Leighton Vander Esch

“Hard Knocks” Premiere: Micah Parsons Shines

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I’ve long been a huge fan of the HBO series “Hard Knocks” since its premiere in 2001. Outside of the expected silliness ranging from former Jets’ HC Rex Ryan’s “let’s get a snack” quote to Vince Wilfork’s “naked overalls” episode with the Texans, the show always does a fantastic job of hyping me up for the NFL season. So when the Cowboys were chosen for this year’s series, I mildly cringed at the idiocy that was inbound. And, spoiler alert, Mike McCarthy delivers in droves via an Austin Powers movie clip and fake bravado that brought on a mild panic attack. Yes, it’s insulting to the viewer but even more so to Mike Meyers who’s probably on the line with Jerry Jones negotiating compensation as I write this.

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Scheme or Scam: Dallas Cowboys

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In 2020 Dynasty Football Factory launched a series titled “Schemes Are Ch-Ch-Changing”. Each edition of the series explored how a new defensive coordinator would affect defenders as fantasy assets. The David Bowie song “Changes” would roll through my head as I started each article. I admit it; by the sixth or seventh article, I began to cringe at the title. I reached out to the team at DFF for ideas. Thus, I give you “Scheme or Scam.” The premise remains. I will investigate for each article how a new defensive scheme will deploy defenders and how that will translate to fantasy value. I write about this because it’s information I sought out and could not find when I began playing IDP fantasy football just a few years ago.

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DFF Draft Coverage: Micah Parsons to the Cowboys

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Micah Parsons was regarded as a top-ten prospect out of high school across the nation and was honored as the American Family Insurance National Defensive Player of the Year. Although he was not nominally a starter in his first year in Happy Valley, he earned Freshman All-American honors while leading the Nittany Lions in tackles. Parsons took a step forward as a sophomore, earning all-conference honors. 

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Schemes Are Ch-Ch-Changing: Cowboys Join Hybrid Herd

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The defensive scheme change in Dallas could be quite shocking to Cowboys’ fans. Mike Nolan’s body of work combined with recent experience in the Saints’ hybrid system as a linebackers coach should yield a more varied and complex defense than fans have known. Not only will we miss preseason action to see a preview of this defense, but also beat writers are prohibited from reporting players’ alignments during training camp. 2020 will provide more surprises than ever for IDP aficionados and this in a time when defenses are ever more multiple. September 13, 2020, will be the most astonishing day of football in a long time!

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