FRISCO – This won’t be Micah Parsons’ first rodeo with DeMarcus Ware.
But it could be his most necessary one.
Ware, the legendary Dallas Cowboys pass-rusher, vows to spend time with younger star Parsons as coaching camp approaches – watching movie, doing on-field work, and far more.
Ware has invested this time in Parsons earlier than, final summer time as chronicled by “Hard Knocks,” and again with a lunch date before Dallas’ playoff loss to the Niners.
And what is there to learn?
“It’s going to be a little different,” Micah said of a Year 2 in which offenses will focus even more on limiting him. “It’s going to be more difficult. But I by no means again down from a problem.
“The great ones just find a way.”
Thursday marked a busy day for Parsons, who fielded a punt to get free for the OTA exercise, acquired “stoned” by rookie blocker Tyler Smith and met the media to take the “Tank Challenge.”
And on the finish of the day? His coach, Mike McCarthy, dangled a carrot by labeling the second-year star as one thing shy of “elite.”
McCarthy took a second to element his four-category breakdown of NFL expertise when he was requested Thursday about the place Parsons is and the place the Pro Bowler and reigning Defensive Rookie of the Year could be going.
“I think it’s important to recognize that every one of these players is a really good football player,” McCarthy mentioned. “There’s no such thing as, ‘He can’t play here,’ or ‘That guy is…’ They’re all really good players.”
There are, in McCarthy’s thoughts …
1) Good gamers.
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2) Good gamers who, he mentioned, “have great moments.”
3) “Then the third category,” McCarthy mentioned, “is great players that are just individually able to perform at an extremely high level consistently.”
And then there may be another stage …
The highest stage, McCarthy mentioned, is an “elite” participant – one who persistently performs like a star whereas additionally lifting teammates to their highest aircraft.
“Obviously Micah had a lot of great moments last year, but our desire – and it needs to be his desire – is for him to be an elite player, not just a great player,” McCarthy mentioned. “The elite ones bring everybody with them. How they work, how they compete in practice, how they compete in the weight room, how they compete at garbage-can basketball in the locker room.”
“He has an opportunity to really make a huge impact in our football team.”
The fantastic thing about 2021 first-round decide Parsons – who has clearly heard this pep discuss from McCarthy’s personal mouth – is that he’s not insulted by the “must-do-more” characterization.
He will get it. He needs extra.
And the “elite” ones, McCarthy is telling Parsons, do precisely that – extra.
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