'Anything For You!' Unselfish Micah Parsons 'Creates Opportunities' For Other Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys gave the New York Giants an almighty shellacking at MetLife Stadium on Sunday night, thanks partly to Dan Quinn's defense...and his most valuable chess piece in Micah Parsons.
Micah got himself a sack against the Giants, but such is the sheer fear he creates when on the field that coach Mike McCarthy states opposing offenses simply have to account for Parsons.
“He’s an elite player,” McCarthy said. “He’s dynamic, so when Micah walks on the field, you better know where he is. It's been like that pretty much coming out in his first year; you could see it last year."
Micah stated during the offseason that he's off the sack wave in terms of purely hunting quarterbacks for sport. While he did grab a sack against the Giants, which was powerful in itself, it was what his presence was able to do for others that was perhaps the most frightening.
Of the Cowboys' seven sacks on Daniel Jones, Micah was on the field for five of them, but what he did on one of Osa Odighizuwa's two sacks was the most telling.
Parsons took on a Giants double team (pushed both back in the pocket, which forced Jones to step up), which allowed Odighizuwa to loop around and collect the easy kill.
On four first-half sacks, Parsons was doubled-teamed on every one of them per Next Gen Stats. What does this mean? In short, when the Giants sent extra attention to Micah, others got to work.
So, for the defense? It's pick your poison. And for the unselfish Micah? As he wrote on social media with a nod to Osa: "Anything for you!''
Send a double team for Parsons (which doesn't always work) and allow others in DeMarcus Lawrence, Odighizuwa, Dante Fowler, and Dorant Armstrong to pick up the pieces. Or go one-on-one with Micah. Neither sounds too appetizing.
In total, the defense grabbed seven sacks, 10 tackles for loss, 10 quarterback hits, three forced fumbles, and two interceptions on a dominating night at MetLife.
So, while many fixate on Parsons' ability to sack the quarterback, now, he has developed the ability to bring others along with him, and McCarthy thinks it is a huge factor for the defense.
“He definitely creates opportunities, that’s why it's important for us to keep moving him around and try to give him matchups and make them [opponents] play schematically. So definitely, he’s a huge factor,” McCarthy said.
Micah will get his fair share of sacks this season, make no mistake about it, and like a Lion in the Sahara, he is bringing his whole pride along with him ... and they're ready to feast.
