With all the excitement of the Dallas Cowboys finally playing in a game last week against the San Francisco 49ers, it may have escaped your attention that Dan Bailey remained on the sideline the entire time. He didn’t attempt one field goal or kick off once last Thursday, which in my opinion is a little concerning.
Dan Bailey joined Ezekiel Elliott and Sean Lee on the sideline as a healthy scratch last week. The decision to sit both Zeke and Sean Lee makes sense due to the physical demands of their positions, but sitting Bailey was a bit of a head scratcher. After all, it’s not like he plays a physically demanding position like the other two.
I know. I know. Dan Bailey is an integral part for the Cowboys success moving forward. I’m not arguing that he’s not, but after sitting out the majority of the 2017 season with a groin injury and lingering concerns about his health this year, not playing him at all against the 49ers is a bit confusing.
I don’t believe there is any kind of kicking competition between Dan Bailey and Brett Maher, who handled all of the kicking duties against the 49ers last Thursday. Bailey will be the Cowboys kicker when the 2018 season gets underway in just a few short weeks. But, the question remains… Why didn’t he receive any playing time?
Dan Bailey was never quite the same last season once he returned from his injury. Something was off and I don’t know if it was more mental or physical, maybe a little of both. He just wasn’t splitting the uprights like his normal self.
Unfortunately, we have seen this kind of thing happen in the past with one of the Cowboys kickers. Nick Folk went through a similar situation with an injury and never really bounced back. I’m just hoping history doesn’t repeat itself.
Obviously, the Dallas Cowboys know more about what’s going on with Dan Bailey than I do. But, you would think they’d have allowed him to attempt a field goal or at least an extra point in a game situation to build up his confidence once again. It’s what I would have done.
Hopefully I’m just being a little paranoid and I’m reading more into this than there actually is. But, the fact I haven’t heard any reasoning as to why Dan Bailey was held out last week is sitting a little uneasy with me. I’m just hoping it was precautionary in order to keep him as healthy as possible for the upcoming season.
