Tyler Smith Sends Clear Message to Micah Parsons Ahead of Cowboys-Packers Showdown
There has been a lot of talk leading up to Sunday’s highly anticipated matchup between the Dallas Cowboys and the Green Bay Packers. The most compelling narrative is, without a doubt, the return of Micah Parsons to his former stomping ground.
Parsons, who spent the first four years of his decorated NFL career with the Cowboys, took his talents to Green Bay in the offseason. He now gets to face his former team for the first time since his blockbuster trade. He also makes his return to AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, but this time, he’ll be wearing a different uniform.
Cowboys star offensive lineman Tyler Smith spoke to reporters on Thursday and was asked to share his thoughts on going up against Parsons. The two-time Pro Bowler had nothing but love for his former teammate and friend, but Smith also made it clear that their personal relationship will need to be set aside once the game kicks off.
“It’s going to be different,” Smith said, via Cowboys reporter Jon Machota of The Athletic. “But I think we both understand as professionals, obviously I have a lot of love for him as a person off the field and things of that nature, even on it.
“But when we step between the white lines, there can only be one winner. I got a star on my helmet. That’s all that matters to me.”Apart from building a friendship through the years, Smith and Parsons have also battled it out at practice many times. There’s nothing like a real NFL game, though, and these two stars will put their skills to the test against one another come Sunday.
The Cowboys enter this matchup at 1-2 and are looking to make amends following their Week 3 blowout loss to the Chicago Bears. Parsons and the Packers, on the other hand, are 2-1, but are also looking to bounce back after suffering a disappointing 13-10 loss against the Cleveland Browns in Week 3.
Bruins Prospect’s Risky Playing Style Could Be His Downfall
It's never a good sign when you type "Matthew Poitras hit" into social media and there's a laundry list of videos of him getting hurt or laid out by contact. The best we've seen Poitras play in a Boston Bruins uniform was in his rookie season in 2023-24, but a right shoulder injury knocked him out in January.
The injury stemmed from some massive contact in a game with Team Canada at the World Juniors, where the Bruins loaned him to get some extra playing time over the holidays. If the front office had known, they would've likely held on to him, as the form he was in during the regular season for the Bruins would've been useful.
Little did the Bruins know that it was the first hit in a long line of contact that Poitras was about to take over the next three seasons. Poitras got through the first few months of his rookie season relatively unscathed, but the book started to get out on him that his hunched skating style and love for the middle of the ice left him wide open for contact.
Opponents started to take liberties with Poitras, and it's a trend that has continued through the first two games of this year's preseason. He has taken some dangerous contact through both games, which has left fans wondering how long it will be until he suffers another injury. The general consensus is that Poitras has to change his ways or risk shortening his career.
The hope is that Poitras will figure it out, but it seems to be getting worse after 114 professional games + all his preseason experience. With Poitras likely to go to Providence with his waiver exemption status, the hope is that he will figure things out with another season of being the go-to guy. However, it wouldn't necessarily be good to make the team out of training camp in your first two seasons but then regress and get cut in your third year.
