DALLAS (105.3 The Fan) - When it comes to getting high praise from someone in the National Football League, you can't do much better than to impress one of the greatest coaches of all time.
The Dallas Cowboys and the New England Patriots, two of the NFL's most illustrious franchises, are set to face off this weekend at Foxboro. The Cowboys still have Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott, but some of the luster is missing this time around with Tom Brady now playing for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
However, New England still has Bill Belichick, and there's always intrigue when he's on the opposing sideline.
The Cowboys' franchise of late has nothing in common with Belichick, as he has hoisted the Lombardi Trophy six times since he became the Pats head coach in 2000.
The Cowboys, off to a 4-1 start, would love nothing more than to break their NFC Championship drought, let alone their Super Bowl drought (both occurred in 1996) this season. Thus far, this team appears to have, dare I say it, the makings of a potential Super Bowl contender.
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And it appears that Belichick agrees with that sentiment.
"This is a really impressive group. I was kind of going back through some of my notes and just looking at this team over a period of years. I would say one thing that really just jumps out, overall, is just the job that they’ve done acquiring talent. I think since 2006, they’ve had, by far, the most Pro Bowl players, and it just seems like they always have, every time we play them, seems like there’s always a lot of good players on the roster. Stephen Jones and the personnel staff have obviously done a great job of selecting players and acquiring players. Stephen’s really done a good job putting a strong roster together.
"Looking at their personnel staff, there’s a lot of experience down there. Those guys have been there for a long, long time. I think, on their personnel staff, they have over 500 years of NFL experience on that staff. That’s five centuries. It’s amazing. This is not a young group. I say that respectfully because of the job they’ve done, but they’ve been there a long time. They know what they’re looking for. They know what they’re doing. Stephen and the personnel staff and Lionel [Vital] and all those guys have done a remarkable job of consistently acquiring such top-level talent in all three areas.
"[On the] offensive side of the ball, it’s a really good line. They’ve got some of the top players in the league, and that’s after losing [Travis] Frederick with his injury situation. Obviously, the skill players are good. [Tony] Pollard leads the league in yards per carry, and Zeke’s [Ezekiel Elliott] Zeke. Dak’s [Prescott] Dak. You’ve got a couple of great receivers, but all that being said, [Dalton] Schultz is really the receiving leader, which is pretty remarkable considering the guys that Prescott is throwing to.
"Defensively, the front’s impressive. A lot of speed at linebacker. They can cover. They can rush. They can play the run. Between [Ceedee] Lamb and Pollard, the return game is good. Obviously, Coach [John] Fassel, “Bones”, is one of the top special teams coaches in the league, so it’s always a dangerous situation between him and the players. You know [Greg] Zuerlein’s field goal range. It feels like he can kick them, as soon as they cross midfield, they’re in field goal range. He’s a big weapon, too. Good mix of young players and guys kind of in their prime and some veteran players and some guys they’ve acquired and added to their team. Guys like [Damontae] Kazee and guys like that, and then there’s other guys that, obviously, are big draft choices and some of their core players. Just overall, very impressive level of talent. Offensively, Coach [Mike] McCarthy and Dan Quinn, I mentioned Fassel, they’re very, very well-coached. They do a really good job offensively with their scheme and put a lot of pressure on the defense.
"Defensively, they, as I said, pretty much do everything well. They’re ranked at the top of the league in almost every category on offense and defense, and they’re good at the kicking game, so not really a lot of weaknesses on this team. They’re averaging 40 points a game the last three weeks and won pretty decisively. They beat the [Los Angeles] Chargers. They’re, obviously, a good team there. A pretty talented team. We know we’re going to have to play our best game, and that’s what we’re getting ready to do."
The Cowboys and Pats kick off at 3:25p CT on Sunday, Oct. 17. You can hear the game starting at 12:30p on 105.3 The Fan.
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