RJ Ochoa, BTB
The Eberflus story bears an eerie resemblance to another Cowboys defensive coach who moved on.
11 years after watching Zimmer walk away, Dallas is at the very least flirting with a similar mistake. Defensive assistant coach Matt Eberflus (linebackers and passing game coordinator) is all but officially headed to Indianapolis to serve as their defensive coordinator.
There’s obviously a chance that nothing comes of all this and that Dallas doesn’t ever regret the move to let Eberflus walk, but looking at the Matt Eberflus situation feels lot like looking at the Mike Zimmer one.
Maybe the Cowboys could have done something to keep him, but short of Marinelli outright retiring, it looks like Eberflus was moving on anyway. Even if Marinelli had retired, he might not have stayed. Maybe it just wasn’t in the cards for the Cowboys to keep him.
Ranking the Dallas Cowboys’ roster: Nos. 40-31 - Jon Macota, DMN
You can have fun reviewing a ranking of the roster, something many outlets do each offseason. Our own DannyPhantom did one before the season. First-round pick Taco Charlton was on the list of 10 players reviewed today. His ranking is not exactly where you’d want your first-round pick to be.
32.) Taco Charlton, DE
The first-round pick didn’t make a huge impact during his rookie season, but he did improve as the year went along. He finished with 19 tackles, three sacks and seven quarterback hits. He has the ability to quickly climb into the top 20 if he continues to progress.
Reviewing the rookies: Taco Charlton improved as season progressed - Cole Patterson, BTB
As our own Cole Patterson noted in his Taco review, his numbers this season weren’t overwhelming, but his trajectory at the end of the year was up.
Over the last seven games of his first season in the NFL, the rookie out of Michigan totaled 12 total tackles, 10 solo tackles, and two of his three sacks on the year — one of which was a strip-sack on Kirk Cousins on Thursday Night Football.
While they are not video game numbers, it was nice to see the 28th overall selection begin to show some production. His confidence was at an all-time high, he started to use his hands when battling an offensive tackle (as opposed to just using his spin move), and he began to make a little bit of an impact for the Cowboys’ defense.
CAN RICO GATHERS MAKE COWBOYS OFFENSE MORE “DAK-FRIENDLY”? - Brian Martin, Inside The Star
We’ve spent a lot of time talking about making the Cowboys offense Dak-friendly. One way would be to simply add weapons. And the Cowboys already have one player that just might be able to help.
That’s why I think Rico Gathers could be a difference maker in 2018, especially for Dak Prescott.
Prescott needs more than an outlet receiver at the TE position. No offense to Jason Witten, but that’s pretty much what he has become at this point in his career.
Rico Gathers on the other hand is not only different from Witten, but also provides a different skill set than any other TE on the Cowboys roster. He’s a big target with athleticism, who cannot only move the chains, but stretch the field and break tackles in the open field.
Gathers’ sheer size alone creates mismatch problems against smaller defensive backs and linebackers, but his athleticism should allow him to create separation, something which fits into what Prescott needs from his receivers.
No argument there.
Dallas Cowboys: Are injuries really an excuse for Jason Garrett? - Daniel Ruppert, Sport DFW
One of the things that I’ve read but disagreed with since the season ended is the idea that the Cowboy passing game woes can be attributed mainly to injury/suspensions. The Cowboys didn’t really lose a crazy number of games from key players. If Dallas, as a team, is so fragile they can’t overcome some adversity, then they will likely never succeed as currently constructed. Here’s an article in agreement with that theory.
One of the things many state in defense of Jason Garrett, has been injuries to key players. However, looking at the Vikings and the Eagles, are injuries really the reason Garrett hasn’t been successful? Maybe, but these two teams did not let injuries to very key players be the reason they didn’t win.
Good coaches and coaching staffs adjust for players being injured. The Vikings had to adjust their entire offense because Case Keenum is simply not Sam Bradford. They are two totally different players. Mike Zimmer (who was once a Cowboys coach) had to adjust to the injury and play to the strengths of Keenum.
Preach.
Drew Pearson throws some shade at Dez Bryant during restaurant opening - Stefan Stevenson, Star-Telegram
Drew Pearson giveth (trolling the Eagles at the draft). Drew Pearson taketh (trolling Dez Bryant yesterday).
The Cowboys’ “Original 88” took a lighthearted shot at receiver Dez Bryant during the grand opening of Drew Pearson’s Sports 88 on Monday by Gate 5 in Terminal E.
Instead of a ribbon-cutting, Pearson caught a pass. Before making the catch, Pearson said “We know one thing, the original 88 won’t drop it.”
Continue reading...