Windy City Gridiron
The Chicago Bears welcome the Dallas Cowboys this Sunday. It’s the national late game on Fox as Kevin Burhardt and Tom Brady will be on the call. The Bears are 0-2 and getting pretty desperate for a win, but the Cowboys are 1-1, and that win was a win by an eyelash against the lowly New York Giants, and they are looking to get their season on track as well.
The storyline in Chicago is the return of Matt Eberflus as the Cowboys’ Defensive Coordinator and his first time being back at Soldier Field since he was fired after Thanksgiving last season.
To help get you set for this one, we chatted with David Halprin from SB Nation’s Cowboys site, Blogging with the Boys, to get the perspective from this week’s opponent.
1. On behalf of all Chicago Bears fans (and Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions fans, too): Make sure you kick Jerry Jones in the rear end if you see him for Micah Parsons. How are Cowboys fans dealing with the trade, and is there any justification for making this move?
There was definitely a segment of fans who actually didn’t mind the trade, but I would say the majority didn’t like it at all, myself included. So not all responses on the subject will be the same. If you are going just on football talent alone, it is hard to justify the move. Everyone knows Parsons is one of the top NFL players of this generation, and is still relatively young in NFL terms, so he has plenty of prime years left. The Cowboys are struggling to create a consistent pass rush right now, something that Parsons almost always gave them.
As for justifications, I’ll run through what has been thrown out there. Parsons’ contract was going to be very expensive, and the Cowboys already have Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb on huge contracts. So they saved that money and recently signed players to extensions like guard Tyler Smith and tight end Jake Ferguson, with Brandon Aubrey likely happening sometime. Then there are the two first-round draft picks and Kenny Clark, who frankly has been pretty good for Dallas. There are also some suggestions that Parsons wears down toward the end of the season as his late-season stats, including playoffs, have not been up to his normal standards. Plus, his weekly podcast and other media statements have rubbed some people in the organization, including players, the wrong way. Those are the justifications, but I wouldn’t have traded him,
2. The Cowboys’ defense (under Matt Eberflus) hasn’t looked great so far this season. What are the biggest issues facing this defense, and how could Ben Johnson and the Bears exploit it?
One part of the problem is that the team came into the season with a banged-up cornerback room. Trevon Diggs looks like he is still trying to recover from his knee injury from last season. DaRon Bland played one game but missed last week and will miss...
