Facing George Kittle, Dallas’ road success and more

A lot has happened since the Cowboys last took the field.

Owner Jerry Jones clashes with bi-weekly radio show hosts and in a meaningful way refused to apologize later in his first appearance. When he returned, he questioned head coach Mike McCarthy’s design and plays, among other things.

There was a story that suggested the team’s tours of The Star and AT&T Stadium were part of a culture that explained why the franchise was in its third decade of a Super Bowl drought. A Pro Bowl player missed practice because he was on jury duty And Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman questions routes and efforts Star CeeDee Lamb and the team’s buyers are on her weekly local radio show.

And that doesn’t even take into account permanent injuries to key players.

In other words, just a few typical weeks into The Star’s release A crushing home defeat to Detroit.

“I think it’s part of our industry,” McCarthy said. “For me, the injuries are the worst part of this game. The other things that happen… it’s part of life.

“It will never stop. I think the most important thing is to be there, to keep the energy, the focus and everything, and at the end of the day, it’s about winning against San Francisco. That’s the only thing we’re really worried about.”

So what does it mean to go on the road against the Niners on Sunday?

We’re about to find out.

McCarthy takes great pride in his team’s turnover rate throughout his career. The category that derives offensive gains from defensive implications forms the basis of his coaching philosophy.

Dallas finished in the top five last season with a plus-10. Two seasons ago the same number was good for second place. His plus-14 in 2021 led the NFL.

What about now? The Cowboys currently sit at minus-6. Only Tennessee and Las Vegas are worse off.

The defense created a similar number of opportunities to last season, but conversion rates dropped significantly. This comes down to positioning, anticipation, proper angles and tracking.

Offensive turnovers increased as the Cowboys fell behind early in the game and had some chances they might not have had otherwise.

“Our opportunities open are two to one compared to last year,” McCarthy said. “So that’s obviously a big emphasis for the offensive and return units.”

college tight end

Four years ago, San Francisco’s George Kittle, Kansas City’s Travis Kelce and former NFL tight end Greg Olsen designed an offseason program called Tight End University. The program expanded this year to include 70 tight ends and quarterbacks.

Cowboys Jake Ferguson and Dak Prescott were also in this group.

“It was great,” Ferguson said of having Prescott by his side. “A guy (the tight end) was saying something and I was turning around and looking at Dak and he was like, ‘Don’t do that.’

“There are some differences in the offenses and there are some things that I know my quarterback wouldn’t like. I don’t know if we’re going to run the offense that way.

“The scheme is important. So did the extra coverage routes for him and allowed him to see a little bit of the tight end’s world.”

Kittle was the league’s second-leading receiver among tight ends entering this game with 34 catches for 375 yards and five touchdowns. He was a little surprised by how frank Kittle and Kelce were.

“Yes,” said Ferguson, who had 25 catches for 240 yards and no touchdowns. “So they probably aren’t giving away everything. It would be foolish to think I’d get all their secrets.

“I’m sure there are a few things they don’t say, but there are things I don’t tell people, too. I learned from Tyron Smith (former Cowboys left tackle) that you don’t tell everyone your secrets when you’re here.

“Why did you do this?”

middle of everything

San Francisco’s defense had made it difficult for the Cowboys in previous matchups. He starts up front with defensive ends Nick Bosa and Leonard Floyd.

But don’t overlook middle linebacker Fred Warner.

“I think Fred is playing as well as anyone who has played the position in a while,” McCarthy said. “He’s definitely someone who jumps off the record.

“You can see the talent, but now you see someone who has the speed of recognition, the patience, the understanding and what makes it tick. He’s a playmaker there and they’re using him too. They put too much coverage responsibility on him. He is the one who controls the formations.

“That’s where the value is. From what I’ve seen, he does it very well.”

quite divided

The Cowboys have yet to win at home this season.

Road? This is a different matter.

McCarthy has always appreciated what away success can do for a team. He started talking to his players in the spring and continued into training camp about the anatomy of winning on the road.

The Cowboys responded to AT&T Stadium with a 3-0 record on the road in the first two months of the season.

“If I could bottle this and sell it, I wouldn’t be here,” McCarthy said. “Hopefully we can keep this going, home and away, especially the next two weeks on the road.

“We made some (scheduling) adjustments along the way, maybe that’s what works. Personally, I enjoy being by myself in the hotel, getting ready for the game, going to the stadium.

“I love the underdog environment. “Maybe that will help us because we’ll definitely get a big dose on Sunday night.”

line dance

The Cowboys start with two rookies on the offensive line, left tackle Tyler Guyton and center Cooper Beebe.

Competitors noticed. In McCarthy’s words, defensive linemen use stunts and surprises to confuse rookies the moment they get off the bus. This is one of the main reasons why coaches reduce the number of individual workouts after the bye in training and replace them with combination training.

It’s been a long time since Pro Bowl guard Zack Martin was a rookie. What Guyton and Beebe were asked to recognize and process was very different from what he encountered in his first season, he said.

“I would say defenses have improved since my rookie season,” Martin said. “What defenses are doing right now is unlike anything I saw when I first entered the league.

“There are plays and developments and matchups like this on third down. You turn on the tape, every team does that, right? They do this defensively. This is the best way to confuse the offensive line.

“We’re doing a good job of replicating that. “The important thing is to be together, to play together, to be at the forefront and it’s something we continue to work on.”

Watch David Moore and Robert Wilonsky host Intentional Grounding on The Ticket (KTCK-AM 1310 and 96.7 FM) every Wednesday from 7 to 8 p.m. leading up to the Super Bowl.

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