There’s an Eagles starting player on defense who knows Dallas starting QB Dak Prescott’s game as well as anyone. It’s DT Fletcher Cox, who a few years ago was Prescott’s teammate at Mississippi State.
“I was there when he was a redshirt freshman. I saw him come in and all he wanted to do was play ball and become real good,” Cox said. “He was real dedicated to everything he did and Coach (Dan) Mullen really taught him to listen— and now just look at the position he’s in right now. He got a chance to shine and I think he’s doing a really good job at being an NFL starting quarterback.”
“He’s patient in the pocket. He’s making a lot of good throws that I don’t think a lot of rookie quarterbacks can make,” Cox said. “He’s not taking a lot of sacks which is good. They’ve shown some stuff with his pulling in the football with read-option type stuff. I really don’t think they want him to run the football. They want to give the ball to their work horse, Ezekiel Elliott, and I think overall they’re a really good offense and a really good team.”
Meanwhile Philly’s own rookie QB phenom Carson Wentz is getting his first real taste of the “Cowboys Week” tradition:
“I know how much this means to this city and how much it means to these fans,” Wentz said. “There’s a lot of excitement going on just with Eagles football, but definitely this week, I recognize that, but at the same time I don’t let that kind of bother me or distract me from the main goal. It’s preparing every day and I know if I get side tracked by those things it’s just going to mess up the preparation and affect the game on Sunday.”
While Wentz prepares to face the Dallas defense, Eagles defensive minds are coming up with a game plan to contain the Cowboys’ attack led by Prescott.
“They’re balanced and they’re complete,” safety Rodney McLeod said. “They run the ball extremely well with a very good offensive line and that rookie, (Ezekiel) Elliott, who is gaining big yardage. Dak Prescott isn’t making mistakes and he’s got players to throw the ball to. It’s an offense that is operating at a very high efficiency rate. We have to play our best game on Sunday night.”
“First things first, we’ve got to stop the run,” safety Malcolm Jenkins said. “But they have weapons that complement their run with Jason Witten, Cole Beasley and Dez Bryant coming back. Dak Prescott has been playing really well, especially off the play-action pass. He’s very, very accurate when he’s able to fake the run and he’s got wide-open lanes to throw in.”
“It’s going to be on us to get downhill. It’s going to be huge for our gap integrity (against the run) this week that we stay solid, that we stay sound in our gaps and are playing physical,” linebacker Jordan Hicks said. “They like to push, they like to grab a hold of you and just move you and just bleed you for 5 and 10 yards so it’s going to be on us to come downhill and play stout at the point of attack.”
“We have a job to do,” linebacker Nigel Bradham said. “They’re good and we’re good. It’s going to be that kind of game.”
Speaking of defense, the Dallas “D” is not the sieve we expected it to be by any means. The Cowboys rank seventh in scoring defense allowing just 17.8 points per game. Dallas has not allowed more than 17 points in a game since Week 2. Meanwhile, the Eagles have scored at least 20 points in eight straight games, which is tied for the second-longest streak in the NFL.
Chris McPherson of PE.com: “The Cowboys may allow teams to move the ball, but they are stingy near the goal line. Dallas ranks fourth in the NFL in goal-to-go defense. Dallas is also a sure-tackling team, as it ranks fourth in the league again, but this time in average yards after the catch per reception.”
“A year ago, the Cowboys had a trio of talented pass rushers in Greg Hardy, Randy Gregory and Demarcus Lawrence. Hardy is gone, Gregory is suspended and Lawrence is battling a back injury. Dallas ranks 24th in the NFL with 11 sacks. Defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli will need to determine whether or not to blitz the Eagles’ rookie quarterback. The Cowboys have the sixth-worst passer rating when they blitz this season. Meanwhile, Wentz has the fourth-highest passer rating when seeing extra pass rushers.”
“The two players to watch for Dallas are linebacker Sean Lee and safety Byron Jones. These back seven playmakers allow Marinelli so much flexibility. Lee has battled injuries over the years, but is an outstanding coverage linebacker when healthy. He has 12 interceptions since entering the league in 2010 which is tied for the most out of any player at his position in the league. For the season, Lee has a team-high 71 tackles, two tackles for loss and two pass breakups. Jones, a first-round pick in 2015, is moved all around the field. He can play the deep middle when the Cowboys are in Cover 1. He covers tight ends and running backs. Jones will also be used around the line of scrimmage. He leads the team with five pass breakups this season, and has also posted 28 tackles with a forced fumble.”
I note with interest Mike Mayock’s peripheral comments last night on Westwood One Radio’s coverage of the Jaguars-Titans game: “I liked both Dak Prescott and Carson Wentz coming into the 2016 Draft…both are for real…but nobody thought they’d both be coming on so strong this early…just from the quarterbacking standpoint alone, this is going to be a heck of a prime-time match…”
My rookie vs. your rookie? Too early to extrapolate, but we may be seeing the beginning of a QB duel for the next decade.
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