The first week of the NFL season has finally arrived, ladies and gentlemen, and we are all quite excited for Sunday’s start. The Cleveland Browns and Dallas Cowboys will play a game that, in my opinion, will be far more defensive-minded than most.
I have got some bold predictions for you today because a bold start to the season calls for bold forecasts. There are three audacious predictions for this Sunday’s season opener that, despite their seeming impossibility, are quite plausible.
I may be the only one that thinks this, but I think the defenders will affect the game more than the attacks.Micah Parsons Notes Three Takeaways
The starting left tackle for the Cleveland Browns against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday will be absent. With a hamstring problem to begin the week, Jedrick Wills Jr. was listed as injured, but he was later downgraded to DNP (did not participate) in practice.
The Browns will now have to start James Hudson in lieu of Wills, which is a major blow. After being selected by Cleveland in the fourth round of the draft, Hudson has started 14 of the 45 games that he might have played in.
Against players such as Micah Parsons, Marshawn Kneeland, and other Cowboys defensive end, Hudson is tasked with the difficult duty of guarding quarterback Deshaun Watson’s blindside. Mike Zimmer decides to blitz the opposition from the right side of the field.
Micah Parsons has never had three sacks in a single game, so this is a daring prediction. Although he has twice achieved 2.5 sacks in a game, he has not yet been able to reach the 3.0 stat line. In Cleveland this Sunday, that will change.
Records of Myles Garrett Three Sacks of His Own
The pass rusher for the Cleveland Browns is regarded as the top EDGE in the entire National Football League. Parsons is frequently compared to Myles Garrett, the three-time All-Pro and current NFL Defensive Player of the Year.
The idea of mostly lining up across Tyler Guyton, the rookie left tackle for the Cowboys, must have Garrett licking his chops. Guyton spent the most of his collegiate career playing on the right side of the offense and was selected as a raw talent.
The youngster, who is currently a left side player, should soon demonstrate whether his meetings with offensive line guru Duke Manyweather have paid off when he faces off against one of the NFL’s top pass rushers in his first professional NFL game.
Garrett will gain a sack from Guyton in the early going, but Guyton will not be held responsible for the other two sacks. Jim Schwartz, the DC for the Browns, rotates Garrett about the defensive alignment to create mismatches, much like Zimmer hopes to do with Parsons.
Garrett will be positioned to rush through the A-gap and gain two more sacks while covering rookie C Cooper Beebe.
Amari Cooper Scores 100 Yards on Reception
Trevon Diggs and DaRon Bland are two of the NFL’s best cornerbacks, and the Dallas Cowboys have one of the best secondaries. The Cowboys are difficult to throw on when Nickel CB Jourdan Lewis is in the slot and Donovan Wilson, Markquese Bell, Juanyeh Thomas, and Malik Hooker cover the back end.
Though Bland has been sidelined for several weeks due to a stress fracture in his foot that necessitates surgery, it is unclear if Diggs has entirely recovered from his ruptured ACL sustained during the previous season. In his place, rookie Caelen Carson has been promoted, and his first assignment is to cover one of the NFL’s top route runners.
A few years back, Amari Cooper was traded to the Browns for a fifth-round selection, and many Cowboys supporters—including myself—continue to laugh at the amount of money they were paid. Cooper is among the NFL’s top wide receivers, and he can not wait to prove it this weekend when he plays his old team.
Because he fastens the straps on wide receivers, Carson refers to himself as the “walking seat belt,” but he has never seen a player of the quality he will have to cover this Sunday.
On his way to more than 100 receiving yards for the game, Cooper will use his route-running prowess to teach the rookie CB a few things.
