The Dallas Cowboys defense may not be all that great. The Cowboys may not have beaten any of the NFL's elite teams yet. But they've got Dak and Zeke.
Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliottt have the Cowboys offense humming. In fact, right now, Dallas has the No. 2 rushing offense in the entire NFL. A lot of that is Elliott, the former Ohio State Buckeye. And a lot of that is Prescott's ability to spread the defense with his ability to roll out and toss the ball.
In the Bengals locker room today, linebacker Vontaze Burfict was asked about Prescott.
"Who? Who?" the heart and soul of the Bengals defense asked, jokingly. "Who? Nah, he's a great quarterback. I was a fan of his in college and I watched a lot of his games in college. And, I mean, he's a great quarterback. He makes good decisions. But like I said, we're going to have a tough task in front of us. And, we just want to let him stay in the pocket. Not let him get out and pat the ball and make bad decisions."
Prescott has thrown for over 1,000 through just four games. He's only thrown three touchdowns. Two of those came Sunday in the Cowboys' win over the 49ers. And he's completing almost 68 percent of his passes. He's a compelling reason why the Cowboys are 3-1 when they looked to be in an abyss after Tony Romo broke a bone in his back during the preseason.
Elliott has rushed for 412 yards and is averaging 4.4 yards per carry, validating so far the 'Boys decision to take him with the 4th overall pick in last May's draft. But he has put the ball on the ground twice in four games, losing it once.
The Dallas defense is OK, not great. It's forced three fumbles, recovered two and has picked off opposing quarterbacks three times this season. The Bengals have the best offense the Cowboys will have seen so far this season. But that Dallas offensive line will be the best the Bengals have dealt with in a long time.
Other things that have made the start of the week more than intriguing ...
The Colts are 1-3 and the heat is on Andrew Luck. Not from the fans or media. The heat is on from the Colts opponents .../
The Tennessee Titans allowed a long punt return for a touchdown in their loss to the Texans Sunday. So they fired their special team's coach Monday. Well, OK....except how does that make Marcus Mariotaplay any better?...
Anyone who tells you they're an expert at predicting outcomes of NFL games is going in a different direction from reality. Perhaps you should have them look at how badly the Steelers played in Philadelphia a week ago and then direct them to the highlights of the Steelers-Chiefs game Sunday night. It has to be one of the most dramatic week-to-week turnarounds in NFL history ...
Matt Ryan and Julio Jones had themselves a Sunday. Yes they did ...
Lots of big birthdays in the music biz Monday. Chubby Checker turned 75. Fleetwood Mac'sLindsey Buckingham celebrated his 67th birthday. And had they lived, Eddie Cochran and Stevie Ray Vaughn would have turned 78 and 62, respectively. Cochrane was killed in a car crash in the UK back in 1960. He was just 21.
Vaughn was in a helicopter, leaving a concert in Wisconsin, when it crashed into a mountain. He was 36. Everyone who loves the blues knows about Stevie Ray and his band Double Trouble. But did you know, he played lead guitar on this David Bowie hit?
Vaughn's meteoric rise and far too short career were elevated greatly by his performance on this song. This was 198 - right around the time that Vaughn and his band performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival. Bowie called him while Vaughn was there and invited him to play on his upcoming album. Vaughn's work can be heard on six of the album's tracks, including the title song. In March of 1983, after hearing his work on "Let's Dance," the top recruiter at Epic Records signed Vaughn and his band. Big success followed, with albums like Texas Flood, Couldn't Stand The Weather and Soul to Soul still to come.
It's tough to say if Stevie Ray would have hit it as big as he did without his work with Bowie. But we know that he did. And it ended, far too young, when he died in 1990.
