Dak Prescott's drive, Micah Parsons' motivation highlight Dallas Cowboys' 'Hard Knocks' premiere
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Dak Prescottâs hunger to play football is insatiable, Micah Parsonsâ hunger for mid-practice snacks is not satisfied, Ezekiel Elliott needs help wrapping birthday gifts and Jerry Jones takes notes with a No. 2 pencil.
The season premiere Tuesday night of the Dallas Cowboysâ third appearance on âHard Knocksâ had no shortage of banter, quirks and expletives.
The âHard Knocksâ premiere shed light on Prescottâs return from a gruesome ankle injury and subsequent development of a shoulder strain. In short: The Cowboysâ $40 million quarterback would not stop working ... and worked so hard he suffered an overuse injury related to the latissimus muscle in his throwing shoulder. Prescott has not meaningfully thrown for two weeks since exiting the Cowboysâ first padded practice. Cowboys doctors consulted Texas Rangers and New York Yankees trainers for advice, âHard Knocksâ footage confirmed.
Head coach Mike McCarthy, mics revealed, needed just a single word to express his emotion from the sideline that afternoon. It rhymed with âduck.â
And yet, Tuesdayâs debut episode featured far more humor than it did frustration from injury. Prescottâs friendship with draft classmate Elliott peaked as Elliott aimed to surprise his quarterback with a gift-wrapped luggage bag ... only for Prescott to knock on Elliottâs hotel room door at an inopportune moment, just as Elliott was preparing the gift, complete with an apt card reading âYOU MUST BE REALLY EXHAUSTED FROM KICKING SO MUCH ASS.â
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Elliottâs response when Prescott interrupted the YouTube video-guided gift-wrapping session? The running back slammed the door in the face of his QB.
âWhat you want, man?â said Elliott, who would also help his offensive linemen smash a cake in Prescottâs face on his 28th birthday. âYou trying to ruin the surprise.â
Here are five more key highlights from the debut episode:
1. Dak Prescottâs work ethic
âHard Knocksâ took viewers behind the scenes of Prescottâs initial maniacal training, including his â575â GPS measurement that trainers and coaches ruled too high. Prescottâs response to the pitch count: âIâm not coming out this [expletive]. I sat last year enough. ⊠I donât know why the [expletive] they took me out of them reps for.
âIâll let yâall know if Iâm [expletive] sore or somethingâs bothering me.â
Days later, after his shoulder strain, he would need to.
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2. The Micah Parsons-Dan Quinn dynamic
Parsonsâ personality has been on display since the day the Cowboys selected the linebacker 12th overall in the 2021 NFL draft. âHard Knocksâ further showed whatâs on his mind, from mid-practice snacks â âPenn State used to have snacks at practice. I loved that. ⊠The lionâs always hungry,â Parsons says â to special tutelage from his defensive coordinator. Footage showed Parsons beat on one deep route, then diving for an interception shortly later. Parsons displayed the ability to learn and grow quickly.
âThat was your first time on the run away from you. Thatâs why youâve got to [expletive] go,â Quinn told him. Parsons explained how he was caught up on an initial play before discerning how to break free on the second.
The coach-player dynamic continued into the Hall of Fame Game, in which Parsons flashed ball hawk skills to recover a fumble. Still, Quinn called down from the booth to alert Parsons his opportunities were over after 11 defensive snaps.
âBe super [expletive] aggressive,â Quinn tells Parsons, who answers a corded phone on the sideline. Parsons implores: âCan I get one more (series) for tonight?â Quinn declines. âThis sucks,â says Parsons who then calculates nine collective hours of sitting awaiting him on the sideline, in buses and on airplanes.
3. Inside look at Mike McCarthyâs motivation
The âHard Knocksâ debut captured Mike McCarthyâs Austin Powers-themed footage introducing âMojo Momentsâ to Cowboys practice, in which unprompted situational work befell the offense and defense. But perhaps McCarthyâs mojo moment of the debut came when he compelled players to embrace the work ethic a Super Bowl champion team must exhibit.
âItâs hard not to reflect on what we went through last year,â McCarthy began, referencing the Cowboysâ 6-10 campaign in his debut season. â[Expletive] last year.â
McCarthy demanded players not âwaste each otherâs timeâ in the training camp that would set the tone for their 17-game 2021 slate.
âCharlie [expletive]-around, he doesnât work here, OK?â McCarthy said. âHigh school Harry, get his ass out the [expletive] door. This is about winning. Itâs about winning the world championship. Period. Period. Because thatâs all that matters.â
McCarthy, who won Super Bowl XLV as head coach of the Green Bay Packers told players that winning records and postseason success arenât enough.
âAnd once you hold that [expletive] trophy up, Iâm going to tell you: Itâs [expletive] heavier than you think it is.â
4. John Fasselâs ... vasectomy?
Coaches are teachers after all, right? âHard Knocksâ cleverly opened the scene with a note that players on 90-man training camp rosters always worry about getting cut. Then, the scene dissolves into special teams coordinator and de facto minister of fun John Fassel taking questions about his vasectomy.
âDid you lose your drive?â asked one player, whose face the camera crew did not show. âOh no,â Fassel quipped immediately to a room full of laughter. âEverything is exactly the same.â After further details, a special teams contributor told Fassel: âCoach, you a soldier.â
Tune into HBO Max for a further anatomy lesson.
5. Dak Prescott, wingman of the week
If viewers shut off âHard Knocksâ before the credits finished rolling, theyâd have missed some of Prescottâs best lines. Prescott, knowing he was miced up for âHard Knocks,â asks what appears to be an equipment assistant whether he has any girlfriends the assistant would like to shout out via the mic.
âJust making sure,â Prescott tells a blonde youth with a Gatorade towel draped over his shoulder. âI can help you with your love life if you need it.â
The assistantâs response: âYeah, I need all the help I can get it.â
Episode 2 of âHard Knocks: The Dallas Cowboysâ debuts on HBO and HBO Max on Tuesday, Aug. 17 at 10 p.m. ET.
Follow USA TODAY Sportsâ Jori Epstein on Twitter @JoriEpstein.
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