"Chuck Knocks" is back for another season, but for the first time in five years our Seahawk Opponent Training Camp Previews will live on our website. Fear not, The Feltsulator is coming with us to the website. Game by game, Jackson Felts will simulate the entire 2020 season (not sure he can take the fans out of the stands, so sorry about the lack of authenticity). I'll handle the rest...
WEEK 3:DALLAS COWBOYS
THE INTERESTING SCALE: A-
A certain national television sports network has treated the Dak Prescott contract negotiation as the biggest thing since Tim Tebow (which, of course, the same network also blew completely out of proportion... therein lies the joke). Was it necessary for Jerry Jones to stretch out the inevitability that a franchise quarterback was going to expect to earn the temporary status of "highest paid player in the league"? Probably not. And now that Patrick Mahomes has REALLY raised the bar, now what does Jerry do with Dak? A quarterback contract negotiation does not an interesting training camp make, but it certainly spices things up. And speaking of spice, the presence of newly acquired Andy Dalton adds some aged ginger to the recipe. I mean, this thing is no Tim Tebow at Jets camp, but it's Jerry, it's quarterbacks, it's Dallas.
THE HOT NEW FACE AT COWBOY CAMP: MIKE MCCARTHY
After ten seasons on the job, and what felt like twelve seasons of falling short of expectations, Jason Garrett is finally out as head coach of the Cowboys. Garrett's Cowboys made just three playoff appearances. And during recent shortcomings, with Prescott firmly established, the feeling nationally (not just locally) was that he was wasting a talented roster. Enter Mike McCarthy. Apparently Jerry is madly in love with his new head coach, even though McCarthy coached like the game had passed him by during his final seasons in Green Bay. If McCarthy does indeed possess the magic touch,Dallas has the talent to win the NFC.
STAR OF COWBOYS CAMP: JERRY JONES
If Hard Knocks was covering the Cowboys, how much time do you think camera crews would spend with Jerry? Like him or not, the Dallas owner commands/demands attention. And with the league returning amid a pandemic, and the nation in the throes of a civil rights movement, Jerry's thoughts will be in high demand. Oh, and then there's the whole brand new head coach & disgruntled quarterback things. The Cowboys always have stars on the roster. They even have stars on their helmets. But the big star in big D is the man in charge.
FANTASY PICK: CEEDEE LAMB
This piece of fantasy advice is a warning. Stay away from taking Lamb early. I'd say the same for Henry Ruggs, Jerry Jeudy and any other can't-miss rookie wideout, because odds are they're going to miss--this year anyway. Don't get me wrong. I like Lamb a lot. Draft experts argued for months over who was the best wide receiver in the 2020 draft, "arguably the deepest and best wideout draft in NFL history," they claimed. And even though Oklahoma standout wasn't the consensus choice, he was certainly mentioned in the debate. On draft day, he fell to the third wide receiver taken, stolen at 21st overall. Lamb is expected to make an immediate impact, giving Dak Prescott another weapon in an already stacked collection of skills.
OUTLOOK: 10-6
Dallas had the top offense in the NFL last year--top 5 in both passing and rushing. Offensive line continues to rank among the league's best. And now Dallas adds Lamb? Doesn't matter that his gaudy numbers won't come til later in his career, he adds another threat to an already dangerous unit, now.
COWBOYS AT SEAHAWKS: WHAT WILL WE BE SAYING MONDAY MORNING?
"Couldn't get any pressure on Prescott. That was the entire game. We knew pass rush was going to be an issue this year, but you can't make it easy for opposing quarterbacks. 0 Sacks? 2 lousy pressures? Dak just flat out picked us apart... The good news is Russell nearly matched him. That game was a combination of, by far, the best offensive performance of the season for the Hawks & the worst defensive performance. I hope we get another shot at them in the playoffs, because that one isn't going to end up 38-35 Dallas again."
But enough with all my gibberish. We know what you came here for. The results of the Feltsulator!
Coming off a tough primetime loss at home to the Patriots, the 2020 Feltsulator Seahawks hosted theDallasCowboys on a beautiful September afternoon at CenturyLink. In a back and forth contest that saw the Seahawks start quickly (video 1), and then the Cowboys grab the lead by the end of the third quarter, 14-10 on a CeeDee Lamb touchdown, Pete Carroll and Brian Schottenheimer seemed once again destined to lose, not 'letting Russ cook' until it was too late. But the final quarter is Russell Wilson time, as the living legend led two long touchdown drives to take a 24-14 lead with five minutes left. Chris Carson scored both, a 23 yard catch and run, then six yard beastly burst into the endzone (video 2).Dallasgrabbed a field goal but the Seattle defense didn't allow the 'Boys into pay-dirt as the Feltsulator Seahawks won 24-17, moving to 2-1 on the year.
Stats:
Russell Wilson: 32 of 41 for 355 yards, 2 TD and 2 INT
Dak Prescott: 21 of 35 for 216 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT
Chris Carson: 24 carries for 69 yards and 1 TD
Ezekiel Elliott: 19 carries for 114 yards and 1 TD
Chris Carson: 9 catches for 82 yards and 1 TD
Phillip Dorsett: 7 catches for 62 yards and 1 TD
CeeDee Lamb: 7 catches for 69 yards and 1 TD