NFC Notes: Mike McCarthy, Dak Prescott, Commanders, Cowboys, Giants

Commanders

Commanders HC Ron Rivera said the team plans on being careful with TE Logan Thomas due to his age and injury history.

“He’s a guy that we want to be careful with, first and foremost,” Rivera said, via PFT. “The thing that we got to be aware of is just he’s an older guy, he is coming off an injury. Yes, it was two seasons ago, but you can’t be too careful, especially in this situation. And in this offense, knowing how vital the tight end is to this offense, we got to be very smart about that.”

Cowboys

Cowboys HC Mike McCarthy is excited to go back to his roots as a play-caller and believes this is the best way for him to benefit the team.

“I mean it’s kind of hard to be fired up about [making] schedules every damn day,” McCarthy said, via Todd Archer of ESPN. “I tried to, but I feel like I’m back in my element and doing what I feel like I do best.”

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones supports McCarthy taking play-calling duties back over and said that McCarthy was at his best in Green Bay when he was calling plays.

“Well, I actually thought that when Mike came in that one of his top qualities were his jobs he had done as playcaller and head coach,” Jones said. “The people that worked with him at Green Bay said that was when he was at his absolute peak in their minds — his coaching skills and expertise — was when he was head coach and playcaller. And so that would have happened when he came in had he not wanted and thought as much of Moore as he did. And he wanted to go that route.”

Cowboys QB Dak Prescott added that he and McCarthy have spent extra time together this offseason to get on the same page in terms of responding to certain situations on the field.

“Mike’s an aggressive guy, fun guy,” Prescott said. “Spending a lot of time with him, just getting to know him and understanding what he wants on these plays, what he wants in each situation, just understanding his purpose allows me to play a little bit quicker and a little bit more free. And he’s told me 100 times, it’s about making the quarterback comfortable. It’s about putting the quarterback in the best situation and allowed him to feel free.”

• Cowboys OL Chuma Edoga was carted off the field this past week with an apparent right knee injury. The initial belief is that he escaped major injury. (Todd Archer)

Giants

Giants CB Adoree’ Jackson said third-round WR Jalin Hyatt‘s speed has been on full display thus far in training camp.

“Once he’s rolling, he’s rolling,” Jackson said, via Fox Sports. “We’ve seen Darren Waller run (and) it’s like, ‘OK, he’s fast.’ But then when (Hyatt’s) legs start to churn, it’s like ‘OK, he’s going away like a Usain Bolt.‘”

Hyatt still has a long way to go and has a lot to learn, especially with HC Brian Daboll‘s complex playbook.

“One hundred percent,” WR Parris Campbell explained. “(Brian Daboll and OC Mike Kafka) are offensive gurus. They really know what they’re doing. Dabs has so much in his arsenal. He wants to always keep the defense guessing. So, we’ve got a lot of different plays, a lot of different things to learn. Shoot, it’s tough for me. I can only imagine just being a rookie and kind of doing it all over again.”

Daboll added that the team plans to be patient with Hyatt and won’t be deterred by early mistakes.

“It’s on such an individual basis,” Daboll said. “There’s people that pick it up faster, people that it’s a little bit slow for and then it hits and then they start going. I think everybody’s different based on how they learn, where they come from. I think the biggest thing for us is to not be instant evaluators when (they struggle): ‘Aw, this guy can’t get it.’ I mean, you put a lot of research and time into trying to bring people in that you think can learn the material.”