It'll be interesting to see how Julio fits with the Titans. Falcons players aren't talking about quitting or committing suicide because the team lost Julio. They seem pretty content that he's gone. When a team loses a Julio Jones and his former teammates are cool with it, that tells you something about how the guy was a fit with his former team.
Adam Rank has a nice piece up on the Cowboys where he talks about them in-depth. He ends up pretty optimistic, but he does mention they were just 1-3 with Dak last year. That's kind of important to remember. And those first four games weren't necessarily against the league's elite teams. They started out at the Rams. Then had the Falcons at home in the game they won by the Falcons forgetting to recover an onsides kick. Then they went to Seattle. (The toughest game in their early schedule.) Then back home for the Browns. They won one of those four games with a relatively healthy team, and that one win was a miracle win.
Both of Dallas's coordinators are signed through 2023 which could be bad news for McCarthy. The Cowboys have two head coaches in waiting in Kellen Moore and Dan Quinn. Should the Cowboys stumble out of the gate, McCarthy could be gone fairly quickly.
And looking at their 2021 schedule, a stumble out of the gate isn't unlikely. They start out with the Bucs, then the Chargers, and Eagles. Then the Panthers, Giants, and Patriots before their bye. Those first six games are kind of important for McCarthy. An 0-6 or a 1-5 start could find him out of a job at the bye. A 2-4 or even a 3-3 start might have JJ reevaluating his head coach choice. The Eagles and Giants games will be especially big. Losing both of those would have the Cowboys 0-2 in the division and JJ would not be happy.
I would expect the Cowboys to be underdogs in the first two games. They'll probably be favored against the Eagles. NFC East games are seldom predictable though. They should be favored against the Panthers unless Sam Darnold really is good. The Giants always give Dallas fits. The Patriots should be pretty good if they have any kind of quality QB play. A 2-4 start is not unlikely for the Cowboys.
The Cowboys shored up their linebacker spot on defense, but that was already their strength. Stopping the run in those early games will be a big challenge for them. The Eagles and Giants will be throwing running QBs at them in addition to competent running backs.
It'll be very interesting to see if Mike McCarthy makes it all the way through the season. Expectations are high from the fans and media and I'm not sure those expectations are warranted.
Fly!!! Eagles!!! Fly!!!
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