The Cowboys aren’t in Super Bowl LVI, but why they’re not was a popular topic during the lead-up to the big game. As hype week rolled on toward Sunday, there was no shortage of former Cowboys making the interview rounds, and all were asked to troubleshoot the current troubles in Big D. Emmitt Smith had plenty of fingers to point, but Troy Aikman was left mostly scratching his head.
Rookie linebacker Micah Parsons may have accidentally spiced up next season’s matchup with the AFC champs with his opinion of Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, and the Cowboys organization are sending some Metroplex heroes to the big game. Dak Prescott won’t blame his calf injury for the team’s downward slide in 2021, one wide receiver used his media moment to hype up his position-mate, and we’re doing some window shopping for edge rusher help. All that, plus career news regarding two former Cowboys defensive coaches. That’s all in this edition of New and Notes.
Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith on Cowboys’ woes: ‘Coaches will have to coach better’ :: USA Today
Smith believes the Cowboys players need to be more disciplined and focused, but he also laid a helping of blame at the feet of Mike McCarthy and his coaching staff. Specifically, he said the coaches need to preserve timeouts and make better decisions about “when to go for it and when not to go for it, kick field goals or not kick field goals, taking field position versus not taking field position. They’re going to have to do things different like that from a coaching standpoint.’”
Emmitt Smith on state of the Dallas Cowboys: ‘You see great talent being wasted. You see time passing.’ :: Blogging the Boys
The all-time rushing king says the clock is ticking for this roster. “When I look at our Cowboys,” Smith said this week, “I’m looking for… who are we going to be? Are we going to stay the same? Or are we going to just take all of this talent and waste it over a three- or four- or five-year timeframe, assuming and expecting to do something great [but] doing the same things over and over and over again?”
What are the Cowboys missing? Dallas has left Troy Aikman scratching his head :: Dallas Morning News
Troy Aikman is just like the rest of us. At least when it comes to trying to pinpoint what’s wrong with the Cowboys. “That is the million-dollar question that I get asked, and I honestly don’t know. There was a time when I thought maybe I did know,” the Hall of Famer said. “Because when you look at their regular-season record over the last 10-15 years, they’re one of the best in the league as far as their winning percentage. So, I don’t know. I really don’t know.”
3 key areas Cowboys need to improve to avoid a repeat of 2021 :: Cowboys Wire
The 12-5 finish was a major improvement upon 2020, but the season goes in the books as a huge disappointment. If the Cowboys expect to finally make it back to a conference championship, they need to get better at: being consistent on both sides of the ball, playing with discipline, and the kicking game.
Cowboys’ Michael Gallup hypes up Cedrick Wilson ahead of free agency :: The Landry Hat
Gallup is on record as saying he’s glad Kellen Moore will return as Cowboys offensive coordinator. But the soon-to-be-free-agent also had praise for his fellow wide receiver who stepped in this season when Gallup was injured. “He did exactly what I expected him to do,” Gallup said of Wilson. “I’ve been going against him for four years at junior college and then when we went to Mountain West together. Watching him play his game and letting him get his shine. He deserved it. He worked hard for it.”
Micah Parsons gives Joe Burrow bulletin-board material before Bengals vs. Cowboys in 2022 :: Bengals Wire
The Defensive Rookie of the Year added some spice to the Cowboys-Bengals meeting in the 2022 season when he didn’t name the Cincinnati quarterback among his top five QBs in the league. When asked specifically about Burrow, Parsons was blunt: “No. Some games, he would have a day. Some games, he’s not there.” Parsons did, however, place Burrow in the Top 10.
Micah Parsons says Cowboys’ offensive line taught him in camp how to be a pro pass rusher :: ProFootballTalk
The Cowboys rookie learned a lot from his defensive coaches. But he also got some schooling from offensive linemen Tyron Smith and La’el Collins, who he said took him under their wing. “LC was like, ‘You’re fast as hell, but you’ve got to make them fear your speed. They’ve got to feel you, and then it’s like chess; that’s how you work your counters,’” Parsons explained.
Micah Parsons uses award show as teaching moment for his son :: Jori Epstein (Twitter)
I asked Cowboys LB Micah Parsons why it was important to him to bring 3-year-old son Malcolm to NFL Honors.
“So he visualizes what success is and visualizes his goals,” Micah said. “Doesn’t have to be a football player. He can be anything..(But) he has to give it all he’s got.” pic.twitter.com/EcVe8fg2Tm
— Jori Epstein (@JoriEpstein) February 11, 2022
Dak Prescott: Midseason calf strain didn’t linger :: The Mothership
Everything about the Cowboys offense seemed to change when Prescott injured himself against New England: 6-1 before that moment, 6-5 after. But the passer refuses to chalk up the season’s decline on his calf. “I was able to rest it then, missed the next week out in Minnesota. But I wouldn’t say it lingered as long as people gave me the excuse of it,” Prescott told Rich Eisen. “I went through a period in the time right there in the season and just didn’t play my best ball.”
Dallas Cowboys Draft Digest: Edge rushers continue to impress with star quality :: The Athletic
With uncertainty surrounding Randy Gregory and even DeMarcus Lawrence, the Cowboys could be shopping for defensive end help in the draft. Michigan’s Aidan Hutchinson, Oregon’s Kayvon Thibodeaux, and Georgia’s Travon Walker are surefire early picks, but Bob Sturm also likes South Carolina’s Kingsley Enagbare or USC’s Drake Jackson as possible second-round options.
Cowboys ex-coaches Rod Marinelli & Rob Ryan on the Raiders move: NFL Tracker :: The Fresno Bee
The 72-year-old Marinelli says he’s retiring from football after spending the last two seasons as the Raiders’ defensive line coach. He won a Super Bowl on Tampa Bay’s staff in 2003, went 0-16 as the Lions’ head coach in 2008, and spent seven seasons coaching the Dallas defense. Rob Ryan, the Cowboys defensive coordinator in 2011 and 2012, is returning to the Raiders organization to be a senior defensive assistant. Ryan was the DC in Oakland from 2004 to 2008.
CowBuzz: Cowboys sending families to Super Bowl :: The Mothership
The club surprised several community members with tickets to Sunday’s big game. Recipients included a Salvation Army husband-and-wife team, a National Medal of Honor winner, and a local chef who created a paid internship program in the culinary arts for at-risk youth.
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