NFC Notes: Cowboys, Eagles, Giants

Cowboys

Cowboys DE Randy Gregory described that he’s worked with HC Mike McCarthy and STs coordinator John Fassel over keeping a “neutral” mentality when on the field. 

“I feel like I handle failure decently, but I don’t handle success very well,” Gregory said, via Todd Archer of ESPN. “With the success comes a lot of responsibility, things like that. That’s one of the things I always struggled with growing up and still to this day I have my issues with that. We talk about staying neutral. [Special teams coach John Fassel and coach Mike McCarthy] talk about staying neutral and never getting too overly cocky or too negative about yourself and having a neutral mindset. I think that’s what you have to do when you’re experiencing failure and success. I think that’s how you grow.”

Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones had high praise for Gregory’s aggressiveness and physicality. 

“Randy is just exuding competition. He’s exuding aggressiveness,” Jones said. “He’s smart as a whip and he does have that, I call it ‘Charles Haley intellect.’ His physical approach to what’s going on, he knows that’s inspiring and that it could be intimidating to the opponent. You got to deliver the goods. You got to be a great player to pull that off. But in Randy’s case, he is.”

McCarthy called Gregory a “dynamic pass-rusher” and has a “disruptive” ability on the edge. 

“I would classify Randy as a dynamic pass-rusher,” McCarthy said. “He is working on his second and third moves. His ability to move around, look at the attention he has been getting. So I think [it] speaks to what other teams think of him. He may not have the [highest] sack numbers but his pressure and activity is way up. He is so disruptive.”

• Cowboys’ QB Dak Prescott spoke about what his expectations are going into this week: “Be better, honestly. That’s my expectation going into everything. I think I’ve had two good days of practice and I continue to get better. Put the final stamps on the game plan, go out there and be better than I was a couple of weeks ago.” (Jon Machota)

Eagles

• New Eagles CB Kary Vincent Jr. called himself a “Swiss Army knife” as a defensive back and thinks he’s capable of playing anywhere in the secondary. (Jeff McLane)
• Jeremy Fowler of ESPN listed the Eagles as a potential sleeper to watch for free-agent WR Odell Beckham Jr. 

Giants

• Giants’ HC Joe Judge answered questions from the media about rookie WR Kadarius Toney and what he has tweeted so far during this season: “Kadarius is a very intelligent person. In terms of what he tweeted out, I know where his heart was with that. I’m glad everything I did when I was 21-23 isn’t fully documented.” (Ralph Vacchiano)
• Jeremy Fowler of ESPN listed the Giants as a potential sleeper to watch for free-agent WR Odell Beckham Jr. 
• Giants HC Joe Judge said WR Kenny Golladay (knee) has been “very open” about his desire to play in Week 9.  (Zack Rosenblatt)
• Golladay mentioned that his availability depends on how his knee responds to consecutive days of practice: “I would like to. It depends how my body responds from a couple days back-to-back.” (Ralph Vacchiano)
• Judge said WR Kadarius Toney’s (thumb) should be fine and was catching passes on Thursday. (Zack Rosenblatt)
• Toney was limited in Friday’s practice. (Zack Rosenblatt)