tukafan21

Throwing a go-route does nothing to help Bryce and T-Mac get on the same page with each other, as that's essentially just run as fast as you can and throw it as far as you can and hope he can get under it for the catch. They can do that in practice all day and it's pretty much the equivalent to a preseason game. But throwing the fade, to work on beating the defender, making a throw in live action to where only T-Mac has the chance to get it, that's something that isn't as easily replicated in a practice situation. I think there will be plenty of times this year that T-Mac gets 1 on 1 coverage without safety help over the top and they audible at the line for a go-route with Bryce throwing a jump ball for T-Mac to go up and make the catch over the defender like he did countless times in college. But throwing the fade here in Week 1 of the pre-season was 100% the right decision for what we needed to get out of the game.

I think this is a big leap to make based on a preseason game where our two best players weren't even suited up. In the same way offenses won't run their best plays in the preseason because they don't want to put them on tape for opponents to study, defenses also tend to run very generic play calls to not give away their schemes they plan on using that season as well. Missed tackles are either on the individual players or their position coaches who should be coaching them up in that area, not the DC who is more of the scheme coach. I'm not absolving Evero, especially after last year, but just saying you really can't judge coordinator schemes based on the preseason, they purposefully run vanilla stuff which is usually going to create some poor plays.

Yea, that sack was either on Bryce for not getting rid of it or just a well played by the Browns DE, whichever way you want to view it, but it certainly wasn't on the OL. Someone got beat in the middle of the line on a strong bull rush, but Bryce stepped up into the pocket well to avoid it. The DE that was rushing against Ickey ended up getting the sack, but there really isn't anything an OT can do when they pass block perfectly, keep their man at bay, and then the defender turns to run back towards the LOS to chase the QB because they took off running. Literally the only way for the OT to stop that is to grab and hold the DE, so in no way would that be a sack on Ickey.

The one in the Endzone probably was a drop by it's definition, but in reality, that was just a rookie in his first game not quite yet on the exact same page as his QB on a timing route. Bryce had an absolute perfectly timed pass, he threw it before T-Mac even made his shake move at the top of the route, let alone before he was even starting to turn. That ball was on him the second he turned his head, and sure, it's one you still hope he catches, but in his first ever game and still getting that timing down with his QB, I don't really view it as a "drop" as much as just not a completed pass. The other was one that again, would have been nice to see him catch it, but he was hit by multiple defenders basically simultaneously as the ball getting to him, would have been a tough catch for anyone. I was actually impressed with what T-Mac did AFTER the dropped TD pass. I don't think I've ever seen a player go and get the ball from behind the end zone after a dropped pass like that. It was like he was upset at himself for not catching it and wanted to get the football in his hands before the next play. He was holding himself accountable before any teammate or coach could say anything, LOVED seeing it.

Pickens has 2,800 yards and 12 TDs in 3 seasons Sure, I’ll give you that he has an obscene amount of talent and potential, but at some point you have to look at the production and realize he’s just a good, but not great, player. Lamb is a Top 5 WR, pbviosuly, but Pickens probably doesn’t crack the Top 25 right now.

What?!?! Prime Smitty and Moose >>>>> Lamb and Pickens

How does trading multiple firsts for Parsons and giving him a massive contract do anything to solve our MLB problem?!?!

Can only fill so many holes in one offseason, this was just the last one in the priority order, it is what it is. Also always likely to end up seeing some vets be cap casualties towards the end of camp, likely will be able to find someone before week 1 to sign

I wasn't a fan of that either, probably for the same reason they didn't like it. They were an amazing duo, but they weren't like some of the others in league history where they were polar opposite type of players and things like Thunder and Lighting made more sense (like CJ2K and Lendale). Yea, Stew was certainly more physical than Deangelo, but he had plenty of speed himself. And it's not like Deangelo was just a pure speedster himself either.

Because we had too many holes still to fill and if you do that, then you HAVE to carry 3 QB's on the active roster or you wasted the pick. As it is, all our draft picks this year are likely to make the 53 I think, and if Bryce goes down and/or doesn't show improvement, it's another lost season and we'll need to draft, trade, sign a new QB in the offseason, not hope a 5th or 6th round pick from this year turns into something legitimate. If Bryce improves and shows to be the guy of the future, then you take a QB in the mid rounds next year with the hope that they can be a solid backup for the 4 years of their rookie contract.

Seeing this catch by T-Mac actually made me realize how much these rain practices are actually a good thing for this team, but more particularly, for T-Mac himself. Arizona has the most days of sunshine per year in the country, he likely doesn't have a ton of practice time catching in the rain, which unfortunately takes one of his biggest strengths and turns it into a borderline weakness. It's difficult to be a pure hands catcher in these kinds of conditions, it's what stood out in this clip so much to me, it's really rare to see him darn near cradle the ball into his body, especially on such a short/easy route like this one.

No player who will get significant playing time this season will play more than a series or two, with the odds that anyone who plays for us from the 2nd quarter on being a player who likely won't ever see meaningful snaps this year. So winning/losing really doesn't matter, it's all about how the starters look and then the overall mindset and attitude of the team, scoreboard is meaningless in this.

Well two things wrong here First, they weren't Thunder and Lightning, they were Double Trouble. And second, if they were Thunder and Lightning, Stew would absolutely have been the Thunder as he was a much more physical runner than Deangelo was.

I can't see how a 30 year old Moore is kept over Horn or Coker who could be here long term and both being better WRs than Moore is too. Then if it's Moore vs Thielen and Renfrow, it also just doesn't seem like his special teams contributions would get him a roster spot over either of them in the end either. Moore is only making the team if we keep 7 WRs or someone else goes down in camp/pre-season (knock on wood)

What the hell else is he going to say to not infuriate the fan base right now and/or screw himself in negotiations either with Parsons or other teams? Taking that at face value is basically the equivalent to thinking the stripper really likes you.

Hendrickson will turn 31 during the season with 1 year left on his deal and he knows the Bengals aren't going to tag him. He wanted guaranteed money past this season, but in the end, he gains nothing from actually holding out into the season, push comes to shove for him, you play the one year left and then hit FA next year after hopefully a good season. Parsons just turned 26 and the Cowboys can control him for 2 more seasons after this one through the franchise tag, plus playing only risks injury before he signs what is likely going to end up being the biggest non QB contract in league history. They're not remotely the same thing.

So one game just gets cancelled? That would really put a mighty big asterisk on a perfect season

This was one of the things I was always saying pre-draft, that his floor is like 20-25th best WR in the league if he never improves from what he already is with his size, hands, and catch radius. But his ceiling if he puts it all together is a yearly Top 10 WR who will legitimately be in discussion as a top 5 WR as well. This is why he was always the pick for me, you can't get WRs like that in FA, you have to draft them or give up a stupid amount of draft capital in a trade and then give them a huge contract on top, like Tyreek with the Dolphins.

Maybe, maybe not, because really, he's getting a massive bag no matter he signs his next contract, so if he just flat out insists that he won't play for the Cowboys again and he holds firm on it, they will eventually cave, he holds all the power in this one given his age and status in the game. If Jones hadn't taken shots at Parsons recently, I'd probably be more inclined to think this was just posturing and he'll end up signing an extension with them. But he did, and Parsons seems legitimately upset by it, it's not an insignificant factor in all this.

I think the odds of Dallas trading Parsons is a lot higher than you're assuming here. This isn't a McLaurin situation, a really good player who has probably a few years of high level play left and is probably around 15th-ish best at his position. This is maybe the best edge rusher in the league who just turned 26 Dallas can't really just let him sit out, if he flat out refuses to play for them again (which very well may be the case as he sounds totally done with them), they're going to have to trade him in the end, he's too big of an asset to let sit and lose out on the return he can get them.

This offseason has me like....

The Cowboys literally had him in their building and didn't make him a full time pass rusher until mid-season when their DL was crushed by injuries. Not saying he wouldn't have rushed the passer in situations, but he likely would have been an off ball LB on every other team, as that's even where the Cowboys put him.

Seems very possible that Thielen could end up being the odd man out of the WR rotation this year and I think we may end up trading him. If Renfrow proves to be just as, if not more, effective as a possession WR out of the slot, then there really isn't a role for Thielen. As he isn't at all an outside WR these days, Horn is going to be the speedster in the slot, and then we have T-Mac/XL/Coker who can all play outside or slide into the slot and likely will be rotating who lines up where all year. If he's going to be our #6 in that sense, find a WR needy team at the end of camp and try and flip him for a MLB if possible, he's gotta be useful to a contending team who needs a steady presence and sure hands in the slot (Buffalo?). I'd love to have him around to mentor T-Mac/XL/Coker, but there's also no reason that can't be Renfrow either and we badly need a MLB or even another CB, much more than we need a 6th WR.

Sorry, but that's just a terrible way of looking at it, for a couple reasons. First is that if we drafted Parsons, or hell, if ANY other team drafted him, the odds are that he wouldn't be viewed as possibly the best pass rusher in the league right now. He was drafted by the Cowboys to be an ILB and the majority of draft experts viewed him as such as well, who could situationally pass rush. The only reason the Cowboys ended up putting him at DE that year was because of how many injuries they had on the DL. So more than likely, any other team drafts him that year and he plays more LB than pass rusher and is a totally different player than he is today. He ended up in a situation that forced him into a role he never would have had as a rookie and it completely changed the trajectory of his career. Beyond that, even if you want to go with the assumption that he is the same player he is today even if we drafted him. Then the overwhelming odds are that we are a better and completely different team right now, because we'd have had him on the edge the last few years causing havoc. It would be the person going back in time, stepping on a butterfly and changing history, who knows where we'd be, but we'd likely have been a better team the last few years and thus paying him that money wouldn't be dumb. The combination of what it would cost to give up to get him, plus the cap space that could be used elsewhere, is not worth it for one player with where we currently are as a franchise this year. Adding Parsons doesn't make us a contender, it probably still only makes us a borderline playoff team this year and then we don't have the high draft picks or cap space next offseason to continue to properly build around him more. It would be the Bears and Khalil Mack situation all over again, they blew their wad on that trade/contract and couldn't build around it. Any team that isn't a title contender THIS season with Parsons, shouldn't even be considering trading for him, let alone one like us who aren't likely to make the playoffs even if things go well for us this year.