Dallas, TX
How Mike Zimmer, Cowboys plan to compensate for absence of Dallas’ defensive ‘motor’
FRISCO — DeMarcus Lawrence had his leg resting on a scooter and took off for the training room the moment reporters entered the locker room.
Micah Parsons wasn’t as quick. He was sitting in front of his locker, putting on a protective boot for his high ankle sprain, when he was surrounded.
“Yeah, it’s time to man up,” Parsons said. “For sure.
“I’m very confident in these guys.”
Next man up is a phrase uttered in every NFL locker room once a player goes down. Losing players to injury over the course of a season is inevitable.
But compensating for the absences of Parsons and Lawrence is a big ask for this Dallas defense.
Parsons is one of the league’s elite pass rushers. His injury typically takes two to four weeks. Mike McCarthy said the Cowboys are preparing to face Pittsburgh this weekend without their best defensive player.
Lawrence will be out even longer. The veteran defensive end suffered a Lisfranc injury to his foot. It won’t require surgery, but several people with knowledge of Lawrence’s status put the timetable for his return at four to eight weeks, with the back of that range the more likely target.
Dallas will place Lawrence on injured reserve in the coming days, meaning he will miss a minimum of four games, a person with knowledge of the club’s thinking told The Dallas Morning News. Discussions are ongoing, but the plan for now is to elevate defensive end Carl Lawson from the practice squad for Sunday’s game and bring in several players for a workout.
None come close to what Parsons and Lawrence bring to this defense.
“Those are two dynamic guys,” defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer said. “Good leaders, good team guys.
“We’ll have to make some adjustments and see how it goes.”
Parsons is a focal point for every opponent. Accounting for where he lines up and how to neutralize him is where the offensive game plan starts.
The Steelers won’t have that concern. There’s no one player the Cowboys can plug into his hybrid role. Zimmer said he will just have to figure out how he intends to use other players and come up with a plan that plays to their strengths.
It will be a collective effort, not an individual one.
“That’s it,” McCarthy said. “It’s not like you take one player and put him in and give him the exact same responsibility in reps that Micah had or what D-Law had. It’s going to be a combination of things.
“You let the game plan bring that to light.”
The injuries open the door for rookie Marshawn Kneeland and veteran Chauncey Golston to move into the starting lineup.
The Cowboys took Kneeland in the second round to be Lawrence’s heir apparent. It turns out his time is sooner than later.
The Western Michigan defensive lineman has gotten off to a good start. But he’ll get even more snaps now.
“He’s a hard playing dude, likes to get physical,” Zimmer said. “He’s very coachable and soaks up a lot of the coaching.
“He’s a really good guy. I’m glad we got him.”
Parsons talked to Kneeland on Friday and told the rookie he was going to need to step up until he was able to return. Kneeland took it the wrong way, thinking that Parsons was questioning whether or not he was ready for the added responsibility.
“You don’t understand,” Parsons responded. “When I say step up I don’t mean just playing.
“Like you got to lead now. You lost your two veterans. You got to lead, you got to carry these guys. You got to communicate, talk to them, like bring these other guys with you.
“You’ve got to be the guy for us.”
Golston has bounced from inside to outside in his four years with the Cowboys. In the words of McCarthy, the defensive lineman has worn a lot of hats.
He’s a defensive end now. Golston has played the run well from that spot but his pass rush has been limited.
“He’s going to get some more playing time and get more opportunities in the passing game,” Zimmer said.
Golston has just 4.5 sacks for his career. One of those came this season. Parsons said his teammate reminds him of former NFL defensive end Cameron Wake in terms of his build and wingspan.
“With his length and ability and the way he can pass rush, being able to utilize it, I think he can be very, very, very good,” Parsons said.
“Those long arms, the things he is able to do with them, he’s going to be very good. I’m excited to see how he performs.
“He’s always talking about waiting for his opportunity. He’s got one one. I’m waiting to see it.”
Lawson will be part of the rotation on the outside along with Tyrus Wheat. Since Lawson will be out of elevations after Sunday’s game, he’ll need to be placed on the active roster going forward. That leaves a spot on the practice squad to bring in another player.
But replacing Parsons and Lawrence? That won’t happen.
“Those guys are the motor,” cornerback Jourdan Lewis said. “They make this thing go. Especially when we’ve got guys that make players like that. It’s contagious how they play.
“It’s definitely hard and we’re gonna have to find ways to supplement that because there’s no way you can replace it. So you gotta go out there and find ways to attack offenses you know, without those guys.”
Catch David Moore and Robert Wilonsky as they co-host Intentional Grounding on The Ticket (KTCK-AM 1310 and 96.7 FM) every Wednesday from 7-8 p.m. through the Super Bowl.
X/Twitter: @DavidMooreDMN
Find more Cowboys coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.
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Dallas, TX
Preston Hollow residents oppose proposed $800 million mixed-use development in Dallas, survey reveals
It’s called a blue card survey. But some residents in the Preston Hollow neighborhood of Dallas believe it could be their ace in the hole and their fight against the proposed development.
The 2019 tornado left a trail of destruction in North Dallas, including Victor Toledo’s home. He said been able to rebuild along with others in his neighborhood.
But he says one area is still an eyesore.
“It’s become a very desirable neighborhood, other than that one corner, that one corner is still stuck six years ago with the old office buildings,” said Toledo.
That “one corner” he’s referring to is the southwest side of Preston Road in Royal Lane.
It’s where developers want to build an $800 million 19-story resort hotel, apartment building, and mixed-use development.
There are signs all around Preston Hollow opposing the project.
A recently completed survey of residences within 500 yards of it reveals just how strong the opposition is.
City of Dallas survey:
- 258 opposed
- 7 in favor
- 18 no response
Margaret Chabris hopes the city’s planning and zoning commission, which meets again on Aug. 6, will take the results of the survey seriously.
“It does have an impact because this is what the city wanted to know, and this is the chance that residents and property owners right here can voice their opinion; it should have a considerable impact.”
But some residents, like Toledo, believe the benefits of the development outweigh concerns about traffic and construction.
“It’ll be great for the neighborhood to have that kind of amenity,” Toledo said. “To have hotel options, new restaurants. Now it’s a vacant old building that wasn’t being used much.”
Klyde Warren Park, a top attraction in Dallas for more than a decade, is growing. Park and city leaders revealed details about the project on Monday morning, which will expand the park to 7.1 acres.
The park, which opened in 2012, connects Uptown Dallas with the Arts District over a recessed portion of Woodall Rodgers Freeway. The construction will span west to cover the remaining portion of the freeway, totaling 1.7 acres of new park space, according to the plans released Monday.
It will feature the Jacobs Lawn, a 37,000-square-foot green space that can be used for all types of community gatherings, performances and markets. In the winter, the lawn will feature an ice rink. Next to the lawn, the Overlook will give visitors a view of the highway traffic below them.
The expansion will also include a two-story pavilion with 24,000 square feet of climate-controlled event space, plus a rooftop terrace.
“This expansion isn’t simply about adding acreage. It’s an investment in Dallas, an investment in the community and an investment in future generations,” Klyde Warren Park chairman Jody Grant said in a statement.
“The expansion of this Park is exactly the kind of transformative investment we must continue to make throughout Dallas’s urban core. It will add new green space for residents to enjoy while driving continued economic growth, connecting our communities, and enhancing the quality of life that makes Dallas a destination for families, businesses, and visitors from around the world,” Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson said in a statement.
Construction firm Archer Western won a competitive bid to work on the project, the same firm that built the first phase of the park.
Construction will begin by the end of the year, and is expected to take two years to complete.
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