Photo Credit: The Dallas Cowboys Football Club
FRISCO, Texas – The queen is the most powerful chess piece, able to move any number of squares vertically, horizontally or diagonally. For Dan Quinn’s revamped defense, rookie Micah Parsons is the defensive ‘queen,’ wreaking havoc on offensive game plans from a variety of roles on the field.
On Sunday in Minnesota, Parsons spearheaded the defensive unit, garnering NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors. The Vikings relentlessly tried screens in his direction, but the first-year player swarmed tight ends and full backs in coverage, not allowing a free release. His instinctive play throughout the course of the game, shifted the momentum in the Cowboys’ favor.
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From third and one in the second quarter, the Vikings ran Dalvin Cook on a fly sweep. Micah Parsons proceeded to make his checkdowns, did not take the bait and reacted instantaneously. He ran down fullback C.J. Ham from behind for no gain. Parsons’ 4.3 speed was on full display.
Then, from first and ten in the third, Kirk Cousins threw a quick screen pass to Ham. Before the ball even reached his hands, Parsons was there. He sniffed out the play and immediately dropped Ham as the ball arrived for a two-yard loss. In the open field – he did not miss.
Regarding the development of the coverage aspect of his game, Parsons described to D21SPORTS, “Self-scout with my eyes. Understanding what’s going to come at me, who is going to try to slow me down and the progressions of what I am seeing out there. I feel like I took that note and I emphasized it all week with my eyes and how I wanted to portray myself in the game and it just translated very well.”
Whether Parsons lined up on the edge as a fifth rusher, or as an off-the-ball linebacker, he flew to the football, complements of committed preparation. Instead of arriving at his usual 7:15 a.m. prior to meetings, he began getting to the facility at 6:00 to get a jump on self-motivated improvement.
“I thought it was his best game period as a football player just playing linebacker and open end,” Mike McCarthy stated. “Clearly this is his best week of preparation. He was here early. I think he was in here at about 6:00. So, he was here early and it’s nice to see players take that step-in preparation and obviously when it carries over to the field. So, clearly, he had a huge night. He was all over the field. I thought he clearly played his best game as a Cowboy.”
For rookies, there is no science that guarantees a smooth transition from college to the pros. Not only did Parsons have a small sample size at linebacker (transitioned from defensive end) during his collegiate career at Penn State, but he opted out of the 2020 season. His production is even more impressive, considering the workload that has been placed on his shoulders in 2021. The former Nittany Lion is a true jack of all trades: lining up at all linebacker positions on-and-off the ball, in addition to his placement on the defensive line as an edge rusher and over the center to plug the A-gap. His progress and sideline-to-sideline range is a materialization of the added work Parsons is putting in at the Star.
Dallas’ defense is being built around Parsons’ versatility on the gridiron and he created a formidable unit on Sunday that dominated on third down. He continues to exceed expectations and is as good as advertised. The scary reality? No. 11 has only scratched the surface. As Parsons frankly declares, “the lion is always hungry.”
