So much for being nervous about which Dallas Cowboys depth piece could replace Anthony Brown’s production in full, huh?
The Cowboys’ secondary on Sunday against the lowly Texans will feature a slightly heavier dose of rookie DaRon Bland after his impressive showing vs the Colts (two strong picks), as well as an increase in reps for Kelvin Joseph, who still seems to require a bit of a learning curve considering the instincts he put on tape against Indianapolis himself.
Luckily for the Cowboys, Joseph’s landing pad will be especially soft and pillowy on Sunday against Houston, as the already-undermanned Texans are poised to be even weaker through the air around Davis Mills in Week 14.
Wideout Nico Collins, as well as established Pro Bowler Brandin Cooks, were no-shows who didn’t dress at Thursday’s practice.
If neither heals in time for Sunday, that would leave the already-scoring-strapped Texans without their top two targets.
WR Nico Collins isn’t dressed out today and is not practicing with a foot injury.
— Jonathan M Alexander (@jonmalexander) December 8, 2022
Brandin Cooks (calf) is not here either.
Texans could be without their top two receivers again.
Cowboys-Texans Injury Report: Houston WRs won’t be participating
And so, the Cowboys turn their attention to bottling up the run and rendering Dameon Pearce useless. Donovan Wilson, you know what to do! Activate that hit stick!
Without Collins and Cooks, the Texans will try to involve veteran Phillip Dorsett, as well as second-stringers Amari Rodgers and Chris Moore, two people we can almost guarantee you’re thinking about for the very first time right now.
The Cowboys? They don’t seem all too consumed with stopping that dynamic trio, either, considering Mike McCarthy is trying to up the intensity at practice this week by showing old basketball highlights.
Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy showed his team a clip of the dream team practice battles between Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson to let them know about the intensity they need to have in practice and that's can be where the greatest challenges can be.
— Clarence Hill Jr (@clarencehilljr) December 8, 2022
Iron sharpens iron, Dallas. Forget about the opponent on Sunday. Start trying to get the best of each other.
Solid strategy. When the Cowboys’ second options in the secondary take the field and actually get a crack at Rodgers and Moore after battling Michael Gallup and CeeDee Lamb all week, things should be a little simpler.
Just try not to dunk on them too hard.
3 Cowboys playing their way off the roster in 2023
The Dallas Cowboys have done a good enough job drafting that they might not be able to afford a few of their pending free agents.