Thoughts on Recent News

The fallout from the Flozell Adams release is big news even though it has been completely overshadowed by the Donovan McNabb trade. I'm still not happy about the timing of the release, but I do understand the theory behind the move. It is better these days to release a guy one year too early than one year too late. I have to believe the coaches saw something in Flozell that led them to believe that his best days are behind him.

The McNabb trade was shocking. It wasn't so much that McNabb got traded...that move was talked about for weeks leading up to the trade. It is the fact that he was traded to the Redskins that made the trade surprising. I was hoping he would end up with the Raiders so we wouldn't have to see him anymore. I've never thought McNabb was a player to be feared, but he is going to be an upgrade for the Redskins which makes the NFC East even tougher.

Roy Williams made some comments last week and owned up to the fact that he was terrible last season. He noted that he was among the league leaders in dropped passes and seems to realize that he better play at a much higher level or his stay in Dallas is going to be over soon. I hope it isn't just lip service. I still think he is a talented receiver but I think he has lost his mojo. He needs to find it or the trade for him will go down as one of the worst in NFL history.

Miles Austin is working out on his own with a personal trainer in Dallas instead of attending the voluntary workouts with the rest of the team. I can't say I blame him considering that he has millions of dollars at stake. I really hope the team and Austin can find a way to get him to Valley Ranch to work out with his teammates. He is just a one season wonder at this point and he needs to be working with Romo and the rest of the receivers to improve his game.

Apparently Keith Brooking has made some of the Philadelphia Eagles mad by claiming that the Eagles' offense was predictable late in the season. I wish that Brooking would realize that there is nothing to gain by talking about those games at this point. Last season is over and it is time to focus on the upcoming season. I like Brookings intensity, but sometimes it is better to say nothing.

The Cowboys have about a week to go before all of the restricted free agents will officially be back with the team next season. So far there hasn't been much interest in the RFA's but I'll breathe a little easier when I know Miles has no choice but to return to Dallas next season. Marcus Spears has signed his tender offer and several of the other players have done the same. I'll be glad when we are sure that Sensabaugh and Austin will be back next season.

The Cowboys passed on an opportunity to pick up Neil Rackers. I guess they feel good about David Beuhler working with Chris Boniol to improve his field goal kicking. I hope adding a coach can improve the field goal accuracy. Just about anything will be better than the second half of last season.

It is going to be sad to see Texas Stadium implode this weekend. I have a lot of great memories of games I watched in the stadium. Nearly the entire history of the team has taken place there. I know it was becoming a dump, but I'm still sad to see it go.

Training Camp Preview - Part 6 - Special Teams

The special teams was, quite simply, a complete disaster last season. Kickoff and punt coverage were terrible, big punt returns were nearly nonexistent, and kickoff returns became very average once Felix Jones was injured. I think every fan is probably happy to see a coaching change this offseason. Joe DeCamillis is being hailed as the savior of the special teams. I hope he is. A lot of what ailed the special teams last season can be cured with greater intensity and desire from the players. I think Joe DeCamillis can get everyone motivated to excel on special teams. There will be a lot to watch during training camp when it comes to the special teams unit.

Kickers - Normally there would only be one player to worry about here, but the Cowboys drafted a kickoff specialist/special teams ace which will probably result in two kickers being active on game day. I was initially upset by the draft pick for a kicker, but David Beuhler is much more than a kickoff specialist. He will also probably end up contributing on other coverage units as well because he is big, strong and athletic enough to help out in other ways than just kicking. As long as Nick Folk is fully recovered by the start of training camp it would take a miracle for a change to occur at kicker. Folk is a great kicker who has a knack for making the pressure kicks. I'll be watching Folk closely to see if his injury is fully healed. I am also very excited to see what exactly Buehler will bring to the table on special teams. His kickoffs in college were consistently through the end zone so hopefully he can continue to do the same at the NFL level.

Punter - Matt McBriar is one of the best punters in the league without question. He was another of the seemingly endless injury casualties last season. His foot is fully healed and now he has a metal plate on the top of his kicking foot that might even make him better than he was before his injury. From what was reported about his work during OTA's and other offseason work he is ready to go. I'll be watching him during camp to see if his leg looks as strong as it did prior to his injury last season.

Kick Returners - Felix Jones was off to a great start on kick returns last season before, guess what, another season ending injury for the Cowboys. He will most likely be back as the lead kick returner and is a threat to take it the distance whenever he touches the ball. Teams will be forced to directional kick and will probably accidentally kickoff out of bounds many times this season out of fear of a big return by Felix Jones. Isaiah Stanback is a pretty dynamic returner as well but he'll have to stay healthy to make the team. If Stanback doesn't make the team then there will be several players competing for the role of second returner. There are so many options here I don't want to name them all. The important thing here is that Felix Jones is ready to go all out on returns. If he can do it for 16 games then we'll see major improvement on kick returns this season regardless of who stands next to him on returns.

Punt Returner - It has been a long time since the Cowboys had a real threat returning punts. Terrance Newman has some great ability to return punts but has been so fragile in recent seasons that his returns are few and far between. Patrick Crayton doesn't muff many punts but he almost never gets more than 10 yards on a return. He is solid, but will never put fear into the coverage units. Mike Mickens flashed some return ability in college so I'm sure he'll get a chance to return some kicks during camp and in the preseason. Hopefully Mickens can be an upgrade as a returner but Crayton will win the job by default if no one proves to be capable of being trusted with the job. I'm hoping to see someone with some big play ability during camp but I'm not holding my breath.

Kickoff/Punt Coverage - To me a lot of this is simply about heart and desire. The infusion of youth on the roster will probably add a lot of desire because there are a lot of players who are hoping to make the roster by excelling on special teams. The competition will help spark some intensity. Joe DeCamillis will also be ending the directional kickoff tactics employed last season so Beuhler will be free to kick the ball deep. That should result in a dramatic improvement in opponent's starting field position. I also hope to see improved tackling. I would love to see players actually doing some real hitting and tackling during training camp.

The special teams has no where to go but up after their poor performance last year. I expect to see improvement across the board on special teams. I think a renewed focus on the coverage and return units will result in shorter fields for the offense and more stops for the defense with more field to defend. Special teams probably cost the team 2 games last year so any improvement is going to make a big difference in the outcome of the 2009 campaign for the Dallas Cowboys.

On Second Thought...

I was one of the first people to criticize the draft day pick for a kicker. It just didn't make sense to me at the time. But after getting more information about David Beuhler I am starting to come around on the kickoff specialist idea. Watch the YouTube video I posted here of Beuhler in his college career and you'll probably see what I mean. If he can translate those kickoffs to the NFL level then he could be a valuable commmodity on special teams.



I still believe he will have to find other ways to contribute during the game in order to justify his roster spot. There is talk about using him as a holder, maybe even as a blocker on kick returns as he has also done in college, and a gunner on punts. If he can do all of that then he will probably take the roster spot that once belonged to Keith Davis. It appears that Beuhler was hand picked by Joe DeCamillis, the new special teams coach. DeCamillis' track record as a special teams coach shows that he knows how to run a successful special teams unit.

The Cowboys lost at least two games last season that can be directly attributed to poor special teams play, so the importance of special teams has been magnified this offseason. If Beuhler can produce kicks for touchbacks consistently then the Cowboys will be gaining field position in every game. That is only going to help the defense. 5 yards can be the difference between a punt from the 40 or a field goal from the 35 at the end of the opposition's drive. The Cowboys were the fifth worst in terms of opponents starting field position after kickoffs last season (29 yard line avg.), so any improvement is going to be noticeable not only on returns but on the scoreboard at the end of the game.