1. LaRon Landry is ready to return. It’s a little early to say that he’ll definitely play, but here’s his best quote of the day:
“Let me go. Untame this beast. It’s been a while. I’ve been counting them days. Man, I haven’t played a game since Week 10. You tell me what you would do, especially on a Monday night.”
2. Incidentally, when the players broke their huddle before practice, Landry led them saying “Meat and potatoes on three!” And when the players broke from the huddle and sprinted to their respective stations, they sounded rather loose. What does it mean? Who knows.
3. The other newsmaker today? Corner DeAngelo Hall. Yes, he knows what injuries the Cowboys have. Yes, he’ll target those players.
And he said quarterback Tony Romo won’t need a bullseye on his ribs.
“He ain’t got to,” Hall said. “I already know where it is. We’ll be all right. I’ll find it. We’ll find it.”
4. Corner Josh Wilson was limited in practice Thursday because of head, neck and back injuries suffered in the third quarter of Sunday’s win over Arizona. Wilson’s status for Monday’s game vs. Dallas is uncertain. With Dallas’ receiving corps nursing injuries, Wilson’s absence might not be felt as much as usual. Kevin Barnes or Byron Westbrook would replace Wilson if he can’t play.
“I’m feeling better,” Wilson said. “Definitely a little sore. I’ll do everything I can.”
5. Running back Roy Helu said it took him a little bit of time to get used to being a one-cut runner and how to press the hole. He had to train his feet to do what the coaches needed him to do.
6. “Coming from a different scheme in college, I didn’t do that as well,” he said. “So when I got here I had to discipline myself, ‘OK, keep going there’s nothing there? Keep going.’ If there’s nothing there so be it but if something shows up, cut.”
Though Helu consistently makes defenders miss, he said he wants to do more downfield. Told him he always seemed to fall forward when tackled, partly because he’s difficult to hit straight on.
“That sounds like a compliment, but finishing better is something I need to do,” Helu said. “[I need to] accelerate my legs on contact so when I do fall forward I’m coming out of the tackle.”
7. Shanahan on the Dallas game: “If you can’t get up for games like this you shouldn’t be in this profession. Monday night, especially in Dallas, just a great venue. This is why you’re in the game.”
8. The NFL is cracking down on players faking injuries, which will be difficult to enforce. This isn’t the first year players have done that and it won’t be the last. When Shanahan was asked if he ever instructed a defensive player to take a dive he said, “I can’t say I have, but I won’t say I haven’t either.”
9. Quarterback Rex Grossman said he hasn’t encountered a game like he did the other day when Arizona batted down a number of his passes. At times the Cardinals linemen would rush and if they were stymied at the line, they’d wait and jump to try and bat his pass. It wasn’t just 6-foot-8 Calais Campbell, either.
“If other teams have done it, it hasn’t been an issue as much as it was the other night,” Grossman said. “In my opinion you’d have to be 7-foot to throw over that.”
10. Dallas coach Jason Garrett on defensive end Stephen Bowen: “He’s a very good run defender, he’s a very good pass rusher – he’s the kind of guy you want on your team. We certainly were trying to keep him…. He certainly makes Washington better. It will be fun to compete against him.”
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