First, what positives do you take away from a more competitive game last week versus the Eagles, albeit still a Dallas loss?
I think a couple of things. They got better production from their defensive line – it may have been their best performance since their week one game against the Rams. But you have to take that with a grain of salt as they were playing an NFC East rival. They were familiar with the system and the players so that helps.
DeMarcus Lawrence did have his best game of the season, but that wasn’t against Lane Johnson. The play of Trevon Diggs was a good sign of things to come. He’s had a rollercoaster year too – he sometimes gets caught looking at the backfield.
So, whether last week’s play becomes a trend or just one game against a division rival remains to be seen. Ben isn’t the same Ben Roethlisberger of the past but he still has a very high ceiling to take advantage of this Dallas defense. I think it’s telling to say it’d be surprising if Dallas can keep them under four touchdowns.
What about the quarterback situation – any guesses on how that plays out?
McCarthy likes to play coy on things. For example on tackle Steele, he said Steele would play left tackle but then ended up starting at right tackle.
In terms of Cooper Rush versus Garrett Gilbert at quarterback, I think Rush knows the system better – he backed up Dak and is more familiar with the offense. Gilbert has more upside though. He was the best quarterback in the AAF – I know it was a developmental league but I think he has more upside.
I think they need to be realistic. I know theoretically they are still in striking distance of the playoffs, but I’d like to see them give snap counts based on what’s going to go on in 2021.
DiNucci was an abject failure at quarterback. He had no familiarity with the offense and no time in the offseason to get ready. I’d like to see them play Gilbert to see how he develops from now on – to see if he’s their future number two quarterback.
What can Dallas do from your perspective to win this game?
Part of it comes down to the Steelers and their injury issues on the defensive line. That’s probably the best hope for Dallas – but Elliott has had hamstring issues too – he’s been limited and we know how hamstrings are. We could see him limited on Sunday and Pollard getting more snaps.
The strength of Dallas is their interior offensive line. Rookie center Tyler Bladasz has been playing very well. Zack Martin is playing well at right guard and Bladasz’s play has helped elevate the play of left guard Connor Williams. The hope is that the Cowboys can run up the middle against that injured defensive line of the Steelers and shrink the game and keep the ball out of Ben’s hands.
The Cowboys still have the best top-three wide receivers in the league – apologies to Pittsburgh who has a lot of good wide receivers and are deeper. But the Cowboys receivers are tremendous – you just can’t see that due to the play of the quarterbacks.
Can we get the ball to our weapons? That’s the key. I joke that Watt can do a pirouette and still get to the quarterback due to the poor play of the offensive tackles. If they can somehow keep the pass rush off of the quarterback maybe they can make some hay.
What do you think the Steelers can do to best secure a win?
I’m in awe of the Steelers’ talent. The spread is 13 1/2 and I know the Steelers struggle on the road against big spreads. But I don’t know how the offense can keep it close against the number two DVOA defense in the NFL.
For the Steelers, I think throwing away from Diggs makes sense. Going at Anthony Brown and slot corner Jourdan Lewis – I think they can find success there. Lewis is great versus the run and a big hitter but not up to par in coverage. They’ll also be without corner Chidobe Awuzie which just makes it harder.
The thing is, Diggs can also be beaten deep. You can play bombs away against the Cowboys – Diggs also gave up two touchdowns last week versus the Eagles. Donovan Wilson had been playing better at safety but he’s still average in coverage, and Xavier Woods has not been great this year.
Tomlin, to be honest, is a better coach than McCarthy. How he’s not being mentioned more as a coach of the year candidate us strange to me. Almost nefarious. The Steelers are better prepared – there’s no reason to think this won’t be a 15-20 point win if the Steelers don’t commit some foolish turnovers.
If Dallas wins, it’s because of what?
It’s all on Dallas’ defensive front. They have to get to Ben. And as we know, even getting to Ben – he’s so strong – he doesn’t go down. So they can’t just get to Ben, they have to bring him down.
Aldon Smith, DeMarucs Lawrence and Randy Gregory have to take advantage of the Steelers’ offensive tackles and speed up his timer. If they can do that they have a chance. And I think they need to score on defense. A pick-six from Diggs, something along those lines. They have the playmakers.
How are your special teams? The Steelers have a surprisingly good return game with McCloud and Johnson.
The coverage teams have been pretty good. They’ve limited returns – no big breakouts. They’ve used an interesting weave in getting around blocks and getting downfield.
They are trying a new punter. Chris Jones was punting poorly and they found out he had a sports hernia after all, so they brought in a new punter, Greg Zurlein, who kicked in the XFL. He’ll be holding and kicking. He has a big leg but we’ll have to see how he does holding and kicking in the NFL.
Lastly, I’ve spoken to a couple of former Cowboys this week – Cliff Harris and Thomas Henderson – who were less than complimentary on the Cowboys coaching. Any thoughts on that?
It’s been a bumpy road this season. You had the game where the team’s effort was questioned. When anonymous players question the coaches it’s not good. It’s cowardly when they do so in public anonymously – whether it’s a star that has their own reasons or a 53rd man on the roster who doesn’t think they are getting enough playing time, who knows.
Either way though, it’s symptomatic of the problems in the locker room. There aren’t anonymous reports coming out discussing how well-prepared the Cowboys have been. And McCarthy called out the Dallas offensive line for not protecting Dalton when he got hurt – for not stepping up for him.
It’s not a sinking ship. But the Cowboys should have been more competitive. They have the talent. I know the hype before the season started was more from the media, but some of this is about guys not being put in the right positions. That’s the fault of McCarthy and who he hired. Nolan tried to install a brand new hybrid defense with no offseason to really work on it and wouldn’t go back to the old defense when it wasn’t working. I can understand doing that in the long-term but not with no offseason to work on it. That’s a short-term failure and I can understand why veteran players see that and are frustrated.
I think at this point it should be all about 2021. Figuring out who can help this team next year. It was a mistake to put Steele at right tackle – they should have seen what they had in Martin or Williams. I understand not doing that now versus the pass rush of the Eagle and Steelers, but I hope they start thinking about what they can do for 2021.
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