I’m a firm believer in the notion of practicing what you preach, and every Friday here at Inside The Star I preach one indisputable mantra – boldness.
You’ve got to be bold. This isn’t up for debate. As a member of Cowboys Nation your boldness is necessary to help the team win and no matter what the cost, you must always be prepared to be bold.
On Monday, October 1st, 2012 I was faced with a bold request, a pretty unique one.
This particular day after Sunday saw the Dallas Cowboys hosting the Chicago Bears on Monday Night Football. It was the first, and so far only, MNF game that I’ve ever attended.
You have to attend a MNF game in your life. The DUN DUN DUN DUN is played right before kickoff and it makes you want to run through a wall. That’s what I was prepared to do for my team, America’s Team, that night. Anything and everything.
Not even five minutes into the game a Cowboys Stadium (this was before the name change to AT&T Stadium) employee approached my cousin and I. She said that they wanted us, since we were sitting in the endzone, to wave a sign in an effort to distract Robbie Gould (the then Bears Kicker) when he was attempting field goals/extra points.
I’m all about being a team player, so I said yes in an instant… and then she brought the sign out. It wasn’t exactly what I was expecting, but hey, this was for my team. They were counting on me to be bold!
I waved that sign till my arms were ready to fall off. Robbie Gould, I know you’re reading this, I’m not sorry at all. You’re a cool dude, but that day you were the enemy.
This Sunday Night the Bears are once again the enemy. How bold are you willing to be for our team? Are you willing to wave a giant Stewie from Family Guy head all game long? I am. Been there, done that, and we’re going to do it again as the Cowboys victoriously march all over the Bears.
Welcome to my 5 Bold Predictions. Let’s roll.
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Morris Claiborne Has An Interception Returned For A TD
Earlier this week at Inside The Star my fellow Staff Writer Brian Martin speculated in Martin’s 5 that Morris Claiborne is next in line for an interception among the defensive backs.
Brian brilliantly notes that if the Cowboys are going alphabetically that since Carr and Church have already gone, Claiborne would be next. Beyond that indisputable data there are three additional interesting points of note.
- Morris Claiborne is the Cowboys best cornerback.
- His last interception came in Week 3 of 2014. This is Week 3 of 2016.
- ‘Ol number 24’s first career touchdown happened after a fumble return on Sunday Night Football, when this game will be played, during a game against the Philadelphia Eagles in 2012 (9 weeks after I held Stewie).
This is destiny. The alphabet, talent, numbers, and history are all on our side!
Lock this bad boy in as bold prediction numero uno.
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Ezekiel Elliott Will Match His Current Season Total In Rushing Yards
As it currently stands the 4th Overall Draft Pick, Ezekiel Elliott, has 134 rushing yards on the season. Close your eyes and pretend that this is a poker table because Zeke is about to double up!
If you look at Zeke’s freshman and sophomore seasons at The Ohio State University you’ll notice that he exploded in those season’s third and fourth games, respectively. It’s apparent that, like literally every other player in the world, it takes young Zeke a few games to get his feet properly wet before he uses them to stomp on his opponents.
Elliott greatly progressed from Week 1 to Week 2 showing far more patience on his blocks and decisiveness in hitting the appropriate hole. He’s a player who, even at tOSU, plays best when the lights are brightest. This is Sunday Night Football. We’ve been waiting all offseason for this!
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Tyrone Crawford Will Have A Hat Trick Of Sacks
You should know that Tyrone Crawford is from Canada. They play a lot of hockey there. That makes my hat trick joke funny. Laugh!
Tyrone Crawford is a player that the Cowboys really believe in. They proved that a season ago when they rewarded him with a long-term contract. All of this happened despite the Cowboys being unable to figure out where Crawford would line up along the defensive line for the first few years of his career.
While it was determined that Crawford was more of a Defensive Tackle, last week during the win in Washington he saw work at Defensive End – where he’ll play against the Bears. Crawford is going to be rushing the passer and I’m here to say that if you’re Jay Cutler or Brian Hoyer then you were doomed anyway that’s a big problem.
Tyrone is going to get to the Chicago signal-caller not once, oh dear not twice, but Tyrone is going to get there for the big ‘ol tres amount of sacks. Get hyped!
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Cole Beasley Will Convert Five First Downs
Here are some interesting facts about Dallas Cowboys Wide Receiver Cole Beasley compared to the rest of the NFL:
- He is currently tied for 7th in targets (18).
- He is currently tied for 4th in catches (13).
- He is averaging 7.78 yards per reception.
While he is still a valuable contributor to our team, the days of Jason Witten being this team’s check down option/safety blanket seem to be over. This is now, according to the data, Cole Beasley’s job and one that he is very good at.
Rookie QB Dak Prescott trusts Cole Beasley. He knows he’ll be there to make a play. He’s going to go to him an awful lot in this game and move the chains at least five times in the process.
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Dak Prescott Will Throw His First Interception
When you consider that Dak Prescott played in a lot of the first three preseason games and has been through two regular season games and that he has done it all without throwing an interception… you’re astounded.
Dak Prescott has done a phenomenal job at taking care of the football. He’s adhering to coaching and is playing the game from a very mentally superior perspective.
The facts of life are that, inevitably, that gravy train ends. Dak has been incredible and you can just sense that he’s going to either make one bad read or have a ball tipped badly that results in it falling into the arms of someone wearing the opposite jersey.
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Bonus Bold Prediction #1
Remember, if you want YOUR Bold Prediction featured here, tweet it at me! It’s that simple! Here are this week’s contributions, thanks to all those who shared!
ok! Well I predict that @bigdavis813 will get his first sack with the star on his helmet in his first game next week 🔥🔥🔥
— the OG (@joinez) September 19, 2016
Ryan Davis is quickly turning into a fan-favorite around the Twitterverse. I blame my fellow Staff Writer Sean Martin as he wrote this fantastic Film Review highlighting what Davis can bring to the Cowboys, but it’s much-welcomed nonetheless.
We’ll see if Davis is even activated and if he is, how many snaps he plays. Should he see some serious time then I can definitely see, and get down, with this!
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Bonus Bold Prediction #2
https://twitter.com/DonnyKf5stk/status/778338261601181696
So Donny here had a bit of a complicated bold prediction. He’s going with double the boldness as he’s predicting:
- The Steelers “beat down” the Eagles.
- The Cowboys then “beat down” the Bears by the same exact score.
- Dallas also has the exact same amount of sacks and interceptions in their victory over Chicago that Pittsburgh does over Philly.
Respect.
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Bonus Bold Prediction #3
@rjochoa Bold Prediction: Zeke Elliott will have 2 TD rushes that combine for 120 yards!
— JPcards (@JP_cards51) September 22, 2016
@rjochoa Bold Prediction: Dak Prescott's first career touchdown pass will be too… Himself!!
— JPcards (@JP_cards51) September 22, 2016
Jones here also went double on the boldness… not one, but two Bold Predictions!
Let’s discuss Zeke first. This is actually fairly probable if you think about it. Say Zeke rips off a 73-yard touchdown run early in the game, that would only leave a 47-yarder for him to house in order for Jones to be proven correct. I’ve definitely seen Stranger Things, loved that show, so I can see it.
If Dak throws himself a touchdown then we are going to have such a great time next week. Count on that.
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Bonus Bold Prediction #4
@rjochoa Zeke will get a receiving & rushing TD! #boldprediction
— Jen B (@moneymouse74) September 22, 2016
What if Jen and Jones’ Bold Predictions coincide here?! Say one of Zeke’s first long touchdowns is off of a screen pass and his second is one that he takes off a handoff! Anything is possible and therefore likely. This is bold, and I dig that.
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Bonus Bold Prediction #5
@rjochoa going really bold this week: dez Bryant multiple td catches of 20 plus yards in a win
— Chase Aguiar (@chaseaguiar) September 23, 2016
People are swinging for the fence this week and, similarly to Kirk Cousins although not in reference to last week because he was awful, I like that.
Dez Bryant will haul in multiple touchdowns that cover more than 20 yards in the air. This is particularly bold because the Cowboys don’t have a single passing touchdown through two games, something that has never happened before in Dallas Cowboys History, and now Chase is going all-in with that thought. It sure would be an epic way to get the aerial scoring started for the 2016 Cowboys!
Go score, Dez. Do it twice. Over 20 yards. Throw Up The X. Smile. Be victorious.
[signoff author=”rjochoa” source=”rjoshow”]
What are YOUR Bold Predictions for this week’s Cowboys/Bears game? Let us know! Comment below, Email me at RJ@RJOchoaShow.com, or Tweet to me at @RJOchoa!
If Jones’ prediction of Dak Prescott catching his own touchdown pass comes true, he can have my job haha. Love these predictions as always, RJ!