What A Thrilling Rush!
How many of you know our new quarterback? I sure didn’t other than what I have seen Cooper Rush do in the preseason and then in his one start last year. I wanted to know a little more about him and hopefully be able to get behind Rush as a starter for the Dallas Cowboys.
Maybe some of you have been hiding under a rock for the last couple of days. I sure wanted to. Especially after having to suffer through the Cowboys’ dreadful performance in a 19-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I have to give Tampa Bay all the credit for coming to play. They were ready for anything that we tried to throw at them including our fifth-year veteran backup quarterback Cooper Rush.
Dak Prescott’s Injury
People always say there’s a difference between being hurt and being injured. Well, Dak Prescott is injured. He fractured the joint above his thumb. Prescott had surgery on it yesterday. The good news released last night was that he may only be out for four to five weeks now. However, I was wanting him pulled during the game anyway.
I’m not a Dak Prescott fan and never have been. He was having one of the worst performances of his entire career before suffering the fracture. Prescott didn’t look ready. Many have stated that he was injured before this game in practice last week. I’m not sure whether or not that happened, but I know we’ll hear about it if it’s true. Against Tampa Bay, he completed just 14-29 for 134 yards and 48.3%. He had no touchdowns and had thrown an interception.
Come On, Cooper!
This led to the Cowboys bringing in their backup quarterback 28 year old, Cooper Rush. He’s 6-3 and 225 lbs. from Charlotte, Michigan. He went to Lansing Catholic High School where there is just over 500 students in the entire high school. Rush played in college at Central Michigan and went undrafted in the 2017 draft. The Cowboys used him from 2017 to 2019 before he went for a short time in 2020 to the New York Giants. Then the Cowboys again picked him up in 2020 and he’s been with us ever since.
In the one start he had last season, Cooper Rush completed 30-47 passes for 422 yards with 63.8%. He threw for three touchdowns and had one interception while beating the Minnesota Vikings. When he took over the game Sunday night for Dak Prescott he threw 7-13 passes for 64 yards.
I wonder if Cooper Rush being from a small town, playing at a small university and sitting on the bench for the first five years of his career will effect him. I think it has to. Rush has to put all the distractions away and the crowd noise away to snatch this opportunity to be the quarterback he has always wanted to be. Can he do that? I sure hope so. It would start off being a fun ride if he can.
Can CeeDee Get Going?
Much has been made about CeeDee Lamb going from the second targeted wide receiver to being Dallas’ main man as the first wide receiver. I thought he was ready for this and was going to take the bull by the horns. However as we saw in the game, he caught just two passes when he was targeted for 29 yards. So will a new quarterback and even more pressure to step up help or hurt Lamb? I think we will definitely find out early against the Cincinnati Bengals because some wide receiver has to want the ball now.
My Thoughts
As for Cooper Rush being the starter for the Cowboys for the next four to five weeks, I’m ok with it. I have to be. This is a player that Dallas has kept around since 2017. They must see something in him because they haven’t went out and gotten a better backup quarterback. Dallas also hasn’t went out and used a high pick on a stud quarterback that would give Dak Prescott a run for his money.
I know so many of you are yelling for Dallas to go get San Francisco’s Jimmy Garoppolo. Well, I can tell you that’s not happening. Jerry Jones isn’t giving up what the 49ers would want for him. Plus, have you seen Trey Lance? The 49ers are keeping Jimmy G for a reason.
I think we all realize that Jerry Jones is going to wait these four weeks out against the Bengals, Giants, Commanders and Rams hoping to go 2-2 or for Rush to even squeak one more out. Jerry loves Dak. He always has. Prescott’s athleticism caught Jones’ eye and he truly believes that Dak is going to lead the Cowboys back to the promised land. I don’t think so, but who am I to say that?