After a viral lapse in effort and a sideline clash, rookie Jaishawn Barham must now command the Dallas defense as the "green dot" leader in a must-win showdown.
FRISCO - Brett Favre and Johnny Unitas threw interceptions on their first NFL passes.
Babe Ruth and Ted Williams struck out in their first at-bats.
Dirk Nowitzki missed his shot - and then started 0 of 5 - in his first NBA game.
After those humbling starts, they all, of course, went on to legendary, Hall-of-Fame careers. Moral to the story: Don’t fret too much Dallas Cowboys fans, there is still hope for rookie linebacker Jaishawn Barham. ...
Yes, even though his biggest headline right now is all about a "controversial sideline video'' from Week 1 at New York.,
We’re going to find out real quick if Barham can bounce back from his version of a stumbling start. Because of the hamstring injury to DeMarvion Overshown, Barham will not only start Sunday’s must-win game against the Washington Commanders Sunday afternoon at AT&T Stadium, he’ll wear the coveted and critical “green dot” on his helmet as the defensive leader and play-caller.
Said head coach Brian Schottenheimer in giving Barham a vote of confidence, “He’s very loud when he communicates.”
Barham had six total tackles (three solo) in the disheartening 28-20 Week 1 loss to the New York the Giants. ... and everybody had a hand in the failure, including the Dak Prescott-led "GOTI'' ("Greatest Offense There Is!'') group.
But it was one play - akin to the sluggish starts by the legends - that sounded some alarms throughout Cowboys Nation.
Or at least it should have.
Much was made by DFW’s local pom-pom waving media this summer about the ferocious and violent play of Barham. The “Barhammer,” they exclaimed!
But like the rest of the defense, the rookie produced only a whimper against the Giants. And on one particular play, he gave an embarrassing lack of effort.
Giants’ running back Devin Singletary caught a swing pass at the 9-yard line, with Barham in the vicinity, and with an angle, at the 2-yard line. But Singletary scored without being touched to put New York up 28-14, as “Barhammer” only jogged – and then literally stopped – in his general direction.
Shouldn’t that have been - at worst - a lunging attempt? Or - at best - a tackle short of the end zone?
Here. Judge for yourself.
Unacceptable. For a rookie. For a third-round pick. And, especially, for the player selected to be a Cowboys new defensive leader.
In addition to that, he conflicted at some level with new coordinator Christian Parker ... and Cowboys Nation is judging that incident for itself as well ...
We don't know all the emotions that were invested in this sideline moment. ... though Parker is now offering an update.
"I think he was frustrated,'' the new coordinator said. "It's his first NFL game and things aren't going to be perfect. This isn't a fairy tale at all. And I think that Jaishawn cares as much as anybody in that locker room about us winning ...
"I don't think anybody in our building has any doubt of what he's going to do coming real soon. So we don't have any reservations about his mentality. We welcome that passion, have to channel it better, and that's something that young players have to go through. It's a natural progression. We have a lot of confidence in Jaishawn."
What we know for sure is what the Cowboys have invested in Barham. And it's hoped there is a payoff for that this Sunday.
