LANDOVER, Md. — Micah Parsons talks about being great.
Here’s his chance.
The Cowboys enter the postseason as the No. 2 seed, facing the seventh-seeded Green Bay Packers Sunday at AT&T Stadium.
It’s a game filled with subplots. We have Mike McCarthy facing his former team. There’s the bitterness of Aaron Rodgers rallying the Packers to beat the Cowboys last season in overtime and knocking them from the playoffs in the 2016 season. We have Dez Caught it.
And there’s a generation of Cowboys’ fans who remember The Ice Bowl.
This matchup was finalized after the Cowboys defeated the Washington “ready for the season to end” Commanders on Sunday, 38-10.
The only issues generated from that game is the playoff availability of starting cornerback Stephon Gilmore, who separated his shoulder, and kicker Brandon Aubrey missing two field goals. Aubrey did respond by converting a 50-yarder late in the game.
Everything of concern will be addressed later in the week because why worry when you’re NFC East champs?
Parsons is the focus now as the Cowboys’ best defensive player, for a franchise in need of a deep playoff run, because he’s due to be great in the postseason.
Parsons talks about greatness all the time. It’s something he desires.
“Regular season is cute and people are like, ‘Oh you know he played great for a while.’ But this is legacy,” Parsons said. “There’s a term, ‘Be phenomenal or be forgotten. The way Jimmy (Johnson) and Mike (Irvin), the way people show them love, and Charles (Haley), I think that’s for me, CeeDee, Dak all want to be on that legacy and earn our way into that Cowboys hall of fame.”
When Parsons sees Haley on the practice fields of The Star he is reminded of what greatness looks like. Haley is one of the reasons why the Cowboys won three Super Bowls in the 1990s. When his career finished, Haley had Super Bowl rings on every finger of his hand. He was elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. And there are no questions about how great he was.
Haley mentors the Cowboys’ pass rushers today and is hard on them. He watches the games and attends the practices, critiquing and encouraging. He’s committed to what this group does.
Haley doesn’t mince words when it comes to pushing the men he’s looking after. He knows no other way.
And now Parsons is targeting the greatness set by Haley and other fantastic pass rushers.
Haley wants Parsons to be great. The No. 88 carries a legacy for this franchise at wide receiver, but there also are some great Cowboys pass rushers. Haley is on that list.
“Charles is a great dude, really smart dude, just gives a lot of tips and always talks about how he’s so good and we can never be on the same field as him,” Parsons said with a smile. “That’s Charles.”
Sunday afternoon, Parsons recorded five tackles and picked up his 14th sack of the season, setting a career high. Parsons had a goal to surpass 13 sacks in a season and by exceeding it he’s now focusing on something else.
Being greater in the postseason.
Haley recorded 3½ sacks in nine career playoff games for the Cowboys. Parsons has just one sack in three playoff games. We all know this isn’t about sacks.
It’s about wrecking the game with sacks and pressures. A dominant pass rusher draws double-teams, plays the run on the backside and sets the edge.
When the Packers visit AT&T Stadium, Parsons needs to raise the stakes on himself and his team. We shouldn’t concern ourselves with holding calls and illegal use of hands to the face anymore.
Talking about it is not going to bring more calls as we’ve seen in the 2023 season.
The disruptive force Parsons wants to be, and has been during his first three seasons in the NFL, must be found in the next month.
“I think this year, I’ve improved in almost every aspect of my game,” Parsons said. “I’m really committed to getting better and getting into better shape and just everything overall. So, I’m really happy where I’m at right now, but I’d be really excited if I get to where we’re going to.”
Find more Cowboys coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.
"follow" - Google News
January 08, 2024 at 10:29AM
https://ift.tt/TlZj4Ya
Can Cowboys' Micah Parsons emulate Charles Haley's playoff greatness? - The Dallas Morning News
"follow" - Google News
https://ift.tt/gSEDYPb
https://ift.tt/Ei8Y4ng
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Can Cowboys' Micah Parsons emulate Charles Haley's playoff greatness? - The Dallas Morning News"
Post a Comment