Training Camp Observations - 7/25/10

I attended my first training camp of the season this afternoon. Obviously it is extremely early in camp to draw too many conclusions but a few things caught my eye. Here is a brief summary.

- Dez Bryant is the real deal. He is big and fast. He made two spectacular catches during practice that no one else on the team could have made. One was on a slant route when the quarterback lead him too far and he reached out with one hand and snatched the ball out of the air. The truly amazing part was that he made it look routine. The other "wow" play was on a flea flicker during 7-on-7 drills. Kitna was the quarterback and the play was a flea flicker. Kitna got the ball out way late and Dez was on a fly route down the sideline. As Kitna scrambled around Dez work back towards the quarterback about 40 yards down field. Kitna's throw was high. Dez jumped with a defender blanketing him and made the catch while managing to just get his feet down in bounds.

- Tony Romo looked very good. There isn't really a question about his ability anymore. But the scary part is the drop off from Romo to Kitna. Romo makes his reads noticeably quicker and is much more accurate than Kitna. As usual, the season will be a disaster if Romo is injured.

- Miles Austin did not look good. On consecutive plays at one point he dropped a crossing route that might have been a touchdown and then fumbled the next pass he caught. Orlando Scandrick blanketed Miles and stripped the ball from Miles a few steps after he made the catch. I was at camp last year and Miles looked horrible so maybe is just isn't a good practice player. Time will tell.

- Martellus Bennett might be in trouble. John Phillips must have gained 15-20 pounds in the offseason. It was nice to see the team line up in two tight end packages without anyone having to tell the second tight end where to line up or what his assignment was after they broke the huddle. Phillips just might take over the #2 tight end spot if Marty B. is out of action for much longer. Phillips made several nice receptions and did a good job blocking.

- Alan Ball looked a little bigger but he is still small. I noticed during a footwork drill that his feet move like the cornerbacks. With the rest of the safeties you could notice a difference in foot speed but not with Ball. Barry Church from LSU caught my eye a few times with some nice plays and his size was ideal for a safety.

- It is hard to really learn much about the offensive lineman in practice but Doug Free looked pretty good. He seems thicker in the legs this year so maybe he added some mass in the offseason. He seemed comfortable at tackle but we won't know much until he plays in a game.

- Roy Williams looked good all practice long. He caught everything thrown his way.

- In most of the 3 receiver sets with the first team it was Miles Austin, Dez Bryant and Roy Williams on the field. Patrick Crayton appears to be #4 on the depth chart already.

- David Beuhler has learned to dial down the power on his field goals. He was softly popping the short field goals down the middle. I didn't see him kick anything longer than about 35-yarders but his accuracy was good.

- Sean Lee looked good but it was hard to judge too much. The best look I had at him was during the team scrimmage part of practice. He looked comfortable and seemed to know his assignments on each play. He darted into the backfield on a run wide to the right side and would have tackled the running back for a loss.

- Bryan McCann from SMU caught my eye several times on pass coverage. Maybe he'll steal a roster spot away from one of the other cornerbacks on the roster.

- Orlando Scandrick didn't show any ill effects from his broken finger. He was great in coverage and didn't have any trouble catching the ball in any of the drills. He came up with an interception on a tipped pass during the team scrimmage drills.

- Gerald Sensabaugh displayed great hands during drills now that he has two thumbs to work with again. I wonder how many interceptions he'll have this year since he won't have a cast on one hand.

- Kevin Ogletree needs to find a new practice look. The players were in helmets, shoulder pads and shorts. Ogletree was wearing capri pants similar to Rafael Nadal. This isn't tennis, Kevin. Put on some shorts.

I'm hoping to make it to training camp at least one more time. Maybe next time I'll be able to get a better look at some of the offensive and defensive linemen if they are in full pads. Overall I was impressed. Dez Bryant exceeded all of my expectations.

Sometimes Injuries Can Be A Good Thing

It is never good to hear that players are going to be missing offseason workouts. It means that there is less time for the offense or defense to mesh as a unit. That would be a problem in most cases, but I think the relatively minor injuries the Cowboys are dealing with are actually going to help them in the long run.

Let's start with Orlando Scandrick. Scandrick broke the left index finger on his left hand last week and required surgery to insert a pin to help the finger heal. That means he can't get out there and practice with the defense until the start of training camp. But the Cowboys have a giant hole in the depth chart behind Scandrick. Now there will be a legitimite battle for the #4 cornerback spot because Scandrick's replacements will get plenty of first team reps. Most of the time the younger guys don't get to work with the starters. The coaches now get a real chance to evaluate the younger cornerbacks on the roster. Maybe they will find someone who can fill the role or maybe they will realize they need to go out and sign a free agent. The injury forces them to take a long, hard look at the #4 cornerback now instead of during training camp.

Keith Brooking had a minor clean out surgery on his knee and will miss a few weeks of OTA's while he recovers. Brooking is a veteran and probably could play the position with his eyes closed at this point in his career. So now Jason Williams and Sean Lee can get on the field with the first teamers to get some quality reps. Both guys get a chance to really learn the defense and start the battle that will probably be resolved in training camp.

Now obviously I don't want to continue to see guys getting hurt. But I don't think it hurts when a veteran guy like Bradie James misses a couple of days because it gives the younger guys more reps. As good as the Cowboys were last season they lacked depth at several positions. They got lucky with injuries but they can't count on that again this year. The younger guys need to be ready to step up when their number is called.

Close Call

I was going through my usual evening routine last night checking the latest Cowboys news when a headline popped up stating that Roy Williams had injured his shoulder. Over the next few hours it went from an unknown injury to a banged shoulder to a broken collarbone (out 6-8 weeks) to an AC joint injury (severity unknown). Then this morning we were all informed that it was simply a bruised shoulder and his status is day to day. This is the second time in a few weeks we have been through this with Roy Williams.

I don't know if it is the media overreacting, Roy being a drama queen, or the training staff being overly cautious. Whatever it is, the stress of it all is going to give someone a heart attack before this is all over. I was skeptical when I heard the injury reports last night because the information was coming from the typical "unnamed sources". I'm not saying I wasn't worried, but I wasn't ready to give up on the season either. It is amazing to read the comments posted on DallasCowboys.com by "fans" during times like last night. Some people were ready to call off the season or give up the farm to trade for Brandon Marshall at the first sign of trouble.

I don't fault Orlando Scandrick in the battle he is having with Roy Williams at practice. Scandrick is practicing hard and trying to get better. It would be nice if it didn't result in the #1 receiver being injured, but he is playing on instinct out there. I just hope he can inflict the same damage on the opposition as he is putting on his own teammates.

It appears that Roy Williams will be ready to go for the season opener and probably sooner than that. Just another day in the life of the Dallas Cowboys. The media frenzy got a little out of control last night and jumped to conclusions. I'm glad it all turned out ok and it just makes me want the regular season to get here faster before a key player really does get seriously hurt.

Training Camp Preview - Part 8 - Cornerbacks

The top three cornerbacks on the roster heading into training camp look very good for the Cowboys. After that, there is a lot of unproven youth at the position. Terence Newman, Orlando Scandrick and Mike Jenkins are the top three players. There will be a battle to fill out the rest of the depth chart. Alan Ball and Mike Mickens look like the best bet to make the team but there will be a few other players fighting for a job as well. I want to take a quick look at what to expect from each cornerback in training camp.

Terence Newman - This is an easy one. He is one of the best in the NFL when healthy, but the last two years have left serious doubt that he is durable enough to be counted on for 16 games. I just want him to make it to the regular season healthy. We all know what he is capable of on the field, so he doesn't have anything to prove to me during training camp except that he can stay healthy.

Mike Jenkins - By the end of last season Jenkins was starting to show some of the ability that made the Cowboys draft him in the first round. There are concerns from some people about his toughness, but I'm really not too worried about that. I just want to see more confidence in his game. Jenkins started the season a little tentative, but after yet another Cowboys' injury he came back as a much more aggressive player against the pass. I want to see him challenging receivers at the line during training camp and showing the ability to knock down passes thrown in his direction. He has to step up his game this season.

Orlando Scandrick - Scandrick was a surprise last year being a fifth round draft pick. After showing some tremendous talent last season he will have much higher expectations heading into this season. I completely agree with Nick Eatman of DallasCowboys.com on this one. It will be harder for Scandrick to impress us this season because we now all believe he is talented. Last season it was easier for him because there were very low expectations for him. Just like Jenkins I want to see tight coverage and passes being broken up. We all know he can do it, but this season he'll be expected to be a big time player.

Alan Ball - I think Ball was a forgotten man this offseason with all of the talk about Jenkins and Scandrick. He didn't get much playing time but when he was forced into action against Tampa Bay he was very good. He has got to be ready to play when teams go to a four receiver set. Ball is going to have to earn is playing time by beating out Mike Mickens during camp.

Mike Mickens - I believe we are going to look back at the 2009 draft in a few years and view Mickens as the steal of the draft. He slipped all the way to the seventh round due to an injury, but he appears fully healed heading into training camp. From what I have heard about this guy he absolutely has the talent to play at the NFL level. I'll be interested to see what he can do during camp. I hope to see some quickness and a knack for getting between the receiver and the ball. I have high hopes for Mickens.

I think the cornerback position is in good shape heading into the season. I wasn't sad to see Anthony Henry go because I was sick of watching him allow passes to be caught in front of him on a regular basis. The tipping point for me came when he couldn't cover a one armed receiver (Derrick Mason) in the Ravens game. The big question mark is the health of Terence Newman. If he can stay on the field then the pass defense should be better this season than last year. I don't really care who wins the starting job across from Newman because Jenkins and Scandrick will both be on the field most of the time with so many teams running three and/or four receiver sets on most plays.

The Waiting Is the Hardest Part

We have hit the slowest time in the NFL offseason. Mini-camp is over and the tidbits of information we can get about the Cowboys are few and far between. This is the time of year that is the toughest for me to endure. The season is only 81 days away but right now that feels like forever.

What makes this year harder than the last few years is that we really can't predict what we are going to get from the Cowboys this season. As I have previously mentioned, the team has undergone some major changes this offseason so we really don't know how the newly assembled roster will come together during training camp. The one thing that is safe to say is that there are no more excuses for some of the key members of the team.

There are so many questions that pop in my head I don't know where to start. What will we get out of Roy Williams? Is Tony Romo going to step up and be a vocal leader on and off the field? Can Felix Jones stay healthy? Is Miles Austin ready to be an integral part of the offense? Can Demarcus Ware continue to dominate without Greg Ellis on the other side of the line? Is Sensabaugh the answer at safety? Can Mike Jenkins and Orlando Scandrick take the next step in their development? Does Keith Brooking have a good season left in him? Is Martellus Bennett ready to play a bigger role in the offense? Will the special teams be improved? Can Anthony Spencer keep opposing offenses from doubling Demarcus Ware every play? Is the offensive line going to play better? Will the tackling improve? How can all of the running backs be utilized? Is Bobby Carpenter finally going to get on the field?

There are too many questions to list them all, but there is still a long time to wait before we start to get some real answers. And we won't get an answer to the most important question until January...can this team finally win a playoff game?

We Need This Mike Jenkins in 2009

There is a lot of concern these days about the cornerback position after the Cowboys traded Anthony Henry to Detroit for Jon Kitna. I was thinking back today about how excited I was about Mike Jenkins after the 2008 draft. The YouTube video here reminded me exactly why I was so excited. We need the guy in the video to show up in 2009. Towards the end of 2008 Jenkins was starting to show some flashes of his potential but not consistently like you would hope to see from a first round draft pick.

Jenkins is clearly a gifted athlete and hopefully he will show us more in 2009 than he did in 2008. His strength is matching up man-to-man and the Cowboys turned to more man coverage in the second half of the season after Wade Phillips took over the defensive signal calling duties. He was labeled as soft after avoiding contact late in the week 9 game against the Giants last season. The hit on the video above shows that he is willing to put a hit on someone but, again, we need to see it happen in the NFL.

The Cowboys are going to need him to be a big time player so the defense can be dominant next season. Jenkins will be starting opposite Terrance Newman with Orlando Scandrick handling the slot duties if things go as currently planned. That means that Jenkins will be on the field for nearly every defensive snap. And if the they decide not to risk Felix Jones on kick returns then Jenkins is at least another option to consider. It is time for Mike Jenkins to step up and turn his potential into actual production on the field for the Dallas Cowboys.