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Dak Prescott of the Dallas Cowboys
The coach of the CowboysMike McCarthy made an unexpected turn on Monday by announcing that Cooper Rush – not Garrett Gilbert – will be the one to train with the starters leading up to the final preseason game against Jacksonville on Sunday.
“He totally deserves this opportunity,” said McCarthy, via the official Cowboys site. “He was always prepared for this opportunity. He recovered from two injuries, to his shoulder and to his back. I think he played well against Houston. This opportunity has been earned ”.
If you watched Dallas lose to Houston last weekend, you will surely agree with his assessment that Rush was the best at his position. The former member of the practice team and former Giants player completed ten of twelve passes for 97 yards and two touchdown passes on five possessions.
This is the opposite of Gilbert, the supposed favorite to be the direct substitute for Dak Prescott in the first game of the season, who was only able to complete three of five passes for 30 yards, scoreless, in the 20-14 loss.
“I think Cooper managed the game well,” Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy said after the game. según The Athletic. “He had clean plays, he performed very well on danger plays, and he led the team in two gears. I think Cooper had a good quarter and a half of work.
The Cowboys will return to training on Tuesday. Unless he blows his chances for the next 96 hours, Rush will have the most minutes to play against the Jaguars. After the game, McCarthy will select the winner of the substitute spot after a lengthy competition.
Rush is comfortable on Kellen’s offense
Unlike Gilbert and DiNucci, Rush has an ace up his sleeve which is trust – trust with offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, whose scheme he has already known all too well since 2019, Moore’s first year in Dallas. Rush, who joined the Cowboys in 2017, explained how comfortable he is with Moore as he tries to make the final roster of 53 players.
“I have already been part of this scheme for five years, so I feel very comfortable,” he said of the offense, via the team website. “I already understand his plays, I realize what he is going to want to do. During work in the week, you don’t have to make a lot of effort to know what you want to do and things like that, so that makes me feel very comfortable.
In three season games, in which he played on a limited basis in two of those games, Rush completed 25 of 38 passes (65.7%) for 256 yards and two touchdown passes. He did not throw interceptions and did not drop any balls. In addition, he had 16 yards rushing on four carries.
Only two players fighting for the spot?
McCarthy’s favorite option, DiNucci, was a disaster against the Texans, throwing three interceptions that ended up being the difference in a very close game. Even before the game, it appears – thanks to comments made by Cowboys vice president Stephen Jones – that he was no longer in the running for the backup quarterback job.
“I think Gilbert and Cooper have to keep working, and now they are competing to be the first alternate,” Jones said last Friday at 105.3 The Fan, via Todd Brock of USA TODAY. “Obviously, Gilbert has a bit of an advantage, but they are both working to be the one.
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This is the original version of Heavy.com por Zack Kelberman
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