Anleitungen » Panthers vs Cowboys: Q&A with Blogging the Boys

I spoke with Dave Halperin of Blogging the Boys about the new-look 2018 Cowboys. He had a lot to say about the optimism in a post-Dez Bryant world Authentic Shaq Thompson Jersey , Dak Prescott’s 3rd year, and more. Read on for an inside look at the Panthers week 1 opponent.Cat Scratch Reader: Y’all lost Jason Witten and Dez Bryant this off season. How are the Cowboys going to replace them?Blogging the Boys: Rather than just trying to replace them, the Cowboys are altering their offense somewhat and they are looking at doing things more by committee. Witten and Bryant were certainly the focal point of the offense, but over the last few years their production had started to slip. Bryant’s particular set of skills didn’t seem to match up well with Dak Prescott, so the Cowboys want to go with more precise route-runners. They want to spread the ball around more and move their receivers around more instead of the stable sets they’ve been running for years. So the hope is it will be a community effort in replacing the production of Bryant and Witten.CSR: It feels like you guys have struggled to field a consistent secondary since busting on the selection of Morris Claiborne in the 2012 draft. What are your expectations this year?BTB: The Cowboys secondary is young but has a lot of potential. Dallas brought in Kris Richard who helped create the Legion of Boom in Seattle, he is an aggressive coordinator and the Cowboys want more production from their secondary in the form of turnovers. They have moved Byron Jones from safety to cornerback and he seems to be thriving in the preseason. The cornerbacks with Jones and second-year player Chidobe Awuzie seem pretty solid. At safety they are a little thin, and projected free safety starter Xavier Woods almost certainly won’t be participating in the game. The Cowboys secondary is definitely young, but they have athletes there and they should be better than in past years.CSR: The Panthers offensive line has been one of the most injured units I’ve seen in football and they haven’t played the first game yet. How healthy is the Cowboy’s front 7 and should the Panthers be afraid of them?BTB: The Cowboys front seven on defense could be one of the most improved parts of the team. DeMarcus Lawrence had his breakout season last year, and Randy Gregory is now back and played well in the preseason. They are the bookend defensive ends, and last year’s first-round pick Taco Charlton has shown great improvement in training camp and in preseason. Sean Lee is a stud at linebacker Authentic Donte Jackson Jersey , and Jaylon Smith has looked fully recovered from his college injury and could form a formidable duo with Lee. The defensive tackles are little shaky with David Irving suspended, but overall this unit has talent and depth. Hopefully this year’s first-round pick, linebacker Leighton Vander Esch, will get healthy and be able to contribute. CSR: Dak Prescott came back to Earth a little last season after his impressive rookie campaign. What should we expect from him as he starts year 3?BTB: Last year’s issues were as much about the player’s around him that were missing as they were with Prescott himself. Halfway through the season, Prescott was having an excellent year, close to the same as he had in 2016. Then Tyron Smith got injured and Ezekiel Elliot was suspended and things started to fall apart. The Cowboys backups for Smith were awful and Prescott took a lot of sacks and pressures. Then not having Zeke also hurt the offense, and Prescott’s play fell off. I would expect that he will look more like the guy that played in 2016 and through the first eight games of 2017, than the guy who finished the season.CSR: What player has been a total surprise this offseason and is now in line to see substantial playing time.BTB: Defensive tackle Antwaun Woods. We signed him late in the free agency period and no one really expected much. But he has played really well in training camp and in the preseason names and his stock has shot up. He should find himself with some serious playing time. CSR: How healthy are the Cowboys entering the season?BTB: They are relatively healthy. Travis Frederick is the big issue, our starting All-Pro center will miss some time after being diagnosed with Guillain-Barre Syndrome, an auto-immune disease. There is no precise timetable for his return and he will not be playing this week. As mentioned above Womens Greg Van Roten Jersey , starting safety Xavier Woods is injured and likely won’t play. Datone Jones, a member of the defensive tackle rotation will also be out. Defensive tackle Maliek Collins is recovering from a broken foot and we’re not so sure how ready he will be, the same holds for linebacker Leighton Vander Esch who has a groin issue. Welcome back to the 2018 edition of Step UP or Step OUT, a series on CSR that is intended to look at players who are playing well and highlight a few that need to step their game up. Think of it as a heat index for the Carolina Panthers; guys who are playing well are stepping up and those who aren’t need to improve their game or. . . step out.This week we’ll look at a bunch of guys that continue to press on and play very well, helping lead the team to their 10th straight home victory at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers expense. With the Pittsburgh Steelers on deck, they’ll need to keep the good times rolling. We only have one guy “Steppin’ OUT” this week, and hopefully the team can make some adjustments around him.Steppin’ UPCam Newton“Drip” Level: The #CAMVP train rolls on as it was another efficient day from the Panthers star quarterback both through the air and on the ground. Cam was accurate all day long with just a couple of exceptions, and continues to make a few unbelievable throws in tight windows to remind people just how good he is. He probably won’t win the MVP with so many other compelling campaigns going, but he is certainly worthy of it.Curtis SamuelHeat Rating: Whatever cheat code he put in to make this happenJUST GIVE THE MAN THE DAMN BALL. This is what happens when you do exactly that. It is becoming a weekly occurrence that one of our young wideouts puts highlight reel footage out there, if not both http://www.carolinapanthersteamonline.com/graham-gano-jersey , and I say we keep feeding them. Both Samuel and his running mate D.J. Moore are incredibly exciting to watch, and the best part is they are just two of many special playmakers on this team.Christian McCaffreyHeat Rating: How HOT this tweet is...You gotta love the Panthers social media team... but without Christian McCaffrey pulling some high hurdle magic, that little clip isn’t even possible. McCaffrey continues to be the workhorse of this team, piling up yards from scrimmage like a doomsday prepper before Y2K. Some would say he could be even MORE involved in the offense, and while that is not a bad thing, there are just so many playmakers in need of touches... why tire any one individual out?James BradberryHeat Rating: A very hot glue gunMike Evans was targeted ten times on Sunday, and only managed to turn ONE of those into a reception. That is in no small part to what is hands down the best game James Bradberry has ever played. Eric Washington allowed his defensive backs more freedom to run press coverage at the line of scrimmage, and he was rewarded with a pair of interceptions and three sacks on the day. Bradberry has always possessed the physical tools to get a good jam at the line, it’s nice to see him be trusted to do so.Thomas DavisHeat Rating: Like a series of explosions beautifully orchestrated to classical musicThomas Davis, even at his age Womens C.J. Anderson Jersey , continues to be one of the most effective linebackers in the league. At the beginning of the season, I didn’t give much credence to the idea that this wouldn’t be his final season, but watching him come out on fire after his suspension and play as well as he ever has, that idea doesn’t seem quite so far fetched anymore. Against the Buccaneers, he led the team in tackles on the day, and if he gave up a catch in coverage I must have missed it.Donte JacksonHeat Rating: #DROYDonte Jackson came down with another interception on Sunday and this one might have been his finest yet. Not only did it seal the game for the Panthers, but it was highly contested by Desean Jackson, and a difficult catch overall. Donte was clearly the superior Jackson on the field Sunday.This is his fourth pick of the season, which is tied for the NFL lead, but he is also making a great impact in the run game Womens Da'Norris Searcy Jersey , with a couple of key stops on the edge when he was left alone to defend it.Steppin’ OUTCaptain MunnerlynCold Rating: Overnight guard duty on top of the wall for the Nightswatch.Adam Humphries completely decimated Captain Munnerlyn in coverage on Sunday on his way to eight total receptions and two touchdowns. Captain is not the sole responsible party for each and every one, but there wasn’t a time where I saw Munnerlyn exactly joined to his hip either. On the whole, this has been a down year for the Captain, and it appears that the Panthers search for a truly reliable nickel corner will continue again in the offseason.