BREAKING: Cowboys Release Dez Bryant

Writer: Caleb Akpan

After a winter filled with rumors, vague responses to the media, and strange Twitter sessions, one of the biggest storylines of the 2018 NFL off-season seems to have an ending, or at least the beginning of one. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that the Dallas Cowboys have released wide receiver Dez Bryant after 8 seasons with team following the wide receiver’s meeting with team owner Jerry Jones earlier this morning.

h/t Tom Fox/Dallas Morning News

For Cowboys fans, the news marks the end of an era. Bryant had been the team’s leading wide-out since the midpoint of the Tony Romo years and at times was considered one of the best receivers in the league. Bryant peaked in 2014, when he racked up 1,320 yards catching for 16 touchdowns, the highest total of his career. That postseason was also the highlight of Bryant’s infamy in NFL lore, as he caught what was, at that time, called a dropped pass against the Green Bay Packers in the fourth quarter of that year’s NFC divisional playoff game.

Since that point, Bryant’s production has dropped significantly to say the least, and injuries have also troubled the former Pro Bowler. Since 2014, Bryant has only put up 2,035 receiving yards over three seasons for 17 touchdowns over those years, and that drop in production seems to be at the root of this releasing. The wide receiver was set to make $12.5 million dollars this year in his base salary, and Jones clearly didn’t seem to think the money was worth Bryant’s recent play.

This was made especially clear after the team signed 26-year old Allen Hurns at the same position. Hurns seems to be the de-facto number one receiver for the Cowboys going into next season, though that will be truly determined in training camp. The team also seems to have their eye on selecting a wide receiver in the early rounds of the draft. Bryant himself never seemed to mesh with quarterback Dak Prescott since the young QB became the Cowboys’ starter in 2016, we’ll see how the Cowboys pass offense fares with Bryant out of the game plan.

Despite recent woes, Bryant will without a doubt be the hottest item of the free agent market once the smoke clears, teams are likely rushing to inquire on his services already. Bryant himself tweeted out that he’s ready to “start the process” and is “unbothered” by what has transpired. Bryant also stresses to local media that “this wasn’t my decision”. If that is true, the wideout could be due for a rebirth in the 2018 season, but with what history tells us, there’s really no clue on which version of Dez Bryant will show up next season, or what jersey he will be playing in.

4 Issues The Cowboys Must Address in 2018

Writer: Caleb Akpan

Last Sunday, the Dallas Cowboys played their most important game of the year with a chance to keep playoff hopes alive. With Atlanta and Detroit losing earlier in the day, most of the work was on the ‘Boys to win out and hopefully have the Falcons lose again in Week 17. A Seattle team in the same situation entered AT&T Stadium, setting up a must-win, regular season playoff game, the winner keeping their hopes alive and the loser hoping for better luck next year. With Ezekiel Elliot back from suspension and the Seahawks struggling in their recent contests, the Cowboys seemed to have the edge going into the matchup, but by the end of the day, the Seahawks were the ones still alive and the Cowboys season was over, with issues from the whole season coming to a boiling point over the course of the game. Let’s try and solve a few of those today or see if they truly need to be fixed at all.

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The Secondary

The Cowboys secondary should probably be the team’s smallest concern at the moment. Their very young, which is an excuse, but when you have a young group you allow some of the mistakes that were made this season. What needs to change is just how young the core of the pass defense is. It’s great that the Cowboys are trying to develop some young talent, much like they did with their offensive line in the years prior, but they could really use some veteran leadership to help those guys grow. Enter Earl Thomas, Legion of Boom member and one of the best safeties in the league at his peak and possibly still today when healthy. After the Seahawks beat the Cowboys, he ran after Jason Garrett and told the Cowboys coach “If y’all have a chance to get me, come get me”. Pretty strong words and some that are hopefully enticing for the Cowboys. They could really use someone like Thomas to help show guys like Chidobe Awuzie and Jourdan Lewis how to take their talents to the next level. Just as Thomas said, if the opportunity arises, Dallas would be dumb not to take it.

Offensive Play Calling

A new year is a new game in the NFL and if anything has proven that it’s the Cowboys’ offense from 2016 to 2017. Last year, Jason Garrett won Coach of the Year and OC Scott Linehan was being pegged as the next big head coach hire. Fast forward to Week 16 and most are saying owner Jerry Jones should fire both as players apparently are calling out the team’s “predictable” playbook. Dez Bryant rarely got opportunities and Ezekiel Elliott didn’t seem to get as many as he should have, especially when he was ignored on three consecutive end zone plays midway through the fourth quarter.

If the Cowboys hand off to Elliot in that scenario (down 21-12), maybe there’s still something to play for Sunday against Philidelphia, but instead we question how Garrett and Linehan could miss the obvious. Elliott is one of the best backs in the league when he plays, the fact that they wouldn’t even fake the ball his way is something to be seriously concerned about in season making or breaking moments like that. With Garrett having just won Coach of the Year, it makes some sense that Jerry Jones doesn’t want to pull the trigger on a firing just yet (though it’s still a bit of a head scratcher how Garrett survived multiple 8-8 seasons and no playoff appearances), but changes have to be made in who calls the plays in Big D. If Scott Linehan’s gotta go, then so be it, that one situation with Elliott is enough to show something’s not right, and there were plenty of examples outside of that in the game and throughout the season to support it.

The Wide Receiver Position

Dak Prescott and Dez Bryant have lacked a great connection since the now second year QB took over last season. Prescott’s passes always seem to be just a bit off when directed at Dez, and Bryant consistently disappears over the course of games, simply just not being targeted for large portions. With his lack of production, many are calling for Bryant to take a pay cut next year including former Cowboys great DeMarcus Ware, but maybe the change needs to be deeper than that. Bryant isn’t the only wideout struggling, in fact, the whole unit has been inconsistent and not nearly as good as their 2016 version this season. Cole Beasley and Dak Prescott’s automatic connection disappeared, Terrance Williams hasn’t caught a touchdown all season, and Jason Witten’s reliable hands weren’t looked at as much as they probably should’ve been. It might be time for Dallas to look at the draft or free agency to improve their receiving game, they may even need to make a trade. Or maybe the issue is at the quarterback……

 

Dak Prescott?

Last year Dak Prescott was the greatest rookie quarterback of all-time, the Offensive Rookie of the Year, and an NFL superstar before his first season was even over. Going into this season, most had him poised to continue his excellence, one writer on this site even put him into the MVP conversation, pretty stupid of them in hindsight. Prescott showed what was hopefully his youth this season, rarely playing consistently and tripling his turnovers from last season. Many are calling Prescott a bust and saying that he can’t perform without a running back like Elliot behind him, but maybe there’s a middle ground between the two extremes that’s a bit more accurate. Prescott clearly isn’t some sort of team savior, but maybe his issues can be linked to those playcalling ones, with a better and more unpredictable playbook, you’d like to think Prescott’s play would improve. Or maybe he is a bust and he can’t handle a tougher playbook and that’s the reason why Dallas was so predictable this season. What seems to be clear is that Prescott needs more time before conclusions can be drawn, time that the NFL rarely offers, especially for a Dallas Cowboys starting quarterback.

There’s something there in Dallas. They wouldn’t have had such a good year in 2016 if there wasn’t, but changes definitely need to be made, especially when it comes to the offense. If they can figure out how to create a threatening pass game and bring Dak Prescott’s turnover numbers back to their 2016 form, their defense should grow by default with another offseason and the team should be back on track. If they stay complacent and just hope for a better year with the same pieces and playbooks, the Cowboys hype train will come to complete stop as it begins to slow down already.

The Fire Behind Zeke

Writer: Jameson White

Ezekiel Elliott is making his return to the Dallas Cowboys as they get ready to face the Seattle Seahawks. The Cowboys concluded the six weeks of “Life Without Zeke” on a three-game win streak, and overall 3-3 in these six games. However, it is apparent that America’s Team has missed him dearly. With Elliott in the game, there is always a chance for that “homerun” play; without him, the Cowboys would struggle to pick up one or two yards on plays when Elliott would get four or five. This exact reason is why with 21 in the backfield, the Cowboys are contenders.

Credit: The Big League

For the last six weeks, Ezekiel Elliott has been in Cabo, Mexico, participating in an intense training program. Coming into the 2017 season, Elliott was playing overweight and did not seem to be in good shape when it comes to his conditioning. In these six weeks he has been suspended, though, he has chiseled his body. A picture of Zeke has appeared to show him looking absolutely ripped, signifying a transformation with him; however, this transformation is not only physical.

Credit: NBC Sports

Additionally, while Elliott was in Mexico, he sought mentoring from various people. Of those, Eric Dickerson is the most notable. This means that he transformed into someone who has understood that it is time to “grow up” in a sense, and sought help in bettering himself. In after practice interviews earlier this week when reporters would ask about his suspension, all of his answers were basically stating that he is looking to put all of this behind him and only look towards the future.

Throughout this process, Elliott has shown a maturation, for not only handling his suspension after a long battle against the NFL, but showing that he wants to come back stronger than ever. It wouldn’t be surprising to see him rush for 200 yards against a Seattle defense that gave up over 150 to Todd Gurley in last weeks game. Though how many yards he runs for remains to be seen, two things are certain; Zeke is back, and he is geared to run the Cowboys into playoff contention.

What Is Jerry Jones Doing?

Writer: Jameson White

Ezekiel Elliott’s ongoing dispute with the National Football League over a domestic violence accusation is starting to become nasty. Jerry Jones refuses to let his star running back be suspended over a case in which there was no evidence, but could it actually be hurting America’s Team?

Right or wrong, as Jerry said, this is more of the NFL trying to over-correct for their past mistakes rather than Elliott’s actual actions. This is the reason that the Cowboys’ owner has been fighting the NFL on this situation, but the longer that he continues to fight back, the more it can hurt Dallas.

Ezekiel Elliott had a slow start to the season, but in his last 3 games he has rushed for 413 yards and four touchdowns. He is looking more like the guy who was an MVP candidate in 2016 and running with the speed, power, quickness, and vision that made many scouts lick their chops at his pure talent. With this six game suspension looming over his head, it may be best just to accept it. The longer that it is being appealed, the longer his name is in the news for domestic violence. If the six game suspension is taken now, then he would be eligible to play with three games left in the season; this would mean he would be fresh for a playoff run. However, if this suspension keeps getting put off, and the final ruling is that it will be upheld, it could keep Elliott out of the playoffs. If this happens, the Cowboys would be losing the focal point of their offense, severely hindering their chances at a deep run. Can Jerry just accept the suspension, or will he keep fighting it and hurt his team in the long run? Only time will tell.

Do the Cowboys stand a chance without Zeke?

Writer: Garrett Shadwick

As everyone knows, Ezekiel Elliott has an ongoing fight with the NFL about being suspended due to Domestic Violence allegations. Twice the league has suspended him for 6 games and twice Zeke has obtained an appeal to postpone the suspension to keep playing. While Zeke is not ready to back down on the fight against the NFL, there is still the question “Do the cowboys stand a chance without star running back Ezekiel Elliott?” The answer is yes.

ESPN

While Zeke was the leading rusher in the NFL last year with 1,631 rushing yards, it’s important to remember why those yards were possible, the offensive line. I am in no way discrediting Zeke’s rushing ability, between him pushing his way through a pile, to his speed and agility in the open field there’s no question he’s a great back, but it’s important to remember why those big boys up front make good money. Current Tennessee Titans running back Demarco Murray ran for 1,845 yards with the Dallas Cowboys offensive line. Again, Murray is a great back, but the very next year in Philadelphia he ran for only 702 yards. This is all to show that while having an elite running back is a great weapon, having a pass threat and a good offensive line can make a world of difference.

Now having established that the Cowboys still have a great offensive line and passing threat, let’s look at who will be replacing Murray if the suspension sticks. The Cowboys will play with Darren McFadden and Alfred Morris rotating out to lay down the running game. While they may be Zeke’s backups, they both have experience as starters, McFadden with the Raiders and Morris with the Redskins. From 2012 to 2014, Morris had over 1,000 rushing yards for each season. McFadden had over 1,000 rushing yards in 2015 with the Dallas Cowboys. Clearly both backs can handle the job.

The Dallas Cowboys will certainly miss having Zeke around, no question about it, but they won’t be completely lost without him. With the great offensive line, dual threat quarterback, good receiving core and 2 backs who have starting seasons with over 1,000 rushing yards the Cowboys are still in good hands. No doubt the Cowboys may lose a game that they may have won if they had Zeke, but either way America’s Team will carry on.

How Zeke’s Suspension Affects the Cowboys

Writer: Jameson White

On October 12, 2017, Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott had his suspension upheld, and effective immediately, will be unable to play until Dallas’ tilt against Washington on November 30th.

The Cowboys’ season has not gone as expected through the first five weeks, however Zeke will now miss some crucial games against the Redskins, Chiefs, Falcons, and Eagles. Dallas may not have been able to win some of these games with Elliott, but now that he is out indefinitely, the team’s chances have certainly taken a hit. Here is how this suspension affects the Cowboys moving forward:

Dallas must now lean almost exclusively on the offensive line.

This second coming of the vaunted “Great Wall of Dallas” has been one of the most dominant units in the NFL the last few seasons, with three All-Pro players in left tackle Tyron Smith, center Travis Frederick, and right guard Zack Martin. This past offseason, right tackle, Doug Free, retired and left guard Ronald Leary departed for Denver. In 2016, there were times when lanes parted like the Red Sea from the line’s blocking, paving the way for Elliott to lead the league in rushing as a rookie. In 2017, it appears this offense has taken a step back, partly due to these departures on the offensive line. With a new left guard, Chaz Green, and converted right tackle, La’El Collins, there have been plenty of struggles in both run blocking and pass protection. Elliott may not seem to have had many big games this year, but he has the type of talent that lets him gain 4 or 5 yards on plays where he should have gained 1 or 2. If the Cowboy’s want any shot of winning without Elliott, they must depend on their big guys up front to mesh quickly and return to their dominant form.

Dak Prescott.

Without his backfield-mate in Elliott, more pressure will be placed upon Dak’s shoulders, as if there was not already enough. He is without a doubt the single most important player on this offense now. If any type of winning is going to happen in these next six games, it will have to be from excellent play at the quarterback position. Even though the Cowboy’s have veterans Alfred Morris and Darren McFadden to tote the rock, the team will surely be passing the ball more than they have been; it is up to Prescott to handle this pressure.

Dez Bryant will likely see more double and triple teams.

Dez Bryant has seemed to have a down-year this season in terms of production, but that does not mean he does not still possess the ability to single handedly take over games. If a team is not careful, he has the type of talent to put up a 100-plus yard, multi-touchdown game. Without teams having to really focus on the running game, they can turn more of their attention to Dez and making his life on the outside miserable. Dak Prescott and Dez Bryant have been trying to spark a chemistry all season long, yet it has not seemed to really click yet. Without Elliott, this chemistry will likely not start to happen.

The team as a whole must change their gameplans.

When Dallas first drafted Elliott, the plan was to run the ball and control the clock to where the talent-lacking defense did not have to spend much time on the field. This allowed for the talent they did have on the defensive side of the ball to stay off of the field and give a maximal effort in the time they were to be on it. When the Cowboys are forced to start throwing the ball more, their defense will also be forced to be on the field more as well. This is a huge area of concern for the team, as they already are losing players to injury on that side of the ball.

There is no guarantee on how Dallas will fare in these next six games without their star running back. They will more than likely lose at least a couple of games that they could have won with him on the field. Maybe this will light a fire under Elliott, and it is almost certain that once he returns we will all see a side of Elliott that helped him lead the league in rushing his rookie year. As for now, Dallas fans can only hope the season is not lost by the time he joins the team again.

Are the Cowboys Destined for 8-8?

Writer: Anthony Aleman

Maybe, and here are some fixes to stop that.

Dallas Cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys came into this season as one of the top teams in the whole league, with many predicting a Super Bowl matchup against a powerhouse Patriots team. With the suspension of star running back Ezekiel Elliott on hold while legal proceedings take place, the team seemed destined for another division title through the play of duos Dak Prescott and Ezekiel while working behind one of, if not the best, offensive lines in football. However, the Jason Garrett lead team has had a rather poor start to this season, beginning the year 2-2 heading into what could be a critical game in the long run against the Green Bay Packers. The Cowboys played like the team who won 13 games in 2016 in the season opener against the Giants, but ever since then the team has seen struggles on both sides of the ball while dropping two of the last three games they have played. The offense cannot seem to gather a rhythm and the offensive line has been having issues integrating La’El Collins and Chaz Green to the starting rotation, which in turn has been affecting the run game ability of Zeke Elliot and Alfred Morris. Without a solid run game Dak Prescott has seen increased pressure on his ability to be a playmaker, something he has not been amazing yet this year. The defensive issues are another big thing the cowboys have been dealing with since the start of the season. The emergence of defensive end Taco Charlton has yet to arrive and it is quite possible we could see him inactive soon with David Irving returning to the lineup. Along with that we have seen injuries to the secondary and linebackers which are causing players such as Jaylon Smith and Jourdan Lewis to play larger roles on the team than what was expected. The defensive issues were highlighted on Sunday when the Los Angeles Rams came to Dallas and overpowered the boys in blue 35-30 via the tandem of Jared Goff, Todd Gurley, and Cooper Kupp. This perfect mix of imperfection seems to add up to something many Cowboys fans are used to: A season record ending in 8-8. The reality for Jerry’s team is that the team has one of the most difficult schedules of any NFL team for the remainder of the season. Looking at the schedule, it is difficult to see the Cowboys being favorites in more than about five or six of the remaining games the team plays. The team struggles on offense look very fixable, however the defense could be a season long issue that could be fixed by continuing to add pieces in the off season. Teams will look to block Tank Lawrence with more priority and once that occurs the team will have to have other players step up and make plays, there are not many playmakers on that defense who could potentially do anything close to what Lawrence has done at the beginning of this season. The Cowboys also must hope for Anthony Hitchens to come back 100% from the injury without losing a step, as he will need to play key snaps over Jaylon Smith if this team wants to see a playoff opportunity soon. Jaylon Smith looks to be the answer for this team in the long run, but for now the cowboys must pair Hitchens and Sean Lee together once possible to get the best defensive unit out there possible. Another player I believe should see more snaps is Xavier Woods, rookie free safety out of Louisiana Tech who has impressed in the secondary and become a huge playmaker for this team. Offensively I see a potential fix for the line by switching Collins and Green back to the original positions they played at their respective colleges. Trying Collins out at left guard and Green at right tackle could generate better line play which would help the run game regain its form from last year, which then in turn will allow Dak Prescott to open up the field passing wise through Dez Bryant and Jason Witten. While talking about receivers, the idea that the cowboys have yet to thrown the ball towards Ryan Switzer is terrible. Switzer was seen as a piece who could come in and help Cole Beasley open up the field in the slot, but so far none of that has happened and Beasley has been shut down via double coverage. Offensive coordinator Scott Linehan must use Switzer to open up the field and force the double coverage off Beasley to open him up as well. This Cowboys team has the ability to go 12-4 or 8-8, and they must make adjustments to ensure they win the division and make the playoffs for a second season in a row.

Dallas Cowboys Week 3 Review

Writer: Elliot Adway

The Salt Lake Tribune

It might have taken longer than expected, but the Dallas Cowboy’s offense is officially back on track after the 28-17 win over the Arizona Cardinals. Dak Prescott finished 13 for 18 with 183 yards passing and a pair of passing touchdowns to Brice Butler and Mr. X himself, Dez Bryant. An underrated aspect of Prescott’s performance last night was his ability to incorporate the zone read option. The first time to team ran the play, Dak made the wrong read and lost Ezekiel Elliott a couple of yards. A few plays later, Prescott made the correct read and it resulted in a high flying rushing touchdown for the second year pro. While the offense resurging is huge, the big story coming out of Glendale is the emergence of Demarcus Lawrence. The Cowboys have not seen a defender as dominate as Lawrence has been through 3 weeks since another Demarcus who has the last name Ware. As we all know, consistency has been a problem for Dallas’ defense, but with number 90 causing so much havoc on the line, look for teams to rely on their running backs and tight ends to help contain Mr. Lawrence. With opposing teams starting to game plan for the beast on the outside, expect the Cowboys to utilize more nickel blitzes in the coming weeks.

Enough is Enough

By: Jameson White

By now, the ongoing dispute between the National Football League and Ezekiel Elliott’s accusation of domestic violence against his former girlfriend, Tiffany Thompson, is public knowledge. This is an incident in which the victim had posted pictures on Instagram that showed multiple bruises on her neck, knees and arms. The caption stated that this had been going on for months, and to the point to where she had been “thrown across the room by [her] arms.” However, Elliott and his legal team have stated from the beginning that he was completely innocent and that he had never abused his ex-girlfriend, and throughout the case’s hearings, the court has believed the same, finding the Dallas Cowboys running back not guilty for “a lack of evidence.”

Cleveland.com

With the NFL dropping a six game suspension on Elliott, even without being found guilty in court, fans have become outraged with the league’s dealing on this issue, not only in this single case; but, in the NFL’s dealing with domestic violence cases as a whole. You have a player, in Elliott’s case, who is found not guilty in the eyes of the law and the NFL rules but will be suspended for six games. Another example is a player in another case in 2015, former Giants punter Josh Brown, who publicly stated that he had beaten his wife multiple times in the past. The NFL’s response was a one-game suspension, which shows tremendous inconsistency. This is not to say that Elliott is innocent by any means. He very well could be guilty. However, this does mean that the league desperately needs to fix the system and plans that they have in place over issues with domestic violence.

Domestic violence is an issue that often in sports, fans just push it to the side and almost don’t even care what happens to the victim of this crime. Whenever a player on their favorite team is suspended, their first reaction to this suspension is to see who the team plays and start to think about how they’ll fare without this star player. What about the woman on the receiving end of this assault? They ask, “Will this team be able to make it through this grueling four-game stretch without this guy running the football?,” instead of “how is she dealing with this physical or emotional trauma?” This is the reality that the NFL themselves has brought out.

These players are icons and celebrities to fans of all ages, and through football, they have a platform to express their views and opinions. There are players advocating for getting kids to be in better shape with their “NFL Play 60” movement. Players will also use this to stand up to the issue of racial equality. Some take their stand against domestic violence through commercials. This platform can also become a huge negative whenever you have these domestic violence accusations, as now these fans see the player they look up to hitting their girlfriend and getting only a minimal punishment by the league. They have to change their policies and use this platform to tell the players and people in general that this isn’t okay. Domestic violence is an issue that needs to be taken very seriously, and you have to be consistent with the way you punish the players who commit this offense.

Not only is it wrong for the NFL’s public relations team, but also morally wrong to have a punter state that he beats his wife and suspend him for a single game. Defensive end, Greg Hardy, threw his then-girlfriend, Nicole Holder, around the room, shoved her onto a bed full of assault rifles, and threatened to kill her, and was only suspended for merely four games. Is this the stand that the NFL wants to take against these assaults? Is this really the message the league wants to send to their fans? Because of the NFL’s reactions to these cases, they make it seem that abusing women is acceptable. It has to come to the point where there is no tolerance for the issue of domestic violence in not just the NFL, but for anybody. Enough is enough.