The first week of play came for the Cowboys.
After a day off from the practice field, the Cowboys will begin their preparation on Tuesday to face the Steelers in Canton, Ohio, in the NFL Hall of Fame game.
It will be the first 2021 preseason game in the league and it will commemorate the induction of the 2020 and 2021 generations of the “compound of the immortals” of professional American football, after last year’s game was canceled by the Covid-19 pandemic. .
“This will be twice as fun,” said Hall of Fame President David Baker. “We will have both ceremonies and the game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Pittsburgh Steelers.” “It will also be the first game with a stadium full of fans since the Miami Super Bowl (February 2020),” he added.
For coaches and players it is likely that the development of what will be the first of four pre-season games will be interesting; one more than the rest of the NFL’s 30 teams, which starting this year cut exhibition games to three to make way for a 17-game regular season schedule.
Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy said Sunday that his team’s health will be a priority heading into Thursday’s game to make sure everyone is prepared and no one is overworked.
The Cowboys rest this Monday, after training equipped and with contact Saturday and Sunday. They practice on Tuesday and will travel to Ohio on Wednesday.
Three former Cowboys members who were once Super Bowl champions will be inducted into the Hall of Fame this weekend: safety Cliff Harris and wide receiver Drew Pearson, who both won their ring with Dallas in the ’70s, and coach Jimmy Johnson, who led the team in two of the last three titles.
Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy said he was pleased with the development of second-year players, which include wide receiver CeeDee Lamb and cornerback Trevon Diggs.
“They’ve made a clear leap,” McCarthy said. “It is normal and necessary. We have emphasized that. You can enter the entire draft generation and congratulate them on the progress they have made, from strength and conditioning, awareness, instinct and anticipation of what they are doing.”
The Cowboys drafted Lamb, Diggs, defensive tackle Neville Gallimore, cornerback Reggie Robinson, center Tyler Biadasz, defensive end Bradley Anae and quarterback Ben DiNucci last year.
COOPER AND LAWRENCE PROGRESS
Wide receiver Amari Cooper (ankle) and defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence (back) are progressing satisfactorily, although they are still on the PUP list.
“They’re both in really good shape,” coach Mike McCarthy said. “Amari looks good. Everything has been extremely positive from the strength staff. I know that he, Britt and Jim (physical trainers) have talked about the dates he could be activated. (…) He looks good.”
McCarthy spoke similarly about Lawrence.
