Observations from Preseason Game #1

The first team offense looked pretty good until they hit the red zone. They have been struggling in the same situations in practice so that shouldn't be a surprise. The offense definitely needs red zone work. Felix Jones had a fumble in the red zone wiped out by an offside penalty. Fumbles in the red zone are unacceptable.

Tony Romo looked ok, but didn't seem totally comfortable yet. A few of his throws were off target and his timing seemed a little off.

Buehler wasn't great kicking the ball. His field goal was short but he didn't have any trouble. His second field goal was a 34 yarder and it was good but it was heading left and didn't make it by much. The third attempt was missed from 49 yards but he shanked it badly to the left. Fourth attempt was a short one and he nailed it down the middle.

Doug Free did a great job run blocking and pass blocking. On a few plays he blocked more than one man during the play. I feel a lot more comfortable about him but I won't be totally sold until I see him against a premiere pass rusher.

I didn't notice Alan Ball when the first team defense was in the game. That is a good thing because that means he didn't make a mistake.

John Phillips caught a pass from Tony Romo with the first team offense. That doesn't mean he is ahead of Martellus Bennett on the depth chart yet, but Phillips always seems to get the job done whenever he gets a shot. Phillips made two more nice catches later on a seam route and a deep out thrown by Kitna. Phillips hurt his knee in the 2nd quarter but early reports didn't mention the severity of the injury. Did I mention that Phillips blocked well too? Marty B. is going to have a hard time sleeping tonight.

Stephen Bowen had a nice quarterback pressure. Overall, the starters looked pretty good against the Bengal's first team offense. Keith Brooking really knows how to time his blitzes and get penetration. I hope Sean Lee and Jason Williams are taking notes.

Kitna actually looked decent running the offense outside of a fumble. I know he is a proven player but I wasn't impressed when I saw him early in training camp. He is no Tony Romo, but he could at least fill in for a few games if needed.

The second team defense did a very good job against the Bengals #1 offense. Jamar Wall and Cletis Gordan blanketed T.O. and Chad Ochocinco.

Alex Barron looked pretty good but all his action was against the Bengals #2 defense so it is hard to judge. But at least he didn't false start and he blocked well.

Stephen McGee has improved a lot over the last year but he still has a long way to go if he is going to follow in Romo's footsteps. Most of his passes were thrown hard and accurate but his accuracy was horrible with rushers in his face. McGee just doesn't seem to have the field awareness needed to be a quality quarterback in the NFL.

I really like the way Barry Church plays. He is quick to the ball and he delivers a big hit when he gets there. He might sneak onto the final roster if he keeps it up.

Brandon Williams made a nice interception the third quarter. His knee looked great as he rumbled down the field on his return. If he can rush the passer like the coaches think he can then Ware will get a few plays off this year.

The last quarter and a half was hard to watch with so many guys on the field who won't make either team.

Overall it was a decent showing by the Cowboys. It is very early in the preseason so I expected an ugly game and that is what we got. Both sides of the ball and special teams need a lot of work. But a win is a win even if it is the preseason.

***Update - it looks like Martellus Bennett might not have to worry after all. John Phillips may have torn his ACL during the game last night.

What To Watch For in The Hall of Fame Game

With the start of the preseason schedule later tonight it is really starting to feel like the season is getting close. There are still a lot of unanswered questions about the Cowboys heading into the game. But a game against live competition should help to tell us what to expect from the Cowboys this season. Here is what I will be watching for:

1. No injuries. We all know this team is loaded with talent. The easiest way to lose the talent advantage is to have key players get hurt before the season even starts.

2. Alan Ball. Does he look like he is in command out there? Is he making the calls in the secondary without any confusion? Is he making plays on the ball in the passing game? How is his run support?

3. Orlando Scandrick. We keep hearing that he is ok and his injured finger won't be a problem. I want to see with my own eyes that he is making plays on the ball and jamming receivers without hesitation.

4. Stephen Bowen/Jason Hatcher. These two finally have shot to really show us something. With Spears out until the regular season either guy could dominate and take the starting position. It will be interesting to see if either guy can play the run consistently at the level Spears does.

5. Marion Barber. Is he back to running like The Barbarian? That should be easy to spot if he gets a chance to carry the ball.

6. Felix Jones. Is his extra weight gained in the offseason going to slow him down? If he still has his burst with added weight he could be more durable this season.

7. Fullback. Are the Cowboys committed to using a fullback? Will Deon Anderson stick around another year? Do any of the rookies have a chance to take his spot?

8. Anthony Spencer. Is he ready to dominate all season long? I'm hoping to see the late season/playoff version of Spencer on the field. The defense could be scary good if he dominates this season.

9. Tony Romo. We won't see much of him, but I'd like to see him operating efficiently in his short time on the field.

10. David Buehler. This is simple. Can he make his kicks?

11. Martellus Bennett/John Phillips. Either way this plays out the Cowboys are loaded at tight end. But the #2 spot might be a battle if John Phillips continues to shine. I'm hoping we finally see Marty B. focused and ready to play. If he knows his play book like he should then he'll probably be able to fend off Phillips for the #2 tight end spot.

12. Wide receivers. Does Miles Austin look focused? Is Roy Williams ready to step up and earn his enormous paycheck? Is Dez Bryant focused on the game on the sidelines? I know Dez is not playing but I hope he isn't just playing grab ass on the sidelines. He can learn a lot by watching.

13. Doug Free. Is he ready to protect Romo this season? Free is probably the key to the passing game. If he can give Romo time then the offense should be just as good if not better than last year.

14. Sean Lee/Jason Williams. Both players have a lot of talent and promising futures. But only one of them will get to be on the field a lot this season. I know Sean Lee is the total package and will start someday, but Williams' speed and athleticism is perfect for the nickel linebacker spot he is fighting to win.

15. Can T.O. be mature enough to shake hands and be friendly with his former team? I'm assuming that Jerry Jones, Wade Phillips, Tony Romo and the rest of the Cowboys will be professional. But you never know what you are going to get with T.O.

***I didn't get a chance to post anything on Emmitt Smith and the Hall of Fame yet. I was travelling and I didn't want to short change one of the greatest Dallas Cowboys of all time by rushing through a post about him. I'll have more on #22 later this week.

Training Camp Thoughts - 8/3/2010

Tony Romo is practicing with a little arm soreness and we get headlines over it. Is it really that much of a surprise that Romo gets sore every training camp? Isn't that what camp is for? I guess the media needs a story so they blow things out of proportion. I should be used to it by now.

If Brett Favre truly is retiring then things will get easier for the Cowboys on two fronts. First, the Vikings game will be a little easier but still no walkover victory. Second, the path to the NFC championship would be a lot easier without Favre running the show in Minnesota. I'll believe Favre is really retired when the season kicks off and he is still riding his lawnmower in Mississippi.

I read Peter King's SI.com article where he mentions that the injury to Dez Bryant might be a blessing in disguise. There is definitely some validity to his point. Our expectations for Dez were probably getting out of control with his early camp success. Now that he will be sitting for about another month it will allow the buzz to die down and anything he contributes early in the season will be a bonus. That is probably how we should have viewed him all along but it is hard to keep expectations realistic when a guy is flashing the skills that Dez possesses.

With the first preseason game coming up on Sunday it is looking like most of the highly drafted rookies won't be on the field. Sean Lee could still sneak onto the field but he'll have to get back to practicing very soon if that is going to happen. Dez is obviously out. And Akwasi Owusu-Ansah is very unlikely to play since he hasn't practiced yet at all. It is fortunate for the rookies that the Cowboys have an extra preseason game because they can afford to miss this week and they'll still get the same amount of preseason game reps as nearly every other NFL rookie.

I wonder how T.O. is going to behave on the field on Sunday. Will he talk with Romo and be friendly? Will he talk to Jerry Jones? How about Jason Garrett or Wade Phillips? I hope the Cowboys coaches and staff try to be the better men and reach out to T.O. The pregame chatter between the players might be one of the most interesting things to watch considering how long most of the guys who will be on the final 53-man roster will be playing in the game.

Down Goes Dez

I knew it was going to happen at some point. A major injury finally hit the Dallas Cowboys. It happens to every team in basically every training camp every year. But this one hurts.

Dez Bryant had been on fire during the first week of camp. So much so that some media members were very prematurely talking about running Roy Williams out of town. And I'll bet Patrick Crayton was thinking that dropping to 4th on the depth chart was exactly what he had expected.

But one play changed all that. Dez is out 4-6 weeks with a sprained ankle. Patrick Crayton and Roy Williams suddenly don't seem expendable. And we are all reminded why you can never have too much depth at a position on an NFL roster.

The silver lining in all of this is easy to spot. Sure, 4-6 weeks is a long time. But it could have been much worse. Last year it seemed that every rookie that went down injured was out for the season. So far this season Dez Bryant sprained and ankle and Sean Lee strained a quad. There are some other small things to deal with, but the Cowboys are still pretty lucky on the injury front.

The sad part about the Dez injury is all of the practice time he is going to miss with Tony Romo and the rest of the offense. He is going to be playing catch up all year long now because he is missing the most important 4-6 weeks of the season in terms of preparation for the season. Hopefully he is a fast healer and he'll be back on the field sooner than later.

Training Camp Thoughts - 7/29/10

A few more practices down and still now Marty B. It was deemed a minor ankle injury at the start of camp but now we are hearing the Martellus will be limited when he finally starts practicing this weekend. Every practice report that I read seems to include something about John Phillips playing great. The clock is ticking for Marty B. I'm sure he knows that at this point.

Flozell Adams is a Pittsburg Steeler. It is always sad when a player spends his whole career with one team but has to finish out his last few seasons with another franchise. It is going to be strange to see Flozell in gold and black. But we all could see he was in serious decline. The reason he kept committing personal foul penalties last year was primarily due to the fact that he has lost a step and was trying to compensate. Good luck to him but I think the Cowboys did the right thing.

David Buehler is the only kicker on the roster now. I guess the coaches are sold on Buehler. Either that or the roster spot being taken up by the second kicker was too valuable to keep Delbert Alvarado around. Either way Buehler is going to have a lot of pressure on him until he proves he can get it done.

Matt McBriar is again the holder for field goals. Nick Folk used up every excuse in the book last year during his mental breakdown so Romo tried to come to the rescue as the holder. Unfortunately it didn't make a difference. Now McBriar has his job back.

It looks like the Cowboys will have improved depth at outside linebacker this season. Brandon Williams and Curtis Johnson are both looking very good. So maybe Demarcus Ware can actually get a breather once in a while this season so he can be fresh for the 4th quarter. Of course that is all contingent on the backups making it to the regular season healthy.

Training Camp Thoughts - 7/27/10

With so much information flowing out of training camp I am going to try to keep up with the developments with a quick reaction to the hot topics every few days from now until training camp is over. Even though camp only started a few days ago it seems like the media is in mid-season form already.

- I'll start with the "hot" topic. Dez Bryant should have just carried Roy Williams' pads and this wouldn't be a story. I don't think it automatically makes him a diva receiver just because he refused to take part in a typical training camp tradition. I would bet that the problem has already been dealt with behind closed doors by the veterans and we'll never hear about it. I was expecting to see Dez taped to a goal post and left there after practice but I guess that isn't going to happen. Either way Roy says it is a non-issue and Dez says the same thing. It is over. Let's move on. But I will file that move by Dez in the memory banks and hope that it was an isolated incident.

- I really want John Phillips to push Martellus Bennett down on the depth chart. I can't stand the fact that Marty B. has to be told where to line up repeatedly in every game he plays. Add the fact that Tony Romo doesn't trust Martellus to run the right route or run it correctly and you can see that Phillips has a real shot. With Martellus out with an ankle sprain John Phillips has been showing that he has made great strides this offseason. Phillips was already starting to take some snaps from Martellus at the end of last season and now he might be on the verge of taking his job. Like I said, I'm pulling for Phillips in this training camp battle. And I didn't even mention the continuing off-the-field news that Marty B. keeps creating.

- The Bengals have recreated the locker room mess that Dallas dealt with in 2008. The have managed to add Tank Johnson, Pacman Jones, Roy Williams, and now Terrell Owens over the last year. Throw Chad Ochocinco into that mix and I smell disaster. Those guys are all ok as long as the team is winning. Carson Palmer better pray they win a lot of games or his team is going down in flames.

- I'm wondering what is going to happen with Patrick Crayton. It seems pretty clear that he has dropped down to the #4 slot and I wonder how long he is going to keep quiet about it. I seriously doubt that he will unseat Roy Williams or Dez Bryant to get back on the field with the first team whether he outplays them or not. I'm not saying what it happening to Crayton is fair, but it is the reality of the NFL. I hope he can be a team player because it would be nice to be able to keep him for depth.

- Doug Free, Alan Ball, and David Buehler have all done a decent job so far. We won't really know about any of them until the preseason games start. And even then we might have to wait until the regular season to find out if these three are ready to step up this year. Only time is going to tell what we have at left tackle, safety and kicker.

- So far the injuries have been minor. Let's hope that continues.

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.