Mike McCarthy fires back at Vic Fangio over game plan assessment

Mike McCarthy and the Dallas Cowboys had no answer for Vic Fangio and the Denver Broncos this week. The two coaches seem to have an answer to each other regarding game plans, though.

After Denver beat Dallas 30-16 on Sunday, Fangio talked about his defensive game plan and how teams “haven’t played [the Cowboys] the right way.”

“I just felt we had the right stuff to give ourselves a chance,” Fangio said after the game. “We just have to do it the right way, call it the right way, which I’m in charge of so you know that that’s going to be taken care of, and I just felt OK about it. I want to say good about it. Teams just haven’t played them the right way.”

They certainly did something right considering Denver led 30-0 at one point. The Cowboys had 290 total yards of offense and didn’t score until the fourth quarter. That means the Broncos had a good enough defensive attack to stop a Cowboys team that averaged 454.9 total yards coming in.

But McCarthy responded to the former Chicago Bears defensive coordinator’s on Monday and challenged other teams to try the same defensive scheme.

“This is a copycat league,” McCarthy said. “I just told the team, so get ready. I hope they do, too. Vic played us very aggressive. That’s good to hear him beating his own drum. Their linebacker depth, their linebackers are three yards, the safeties were up. In that case, you make their corners tackle. They played us aggressive. They went for it. I think you want that from the other team.”

The Cowboys have been seen as a potential Super Bowl contender this year, and the loss to Denver was quite a step back — especially at home.

Mike McCarthy: Michael Gallup will be a full participant in practice

For as explosive as the Dallas Cowboys offense has been this season, there is another weapon on the way. Wide receiver Michael Gallup is set to rejoin the squad this week.

Mike McCarthy said Gallup is going to be a full participant in practice on Wednesday. From there, the expectation is that he plays on Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons.

Gallup played in the season opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before exiting in the second half. Dallas placed him on injured reserve with a calf strain. There was a chance the wide receiver played last week against the Denver Broncos but he ended up staying on IR.

On the season, Gallup has four receptions for 36 yards. He was a key part of the Cowboys’ offense throughout his previous three seasons, having 2,493 career receiving yards. 2019 was his best season, going for over 1,100 yards and having six touchdowns.