Brian Schottenheimer’s Cowboys are starting to pull some people in, and Barstool Sports’ Dan Katz is one of them - even if he doesn’t love admitting it.
Dallas opened the preseason with two wins, including a 17-7 victory over the Super Bowl LX champions, the Seattle Seahawks, on Aug. 15. That early momentum was enough for Big Cat to say on the 'Pardon My Take' podcast that he’s “buying into the Cowboys hype.”
“I hate that I'm doing that,” Big Cat said on the 'Pardon My Take' podcast. “I hate that I am buying into the Cowboys hype.
But I think their offense is going to be top three if everyone stays healthy. And their defense is going to get a lot better than it was.
I hate that I'm believing in them. Like it sucks.
I don't want the Cowboys to be good.
“But, I'm sitting here looking at these teams, every year there's a couple of teams that go non-playoffs to the playoffs. Why are the Cowboys not that team?”
Dallas hasn’t lifted the Lombardi Trophy since Super Bowl XXX in the 1995 season, and the franchise’s last playoff appearance came in 2023, when it fell to the Packers in a wild-card game. Last year, Schottenheimer’s team missed the postseason entirely, finishing second in the NFC East at 7-9-1.
The Cowboys have tried to address the issues that held them back. Matt Eberflus was fired after the defense was ranked third-worst in the league, and Christian Parker was brought in as defensive coordinator in January. The front office also added veterans Von Miller, Rashan Gary and Otito Ogbonnia this offseason to strengthen that side of the ball.
There’s been help through the draft, too, with rookie safety Caleb Downs and outside linebacker Malachi Lawrence joining the mix. Offensively, the core remains in place with Dak Prescott at quarterback and George Pickens and CeeDee Lamb at receiver.
Schottenheimer also had praise this week for rookie defensive end LT Overton, a No. 137 pick who has played in the last two preseason games and logged a sack in Saturday’s 34-13 win over the Arizona Cardinals.
“I would say LT is one of the most natural pass rushers I've seen around for an interior guy,” Schottenheimer said as per Dallas Sports Journal. “We saw that at Alabama. He’s still learning some of the techniques that we believe in terms of playing combination blocks and run defense and things like that.
“But he’s been elite in a lot of ways rushing the passer. And he’s a guy we’re very, very high on. ... He’s having a great camp and we’ll see what we decide to do with him on game day.”
Dallas closes the preseason against the Saints on Friday before opening the regular season against the New York Giants on Sept. 13.
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Cowboys Tight End Battle Just Got More Complicated In Frisco
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That mix of absences helped push Dallas into another move at tight end, where the competition was already beginning to take shape before camp fully settled in. The club signed Mitch Van Vooren after injuries to Rogers and Trigg, a reminder that depth can change quickly this time of year and that a position group once viewed as a straightforward battle can become a lot more crowded in a hurry. [Read more 🡒]