FORT WORTH, Texas — Cris Collinsworth is horrible at lying, which is a journalist’s dream.
There is no sugar in his coffee, tea or anything else he drinks.
The former Cincinnati Bengal and longtime NFL announcer for NBC will call the Dallas Cowboys’ season opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sept. 12.
This week, he participated in a conference call with reporters and I had to ask what we all know isn’t true, no matter how hard the Cowboys’ protest otherwise:
Are they as talented today as they were one season ago?
“To answer your question today, would I say they’re a more talented team than what they were to start last year? I don’t think I can, just because of the injuries that they have at the receiver position and the people they lost,” Collinsworth said.
He’s speaking specifically of the injury to Pro Bowl left tackle Tyron Smith, receiver Michael Gallup, and the offseason trade of wide receiver Amari Cooper to the Cleveland Brown as well as the loss of defensive end Randy Gregory.
Collinsworth would not go full wet blanket on the Cowboys. No games have been played.
And he’s got a game to sell for NBC.
He also has been around too long to know how something looks from February through Sept. 1 doesn’t always equate to how it goes the rest of the year.
The Cowboys are not just a different team because of those specific losses, but rather how they are built and where they are strongest. Or should be strongest.
“Forever with Dallas, I think of Dallas as being an offensive team, and I certainly think they’ve got some great players on that side,” Collinsworth said. “But this team is a little bit different for me right now.
“As I look around, and you start thinking about what they were able to do on the defensive side and getting (defensive end) DeMarcus Lawrence back and (linebacker) Micah Parsons as sort of that X factor, and (linebacker) Anthony Barr, I think they have a real chance to be something on defense this year.”
There is your hope.
“(Cornerback) Trevon Diggs is sort of that ultimate wild card, like a Marcus Peters kind of guy, that he’s either going to pick it off or give up a big play,” Collinsworth said. “But there’s that X factor to the defense that not all defenses have.”
Diggs led the NFL with 11 interceptions last season. The Cowboys led the NFL in turnovers forced last season, 34.
Those kind of numbers can win a lot of games.
It’s hard to envision a plausible scenario where those numbers are replicated for a second consecutive season. If the Cowboys are in the top eight of this category, they will do well.
“I’m really anxious to see what the approach is. We saw Dallas against Tampa in the opener last year, and offensively, even with sort of their line intact, and it was Dak Prescott who was just coming back, they chose not to run the ball at them,” Collinsworth said.
“When (the Bucs) were sitting there in their base defense (the Cowboys) threw it, it felt like every time. I think it was almost 90 percent of the time, and the throws were all quick throws and getting the ball out of their hands.”
He’s not far off.
In the Cowboys’ Week 1 31-29 loss in Tampa in 2021, Prescott passed 58 times for 403 yards. They ran the ball 18 times for 60 yards.
”You know in their heart and soul, the Cowboys want to be able to run the football. That’s who they’ve been,” he said. “But I’m really curious to see how this game plays out from the beginning and whether or not it is that same sort of approach.
“Dallas wasn’t the only team that didn’t even try to run the football (in 2021), and yet when you’ve got (running backs) Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard sitting there in the backfield, you feel like you’re wasting talent if you’re not taking your shot there.”
Elliott rushed a career-low 237 times last season, some of which can be attributed to play calling, and a knee injury he fought for much of the season.
The best way to characterize Collinsworth’s feelings about the Cowboys is curious.
He can’t say they’re more talented than they were one year ago.
They’re not.
And he’s terrible at lying.
