Micah Parsons plans to take opponents to ‘deep water,’ Dallas Cowboys to Super Bowl
If anything has been learned about Dallas Cowboys’ defensive sensation Micah Parsons over the last two years — other than Parsons being the closest thing to Lawrence Taylor since the man regarded as the greatest linebacker in history retired in 1993 — is that you never know what he might say.
Parsons’ use of words, super hero and animal characterizations have become almost legendary as they are purposeful.
Two trips to the Pro Bowl and the distinction of being the first Cowboys player to make first-team All-Pro in his first two seasons has been offset by two bitter losses in the playoffs.
And heading into his third season, Parsons has gone from the Lion who is always hungry to an angry shark, who plans to take his opponents to the deep end of the ocean and while daring his teammates to reach the Super Bowl.
“I’m ready to take everybody to the deep water,” said Parsons when asked how he plans to take his game to next level. “Everybody is comfortable with their knees in the water. I’m ready to go out to the deep water. I hope everyone is prepared to go to the deep water. In terms of my conditioning, where I’m at, how I determine how I’m going to get better this year, I think it’s through the roof. I just hope everyone is ready.”
Parsons spent time this offseason, adding bulk and strength. He also worked with offensive and defensive lineman to improve his game, fueled by the playoff losses to the 49ers the past two seasons.
“I’m going to take them on an island,” Parsons continued. “I’m going to take you to an island. I’m going to push you like that, and I want to see how you’re going to be able to swim. But hearing what they’re going to do, I’m going to do something different. That’s why I spent time with not just D-linemen but O-linemen. I want to understand what are you doing to try to stop me? I don’t think a lot of people invest in that. I invested on how I can get better, not only the things I do well already. I invested in all my weaknesses and I want to turn them into strengths.”
Defensive coordinator Dan Quinn said he kept tabs on Parsons as Parsons trained away from the team during the offseason program. The results are noticeable.
“I think he had a really rock solid plan,” Quinn said. “I want to do this. I want to go to this place to train. I want to visit with this player. And so like most things when you set out something and you put a plan behind it, it usually comes through better. So his plan was very deliberate about how we wanted to get better. I think the better the self awareness you have, the better chance you have to really get better as a ballplayer or a coach.”
Parsons was runner-up for the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year Award in each of the past two seasons. He finished second to Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker T. J. Watt as a rookie in 2021 and behind San Francisco 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa in 2022.
This could be the year Parsons breaks through, but he knows it will only come with team success.
“For me, I just want to be that guy that really puts it all out there,” Parsons said. “I think it’s all tied together. It’s not just being Defensive Player of the Year. I feel like if I’m at that caliber, then I feel like we should be in the Super Bowl. Nick Bosa’s team went into the NFC Championship. I feel like if I’m playing and doing my job then it’s gonna bring everyone else around me. I want to be that No. 1 player, that MVP-caliber player that I know I can be, and I think that’s meant for me. I just have to do everything that I possibly can for the team to get what I want and more.”
For Parsons, it’s all about finding a way to help the Cowboys break through in the playoffs. He believes they have the team and the defense to get it done.
“At this point in my career, I don’t know what it takes to get to a Super Bowl, but I know what it’s like to play in a wild card and a division game,” Parsons said. I understand where my body is at, where my mental is going to be at, where I need other guys to be at, everyone on the same page. The communication it takes. The patience. Understand the highs and lows throughout the game. At this point, I understand what it means to lose by being undisciplined.”
Parsons said it’s all about choices. He wants to be great. He made a choice in the offseason to help himself and the Cowboys achieve that goal.
For those reasons and more, Parsons had a simple message to his teammates heading into training camp.
”I spend a lot of time developing the mentality,” Parsons said. “It starts as soon as you wake up. We got thousands of choices every day. You make the choice if you want to brush your teeth. I feel like every morning when you accomplish like little things you’re setting yourself up the right way for success. I wake up at 5:30 and 6 a. m., even though I don’t want to in the offseason. I’m like, ‘I gotta go hit this gym.’ Just because that’s my choice. I owe that to myself for what I want.
“I’ve come to this mindset where I’m just tired ... of being second, tired of coming up short. What can I do every day to put myself in the best position to say like, ‘I can live with that’? So far I haven’t been able to live with us losing 19-12 (in the divisional playoffs to the 49ers last season) and that wild card game our rookie year. I told this to the guys, “is the price of discipline worth a lifetime of a regret’? And for me, It just doesn’t. I just feel like you only got so long to get a real shot at this, and I really do believe we got a shot at this.”
As much as he plans to take his opponents to the deep water, Parsons promises to give his teammates fits in practice every day in training camp. From quarterback Dak Prescott to defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence. They have all been put on notice.
“Before we even got out here I kind of said, ‘I hope everybody is ready to work because I’m coming in with a different level of intensity,’ “ Parsons said. “I’m on them every day. I’m on (rookie nose tackle) Mazi (Smith) every day. I’m on, it can be D-Law every day, like, ‘Man, how are you all coming?’ I’m on Dak every day. I’m telling Dak as soon as we get out there, ‘Man, you know I’m coming.’ You know they put a little competition in the room, I just can’t lose. I just can’t. It’s just not in me. So when you lay that foundation, and that’s what you’re showing, I think everyone follows.”
To the deep water and maybe to the Super Bowl.
This story was originally published July 28, 2023 at 5:11 PM.
