Vance Joseph Gives Review of Broncos Rookie After Week 4 Debut
Albeit in a limited sample size, it seems Denver Broncos rookie defensive lineman Sai'vion Jones passed all his benchmarks in his debut on Monday night against the Cincinnati Bengals.
“He looked fine. Obviously, he didn’t play a lot of reps, but it was his first time getting on the field as a rookie, and it was good for him to play some," Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph said Friday. "That should increase for him moving forward. He’s had great weeks of practice. That’s why we decided to put him up finally. He’s growing fast, so hopefully he gets better and better each week.”
The 101st overall pick of April's draft, Jones was a healthy scratch for the first three games before being activated in Week 4. He logged six defensive snaps as a rotational lineman and, although it went unrecorded on the stat sheet, was in on a nice pressure of Bengals quarterback Jake Browning.
They were small glimpses, but glimpses nonetheless of what made Jones a standout collegian at LSU and a high-round target of the Broncos.
“He kind of fits our mold of defensive line. The size—six-[feet] six-[inches], 280 [pounds]. We feel like he can continue to grow in that role," general manager George Paton said after drafting Jones. "He’ll play [defensive] end for us, but he has flexibility down the line of scrimmage. This guy is long. He’s strong [and] plays with really good leverage. Then he’s improving as a rusher. You could see that throughout the season, then you got to the Senior Bowl. We thought he had a really good week and played really well in the game. So he’s just going to keep getting better. [Defensive Line Coach] Jamar Cain has coached him, so again we had insight on him like we did some of the others. I think what sticks out with him is just how hard he plays. The motor—he goes 110 miles per hour every play, so he fits in with our group. He’ll have time to develop as well as he has good guys in front of him.”
Going forward, Jones should continue seeing a gradual uptick in playing time as part of his progression plan, firmly entrenched behind starting defensive ends John Franklin-Myers and Zach Allen, the latter of whom paces the NFL in quarterback hits among his positional group.
“I don’t think much has changed with Zach," Payton said Friday. "I mean, he’s just getting older as a player. He’s always been a great rusher. He’s gotten stronger over the years, but he’s always been a smart player. It’s opportunities. I think Zach playing with better outside rushers allows him to get more one-on-ones. When you’re the only rusher inside, you get all the slides of a double team. Now he’s playing with [OLB] Nik [Bonitto] and ‘Coop’ (OLB Jonathon Cooper) and ‘JFM’ (DL John Franklin-Myers). It’s fair across the board. All of our guys should improve with those kinds of numbers.”
Cowboys’ George Pickens defends Dak Prescott with latest comments
Cowboys WR George Pickens defended his quarterback Dak Prescott amid criticism of the latter's play in the last few weeks.
Dak Prescott has been on another level this season. While the Dallas Cowboys' defense has been struggling as of late, Dak Prescott's elite play has kept them afloat this season. The veteran quarterback has played his heart out this season, managing to tie with a Green Bay Packers team that was one of the best defensive teams on paper.
Despite his good performance, there's still a vocal contingent of fans that criticize Prescott's play this season. The Cowboys quarterback has some backup from his teammates, though. George Pickens, who came to Dallas via trade this offseason, had some words for Prescott's critics.
“I don't see the hate that he gets,” Pickens told reporters, per Ed Werder. “He's a cool dude. He makes great plays. Quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys. I don't know what there's not to like.”
After a slow start to the season against the Philadelphia Eagles (61.8% completion rate, 188 yards and no touchdowns), Prescott's been on fire in the last three games. He's posted a 75.8% completion rate in the last three games on crazy volume (52 attempts in Week 2, 40 attempts in Weeks 3 and 4), and thrown for 931 yards and six touchdowns. Prescott does have three picks to his name and a subpar 14-point output against the Bears in Week 3, but his positives have far outweighed the turnovers.
Prescott has to play out of his mind for the Cowboys to have a shot at winning games this season. They've given up 132 points through four games, including giving up 31 points to the Chicago Bears and 37 points to the New York Giants. Against the Packers in Week 4, Dallas gave up 40 points to their rivals. If not for Prescott and the offense hanging 40 points of their own and matching Green Bay's punches, Dallas would be 1-3 to start the season.
Instead, the Cowboys managed to tie against a consensus Super Bowl contender. Most fans understand, though, that this is not a sustainable winning formula. If Prescott keeps this up, he might play himself into MVP consideration… while still losing games due to his defense.
