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[h=1]By PATRIK WALKER May 23, 10:43 AM[/h]
It isn't taking long for Randall Cobb to become a team-favorite.
Signed to the Dallas Cowboys on a one-year deal worth up to $5 million, including a base salary of $2 million along with a $2 million signing bonus, Cobb steps in as the immediate replacement for wide receiver Cole Beasley — who departed in free agency for the Buffalo Bills. It can be argued in a lot of ways that Cobb is an upgrade over Beasley, and he's also slightly younger, despite having one more year in the NFL. And while Beasley was mostly relegated to slot duty, the Cowboys now have the flexibility of being able to play the bigger Cobb in more than one role.
That's something wide receivers' coach Sanjay Lal pointed out in the first wave of organized team activities (OTAs), as he heaped praise onto the pro bowler.
"Our formations allow us to put the 'F' [receiver] wherever we want," he said, via Kate Hairopoulos of The Dallas Morning News. "Any guy. We can put the 'Z' inside, so when you see Amari [Cooper] inside, he's not playing a different position. We just have a way to put him inside and the 'F' outside."
A quick explanation is in order, I'm sure.
For those wondering, NFL offenses label their receivers in the letter designation, and often use X, Y, Z and F. Typically, the X and Z receivers are outside of the hashes with the latter offset from the line of scrimmage. The Y is usually the tight end with the F designation being a bit more fluid, because while some teams label that a fullback, that isn't the case for Lal and the Cowboys. For them, the F is the primary slot receiver, and that will be Cobb going forward — which helps clarify the point Lal is making above. They've treated Witten as the F in the past, but that was before Lal, which makes it inconsequential for now.
Good talk.
From there, Lal makes it clear although the Green Bay Packers opted to not re-sign Cobb, there's nothing that indicates he's slowing down due to age.
"I don't think he's lost a step," he noted. "[Cobb] has a chip on his shoulder cause people think he's washed up. Those are his words. So, he did great all offseason — training.
"We train hard here. ...And he's all-in on that stuff."
For his part, Cobb is exactly where he wants to be going into the 2019 season, doing his best Earl Thomas impression when he met quarterback Dak Prescott at the 2019 NFL Honors show — telling him to "come get me". The Cowboys eventually did, and Cobb has nothing but high marks for what he's seen from Prescott thus far and over the course of his three-year career in the league. Noting the QB's arm strength, ability to extend plays and even labeling him a "physical specimen", Cobb hopes to simply become another weapon for a Prescott and a Cowboys' passing attack that was incessantly stale under former offensive coordinator Scott Linehan.
Cobb is a former second-round pick of the familiar Packers who went on to land Pro Bowl honors in 2014. He played eight seasons in Wisconsin and finished his final contract in 2018, hitting the free agency market as the Packers opted to not re-sign him. Cobb would not only bring his veteran presence to the Cowboys, but also the aforementioned ability to flex from the slot to the outside, giving offensive coordinator Kellen Moore the ability to be more creative with how the wideouts are utilized.
He'll have to work to prove he's still an impactful target though, however, coming off of his worst season of production as a pro.
In 2018, Cobb reeled in just 383 receiving yards and three touchdowns, and was hampered by a hamstring injury that cost him six games. He'd finish the year with nine games and six starts, but can still be a viable option if healthy. He's just one season removed from a solid 653-yard, four-TD campaign with the Packers, and looking to equal or surpass those numbers in his new Dallas digs.
Cobb's battles with the Cowboys as a player have been up-and-down, but more of the former, having a 2-1 record against Dallas in the regular season that includes 19 catches for 163 yards and a TD. He kicked things up a notch come playoff time, going 2-0 with the Packers in games the Cowboys would love to forget, with Cobb's 15 receptions and 178 receiving yards helping to dismiss Dallas from the playoffs in two of the most notable games in recent NFL history. The first occurred at Green Bay, the scene of the infamous overturned catch on Dez Bryant in January 2015, and the second came one year later at AT&T Stadium when an all-out dual went to the wire but Aaron Rodgers reminded everyone he's still Aaron Rodgers.
In the infamous battle at Lambeau, it was Cobb who caught the game-sealing third down catch from Rodgers, but now he'd like to reverse the tables.
"That was a lot of fun," Cobb said, via David Helman of DallasCowboys.com. "That was an exciting game. I've been a part of some great Cowboys-Packers games over the years, and we've got one this year.
"Hopefully, I'll be on the right side of that one, too."
He'll get his first chance on October 6, when he meets his former team for the first time and attempts to melt the Cheese.
It isn't taking long for Randall Cobb to become a team-favorite.
Signed to the Dallas Cowboys on a one-year deal worth up to $5 million, including a base salary of $2 million along with a $2 million signing bonus, Cobb steps in as the immediate replacement for wide receiver Cole Beasley — who departed in free agency for the Buffalo Bills. It can be argued in a lot of ways that Cobb is an upgrade over Beasley, and he's also slightly younger, despite having one more year in the NFL. And while Beasley was mostly relegated to slot duty, the Cowboys now have the flexibility of being able to play the bigger Cobb in more than one role.
That's something wide receivers' coach Sanjay Lal pointed out in the first wave of organized team activities (OTAs), as he heaped praise onto the pro bowler.
"Our formations allow us to put the 'F' [receiver] wherever we want," he said, via Kate Hairopoulos of The Dallas Morning News. "Any guy. We can put the 'Z' inside, so when you see Amari [Cooper] inside, he's not playing a different position. We just have a way to put him inside and the 'F' outside."
A quick explanation is in order, I'm sure.
For those wondering, NFL offenses label their receivers in the letter designation, and often use X, Y, Z and F. Typically, the X and Z receivers are outside of the hashes with the latter offset from the line of scrimmage. The Y is usually the tight end with the F designation being a bit more fluid, because while some teams label that a fullback, that isn't the case for Lal and the Cowboys. For them, the F is the primary slot receiver, and that will be Cobb going forward — which helps clarify the point Lal is making above. They've treated Witten as the F in the past, but that was before Lal, which makes it inconsequential for now.
Good talk.
From there, Lal makes it clear although the Green Bay Packers opted to not re-sign Cobb, there's nothing that indicates he's slowing down due to age.
"I don't think he's lost a step," he noted. "[Cobb] has a chip on his shoulder cause people think he's washed up. Those are his words. So, he did great all offseason — training.
"We train hard here. ...And he's all-in on that stuff."
For his part, Cobb is exactly where he wants to be going into the 2019 season, doing his best Earl Thomas impression when he met quarterback Dak Prescott at the 2019 NFL Honors show — telling him to "come get me". The Cowboys eventually did, and Cobb has nothing but high marks for what he's seen from Prescott thus far and over the course of his three-year career in the league. Noting the QB's arm strength, ability to extend plays and even labeling him a "physical specimen", Cobb hopes to simply become another weapon for a Prescott and a Cowboys' passing attack that was incessantly stale under former offensive coordinator Scott Linehan.
Cobb is a former second-round pick of the familiar Packers who went on to land Pro Bowl honors in 2014. He played eight seasons in Wisconsin and finished his final contract in 2018, hitting the free agency market as the Packers opted to not re-sign him. Cobb would not only bring his veteran presence to the Cowboys, but also the aforementioned ability to flex from the slot to the outside, giving offensive coordinator Kellen Moore the ability to be more creative with how the wideouts are utilized.
He'll have to work to prove he's still an impactful target though, however, coming off of his worst season of production as a pro.
In 2018, Cobb reeled in just 383 receiving yards and three touchdowns, and was hampered by a hamstring injury that cost him six games. He'd finish the year with nine games and six starts, but can still be a viable option if healthy. He's just one season removed from a solid 653-yard, four-TD campaign with the Packers, and looking to equal or surpass those numbers in his new Dallas digs.
Cobb's battles with the Cowboys as a player have been up-and-down, but more of the former, having a 2-1 record against Dallas in the regular season that includes 19 catches for 163 yards and a TD. He kicked things up a notch come playoff time, going 2-0 with the Packers in games the Cowboys would love to forget, with Cobb's 15 receptions and 178 receiving yards helping to dismiss Dallas from the playoffs in two of the most notable games in recent NFL history. The first occurred at Green Bay, the scene of the infamous overturned catch on Dez Bryant in January 2015, and the second came one year later at AT&T Stadium when an all-out dual went to the wire but Aaron Rodgers reminded everyone he's still Aaron Rodgers.
In the infamous battle at Lambeau, it was Cobb who caught the game-sealing third down catch from Rodgers, but now he'd like to reverse the tables.
"That was a lot of fun," Cobb said, via David Helman of DallasCowboys.com. "That was an exciting game. I've been a part of some great Cowboys-Packers games over the years, and we've got one this year.
"Hopefully, I'll be on the right side of that one, too."
He'll get his first chance on October 6, when he meets his former team for the first time and attempts to melt the Cheese.
. Nah, just enthusiastic.