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DSF Cowboys Mailbag: Faith in Cooper Rush to replace Dak?

Photo by Andrew Dieb/Icon Sportswire

DSF Cowboys Mailbag: Faith in Cooper Rush to replace Dak?

With Dak Prescott sidelined for at least a month, what’s the confidence level in Cooper Rush to actually be competitive in these upcoming games and would you think about looking to free agency to find another quarterback?

Juwan: I would like to see the team bring in a veteran quarterback this week as an insurance policy behind Rush. I’m not expecting much from him this week against the Bengals, despite how they looked in week one. However, with divisional position on the line in weeks three and four it’s critical for Dallas to win those while Dak is sidelined. For me, Rush’s floor of expectation against the Bengals is how Mitchell Trubisky looked against the Bengals. Anything less than that and I’m strongly considering making a chance heading into week three against the New York Giants.

Nate: If Dak Prescott was struggling mightily with this offensive cast, I genuinely worry what Cooper Rush or any other quarterback that’s available at this point. Michael Gallup better come back and be healthy immediately (not likely) to help out what appears to be one of, if not the worst wide receiver groups in the league. CeeDee Lamb had a brutal performance, and outside of Lamb, none of the other receivers are starter quality. Noah Brown, Dennis Houston, and Simi Fehoko are all down-roster receivers that should never be leaned on the way they are being leaned on. I loved the Jalen Tolbert pick but if he is inactive and can’t get reps over those guys then…yikes. I haven’t even mentioned the offensive line yet either. Terence Steele had a very rough outing. Connor McGovern is hurt and his backup Matt Farniok struggled. Tyler Smith was encouraging but will have some growing pains. With McGovern out, I wonder if Smith will go to LG and Jason Peters will go to LT. This is all to say: if Dak Prescott couldn’t do much with a receiver room and offensive line that is in shambles, I don’t have much faith in Rush or Will Grier or anyone else.

Do you believe CeeDee Lamb’s week-one production was an indication he is not truly ready to be a lead receiver?
Juwan: CeeDee’s performance has more to do about their surrounding pieces than him. If you look at other young receivers such as Jamarr Chase or Justin Jefferson they have talent around them to alleviate some of the pressure that’s attached to being the main guy. With Dallas’ receivers unable to win one-on-one matchups, defenses are able to devote their entire game plan toward limiting Lamb without any consequence. CeeDee has to be better at capitalizing on the opportunities he does get, but until his supporting cast elevates their play I don’t see him reaching the potential everyone believes he has.
Nate: CeeDee Lamb was very disappointing on Sunday. With that being said, some of the concerns about him are overblown in my opinion. He has about 2000 yards over his first two seasons and he has proven to be a very dynamic receiver. Now with how the front office has disregarded the wide receiver position after releasing Amari Cooper, Lamb does need to step up into that alpha role. It will be difficult given there are no other remotely decent receivers on the roster at the moment because they don’t scare opposing defensive coordinators at all. DCs will key on Lamb and beg Brown, Houston, and the others to beat them (hint: they can’t). Stephen Jones has set up this offense for failure, and it will require Lamb to step up significantly to overcome the front office’s ineptitude. Lamb is ready to be a WR1, but a little too much has been put on his plate.

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