These are not great days for Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy. Not only is his struggling team coming back after a bye week that followed the embarrassing 47-9 blowout loss to the Lions in Week 6, but his overall employment situation is tenuous, at best. Owner Jerry Jones has made clear he won’t make a coaching change in-season, but McCarthy is in the final year of his contract, a difficult lame-duck position for any coach to be in.
Thus, you could forgive McCarthy reaching for the low-hanging fruit. And that fruit presented itself last week with the brutal comments from legendary Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman, who laid into the Dallas receiving corps during a radio appearance in town, calling the team’s receivers “lazy,” and including star CeeDee Lamb in that mix.
McCarthy came to his team’s defense on Monday.
“For me to address those comments, I don’t because they don’t carry any weight with me because I watch all the tape,” McCarthy said, via the Dallas Morning News. “I get to go to the meetings. I’m at practice. I’m part of the games.”
Troy Aikman: ‘I See Guys Lazy Coming off the Line’
But just after saying he would not address Aikman’s Cowboys criticisms, McCarthy did address the criticisms, head-on. He did not point out the word, “lazy,” but it’s clear that was what he was discussing.
“Troy’s statement, in particular, I don’t agree with the word selection,” McCarthy said. “But there is definitely need for improvement in every position, not just one position that he commented on. So, I think you look at the whole picture. You break it down and that’s what coaches do. There’s a process to it. There’s always a plan. These guys bring great energy. Their work ethic is high.”
According to Aikman, the problem with the Cowboys offense has not so much been the fault of quarterback Dak Prescott—it’s been the receivers.
“I think the routes are terrible. I think they run terrible routes,” Aikman said (via Jon Machota of The Athletic). “And I’ve thought that beyond this year. I think CeeDee (Lamb) has got to improve in his route running. As a quarterback, if you’re not certain where guys are going to be consistently, it’s hard to play the position. That’s what I see.”
He continued: “I see guys lazy coming off the line of scrimmage. Sometimes they run, usually if they do, it’s because they’re anticipating they’re going to get the football on that play, but if they’re not, they don’t. And it all ties together. I’m not impressed with that part of it.”
Cowboys CeeDee Lamb’s Rating Has Fallen
It’s fair to criticize Lamb’s performance this season, as he has put up 476 yards and two touchdowns in six weeks. The Cowboys are lacking at receiver behind Lamb, and it’s forced Prescott to focus more on his star. But the pair have struggled—Lamb’s 47.2% catch rate is the worst of his career.
Lamb, of course, held out all through training camp and the preseason for a new contract, which he finally received on August 26, less than two weeks before the start of the season. He has never really gotten into a rhythm this season.
Lamb had a receiving grade of 91.2 last year at Pro Football Focus, which was fourth in the NFL. This year, that grade is 70.7, which is 46th. The Cowboys other top receiver, Jalen Tolbert, has a grade of 66.5, which is 69th.
