Dallas City News

‘Phenomenal feet’: Dalvin Cook, on practice squad, gets compliment from Dallas Cowboys coach – Aaron Kasinitz, LoneStarLive.com

Running back by committee won’t be an issue with Dallas’ RB room.

On a few occasions, Dallas Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy has trained his eyes on four-time Pro Bowl running back Dalvin Cook at recent practices.

Cook remains on the Cowboys’ practice squad after signing with the team in late August, and he was not activated to play in Sunday’s season-opening rout of the Browns. But the 29-year-old did rake in compliments from his coach Wednesday.

“I’m glad he’s here,” McCarthy said of Cook during a midweek news conference. “Impressive. Phenomenal feet. I’ve had a chance to watch him a lot. He looks really good. He really fits into the room very well.”

It’s unclear whether Cook will earn elevation to the game-day roster for Sunday’s Week 2 contest against the New Orleans Saints. After the ball-carrier spent the offseason working out on his own, McCarthy still believes he — and other August free agent additions — will benefit from more practices with the team.

“If you look at his time frame and how much time he’s been here, I think the biggest thing is hopefully we can get a full week’s work this week and next week,” McCarthy said. “That’s only going to help the guys that got here late.”

The Cowboys can activate a practice squad player like Cook to play in three games before they’d need to sign him to the full roster or place him on waivers.

“Dalvin looks great. Fits in,” McCarthy said. “I’m excited about him.”

Mailbag: How did Mazi look at Cleveland? – Nick Eatman, Mickey Spagnola, DallasCowboys.com

Some Cowboys writers weigh in on Mazi Smith’s Week 1 impact.

What did you see from Mazi Smith in the game against the Browns? I didn’t hear his name a lot, but I know that doesn’t always tell the whole story when talking about defensive tackles. – Les Hoffman/Pell City, AL

Nick Eatman: While Aaron Donald was the exception to the rule, you’re really not supposed to hear a lot from the defensive tackles. I know some of them can be playmakers and disrupt the game, but for the most part, the Cowboys just need Mazi to hold his own in the middle and not get pushed back to create running lanes. Anything on top of that is a bonus. The name you did hear was Eric Kendricks, and many times the DTs, such as Mazi and Jordan Phillips and Osa Odighizuwa, were taking on blocks, freeing up the linebacker to make plays – and they did. That’s the real job of Mazi Smith and the defensive tackles. They stopped the run and created room for the edge rushers and linebacker to get to the ball.

Mickey Spagnola: After scouring over Mazi’s season opening play, this is what I discovered. First, he only played 23 snaps in the game with the Browns in so many nickel formations and throwing the ball 45 times. He’s not much of a pass rusher yet, though did a nice job of pushing the pocket. And though did not make any tackles from his nose tackle role, he did a fine job of holding his ground, taking on double teams, which keeps linebackers clean to make plays, and plugging holes against the run. So far, so good.

The Dallas Cowboys proved the doubters wrong in Cleveland – Mario Herrera Jr., InsideTheStar.com

Those in Cowboys Country were pleased with how Dallas opened the season.

Rookies

One of the biggest concerns heading into the matchup in Cleveland was the fact that three Cowboys’ rookies were being thrown into the fire as week 1 starters, and a fourth was pegged as a heavy contributor to the defensive line rotation.

Tyler Guyton

On top of the pressure of his first start at left tackle, Guyton had the added pressure of blocking the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year for the majority of the game. Myles Garrett is an absolute monster on the edge, and Guyton held his own with a little help from an occasional chip block from the running back.

At the end of the day, Garrett was credited with three pressures and one sack that led to a forced fumble. Whether it was a fumble or an incomplete pass is irrelevant. The point is that Garrett only touched Dak Prescott once in the entire game when Guyton was the primary blocker.

Cooper Beebe

Beebe, with his proud parents in attendance, gave up zero pressures in pass coverage. That’s an impressive stat when players like Dalvin Tomlinson and Shelby Harris were lined up across from him for the majority of the game.

Dalvin Tomlinson did get home up the middle of the line to sack Prescott with a helmet to his chest, but the film showed Tomlinson was actually Zack Martin’s responsibility on the play.

More good things to come for Beebe as he develops at his new position.

Our offense vs their defense: Dallas Cowboys – Luke Hubbard, CanalStreetChronicles.com

Dallas will be a gigantic step up in competition from the Saints’ previous opponent.

Wow. I’m going to be honest, I expected to the New Orleans Saints to win this past weekend, but I don’t think anybody predicted that. The offense looked fresh, and the defense looked just as good, if not better.

Don’t get too excited though. The Saints have to go from playing one of the worst teams in the league at home to traveling to face one of the best teams in the league this weekend. The Dallas Cowboys also enjoyed a smooth week one. They decimated the Browns 33-17, but if it weren’t for a late touchdown, it would’ve been 33-10.

Derek Carr had one of his best games as a Saints, completing 19 of his 23 pass attempts for 200 yards and three touchdowns. He wasn’t asked to do too much, especially once they got out to a big lead, but he made some incredible throws such as the touchdowns to Rashid Shaheed and Juwan Johnson.

On the other side, the Cowboys defense did a really good job of limiting Deshaun Watson, but granted, he’s just not that good anymore. Watson threw for 169 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions while completing just over half his pass attempts. The Cowboys have two ball hawks in Daron Bland and Trevon Diggs, so Carr is going to need to be careful with the football this weekend.

As for the Cowboys, they had a field day getting after Watson. He was sacked six times for 32 yards, and they were credited with 40 (!) pressures. As you can imagine, Micah Parsons was the leader of the charge, finishing with 11 pressures, six hurries, four QB hits and one sack.

The Saints offensive line may have played well vs Carolina, but Dallas is a whole new beast. Their Week 1 performance gave me some more hope that maybe they can limit the Cowboys pass rush, but the truth is, I don’t know if they can.

Here is Wednesday’s injury report for both the Cowboys and the Saints.