You have no idea how nice it is to finally be talking about regular season football.
It makes it even better that we don’t have to worry about whether CeeDee Lamb will be there either, now that he has signed his contract.
Normally, we would expect the Dallas Cowboys to take on someone like the New York Giants in the first week of the season. Well, this year they are on the road to take on the Cleveland Browns.
A team with another quarterback with a huge amount of pressure on him to finally do something and earn that money he signed for. That would be Deshaun Watson.
BREAKING: WR CeeDee Lamb, Cowboys agree to 4-year, $136M extension with $100M guaranteed.
(via @tompelissero, @rapsheet) pic.twitter.com/S0A7chtCQ6
— NFL (@NFL) August 26, 2024
Big Break For Big D
The Cowboys will have enough trouble to start the year dealing with Myles Garrett and the no. 1 overall defense from 2023, so the news that was reported this week will help their defense.
The Browns put star running back Nick Chubb on the physically unable to perform list. That means he will be inactive for the first four games of the regular season.
Browns RB Nick Chubb (knee) will start the season on Reserve/PUP list, will miss first 4 games of the season. (via @TomPelissero) pic.twitter.com/sA87drsKkC
— NFL (@NFL) August 26, 2024
Chubb has been rehabbing a severe left knee injury sustained in Week 2 of the 2023 season that sidelined him for the rest of the year and required two surgeries.
He underwent the first procedure to repair the medial capsule, meniscus and MCL in late September. The second surgery occurred in November, repairing damage to the ACL.
Chubb, a four-time Pro Bowl selection, had rushed for more than 1,000 yards in four straight seasons before 2023, including a career-high 1,525 in 2022. This is his second significant left knee injury; he tore the MCL, PCL and LCL at the University of Georgia in 2015.
Not having to deal with Chubb will be a bonus for Dallas. Instead, they will have to focus on the others like Amari Cooper and company.
Beef Up The D Line
It took until nearly the end of August, but after the Cowboys lost Sam Williams, they finally added some big bodies for Mike Zimmer and that defensive line.
We know how bad this team has been at stopping the run over the last two or three seasons with Dan Quinn.
Now Zimmer comes in, and I will tell you what, I trust him a lot more than I trusted Quinn. Dan was always trying to be buddy-buddy with his players, and yes, that worked for the big splash plays, but when it came to the playoffs, they folded just like the offense.
The defense was good under Quinn, but not good enough. They could and should have been so much better.
Over the last few weeks, the Cowboys have added some big bodies to help stop the run.
Dallas traded a 2026 sixth-round pick to the New York Giants in exchange for veteran defensive tackle Jordan Phillips and a 2026 seventh-round pick on August 15th.
Jordan Phillips with a good play on the quarterback. pic.twitter.com/9sFiz4z9nU
— Calvin Watkins (@calvinwatkins) August 20, 2024
Last Wednesday, Jerry made another move that at least should help for the time being. I am not sure how much he has left in the tank, but he has one job. Plug the holes and help stop the dang run.
Linval Joseph signed a one-year deal for $2.5 million guaranteed. He can earn up to $4 million after incentives.
Joseph spent six seasons in Minnesota under new Cowboys defensive coordinator Mike ZImmer, who was his Vikings head coach at the time.
Linval Joseph’s advice to defensive tackles in Mike Zimmer’s system: “Learn it quickly. Zim don’t like mistakes.” pic.twitter.com/spZ79yES4X
— Mike Leslie (@MikeLeslieWFAA) August 28, 2024
The Cowboys have a tough test to start the year, but it helps that they don’t have to deal with Chubb.
If they can start the season by winning two of their first three games, that would be huge. Split with the Browns and Ravens and take care of the Saints, it will set them up nicely for the rest ahead.
Now that Lamb is in the building, I am kinda looking forward to this season.
