The Dallas Cowboys will be a very different team when they take the field in September, especially on offense. The wide receiver room will count with quite a few new names that will try to prove their worth week in and week out by being consistent and reliable targets for third-year Quarterback Dak Prescott.
But the new faces in the room will not come exclusively from players, but from Wide Receivers Coach Sanjay Lal.
Lal has spent the latest years of his career serving the Buffalo Bills (2015-2016) and the Indianapolis Colts (2017) at the same position. He was one of the several hires the Cowboys made earlier in the year to replace lots of coaching vacancies Dallas had after the team went through a positional coaches overhaul.
Sanjay Lal is one of the coaches that could make the difference in 2018 and lead the team to success. Fortunately, players are already excited about his work with the team.
Cole Beasley a big fan of new Cowboys WR coach Sanjay Lal: It feels like the first time we’re actually being taught how to run routes instead of just naturally doing
— Jori Epstein (@JoriEpstein) June 12, 2018
The above quote from veteran Cole Beasley is certainly an interesting one. While it’s kind of disappointing because it speaks of Derek Dooley’s work during his time in Dallas, it also comes as a reason to get excited about the team’s future at the WR position.
Last season was pretty frustrating for the entire offense. For the receivers, the struggles came mainly when trying to create separation on the field and getting open when the team needed it the most.
After an offseason in which Allen Hurns, Michael Gallup and Cedrick Wilson were brought in to build a new-look offense to make the most out of Dak’s strengths, these comments about Sanjay Lal helping the Cowboys improve their route-running are just what we wanted to hear.
“I was a little passive last year waiting to see what, I got so many different looks I was waiting to see what they were going to do before I started my route and I wasn’t as good of a route runner because of it. Just firing off the ball and playing fast is what I’m focusing on.” –Cole Beasley on SportsDay’s article.
It’s a big year for the pass catchers. A year in which the “#1 receiver” role is up for grabs.
Cowboys Nation should be excited to see what Cole Beasley will bring to the table after having a frustrating 314-yard performance in 2017. Will it change his role on the offense? Maybe, maybe not. But as long as the rest of the players are consistently getting open, Beasley will probably stop running into double coverage as much as he did last season and get back to his 2016-self.
How the Cowboys’ new-look offense will perform in 2018 remains to be seen. With the left guard position being taken care of and Ezekiel Elliott leaving all the drama behind in 2017, the running game seems to be ready to go.
The passing game is where the questions are.
Dak Prescott has tons to prove during his third year in the NFL. The new faces in the WR room, including Coach Sanjay Lal, might just be what the team needs to move the sticks and keep the offense going.
