NFC Notes: Micah Parsons, Darren Waller, Cowboys, Eagles, Giants
Cowboys
Cowboys LB Micah Parsons isn’t thinking too much about his sack numbers and is more focused on bigger team achievements at this point in his career.
“I’m kinda off the sack wave. I’m onto the impact wave,” Parsons said, via Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News. “You see Aaron Donald. He can have 12 sacks, but the impact he makes is so dominant. You can tell. I really just want to be dominant. And then you see guys who have 16-17 sacks, but they’re not considered a guy. I want to be a guy, not one of the guys. You feel me? . . . I’m not chasing for something. I’m trying to achieve and be greater than someone who is chasing.”
Parsons even joked that he could wind up playing eight different positions this season, and wants fans to know that he plans on bringing it once again in 2023. He is also working on staying under 255 lbs in order to be quicker and take better care of his body.
“Just stay tuned. Everything that’s in that front seven and some coverage. I’m gonna do it all. This is gonna be a year to remember for sure. I think that’s a special ability that I have and why I want to incorporate it,” Parsons said, via Layten Praytor of DallasCowboys.com. “We’re doing a lot of special things, and I don’t want to give a lot away right now. But it’s going to be a really cool year. I’m probably going to play like eight positions this year.”
“I would just really say I was going through the motions,” Parsons said of last season. “It was a really long year. Every week something new was coming up. It was really just the growing pains of playing a lot more defensive end and dealing with chips and not really having a plan and guys throwing me off my game. Smooth is fast, and don’t be fast. Be smooth, man. Sometimes you feel like you have to do more to win. And you just have to be smooth. You see track runners look like they’re not moving and they’re smooth. . . . So, this year I’m just focusing on being smooth and just durability and taking care of my body.”
Eagles
Eagles DT Jordan Davis talked about his close relationship with first-round DT Jalen Carter after being teammates at the University of Georgia.
“That’s my brother,” Davis said, via Chris Franklin of NJ Advance Media. “It’s not like a mentor-mentee role, but it is more like a brotherhood. I can’t really explain it. He’s going to pull whatever he needs out of me, and whatever I need, I’m going to pull it out of him. He knows that. He knows what to expect from me, and I know what to expect from him.”
Davis said he and Carter have great communication on the field.
“I’m like, ‘Hey, let’s get freaky,” Davis said. “If I want to jab inside, then make sure you cover me. Just stuff like that. He had three-plus years of experience with that at Georgia, so I could look at him a certain kind of way he gets the message.”
The Eagles also drafted former Georgia products OLB Nolan Smith and CB Kelee Ringo. Davis said he wants to help them adjust to the NFL.
“I’m not going to sugarcoat it,” Davis said. “It’s hard. Knowing those guys, they came from not one but two national championships, which is the longest season out of college football. Luckily, I’m not too far removed and understand what it takes. It will be hard for them, but that’s what we’re here for. They’re in a hotel, which takes a toll on your body because it’s like being trapped, seeing those same four walls. I go over there and get those boys out anytime I can to show them around the city, showing them all the places I’ve been in this past year and going out to explore more places, it means a lot, and it builds that bond again.”
Giants
Giants TE Darren Waller said players’ opinions are respected within the building and credit HC Brian Daboll for building a cohesive culture.
“Yeah, they value our opinions here,” Waller said, via ESPN. “As a player, I feel like a lot of places I’ve gone, you’re told to do things a certain way and you do those things. But here it’s like, they ask a lot of questions. They want to know what you’re thinking, what you want to do more. So to offer input is a really cool thing because coaches and players have to be in partnership. We’re all together and shouldn’t be clashing with each other. We’re all going in the same direction.”
The Giants offered Waller a fresh start and a chance to be himself, which he values greatly.
“It’s different from team to team. I’m on my third now. There’s different cultures everywhere you go. There is different types of energies,” Waller said. “This is a really light place, a really fun place, a really empowering place where you just be yourself always. And as long as you’re not putting the team at risk by getting a flag or things like that, you can really let your personality show. That’s what I love about being here. It’s just been fun. It’s also been challenging. Guys holding you to a high standard since I got here and I try to reciprocate that.”
Daboll added that the feeling is mutual and Waller has been a pleasure to work with.
“He’s a true pro,” Daboll said. “He’s been really good for us in the meeting rooms, gives good input. Good communicator. Has some leadership skills. He’s been a good guy to work with.”
