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There may not be a team in the NFL under as much pressure to perform in 2024 than the Dallas Cowboys. They are in the midst of their best regular season performance since their dynasty in the mid-90s, winning 12 games in three consecutive seasons. Unfortunately for Dallas, playoff success has not followed.
The Cowboys set some ugly NFL history this season, becoming the first team to win 12+ games in three straight seasons without a Championship Game appearance. Dallas hasn’t advanced to a Championship Game since the 1995 season, the last time they won a Super Bowl.
On top of that, Dallas became the first No. 2 seed to lose to a No. 7 seed since the playoffs expanded. Jerry Jones didn’t fire head coach Mike McCarthy this offseason, but you can be assured he and several other people are going to be on the hot seat in 2024.
When taking a look at the Cowboys’ roster, pinpointing clear positions of need is difficult. People will debate whether or not Dak Prescott is the answer at quarterback to get this team over the hump, but is there a clear-cut alternative who is better?
Upgrading some of the weapons around Prescott could help, as the team needs to find more consistent options behind CeeDee Lamb at wide receiver. Arguably the biggest need for the team, according to PFF’s Mock Draft Simulator, is along the offensive line.
The Cowboys could lose long-time left tackle Tyron Smith in free agency this offseason. Smith has struggled staying healthy in recent seasons, which could lead to Dallas opting to make a change at the position.
If that is what they choose to do, the 2024 NFL Draft could present them with an option to replace him with. PFF believes that the ideal pick for the Cowboys would be Alabama tackle, JC Latham.
“Latham is a super-sized offensive tackle at 6-foot-6, 360 pounds, but he moves much better than one would expect for a player his size. Consistency with his hand placement is still a work in progress, but he is a physically gifted big man to mold,” per PFF’s Big Board Analysis.
The Cowboys used their first-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft on Tyler Smith out of Tulsa. He played all of his snaps in 2023 at left guard, but all his snaps in 2022 as a rookie at left tackle.
Dallas could opt to leave him at left guard should they be able to land a player of Latham’s caliber in the first round this year. Selecting the Alabama star would provide the Cowboys with another building block in the trenches, an area that has been a strength for the team in recent years.
More must-reads:
- Browns may not be prepared for one thing with Shedeur Sanders
- Broncos QB Bo Nix pumps the brakes on his own head coach's hype train
- The 'NFL single-season reception leaders' quiz
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Browns may not be prepared for one thing with Shedeur Sanders
During a recent edition of the "Orange and Brown Talk Podcast," Cleveland Browns beat reporter Ashley Bastock of the Cleveland Plain Dealer suggested that Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski may not be prepared for the "potential fan backlash" that could arise regarding the team's handling of rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders. Stefanski seemed to say plenty about the subject when it was learned on Monday that Sanders remains fourth on the club's unofficial depth chart even though he enjoyed a solid NFL debut in the club's preseason opener at the Carolina Panthers on Friday night. Also on Monday, Browns insider Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer made it known that Stefanski won't be in a rush to play Sanders or fellow first-year pro Dillon Gabriel ahead of schedule. "Stefanski and the other offensive coaches have a plan for the rookie QBs, and they’re not about to be swayed by public opinion and the Sanders-mania that’s sweeping the nation," Cabot wrote. "Yes, it was a great debut against the Panthers with two beautiful touchdown passes to first-year receiver Kaden Davis. But Stefanski always keeps things simple for his rookie quarterbacks in preseason games, and most have looked excellent in their outings under him. Therefore, he wasn’t ready Monday to start handing over those precious starting reps to Sanders when he’s unlikely to start Week 1 and doesn’t necessarily need that valuable time with the ones — yet." Neither Gabriel nor presumed backup Kenny Pickett played against the Panthers after they were slowed by hamstring injuries during training camp. Meanwhile, Sanders completed 14-of-23 passes for 138 yards and two touchdowns in Cleveland's 30-10 victory over Carolina. Gabriel returned to the practice field on Monday, but Pickett reportedly could be sidelined "for a couple more weeks." It's unclear if either signal-caller will play in Cleveland's preseason matchup at the Philadelphia Eagles this coming Saturday. "They have had a process with Shedeur all the way through," Cabot added during the latest episode of the podcast. "And even when they were taking heat nationally from all kinds of pundits and experts saying that they were setting Shedeur up to fail, they stuck to their guns. And even after his really, really nice debut, they really haven’t changed the process." As recently as Tuesday morning, Zac Jackson of The Athletic mentioned that veteran Joe Flacco is still "the clear leader" to be Cleveland's Week 1 starter over Sanders, Gabriel and Pickett. As of Tuesday morning, FanDuel Sportsbook had Flacco as a -310 betting favorite to get the nod for the Browns' regular-season opener versus the Cincinnati Bengals on Sept. 7. Previous whispers indicated Stefanski will want to name his Week 1 QB1 before Cleveland wraps the preseason up with a home game against the Los Angeles Rams on Aug. 23. It certainly sounds like Stefanski won't lose any sleep over disappointing members of a passionate fan base who want to see what Sanders can do against live defenses in meaningful contests.
Browns Coach Was Asked If Shedeur Sanders Will Start Second Preseason Game
The Cleveland Browns kicked off their preseason with style last Friday, starting fifth-round pick Shedeur Sanders at quarterback. Despite not having many first-team reps under his belt, he absolutely delivered under pressure. Sanders finished his preseason debut with 138 passing yards and two touchdowns. The Colorado product also had 19 rushing yards against the Carolina Panthers. Although he could've called out his naysayers following the team's 30-10 victory, he chose to take the high road during his postgame press conference. He even gave his coaching staff and teammates all the credit for his performance. "I'm comfortable with being uncomfortable, so that's what it is," Sanders said. "I got pockets of finding my rhythm, and I got to get into that quicker, regardless of anything. But overall, I felt like me out there, and I couldn't do it, of course, without the time. I couldn't do it without the playcalling. I couldn't do without anything." After watching Sanders pick apart the Panthers, NFL fans are hoping to see more of him this Saturday against the Philadelphia Eagles. However, there's no guarantee he'll get a ton of snaps. Speaking to reporters this week, Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski was asked if Sanders will start against the Eagles. He refused to name a starter for his team's second preseason game. "I’m not there on the game itself. By Wednesday, Thursday, I’ll have a better feel for the game and how we’re gonna handle that, and I’ll update you guys. But not there yet," Stefanski said. A few moments later, Stefanski was asked if he knows who'll start Week 1 against the Cincinnati Bengals. One again, he was unwilling to commit to one of his quarterbacks. "I think you take everything into account, but we’ll see how we get through this week and then make a decision – make a decision on when to make a decision." It's possible Cleveland will want to see Dillon Gabriel under center before they give the keys to the offense back to Sanders. The rookie from Oregon returned to 11-on-11 drills earlier this week.
Brewers' Quinn Priester tells the truth after escaping loss in comeback vs. Mets
The Milwaukee Brewers looked as though their hot stretch was going to end on Sunday, when the New York Mets jumped to a 5-0 lead. It was certainly not one of Quinn Priester’s best starts, as the right-handed hurler allowed six earned runs on 10 hits (including two home runs) while recording only two strikeouts and issuing a walk across 4 1/3 innings of work on the mound. It was an especially frustrating individual performance for Priester, considering how great he was in a previous start. Last Monday, Priester went seven innings long and gave up just an earned run on two hits in a 3-1 victory over the Atlanta Braves on the road. That was his 10th straight pitching win, and the streak appeared to be on the verge of getting broken in the Mets game. Fortunately for Priester, Milwaukee’s bats came alive just in time to secure another team victory — and keep Priester’s streak going. Priester speaks up on Brewers’ thrilling win against the Mets The Brewers managed to pull off a come-from-behind 7-6 victory, capped by a solo, walk-off home run by rookie sensation Isaac Collins. “It’s indescribable,” Priester said after giving up a season-high 11 hits (h/t Adam McCalvy of MLB.com). “They definitely made up for a lot of my miscues today, but it’s a team game. I love being a part of this team, because otherwise I wouldn’t be able to smile right now.” On the season, Priester is 11-2 with a 3.49 ERA and 1.24 WHIP through 22 appearances (17 starts). The Brewers have now won their last three series via sweeps, and they will look to keep it going with a three-game set coming up against the National League Central division cellar-dwelling Pittsburgh Pirates at home.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. blames Connor Zilisch for Shane van Gisbergen wreck: ‘I don’t like it’
The battle everyone predicted came to pass late in the Xfinity Series race at Watkins Glen on Saturday. It was the wonder kid, Connor Zilisch, against the road course warrior, Shane van Gisbergen. But the battle didn’t quite materialize. Instead, Zilisch got into van Gisbergen going into a turn with about 15 laps to go and wrecked him. The two drivers, teammates at the time racing for JR Motorsports, wouldn’t battle it out to the finish line. That left owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. less than enthused, despite Connor Zilisch going on to claim the win. “Connor coming back on the track and clipping him was avoidable,” Earnhardt said, breaking down the wreck on the Dale Jr. Download. “[SVG]’s shading left to make the entrance for Turn 7 and Connor’s options into Turn 7 (limited). He’s doing that and he had been doing this for many laps, to try to make it hard for Connor to get around. And he’s doing it again. And Connor didn’t cut him a break. “Connor could have lifted. Connor could have got back behind. There’s 15 laps in the race to go. This is like a last lap, last corner move. And there were so many laps left in the race. And we would have been gifted more laps of these two guys trying to battle.” There are two schools of thought to the whole thing. Well, at least. Earnhardt honed in on one of them: van Gisbergen is a heck of a defensive driver, and with 15 laps to go, Connor Zilisch may have been growing frustrated. So he just went for it. “I would say that that wreck was a result of them going lap, corner after corner after corner, and getting a little more and more aggressive with — I wouldn’t call what SVG was doing as blocking — he was just really trying to take away opportunity and line,” Earnhardt said. “He never threw like a Daytona, Talladega block, but he knows how to shade down the straightaway or be in a spot that makes really Connor’s options limited. He is very good. Very good.” Van Gisbergen was at a bit of a tire disadvantage at the time, having stayed out late in Stage 2 for track position. The thinking by most analysts was that Connor Zilisch could have passed van Gisbergen in the closing stretch without too much fuss. For Earnhardt, the real question is who Zilisch is as a driver. Even he’s not entirely sure yet. Was it inexperience showing in the wreck? Or was it something else entirely? “We don’t know everything about Connor,” Earnhardt said. “We don’t know how Connor keeps score, right, in his head. This may just be who Connor Zilisch is. Right? This might not be a young guy, inexperienced, making mistakes. This may be Connor saying, ‘You block, you pay.’ That also might be the case, where we might actually be realizing how he’s willing to stand his ground in moments like this, even against a teammate. “I don’t like it, right? I don’t like the 9 car getting destroyed. I want SVG to have a great experience driving our cars. I want SVG to want to do it again. Man, any car owner would love to have this guy behind the wheel of your car at the road courses.”
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