NFL
By: Greg Rector
The injury bug and the ever-popular Covid-19 virus are already impacting the 2021 season of the Dallas Cowboys. No, I am not going to whine about the injuries, that’s always a factor for every team. Nor am I upset with the impact of the Delta variant as that is a league-wide issue as players who are vaccinated are routinely testing positive for the virus. That speaks more to not having strict enough protocols in place for team meetings and outside contacts players and coaches alike have. For me, the reason the song is remaining the same is simple, the optimism that was there just two weeks ago and even after the last few second’s loss against Tampa Bay has been replaced with that “Here We Go Again,” feeling.
The 2021 season though it’s the turn of the defensive line instead of the offensive line where the injuries are hitting hard. Right defensive end Randy Gregory is the latest to go on the COVID-19 protocol regimen. A positive test usually amounts to about ten days. The injury today at practice to Demarcus Lawrence is far more impactful to the hopes of the Dallas Cowboys. The left defensive end has been the anchor of the defense. Despite the brutal 2020 defense Lawrence still ranked highly in terms of pressures and in causing turnovers. I would love to see more sacks of course but it’s looking like he won’t be returning until late in the season after breaking his foot. So that means both veteran ends are going to be unavailable for the upcoming game against the Los Angeles Chargers.
With the offensive right tackle, La’el Collins being suspended for 5 games in a very muddled drug testing conflict, that means the Cowboys enter Sunday’s game minus 3 of the 4 anchor positions along both lines. The Chargers can wreak havoc in several different ways. Collins would be lining up against Joey Bosa which would normally be a heavyweight battle. Instead, it appears that Terence Steele will get the start and face one of the most tenacious pass rushers in the league. That means for the second game in a row running back Ezekiel Elliott will need to be used as a blocker a task he was very effective at in the Tampa Bay game. I would also expect tight ends Blake Jarwin along with Dalton Schultz, will also be needed to help Steele. The drop-off from starters to the backups is a huge concern. The offensive coaching staff and head coach Mike McCarthy best figure out a way to keep Dak Prescott protected from Bosa getting into the backfield at will. On a positive note, Prescott had the 2nd fastest release average in week one at just 2.36 seconds. The returning right guard Zach Martin should make it harder to come between him and Steele to get at Prescott.
The losses of both defensive ends though are the really big problem. The Cowboys had 17 pressures on Tom Brady in week one. Gregory and Lawrence had 8 of those. With the defensive tackles not being great pass rushers, to begin with, losing the best ends will make putting pressure on Justin Herbert a lot more difficult. Herbert has plenty of weapons and if he isn’t facing pressure then the Cowboys are looking at the exact same bugaboo as last year, their secondary will be exposed having to try and cover Charger receivers downfield. The Likes of Mike Williams and Keenan Allen working against a secondary that still has Anthony Brown and Jourdan Lewis is simply a recipe for disaster if you cheer for the Cowboys. Brown was burned badly by Tampa and I have said for a long time that he and Lewis are simply serviceable NFL corners. After that effort, I am almost ready to say it’s time to let Nahshon Wright get a baptism under fire as Kelvin Joseph is still on the short-term IR list. If it’s good enough to rush out every drafted QB into play why not a corner? His added height might also help.
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Where I am really worried about the secondary getting exposed though is due to the Chargers being able to establish a running game. Lawrence and Gregory are both very good at setting the edge against the outside runs, making tackles themselves, or forcing backs into the waiting arms of other tacklers. As we all witnessed in 2020 once an offense established their ground game against Dallas, well everything in the passing game became much easier for opponents. Can Dorance Armstrong on the right and Tarrell Basham on the left side prevent something like that from happening? Dallas best hope so or this will be a long afternoon in Los Angeles. The Cowboys may need to do some adjusting as in moving rookie LB Micah Parsons up on the edge to prevent Austin Ekeler from feasting on outside runs. Parsons primary position in high school was the defensive end after all. Already the defensive signal-caller the rookie might be tasked with even more responsibility in just his 2nd NFL game. If Parsons has to become an edge player on both rushing and passing downs that won’t be the best scenario overall. It means that Leighton Vander Esche (16 snaps_ and Jaylon Smith (14 snaps) would both need to step up their games.
The Cowboys are also minus the third option at wide receiver as Michael Gallup will miss 3 to 5 weeks with a calf strain, now this loss hurts but at least both Cedric Wilson and the returning Noah Brown (Covid again…ugh) have proven they can fill in when needed. If the protection level for Prescott can hold up to the same level as in the Tampa game (1 sack and that was really on Dak) then the Cowboys passing game will be relied upon to keep them in this game. It’s the same old story for Dallas. Prescott in his last 4 complete games has thrown for over 400 yards each game. Sad to say that means the Chargers game is looking like it will need to be a shootout yet again for the Cowboys to have any hope. As the headline said, “The Song Remains the Same.”
Without the cornerstone starters, I have to be realistic and predict a Chargers win folks. I will say it is a shootout with a score likely to be something around 41 to 34 in favor of the Chargers.
As always you can find me on Twitter @GregCowboys
