ClappingCarrot
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Not a stellar week of content in a sense, but I have a feeling that things will heat up in the next week or so. At any rate, here is a recap of this week's segment of Whispers from the Star.
1. Randy Gregory has been in the Dallas news this week for some public comments that he made about the league on Twitter as it relates to his pending reinstatement. JJT has talked to several people on the team and they've said that while he's been good in the aftercare program, he has not been perfect. He has had some mishaps along the way, and while that could be what is taking his reinstatement so long, many associated with the team and the situation do not think that's the case. There were questions awhile ago about where his head was at and about his desire to continue to play football, so JJT seems to think that is the reason why the NFL is dragging their feet. COVID certainly did him no favors.
2. LVE made the news yesterday discussing his move to middle linebacker, where he played a lot as a rookie. Why? He's terrific in coverage. Two years ago he had two interceptions and seven pass deflections. The other reason is he has outstanding speed for a linebacker of his size. He's also a better tackler than Jaylon Smith. When he is healthy, he is the best tackler on the team, and it's not even close. It will also put Jaylon Smith in a better position to succeed as well, as the Cowboys presumably want to get him more involved in the pass rush. New DC and new scheme means new assignments, and LVE is getting moved simply because he can do a lot of things that Jaylon cannot. Kind of funny to me personally, because I remember JJT saying back in February or March that Jaylon would not be contributing to pass rush because he 'ain't that dude.' Guess we'll find out in about five weeks.
3. Why is Everson Griffen still on the street and why aren't the Cowboys interested? He wants that paper, in the words of JJT. Griffen got a nice extension from Minnesota a few years ago and opted out of it, with three years left. He took a look at it and opted out because he wanted more money. He wants that Clowney money. But the problem there, as JJT noted, is that even Clowney isn't getting Clowney money. If the Cowboys were in the market for a high priced DE, they would've had no issues making a deal with Robert Quinn. Griffen and/or Clowney would have to come down below 10M for Dallas to even flirt with them. There are also numerous questions about the state of Griffen's mental health. The dude has had some issues over the years, culminating in an incident at the Hotel Ivy, where he threatened to shoot someone. Although he had no issues last season, COVID has complicated the ability for him to meet with team representatives. He can tell teams that he's good mentally, but he can't show them. I kind of rolled my eyes at this notion, because that's never stopped Jerry before, but hey - maybe McCarthy and Stephen are the new sheriffs in town.
4. JJT asked a source who the most underrated player was on the defense. Matt guessed that it was Xavier Woods because the team is, for whatever reason, so high on him. The answer was actually surprising, and the source indicated that it was Anthony Brown. Even though he only has four interceptions, he has a nice ability to be around the ball, he's fast, they utilize him in the corner blitz (where he's racked up 3 sacks), and he is a key contributor on special teams as well. He's not their best defender by any stretch of the imagination, but was the most underrated, according to the source.
And that's all I got today, folks.
Happy Friday
1. Randy Gregory has been in the Dallas news this week for some public comments that he made about the league on Twitter as it relates to his pending reinstatement. JJT has talked to several people on the team and they've said that while he's been good in the aftercare program, he has not been perfect. He has had some mishaps along the way, and while that could be what is taking his reinstatement so long, many associated with the team and the situation do not think that's the case. There were questions awhile ago about where his head was at and about his desire to continue to play football, so JJT seems to think that is the reason why the NFL is dragging their feet. COVID certainly did him no favors.
2. LVE made the news yesterday discussing his move to middle linebacker, where he played a lot as a rookie. Why? He's terrific in coverage. Two years ago he had two interceptions and seven pass deflections. The other reason is he has outstanding speed for a linebacker of his size. He's also a better tackler than Jaylon Smith. When he is healthy, he is the best tackler on the team, and it's not even close. It will also put Jaylon Smith in a better position to succeed as well, as the Cowboys presumably want to get him more involved in the pass rush. New DC and new scheme means new assignments, and LVE is getting moved simply because he can do a lot of things that Jaylon cannot. Kind of funny to me personally, because I remember JJT saying back in February or March that Jaylon would not be contributing to pass rush because he 'ain't that dude.' Guess we'll find out in about five weeks.
3. Why is Everson Griffen still on the street and why aren't the Cowboys interested? He wants that paper, in the words of JJT. Griffen got a nice extension from Minnesota a few years ago and opted out of it, with three years left. He took a look at it and opted out because he wanted more money. He wants that Clowney money. But the problem there, as JJT noted, is that even Clowney isn't getting Clowney money. If the Cowboys were in the market for a high priced DE, they would've had no issues making a deal with Robert Quinn. Griffen and/or Clowney would have to come down below 10M for Dallas to even flirt with them. There are also numerous questions about the state of Griffen's mental health. The dude has had some issues over the years, culminating in an incident at the Hotel Ivy, where he threatened to shoot someone. Although he had no issues last season, COVID has complicated the ability for him to meet with team representatives. He can tell teams that he's good mentally, but he can't show them. I kind of rolled my eyes at this notion, because that's never stopped Jerry before, but hey - maybe McCarthy and Stephen are the new sheriffs in town.
4. JJT asked a source who the most underrated player was on the defense. Matt guessed that it was Xavier Woods because the team is, for whatever reason, so high on him. The answer was actually surprising, and the source indicated that it was Anthony Brown. Even though he only has four interceptions, he has a nice ability to be around the ball, he's fast, they utilize him in the corner blitz (where he's racked up 3 sacks), and he is a key contributor on special teams as well. He's not their best defender by any stretch of the imagination, but was the most underrated, according to the source.
And that's all I got today, folks.
Happy Friday
