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Quinn talks about the return of his hustlers

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FRISCO, Texas – Every year we prepare for the unexpected, and every year we seem to fail miserably.

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In a game with a 100% injury chance, anyone can go down and be out for a while, and that includes the Cowboys coaching staff.

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As excited as he was for the trio of DeMarcus Lawrence, Micah Parsons and Randy Gregory during the spring and summer, the Cowboys defensive coordinator would never have imagined that he would hardly be using them in December.

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In fact, Quinn specifically pointed out that the Dallas defense has only had the three together in one game this season, 28 plays in the first game of the season loss to Tampa Bay.

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“I think if you had told me that the three of them were going to be on the field together for just 28 plays before week 13 or 14, that’s not going to go well,” Quinn said Monday.

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Fortunately, that has not been the case. The Cowboys are 8-4, and their defense under Quinn has been the success story of the season. And with Gregory expected to return this weekend to team up with the duo of Lawrence and Parsons, the sky could be the limit.

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“There is great confidence and some confidence that happens when sometimes what you think could be the worst, losing guys for a long time, ends up being the best because now we have a great team that is ready to give it everything. this block of the regular season, “Quinn said.

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That’s a fascinating story from this season – the idea that Parsons’ rise is due at least in part to unfortunate circumstances.

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The Cowboys asked their rookie linebacker to play hitter in large part because Lawrence broke his foot during practice at the same time Gregory tested positive for COVID-19. It was a move made out of necessity, though it wasn’t hard to see when Parsons had four quarterback hits and a crucial sack in a Week 2 win against the Chargers.

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The rest is history. Even with Gregory available for much of the season, Parsons has shown that he can bounce between various responsibilities. That’s why he’s sitting on top of 10 sacks to go along with his 72 tackles.

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“Maybe we wouldn’t have had that moment where we put Micah in different places,” Quinn said. “Now that we have that part of his game, let the package spread further.”

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Preparation will play a role in this process. Lawrence entered the lineup last week and immediately contributed two tackles, two broken passes and a quarterback hit. Quinn said the coaching staff will monitor Gregory through Saturday to assess his readiness to play. Although he noted that Gregory has put a lot of effort into rehab and conditioning these past three weeks.

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Either way, it’s tremendously tempting to think about what these returns could make possible in this final leg of the season. Regardless of their specific roles on Sunday against Washington, Lawrence, Gregory and Neville Gallimore will be available for this final month of games.

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Considering Quinn’s success with what he had available, the following is a funny thought, even if it didn’t sound like that at the time.

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“I think we’ve had 33 defensive players who have had significant plays so far,” he said. “If you had told me that on September 1, that we would be playing 33 guys, I could have said, ‘Oh crap.’ Now that it happened, I thought more like, ‘Oh crap, that’s pretty cool.’

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