Panthers vs Cowboys: Q&A with Blogging the Boys I spoke with

Dave Halperin of Blogging the Boys about the new-look 2018 Cowboys. He had a lot to say about the optimism in a post-Dez Bryant world Womens Shaq Thompson Jersey , Dak Prescott’s 3rd year, and more. Read on for an inside look at the Panthers week 1 opponent.Cat Scratch Reader: Y’all lost Jason Witten and Dez Bryant this off season. How are the Cowboys going to replace them?Blogging the Boys: Rather than just trying to replace them, the Cowboys are altering their offense somewhat and they are looking at doing things more by committee. Witten and Bryant were certainly the focal point of the offense, but over the last few years their production had started to slip. Bryant’s particular set of skills didn’t seem to match up well with Dak Prescott, so the Cowboys want to go with more precise route-runners. They want to spread the ball around more and move their receivers around more instead of the stable sets they’ve been running for years. So the hope is it will be a community effort in replacing the production of Bryant and Witten.CSR: It feels like you guys have struggled to field a consistent secondary since busting on the selection of Morris Claiborne in the 2012 draft. What are your expectations this year?BTB: The Cowboys secondary is young but has a lot of potential. Dallas brought in Kris Richard who helped create the Legion of Boom in Seattle, he is an aggressive coordinator and the Cowboys want more production from their secondary in the form of turnovers. They have moved Byron Jones from safety to cornerback and he seems to be thriving in the preseason. The cornerbacks with Jones and second-year player Chidobe Awuzie seem pretty solid. At safety they are a little thin, and projected free safety starter Xavier Woods almost certainly won’t be participating in the game. The Cowboys secondary is definitely young Womens Dontari Poe Jersey , but they have athletes there and they should be better than in past years.CSR: The Panthers offensive line has been one of the most injured units I’ve seen in football and they haven’t played the first game yet. How healthy is the Cowboy’s front 7 and should the Panthers be afraid of them?BTB: The Cowboys front seven on defense could be one of the most improved parts of the team. DeMarcus Lawrence had his breakout season last year, and Randy Gregory is now back and played well in the preseason. They are the bookend defensive ends, and last year’s first-round pick Taco Charlton has shown great improvement in training camp and in preseason. Sean Lee is a stud at linebacker, and Jaylon Smith has looked fully recovered from his college injury and could form a formidable duo with Lee. The defensive tackles are little shaky with David Irving suspended, but overall this unit has talent and depth. Hopefully this year’s first-round pick, linebacker Leighton Vander Esch, will get healthy and be able to contribute. CSR: Dak Prescott came back to Earth a little last season after his impressive rookie campaign. What should we expect from him as he starts year 3?BTB: Last year’s issues were as much about the player’s around him that were missing as they were with Prescott himself. Halfway through the season Womens Greg Van Roten Jersey , Prescott was having an excellent year, close to the same as he had in 2016. Then Tyron Smith got injured and Ezekiel Elliot was suspended and things started to fall apart. The Cowboys backups for Smith were awful and Prescott took a lot of sacks and pressures. Then not having Zeke also hurt the offense, and Prescott’s play fell off. I would expect that he will look more like the guy that played in 2016 and through the first eight games of 2017, than the guy who finished the season.CSR: What player has been a total surprise this offseason and is now in line to see substantial playing time.BTB: Defensive tackle Antwaun Woods. We signed him late in the free agency period and no one really expected much. But he has played really well in training camp and in the preseason names and his stock has shot up. He should find himself with some serious playing time. CSR: How healthy are the Cowboys entering the season?BTB: They are relatively healthy. Travis Frederick is the big issue, our starting All-Pro center will miss some time after being diagnosed with Guillain-Barre Syndrome, an auto-immune disease. There is no precise timetable for his return and he will not be playing this week. As mentioned above, starting safety Xavier Woods is injured and likely won’t play. Datone Jones Youth Ryan Kalil Jersey , a member of the defensive tackle rotation will also be out. Defensive tackle Maliek Collins is recovering from a broken foot and we’re not so sure how ready he will be, the same holds for linebacker Leighton Vander Esch who has a groin issue. Pro Football Talk is reporting that the Carolina Panthers are interviewing former Indianapolis Colts head coach Chuck Pagano for an unidentified position on their coaching staff. The report mentions that the Panthers currently lack a secondary or defensive backs coach but does not directly attribute Pagano’s interview with that position.The Panthers would be an odd landing spot for Pagano for any number of reasons. First, he is currently in consideration by a number of teams that just hired a new head coach for the defensive coordinator position. This includes the Cleveland Browns with rookie head coach Freddie Kitchens, the Arizona Cardinals with the fresh-from-college Kliff Kingsbury, and the New York Jets with the retread Adam Gase. Taking a secondary job with the Panthers would certainly be a step down for a coach whose most recent job was as head coach of the Colts from 2012-2017.It is possible that Pagano is a surprise candidate for the defensive coordinator job. Eric Washington is a highly respected defensive line coach who the Panthers want to keep in effectively that position after a disappointing year in the coordinator role. There has been a lot of talk about Rivera taking over the defensive play calling while Washington continues in a reduced capacity while retaining the title of defensive coordinator. However, Rivera also gave his public support to his entire coaching staff the day before he fired Mike Shula in early 2018. He’s an unusual candidate from the Panthers perspective, as well. While he does have some loose ties to the region as a former assistant coach with both East Carolina University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Youth Greg Olsen Jersey , he has never been on a coaching staff with Ron Rivera.Whether the Panthers are Pagano’s safety option or Carolina is performing a thorough search, this interview marks a departure in at least the public face of their coaching searches. It is a welcome change to see the franchise look outside of its own network of contacts to interview qualified and experienced candidates.