Dallas, TX
Cowboys LB DeMarvion Overshown named the x-factor for Dallas
![Cowboys LB DeMarvion Overshown named the x-factor for Dallas Cowboys LB DeMarvion Overshown named the x-factor for Dallas](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/zE-9CIQxsplhodJ2dkqKGWQjG_c=/0x236:2307x1444/fit-in/1200x630/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25597701/usa_today_23866642.jpg)
The Dallas Cowboys era of safety-turned-linebacker is over. Or is it? Guess it depends on your strict definition.
We all know that under Dan Quinn, the Cowboys former defensive coordinator, taking a safety and finding a role for them at linebacker was the norm. It started with Keanu Neal and carried on with players like Jayron Kearse and Markquese Bell.
But Dan Quinn is now the head coach for the Washington Commanders, and former Cowboys defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer is back for a second go around. Quinn’s defense was built on speed, stunts and overloads to disrupt offenses. Zimmer’s defense is much more meat and potatoes, with an adherence to bigger-sized players capable of stuffing the run, topped with a dash of disguised blitzing to unbalance things.
So in that sense, it seems like the converted safety at linebacker is out of favor in Dallas. Except for DeMarvion Overshown. Overshown’s conversion started in college, so it’s not quite like what was being done under Quinn, but he is a fast linebacker that will be used to cover tight ends and running backs as well as run sideline-to-sideline in run defense. But he also may have another component we haven’t talked as much about – a blitz specialist in Zimmer’s disguise scheme.
In a recent ESPN article, Overshown was named as the team’s x-factor.
New defensive coordinator (and former Vikings head coach) Mike Zimmer has historically used linebacker-sized linebackers to make his defense work, and he brought in longtime Viking Eric Kendricks accordingly. Kendricks’ best football is behind him, however, and if the veteran is forced into a starting role beside Damone Clark, the Cowboys will struggle in coverage over the middle of the field.
Overshown is Dallas’ best bet at finding a three-down linebacker on the roster — better than Bell, Kendricks or 2024 third-round selection Marist Liufau. Of the undersized options, he has the sideline-to-sideline range and violence into contact that will remain viable against the run. If he converts two promising preseasons into successful regular-season play, he’ll quickly become a playmaker Zimmer deploys on his complex blitzes, too.
So obviously the author of the ESPN piece is a little off-target in saying Eric Kendricks might be forced into a starting role; Zimmer actually brought Kendricks in to be the starter and to lead the defense. But beyond that, there is some merit to Overshown being an x-factor player.
Cowboys fans have seen the talent in training camp and preseason, but haven’t seen it on the field yet when it counts because of injury. But Overshown is now healthy.
“I feel great,” said Overshown through his trademark ear-to-ear smile. “Just making it to the season healthy is a plus, so we’re already doing better than last year.”
[…]
“I felt great even going into the last [preseason] week,” he explained. “It was just making sure I was healthy enough for Week 1 and making sure there were no bumps or bruises, or something that could’ve been avoided.”
Overshown’s ability to run with faster receiving-types should automatically qualify him for some third-down duty. He also shows plenty of ability to be productive in run defense with the addition of some beef ahead of him at defensive tackle. His speed and agility might also be an asset when it comes to deploying Zimmer’s blitz package.
For all those reasons calling him an x-factor is legit.
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Dallas, TX
Man dies after being shot in head in Dallas
![Man dies after being shot in head in Dallas Man dies after being shot in head in Dallas](https://assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com/hub/i/r/2024/08/31/6ffb703a-3222-4e7d-a0b2-a382e83a3fee/thumbnail/1200x630/3557e995b5395834fe10ec0edd4c2264/95586945-03bf-470d-b530-c97381fe8671.jpg?v=25685eaa472b1a5dbb5bd46ae506d232)
DALLAS — The Dallas Police Department is investigating a shooting that left one man dead.
Police reported that officers responded to a call about the shooting on I-30 at North Westmoreland Road around 6:30 a.m. Saturday.
Preliminary investigations revealed that a man had been shot in the head. Dallas Fire Rescue transported him to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
No arrests have been made, and the investigation is ongoing.
Dallas, TX
Slain Dallas Police Officer remembered for servant's heart at Friday night vigil
![Slain Dallas Police Officer remembered for servant's heart at Friday night vigil Slain Dallas Police Officer remembered for servant's heart at Friday night vigil](https://media.nbcdfw.com/2024/08/vd_More-4-Oakcliff-Vigil_raw-08-30-2024-08.22.43-PM_2024-08-30-21-53-50.jpg?quality=85&strip=all&resize=1200%2C675)
In an Oak Cliff parking lot turned memorial, two families united to honor Darron Burks, a man who left an indelible mark in both the fraternity brotherhood and the world of law enforcement.
“This crowd speaks highly of him and everyone knows what Brother Burks stood for. He was a pure guy. He was very pure,” said Kenneth McCloud.
Dozens gathered in the For Oak Cliff parking lot on Friday for a candlelight vigil to remember Burks, who was gunned down just feet from where he was standing just a few nights earlier.
“It hurts. I think I’m cried out today,” said Fredrick Bishop.
Bishop first met Burks through the brotherhood of Omega Psi Phi.
Although they never crossed paths at Paul Quinn College, as alumni, they both shared a commitment to their fraternity’s mission of service.
At a homecoming a couple of years ago, Bishop said that shared passion for helping others further bonded the friends when Burks sought Bishop’s help joining the Dallas Police Department.
After more than 20 years, Bishop is honorably retired from the force.
“He got to the point where he said let me see where I can do more and he wanted to serve more,” he said.
At Friday’s vigil, the men and women of Burks’s police academy class stood shoulder to shoulder with his fraternity brothers and those who knew him from his nearly two decades-long career as an educator and coach.
As they lit candles and shared stories and prayers, loved ones encouraged each other to focus on memories of good times rather than dwelling in sadness.
It’s just one of the ways they said their friend and brother would want to be remembered.
“Work to continue his vision. His vision of service to young people. His service to making a mark here in this city,” said Dallas City Council member Carolyn King Arnold.
Dallas, TX
A timeline of Oak Cliff shooting that left Dallas police officer dead
![A timeline of Oak Cliff shooting that left Dallas police officer dead A timeline of Oak Cliff shooting that left Dallas police officer dead](https://dmn-dallas-news-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/ZJ76SOE5JRFG7BGGAHGGBIBMNI.jpg?auth=2bde33d2914f46510598b0faaf139029a401957be44481caf039d50ecee79086&height=467&width=830&smart=true&quality=80)
A Dallas police officer was killed in a shooting in southeast Oak Cliff on Thursday night.
On Friday morning, his mother confirmed to The Dallas Morning News that her son Darron Burks, 46, was the officer fatally shot outside the “For Oak Cliff” community center.
Two other officers were wounded in the shooting and are hospitalized. One was in critical condition and the other was listed as stable on Friday morning, Dallas police spokesperson Kristin Lowman said.
Here’s how the events unfolded late Thursday and early Friday:
Thursday, Aug. 29
10:10 p.m.: Dozens of units respond to an assist officer call in the 900 block of East Ledbetter Drive, near South Marsalis Avenue, according to an online police call log. (The News counted more than 95 units ultimately responded to the shooting.)
Photos: Dallas police investigate Oak Cliff shooting scene
Responding officers find an officer shot in his marked patrol vehicle, Lowman confirms at a news conference early Friday. They exchange gunfire with a shooter, and two other officers are shot.
10:35: p.m.: Police pursuit of a suspect enters Lewisville, according to Lewisville Police Department spokesperson Rachel Roberts.
10:38 p.m.: The chase ends in the northbound lane of Interstate 35E just north of State Highway 121 Business.
The suspect exited a vehicle with a long gun, Lowman said, and Dallas officers shot and killed him.
Friday, Aug. 30
12:20 a.m.: In a post on Facebook, the Lewisville Police Department confirms that none of its officers were involved in the chase.
12:28 a.m.: In a post on X, DPD announces it is investigating an officer-involved shooting.
1:15 a.m.: Dozens of Dallas police officers stand quietly outside the emergency room entrance to Methodist Dallas Medical Center. Squad cars line the block leading up to the hospital, their emergency lights flashing.
Photos: Police officers gather outside Methodist Hospital emergency room
![Dallas Police Department officers gather, on Friday, Aug. 30, 2024, outside of the ER at...](https://dmn-dallas-news-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/423BEISSANAFDI2R6KD6NY74AY.jpg?auth=b16fe3866ea9e5ddb034379e7e496bdfd305b8523ef7322c56b24cbe2a476bcc&height=934&quality=80)
3:15 a.m.: DPD holds a news conference outside Methodist hospital and confirm the shooting, the chase and the officer’s death.
“Our department is hurting,” Lowman said. “We ask tonight and this morning for the thoughts and prayers of our city, for not only those who are recovering in the hospital, but for our fallen, for their family and for their loved ones, and for us as a department as well.”
4:00 a.m.: A procession begins to lead the fallen officer from Methodist hospital to the Dallas County Medical Examiner’s office.
5:07 a.m.: Dallas police Chief Eddie García posts a tribute on X with the caption “No words.” He attaches a photo of a Dallas police badge above the city of Dallas with a dark blue line across the center.
7:30 a.m.: The Lewisville Police Department says the “roadway is clear” and “traffic is flowing freely” in an update to its 12:20 a.m. Facebook post.
9:13 a.m.: U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, who represents the area where the shooting happened, writes on X that she is “heartbroken for the family and friends of the officer lost last night.”
“This epidemic of gun violence must end,” she also wrote.
9:23 a.m.: Gov. Greg Abbott posts to X to honor the fallen officer.
“Our hearts are with the @DallasPD & the entire Dallas community,” he wrote.
10:10 a.m.: In a statement posted to X, Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson calls for city flags to be flown at half-staff.
“Dallas has lost a hero,” he wrote.
11:12 a.m.: Burks’ mother confirms to The News that her son was the officer killed in Thursday’s shooting.
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