The final two regular season games for the Dallas Cowboys were “meaningless.” Going into their week 16 Monday night game against the Detroit Lions, Dallas had already wrapped up both the NFC East and the number one seed in the NFC.
Though they went full-throttle against a playoff-caliber opponent that night, they decided to take their foot off the gas this week against the lowly Philadelphia Eagles. With many of the team's stars not seeing much, if any, action at all on Sunday, other players were able to get extra opportunities to play. Some of those aforementioned players made the most of their opportunities over the final two weeks, not the least of which was defensive end Randy Gregory.
The former second round pick was suspended for the first fourteen games of the 2016 season, but was finally cleared prior to the team's home finale against Detroit. Over the final two weeks, Gregory tallied 9 tackles, one for a loss, and his first career sack.
While it did seem that on most snaps, Eagles' left tackle Jason Peters got the better of Gregory, the flashes of burst and impact which Gregory showed were certainly promising.
No, he didn't beat Peters with some fantastic move for the sack, but his relentlessness, motor, and ability to stay on his feet and defeat the cut-block are all superb here.
Gregory's get-off is arguably the best on the entire team. What he lacks in size or stature, he certainly makes up for in speed. Here we see him get off the ball with a purpose, splitting the blockers and stopping Darren Sproles for a four yard loss.
Randy Gregory's quickness off the ball gives Peters trouble here, as he is unable to step backside and hinge before Gregory blazes by him. (Okay, maybe blazes isn't the best adjective for Randy).
Peters is taught to step down and help out the center, who is trying to make a key back block, before hinging backside to protect against anyone trailing the play. Usually, the offense doesn't expect a backside defensive end to get off the ball like this, and make the play in the backfield. But Randy Gregory does it here.
Another area which impressed me was Gregory's conditioning. The Cowboys normally go with an eight or nine man rotation on the defensive line, but due to injuries and rest they were down to just five defensive linemen over the last two games. This meant that Gregory, who hadn't played a snap of football all year, was forced to play just about every play in Philadelphia. The fact that he was able to last through that speaks volumes about his preparation.
It is hard to get too excited over Gregory's performance, however, as we know that a longer suspension still looms large. There is reason to believe that when his appeal is heard, he could get off scot-free, but the inconsistencies of the NFL and Gregory's history, should make any fan nervous.
Hopefully, Randy Gregory can avoid another suspension, and can be available for the Cowboys playoff run.
