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Jerry Jones hypes up Cowboys rookie WR: ‘He’s got Dez Bryant stuff to him’ – SportsDay Staff, Dallas Morning News
Jerry Jones, forever the hype man, gave rookie wide receiver Ryan Flournoy some huge kudos.
During his weekly radio interview on 105.3 The Fan (KRLD-FM), Jones compared 2024 sixth-round draft pick Ryan Flournoy to the Cowboys’ all-time leader in touchdown receptions.
“Flournoy is somebody that I’m anxious to see him make his first catch with the Dallas Cowboys. He may be something special for us, ” Jones said.
“On a personal basis, he’s got Dez Bryant stuff to him. Boy, is he an athlete.”
The Cowboys drafted Flournoy — who stands at 6-1, weighing 200 pounds — No. 216 overall from Southeast Missouri State. He has been inactive in each of the Cowboys first four games of the season, but could be making his pro debut on Sunday in Pittsburgh thanks to the absence of Brandin Cooks.
High 5: Five players who need big games in Pittsburgh – Kyle Youmans, DallasCowboys.com
Here are two of the five players Youmans believes the Cowboys will need to step up to win their second consecutive game.
5) Jalen Tolbert
For the first time in his career, Jalen Tolbert will be expected to be a true second wide receiver. He’s had to perform in the shadow of Michael Gallup and Brandin Cooks since being drafted in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft. Luckily, Prescott and Tolbert had all sorts of extra reps during the CeeDee Lamb holdout in training camp. So far in 2024, he’s been targeted 19 times for 13 catches and 160 yards. He’ll need to produce much more than that if he hopes to continue to elevate and receive more looks as the year goes on.
4) Jake Ferguson
In the last two seasons, Jake Ferguson has shown to be a consistent and reliable target for Dak Prescott at the tight end position. This week, he’ll need to become more of the playmaker that we saw at times last season. He’s only two weeks removed from an early-season knee injury himself, but his production could be key to replacing the offensive possibilities without Cooks.
What happened to the Cowboys defense? Turning back to the past with Mike Zimmer hasn’t panned out – Jared Dubin, CBS Sports
The new era of defense for the Cowboys under Mike Zimmer is off to a slow start.
There were initially high hopes that Zimmer could replicate some of the successes of the Quinn era while also making the team more disciplined and sounder against the run.
We’re four weeks into the season, and to put it kindly, that has not happened. Zimmer has been out of the league for two years, and it shows. His unit looks not unlike the one he helped coach under Deion Sanders at Colorado last season. The Cowboys have played two of the most inept offenses in the NFL (Browns and Giants) and yet still rank 25th in yards allowed and 27th in points allowed, 25th in yards per play and 26th in points per drive. The Cowboys check in 25th in EPA per play allowed — 18th against the pass and dead last against the run as they prepare to face the Steelers on Sunday night.
Very simply, they do not do anything well. They are particularly awful, though, against the run. They are getting absolutely clobbered on the ground allowing 1.87 yards before contact per carry — fourth-worst in the NFL. They’ve stopped the third-smallest share of runs at or behind the line of scrimmage (15%) and have yielded 5-plus yards on 37.8% of carries, which ranked 23rd. Even when stacking the box, they can’t stop the run, allowing a league-worst 4.9 yards per carry. Even their vaunted pass rush has gone by the wayside, as they now rank just 15th in pressure rate and 21st in sack rate.
Dak Prescott won’t try to be ‘Superman’ but who knows he ‘can play better’ – Nick Eatman, DallasCowboys.com
The Cowboys need Dak Prescott to up his game, but he’ll be smart in doing so.
Two seasons ago, the Cowboys lost quarterback Dak Prescott to a broken thumb just one game into the regular season.
What happened next was a shock to the entire NFL as the Cowboys leaned on a Micah Parsons-led defense that ignited a five-game winning streak as the team rallied around Cooper Rush to pick up the slack for the offense.
Could the roles be reversed now here in 2024? The Cowboys certainly hope so as they get ready to play the Steelers on Sunday night without Parsons, who will miss his first game of his career due to injury. But that’s not all, as DeMarcus Lawrence (foot) this week was moved to IR, where All-Pro cornerback DaRon Bland still stands as he nears a return.
And then on offense, Brandin Cooks is out this week after suffering an infection in his knee.
Just like a team that came together to overcome adversity in 2022, could they perhaps do the same on the opposite end this time around?
If so, the Cowboys are going to need to rally around their two offensive stars – Dak and CeeDee Lamb, who both signed mega-deals in the last two months for a combined $94 million in annual contracts.
Prescott said he understands the added pressure on the offense and himself, but when asked if he’ll try to be “Superman” and take over, Dak said there’s always that standard to try and make the big play, without getting out of his comfort zone.
“I don’t break the huddle and say I’ve got to go be Superman here,” Dak explained. “But I’ve been able to break some tackles. I’ve been able to do some things that have helped us out. As I said, use my feet more, make the throws and so I don’t think it’s anything outside of my game that I’ve got to try to do.”
