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• Training Camp

Four Practices and What Do I Know?

I’m back in Austin for a couple of days before heading back for the remainder of camp but I’ve seen enough to draw some initial, guardedly optimistic conclusions.

1. The ‘07 Cowboys will have a more aggressive offense, though not a radically different one.

The running game will be almost identical to the one we saw last year, one that mixes power running with lots of mobility. The guards can run. Kyle Kosier’s strength comes in pulling, trapping and leading screens. Leonard Davis can move. He can get down the line and blow people up. OT Pat McQuistan can pull. So can rookie Doug Free. Andre Gurode was an excellent pulling guard at Colorado. While he can’t get on the perimeter like Al Johnson could, he can move fairly well for a big lineman.

For these reasons, you’re going to see the same running attack. It should be a better one, for the very simple reason that Leonard Davis run blocks like Shawn Andrews’ clone. He’s giving linebackers headaches almost every day. When they hit him, they don’t disengage.

I’m sure the linemen are eager to play another team. The defense has given them fits with it’s slanting and stunting and I’m chalking this up to an improvement in run defense rather than a regression from the line. These guys are getting steadily better. At a minimum, they won’t be any worse than last year’s line. Flozell Adam’s addition should take them to another level from week one.

The passing game has undergone a makeover and more closely resembles the aggressive, down the field timing routes that Garrett learned playing for Norv Turner and Ernie Zampese.

The receivers will love this but the earliest beneficiary I’ve seen is Jason Witten. He’s taken very well to Jay Novacek’s old passing tree. The Cowboys are running lots of the intermediate and longer range routes for him; fifteen yard ins; fifteen yard outs; flag routes; deep seam routes. The stage is set for Witten’s breakout.

2. The defense is faster

The players talked a lot of smack about playing too heavy under Bill Parcells. Long time “Parcells guy” Jason Ferguson had the most cutting description, saying the linemen were “dancing elephants” under the Tuna’s plain vanilla, two-gap rock ‘em, sock ‘em scheme.

At this point, I’m ready to believe them. The back seven is clearly faster. Much faster. The inside LB duo of Akin Ayodele and Bradie James look transformed.

If you want a look at the “before”, fat-boys image, watch a tape of the 22-19 Redskins loss at Fed Ex last November. Washington, you’ll recall, dominated time of possession in the first half. Joe Gibbs’ drew up a simple but brilliant game plan that ran play action passes on first down and forced the inside linebackers to chase fullbacks and tight ends in the flat and drop deep to cut off deep ins and crossing routes t receivers in the deep middle of the field.

Ayodele and James were overmatched. You could almost hear them wheezing at they struggled to stay within two steps of their men. The Redskins gained first down yardage in huge chunks. It was this inability to cover early play action that contributed to Dallas’ 32nd ranking on first down.

The “after” image is far more encouraging. The inside linebackers and Dallas safeties look much, much faster. James and Ayodele can shadow tight ends and backs up the seams now. In Sunday’s 11-on-11 drill the offense used a formation opponents threw at Dallas late last season, going to two tight ends and putting the H-back — Demarcus Ware’s guy — in the slot. Teams would do this to force Ware into coverage and to force another of Dallas’ rushers to beat them. As we know, the Dallas line couldn’t handle this task.

On Sunday, Ware set wide with the tight end, then shuffled towards the line and blitzed off the edge. Ayodele sprinted out into space and took Ware’s coverage responsibility, blanketing the tight end up the field. It’s an assignment he couldn’t handle last year, but it’s proof of the improved range in the back seven, especially in the center of the field.

These guys are flying everywhere, and they’re making it very hard for any of the Dallas QBs to complete passes up the field. We’ll have to see how they tackle and strip, but so far, they’re decidedly better than last year’s coverage.

3. There’s no obvious “football Jesus, please!” position on this team.

In ‘05, Parcells gambled on playing the season without an experienced right tackle or free safety. We all knew in August that Parcells was crossing his fingers and trying to tie the loose ends with duct tape and bailing wire. Rob Petitti and Keith Davis tried hard, but couldn’t offer even league-average play. That team had no margin for error and collapsed when the offensive line broke down.

Last year an ineffective pass rush and a continued hole at free safety caused a late season defensive collapse.

Right now, quality depth makes me feel better. Pat McQuistan takes away the heartburn that Marc Colombo’s late knee rehab would have caused the last two seasons. He’s big, fast, fiesty and looks ready to play. I wonder if he could beat out a healthy Colombo right now?

Sparano has even flicked a little anointing oil rookie James Marten’s way. He’s having his ups and downs but is a far better looking prospect than Petitti was at this time in ‘05 when everybody knew he was going to be the every week starter.

Ken Hamlin may be just a regular guy, but that’s a major upgrade over what we’ve seen since Darren Woodson retired. I need to see the safeties play in real games but so far deep passes are not being completed on the first unit.

The one area of concern remains on the front seven. I’ve seen flashes from Jason Hatcher, Chris Canty, Bobby Carpenter and Marcus Spears, but I won’t relax until I see them do it to other teams.

If these guys can put Peyton Manning and Jay Cutler on the run the next couple of weeks, you’ll be entitled to hit the giddy button. For now, be happy that the ‘07 team is far closer to letting you mash it than either of its predecessors were.

Line Dancing — Camp Report, Monday July 30th

Flozell Adams returned to practice today, though he spent most of his time acting as a bystander, albeit a fully dressed bystander. Adams’s return started a chain reaction on the line, with coach Tony Sparano sliding Pat McQuistan to RT, where he spelled Jim Molinaro. Rookie Doug Free got plenty of reps with the first unit, probably just keeping the position filled until Adams is ready to play there full time, which should be in the next few days.

Sparano also gave rookie RT James Marten lots of play with the top unit. This tells me Sparano has McQuistan penciled in at RT now, as a hedge against a slow Marc Colombo recovery from a knee scope.

After a seven on seven drill the team resumed the split drills it ran in yesterday’s session, with the skill position and secondary players going 7-on-7 and the offensive and defensive linemen going 1-on-5 and 2-on-5. The offensive linemen were much better today in picking up defensive stunts. The leakage we saw through the guard spots was not present today. Kyle Kosier and especially Leonard Davis mopped up all inside charges.

The veteran OTs looked solid, McQuistan especially, but the rookies Doug Free and James Marten were up and down. Marten leaves his feet when he drives linemen and OLBs around the outside, a no-no in the pros. Free was chastised by Sparano for hopping rather than sliding into his set. Free raised his inside leg, leaving himself without ballast any time a defender wanted to counter inside.

The team finished the session with a 20 minute 11-on-11 scrimmage. The defense got the better of the action today, though the offense made some big plays here and there. The long desired pass rush showed up in bulk today, and from many different sources. Chris Canty got a sack. Marcus Spears blew up a draw. Bobby Carpenter timed an inside rush perfectly and got Brad Johnson just two steps into his backpedal.

Reports of Their Demise Have Been Greatly Exaggerated

I spent a lot of time today, by popular request, tracking alleged “strugglers” Anthony Henry and Leonard Davis. My conclusions? Don’t believe the hype. Neither player shows any serious shortcoming and Davis in fact, shows no deficiencies.

I didn’t see his first three days of practice, so I can’t comment on how he looked then, but the Leonard Davis I’ve seen over four sessions has steadily improved his pass blocking. He switches better and was not letting linemen get around him this morning. Jay Ratliff did get one inside surge around Davis but Bigg Leonard gave him a two handed shove that ejected Ratliff out the back of the pocket.

Henry looks, well, like the healthy Anthony Henry of ‘05 and ‘06. I saw him cover at least a dozen routes, run by everybody from Terrell Owens to Patrick Crayton to Jerheme Urban. The verdict?

He’s giving away nothing deep. Nobody, not even T.O. got behind him. He did give up four balls, all comebacks where the receiver got him biting upfield and brought the patter to the sideline. On two plays Henry was cleanly beaten, for about ten to twelve yards on each play. He slips as he makes his cut, raising the old Mars Blackmon query, “it’s got to be the shoes?” Doesn’t it?

It’s hard to say. On the three other times Henry faced comebacks, he intercepted one and had two others well covered but was bedeviled by perfect Tony Romo throws that left Henry sitting on the sidelines shaking his head.

That’s it, in a nutshell. Not perfect, but solid. And that’s what Anthony Henry has been when healthy, a solid NFL corner. And that’s what it appears the Cowboys will get again. For the day I saw him allow four passes, none for more than twelve yards, break up two and intercept one. I think the Cowboys could live with lines like that this year.

Notes:

– Keep a close eye on Jason Hatcher when the Cowboys play the Colts next week. He offers the best hope of being Demarcus Ware’s partner in crime early this year. The defensive coaches have put Hatcher at LE and let him master that spot. He’s supplying steady pressure right in the QB’s face.

He’s eating up everybody who tries to block him. Pat McQuistan got the better of Demarcus Ware on a few plays, but Hatcher whipped him off the edge. Hatcher abused Marten with a vicious spin move. He’s got a mini repertoire now and the lineman can’t figure him out. In addition he’s got the most explosive first step among the d-linemen. It’s not even close. Cross your fingers and toes that he has a breakout season. The Cowboys rush needs him — badly.

– Mr. Automatic. That’s Mat McBriar. In the punt drills he was consistently hitting the ball between 47 and 50 yards upfield. What’s more, every single kick was angled towards the sideline and was fielded between the numbers and the sideline. He’s not getting his distance by blindly whacking the ball as far as it will go wherever it will go. There was always a gunner standing right next to the returner waiting to wrap him up. McBriar will have a lot of fair catches this year if he maintains his angles.

– Terrell Owens lined up in the slot a lot today when Dallas went with three wideouts. He drew Terence Newman in Dallas’ nickel D but how many times will he draw a team’s #3 corner this year setting up inside?

– Same at it ever was. The running back rotation is identical to last year’s. Julius Jones starts and Marion Barber platoons. Tyson Thompson gets a few reps at the third back.

– Pat McQuistan is the only Cowboys tackle who can stalemate Demarcus Ware with some regularity, and he did it this morning from the LT and RT spots. Don’t be surprised if McQuistan stays at RT, should Colombo’s rehab drag on.

– Anthony Spencer finally started to show some life today. It appears he’s still adjusting to the speed of the NFL game. He seemed to crank up the intensity a bit this morning.

– Smile of the day: a hawker passing through my section this morning held up a bottle of beer and a bag of peanuts and yelled, “breakfast? breakfast!”

Two steps up and one step back: Anthony Fasano looks better as a lead blocker and made two nice downfield grabs on Brad Johnson bootlegs. However, he let Junior Glymph mash him for a sack later in the 11-on-11 drill.

Note: There will be no afternoon report today.

Back to School — Camp Report, Sunday, July 29th

Wade Phillips sent his charges back to school Friday, suiting them up in full pads and holding a longer than scheduled 110 minute practice that emphasized teaching within units and which put many of the non-stargazing Terrell Owens followers to sleep.

Since you’re not star-gazing T.O. followers, I know you don’t care. There was much of interest on the field. Here’s some of it.

The team began the afternoon spread all over the field, with the QBs and WRs working on catching the ball, the return men fielding balls from a Juggs machine, the linebackers working on hand-fighting and the defensive linemen working on their rush moves.

After stretching the offensive and defensive lineman engaged in a series of 3-on-3 and 2-on-2 drills. This is a direct holdover from the Parcells days, only Tony Sparano has taken over for the Tuna in its execution. The line is split in a series of groups, with tight ends and left tackles in one pairing on one yard marker, the center and guards in the middle of the field and the right tackles and tight ends on the closer yard marker.

Sparano would stand behind a defensive end and outside linebacker, who would set opposite the LT and TE. The coach would show his linemen their blocking assignments with his hands, and then call a simulated snap. He would then give feedback, and no lineman, no matter how effectively he blocked, escaped some feedback from the meticulous Sparano. He would then move to the center grouping, give their assignments and watch them go.

The lineman practiced straight ahead blocks, crossblocks and the OTs and TEs would practice pulling and sealing off the perimeter. It’s clear the ‘07 Cowboys running game will closely resemble the ‘06 attack, with lots of movement on the linemen’s part. And every Cowboys lineman can move.

When this was concluded all players except the WRs, CBs and the 3rd and 4th string QBs gathered near midfield for a 9-on-9 run drill. The defense had a bit of an edge knowing every play would be a run and blew up most of the early plays, though the offense managed to rip off a few big runs late in the drill.

It appears Anthony Fasano has more lead in his pencil, to quote John Madden and more abandon on his blocks. It also appears that Leonard Davis could be a much bigger version of Nate Newton. The two have very similar games. Newton was a plow horse on running downs who could give up a big play now and then to a really quick interior rusher. Davis has a very similar game. He’ll get beaten once in a while by a quick pass move, but holds his own most of the time.

He’s been money on running plays, with Marion Barber ripping off a couple of big runs behind him late in the drill.

The Cowboys then went back to positional drills along the edges of the field while the special teams held a punt coverage drill in midfield. Terence Newman got a lot of work as a punt returner and I think we’ll see him return punts regularly this season.

Later on, the offense and the defense squared off in a bizarre 1-on-5 and later a 2-on-5 pass blocking drill. The entire offensive line would set and one defender would rush at one of them. First, Demarcus Ware would take a shot at Jim Molinaro. Then, Marcus Spears would get a crack at Leonard Davis, and on down the line. Then, the second line would replace the first and the combinations would continue.

Later still, Sparano would pit his line against a pair of defensive lineman and have the defenders attempt twists, stunts and slants into his protection. The drill was intended to see how his guys could pick up twists, a real weak spot for the ‘06 line. The Eagles cut through the left side of Dallas line using these combinations in their September win.

The line leaked a bit during the early repetition, with linemen getting past the guards inside. Sparano worked them over and over and the linemen began switching and winning their late battles, though Sparano made sure to correct something on every single repetition. He had extra words for rookie LT Doug Free, who is all ears. Free and fellow rookie James Marten are gamers on their respective edges. Marten is pure effort and Free, when he’s not being overmatched by Demarcus Ware — who’s making every tackle work — looks good. He looks like an overgrown TE when he sets, with a lean upper body. I’m curious to see him after an offseason with Joe Juraszek.

The linemen contined their work on picking up twists on the sidelines when the special teamers took over the mid-field yet again.

The Cowboys ended practice with a 20 minute 11-on-11 drill. The defense got the better of this drill, getting a simulated sack from Jason Hatcher on the first play and stuffing early runs to the outside.

The offense did get some bigger runs later and made some big pass plays down the field, when Tony Romo was at the controls. After dropping a floater just behind a leaping Newman to Jason Witten, who had run a 15 yard deep out, Romo turned and pumped his fist. This was a stock pattern for Jay Novacek back in the ’90s and it appears Jason Garrett will give Witten a deeper repertoire.

On the whole, however, the defensive pass coverage looks much faster than anything we saw last season, a subject I’ll handle in greater detail tomorrow. One reason I know Romo is sharp is because the defense is giving the offense very few open passing windows and only Romo can complete passes more than ten yards down the field with any regularity. He’s not just making amazing throws because he can; half the time Romo has no choice. Receivers do break open, but not with the frequency we saw last year.

Notes:

– The tutorial continues. Demarcus Ware again spent extensive time with Greg Ellis and Paul Pasqualoni today working on his pass rush moves.

– Fellow linebacker Kevin Burnett limped off the field with trainers assistance early in practice. Burnett seems to get hurt every August and it’s costing him a chance to challenge Bradie James.

– I don’t know if the nickname will stick, but I’m proposing Leonard “the Amoeba” Davis. When the Cowboys run anything inside, Davis is the amoeba and the linebackers are germs; he simply engulfs them. (I know, I know, it’s not technically correct, but “the white corpuscle” just doesn’t fit Bigg Leonard.)

– Parcells moved Jason Hatcher up and down the line his rookie year but Phillips has parked him at LE, behind Marcus Spears. He’s showing some rush skills around his edge. I’m curious to see if he can continue the push once Marc Colombo returns.

– Back from mothballs — the lead draw, which was run a few times today.

– In defensive drills the lineman have to do-se-do around a line of barrels. Quickness into a gap and change of direction are the new points of emphasis for the big guys.

– Matt Moore has the early lead over Richard Bartel for the third QB spot, according to my eyes. Moore has the stronger and more accurate arm.

The NFL Network was in the Alamodome today and I think they sent some ringers. At the start of practice about half a dozen fans clad in opposition garb — five in Eagles jerseys and one in a Jerome Bettis Steelers number, took their seats atop the end zone stands, to heavy, heavy boos. They further gigged the Cowboys faithful by forming a circle and letting some “Go Eagles” cheers fly.

You think it’s just a coincidence this happened on the day when live TV was present? Me either.

– The lines of responsibility are clear. When the offense and defense square off in 11-on-11 drills, Jason Garrett and Tony Sparano run the show. Wade Phillips spends his time with Brian Stewart calling defensive plays. I presume this is the way things will run during the regular season as well.

– Bradie James is calling the sets for the first team defense. Bobby Carpenter does so for the second unit.

– Late in practice, just before the final scrimmage, Sparano and fullback Oliver Hoyte met at midfield and shook hands. They then had an animated discussion about blocking assigments. I don’t know the details, but I’m guessing Sparano and Hoyte had a disagreement over the fullback’s blocking in the 9-on-9 drills and were clearing the air.

– If the early kickoff catching drills are any indication, the Cowboys will stick with Tyson Thompson as their primary return man this year.

What’s the Color of Optimism? Afternoon Report, July 28th

What’s the color of optimism? What’s the number of hope? If you’ve watched the Cowboys the past two sessions, the answers are blue and number nine. That Tony Romo fellow is doing amazing things with the football, and I’m finding it easier to give in to crazy predictions for the ‘07 Cowboys.

Since they have yet to play even a preseason game, I’m going to resist the temptation — for now anyway — to dribble some anointing oil, to quote some departed ex-coach. In the meantime, here’s the report.

The Cowboys emerged in helmets, shoulder pads and shorts this afternoon after their full pad smackoff this morning. After stretching they broke into their positional groups. (After watching the offense this morning I parked myself on the defensive side of the field to see how this year’s staff ran things.) It was clear that even without leg pads, the pace and aggression of the morning practice will remain a trait of all Wade Phillips practices.

On the far field the linemen demonstrated how much different their respective games will be this year. In ‘05 and ‘06 DL coach Kacey Rogers focused on proper two-gap technique. The linemen then worked on watching the ball and not getting pulled offside by QB calls. They spent a lot of time learning how to stay square with the lineman in front of them and not to get hooked inside while in pursuit.

Now, the focus is on running — even for the nose tackles. Two gapping is a thing of the past. Rogers today had all his linemen running a figure 8 shaped course. They would line up on the outside shoulder of a tackling dummy. At the whistle, every lineman would slap the dummy’s mechanical arm down and dash the 8, smashing the dummy over the head when they completed the circuit.

On the near left field, OLB coach Paul Pasqualoni ran his entire OLB group through the drill he held for Demarcus Warethis morning. All of them got into three point stances and practiced punching out, lifting the lineman off balance, slapping the lineman’s hands away and cutting past him to the QB. Every linebacker worked at both the LDE and RDE positions, since the Cowboys flop their lineman depending on a team’s strong or weakside. (Ware, for instance, is playing exclusively on the weakside, while Anthony Spencer is manning the strong side.)

Just one day after claiming Bobby Carpenter would work exclusively inside, he took part in this drill. The defensive coaches are moving him all around their packages, setting him inside in the second team 3-4, putting him in certain nickel packages as a 4-3 DE. Carpenter could certainly use better hand-fighting technique and seemed to break free better in scrimmages. He already has a nifty spin move that he used to abuse Leonard Davis in a late scrimmage inside blitz.

Carpenter doesn’t have superstar athletic skills, like Ware, but he’s smart, tough and finds the football. Phillips said earlier this year that he planned to use Carpenter the same way New England does Mike Vrabel. If Carpenter can improve his rush moves, he can play Vrabel’s game. We’ll see. This is the weak part of his current game.

At the same time Greg Ellis ran some pass drop drills while tethered to a trainer with a giant rubber band. He didn’t seem to be favoring his injured heel, though I can’t speculate on when he might return.

Closer to midfield the cornerbacks and safeties worked on coverage drills. The Cowboys open with pairs of D-backs standing on the hashmarks. When the position coach snaps the ball they backpedal and then break in which ever direction the coach moves the ball. It seems benign as drills go, but it gives you a good read on the defenders’ relative speed and flexibility. For instance, Ken Hamlin ran the drill several times with Pat Watkins. Watching the two it was clear Hamlin is quicker in his backpedal and has far more fluid hips than Watkins, who looks tight.

Aaron Glenn showed great spark in the drills, building on a strong morning practice. The old guy still has his zip, though he seemed to tweak a hamstring or groin late in practice, gimping over the sideline and watching the remainder on one knee. He didn’t seek immediate attention, so I’m hoping he simply felt some tightness or soreness and stepped out as a precaution. Watch the team news for further details.

After the drills, the team split into 7-on-7 drills on one half of the field while the offensive and defensive linemen ran pass rush drills on the opposite side. (More on the passing later.)

The team then practiced field goal kicks and punt blocking and coverage. Nick Folk was the star of the initial drill, running the table on kicks off the left hash at 36, 41, 46 and 51 yards. Each had plenty of room to spare. He was knocking the ball to the goal line this morning and has a strong chance of making the team if he shows consistency on his preseason field goals. Mat McBriar continues last year’s stellar punting form, regularly pinching the return man on a sideline 40 to 45 yards down the field. He turned over one kick that flew 57 yards.

Got To Be Good Looking ‘Cause He’s So Hard to See

I had focused on every position thus far except quarterback. Maybe it’s because Tony Romo has been so trouble free thus far that I had already started to take him for granted.

Big mistake. I moved to a high section to get a better view of the bigger passing drills and got two eyefulls of Romomonium.

He’s sharp folks. Crazy sharp. Scary sharp.

He’s getting his passes away fast. Hard. On target.

Romo has no fear of coverage right now. He’s challenging defenders and beating them, not in ways that recall the reckless gunslinger from ‘06, but in ways that evoke Hall of Famers.

In the 7-on-7, he dropped and had Witten open in the deep middle. Romo passed on him and instead drilled a perfect deep out to Owens just over a linebacker and in front of the corner. He had maybe a square foot of opening to work with and he made it. Later, he threw another deep comeback to Owens that floated just a foot off the turf, right where T.O. could snag it, tap his feet in bounds and taunt the poor guy trying to cover him.

I remember Terry Bradshaw in his prime made a living throwing deep ins and skinny posts to John Stallworth and Lynn Swann that the receivers had to slide to catch. These passes seemed dangerous but had a logic to them; Bradshaw put the ball where it could not be picked off; if his guy didn’t catch it the best a defender could do was knock it down.

What’s more, the passes kept Bradshaw’s guys from being laid out. When they made their low catches defenders had to tap them on the head as they slid past.

In the 11-on-11, Romo threw a similar daisy cutter that Myles Austin caught as he slid directly at a waiting Roy Williams. Williams fell on Austin, with a loud thwack that drew oohs. Because Austin was boring in on his ankles, Williams could not make a kill shot and Austin leapt to his feet and trotted back to the huddle.

And this was far from Romo’s best throw. In the 7-on-7 Romo sent Witten on a seam route up the right hash. Akin Ayodele had him covered underneath and a safety had Witten bracketed over the top. Romo didn’t care. He zipped a fastball just a foot inside the hash, right at Witten’s back shoulder. The ball buzzed past Ayodele’s helmet, as he turned to find it. Witten spun inside and caught the ball just off his right earhole for a huge gain.

Romo only needs an opening about a foot wide right now for a completion. Who’s the last Cowboys QB who fit that description?

Notes

– They’re all paparazzi now. You would think T.O. was Walter Payton for the love he gets at camp. The entire north end of the stands went bananas when he emerged late from the locker room. When he backpedaled past the north end zone stands to loosen up, the fusillade of flash bulbs made it seem like he was Denzel Washington walking the red carpet on Oscar night.

– The Cowboys appear to have hit in the 7th round with Pat McQuistan in ‘06. Now, it appears they have have something with both of this year’s late round DBs. FS Courtney Brown, a converted CB, shows great quickness and range. He flew from deep centerfield to intercept a deep fade in the 11-on-11 drill, getting both feet in bounds as he fell with the pick. If he continues to make plays like this, Keith Davis and Pat Watkins are going to hear Brown’s footsteps bearing down on them.

CB Alan Ball also intrigues. He’s backing up Anthony Henry, meaning he’s seeing a lot of T.O. in passing drills. Owens is giving the rookie an education and lots of tough love, or just tough talk, depending on how you look at it. Owens outmuscled him on a go route this morning, leaving Ball shaking his head.

This afternoon, Owens caught a deep out in front of Ball and a deep comeback that Owens just snatched off the sideline. T.O. tossed the ball to Ball, who kicked it back at him. Ball has grit. He’s not backing down from Owens and it seems that with every session the openings he gives Owens get smaller. He’s got a ways to go but if Ball keeps scratching and winning some of these matchups, the Cowboys may have themselves a corner; if you can go man-up with Terrell Owens, you can probably match up with most of the receivers in the league.

– Smile of the day: Late in practice, the kickers and holder L.P. Ladouceur ran wind springs in the far end zone, while the team was running 11-on-11 across the way. Punter Mat McBriar has a long, loping, straight-legged stride; he looks like he’s practicing to dot the I for Ohio State. Martin Gramatica, on the other hand, with his statuesque 5′8″ frame and long hair, looks like the waterboy.

It’s All In the Hands — Morning Report, July 28th

Some of the most important work in Cowboys camp took place in a quiet corner, supervised by a gentleman who isn’t even part of the Cowboys staff, at least not in an official capacity. If this work bears fruit, it may elevate the pupil to NFL superstardom and create a new career for the teacher.

Midway through practice, while most of the linebackers were taking part in punt coverage drills, OLB coach Paul Pasqualoni and injured OLB Greg Ellis moved to a corner of the near end zone, where they worked extensively with Demarcus Ware on his edge rushing.

The tutorial was comprehensive. While Pasqualoni played the offensive tackle and Ellis watched — and at times stepped in to show Ware correct hand placement and technique — Ware was schooled in the proper placement of his initial punch into the tackle’s shoulder, how to coordinate his hip roll with that punch, in order to counter the tackle’s punchout and knock the lineman off balance, how to use his outside hand to knock the tackle’s hands free from his own chest, and how to duck under the lineman’s outside shoulder once the chop had been executed.

Ware was shown each element of the edge rusher separately and then tried to choreograph the entire package. Pasqualoni capped the mini-session by tracing a tight arc to the quarterback just outside the tackle’s shoulders. He then took a wider, more looping arc, showing how Ware has been rushing most of the time.

It was the football equivalent of a Vulcan mind-meld, where Ellis’ superior knowledge and hand-fighting technique is being imparted to the more explosive but inexperienced Ware. Anybody who paid close attention to the outside linebackers last year knows that Ware can explode off the ball better than most linebackers in the game and can close with anybody. However, he lacks an extensive repertoire and too often was locked up by tackles.

Ellis, while older and far less speedy, was more effective as a rusher because he understood how to set up lineman, get their hands off his pads and drive past them. While Ware was rushing fast and wide, Ellis was rushing steadily and directly at quarterbacks. If Ware can actually apply these hand-to-hand skills he can add several sacks to his total on improved technique alone.

Perhaps Jerry Jones should talk to Greg Ellis this week about a coaching career.

Happier and Faster

One quality I’ve noticed about Wade Phillips’ practice in contrast to Bill Parcells’ is their pace. While Parcells’ sessions were my no means slow, the Cowboys are operating at a faster overall pace. The time of each individual or scrimmage session is about the same, twelve to fifteen minutes, but the coaches are cramming more into those slots. The players don’t seem sloppy, meaning they’re getting the hang of their schemes.

You also notice the absence of Parcells’ paranoia; in his San Antonio camp, fans were only allowed to watch from the home sideline and the offensive action was kept as far away from those fans as possible. The same was true in Oxnard, where the quarterbacks worked on a second field far removed from anybody except the coaches and press.

This year the right end zone seats are open and fans are brought down to field level. During the final 11-on-11 scrimmage Jerry Jones was busy signing autographs and taking photos with groups on the near sideline. This type of thing was unheard of when the Tuna ran the show. It appears Bilious Bill had Jerry on his best behavior too back then.

Little Things of a Different Sort

The session began with the players breaking into groups and jogging three quarter speed through certain play groupings. This is exactly how Parcells ran his camp sessions. After several minutes of this the team met in the middle of the field to stretch and then broke into group training.

The defense went to the left half of the field, with the defensive backs working on their line of scrimmage jams and their drops. The defensive linemen, who were in the far left corner, worked on their stances, their technique and their gap assignments. The linebackers worked a lot on controlling their gaps, not being pushed too far outside and not allowing blockers to turn them inside and losing their contain on wide plays.

In fact, wide running plays appeared to be the theme of this practice. In the individual run drills, OL coach Tony Sparano split his line into OT and TE pairs and interior line groupings. The TE coach worked on combination blocks on the perimeter while Sparano tutored the center and guards on how to get off the ball, double the nose guard or strong side tackle and get to the second level and engage inside linebackers.

Later, Sparano would take a center and half a line, drilling frontside blocking on wide plays and than backside contain. Eventually, he brough the entire group together and had the lines and tight ends coordinate inside running and backside running plays.

One tid bit from the drills — don’t expect any less pulling and trapping from the line this year. Sparano had both guards, Kyle Kosier and Leonard Davis, trapping down the line and pulling extensively.

At the same time, the defense began its drills by emphasizing pursuit. A coach would throw a bubble screen to a receiver and the corner covering him was instructed to grab the receiver but then let him go. The remaining eleven players would have to track him down. It’s clear the Cowboys coaches have noticed how much hay Washington has made running Santana Moss on this type of play and will not be burned by it this year.

Later, the offense and defense engaged in a nine on nine running drill; while the starting QBs and WRs drilled with CBs on the far field, the backup QBs led the offense, minus receivers, against a nine man defense, which was missing cornerbacks. All the plays were runs. Most of them were strethes and pitches. The offense got some big gains on cutbacks, especially to their right behind Leonard Davis and Jim Molinaro. The wide plays were mostly contained by the defense.

Marion Barber got some “oohs” from the crown when he survived a Bobby Carpenter lunge on the left sideline. Barber wagged his finger at Carpenter because the LB’s blow didn’t knock him off his feet, but Carpenter did drive Barber out of bounds before he could turn the play upfield. Of the backups, Carpenter was far more visible than Kevin Burnett. Akin Ayodele was the most consistent ILB, though Bradie James has regained the flash he had in ‘05, The Stay-puffed Marshmallow Man who was huffing and puffing on any wide runs last year is long gone.

The team then had a punt coverage drill that tested the gunners and the men who are supposed to block them. After the team split again into unit work, the special teams worked on kickoff blocking. The kicking team threw a couple of onside kicks into the mix and Kevin Burnett smartly smothered one for the receiving team.

The team ended with a long 11-on-11 passing drill. The defense played a lot of man coverage and prevented the Cowboys’ QBs from throwing downfield for the first dozen plays or so, forcing dumpoffs to backs. Tony Romo did finally get the ball downfield, connecting with T.O. on a go route down the left side, where Owens outfought Alan Ball in a manner that would have made Michael Irvin proud. On the next play Romo dropped a 15 yard completion over the linebackers to Terry Glenn, who found a spot between the lines of coverage.

Notes:

– I didn’t get a good look at backup RT Jim Molinaro but LT Pat McQuistan looks solid in pass protection. He sets properly, doesn’t overextend, closes off any inside counter moves and has the quick feet to drive DEs wide once they commit to an outside rush. I didn’t see anybody he blocked get close to the quarterback.

Keep this in mind: during the run drills, Sparano worked McQuistan at both LT and RT. I’m guessing he would be the first option at RT if Flozell Adams returns and Marc Colombo’s rehab drags on.

– I saw a lot of the same two TE packages the Cowboys ran last year. It seems Jason Garrett may have tinkered with the offense some, but didn’t try to reinvent the wheel. When that wheel finished 4th in scoring last year, that seems to be the sane approach.

– The DBs are being better schooled in stripping the ball. They ripped several out during drills.

– The crowd loves a showman. The quarterbacks and receivers drilled right in front of the near sideline, so needless to say, Terrell Owens got most fans’ attention. They cheered loudly when he made a simple catch on his first drill and he played to their applause, turning and bowing in mock appreciation of his meaningless catch.

– It’s early, but I think Oliver Hoyte has a solid lead for the fullback spot. He’s working with the first team offense. He also shows some much improved hands, catching a one hander in drills and later making a one handed catch of a flare in the eleven on eleven drills. Hoyte was one dimensional last year and has clearly worked on his route running and receiving.

– Kickers Martin Gramatica and Nick Folk looked like kicker 1 and kicker 1A in drills today. Both have strong accurate legs and the starting spot will go to the guy who performs best when the chips are down. I’ll say this — they both look 100% better than the lame Mike Vanderjagt did at this time last year.

– The Cowboys used this line several times in their first team nickel package: Demarcus Ware — LE; Marcus Spears – DT; Stephen Bowen — DT; Bobby Carpenter — RE

So Easily Led Astray

There was a surreal moment early in practice during the nine on nine running drills where almost nobody was following the action. The sideline crowd was oohing and aahing over catches made in one on one passing drills on the left half of the field while most of the crowd in the end zone stands had its back turned to the field begging cabbage patch mascot Rowdy to throw them souvenirs from one of the upper decks.

Here’s hoping the pads come back on this afternoon. The Cowboys are hitting when they scrimmage.

I’m Back!

Camp reports start tomorrow.

Anthony Spencer Signs 5 Year deal

Rotoworld is reporting that the Cowboys have signed first round draft pick Anthony Spencer. The deal is worth $9 million over 5 years, with a signing bonus of roughly $6 million.

Spencer was reportedly in Indiana yesterday and this morning, so the earliest he could be at training camp is probably late afternoon today. Greg Ellis is not participating in drills after aggravating his Achilles injury, so there is a gaping hole at OLB for Spencer to get his reps in.

UPDATE: OT James Marten has signed a 4 year deal. All Cowboys draft picks are now signed.

Status Update for Day 1 of Training Camp

Some very brief status updates as we head into Day 1 of Training Camp at long last:

Flozell Adams will not practice today because his conditioning is not up to snuff after minor offseason knee surgery.

Marc Colombo will not practice today and could be out for the entire first week or more after having his knee scoped a few weeks back.

Greg Ellis has been cleared to practice and should be able to participate in all drills.

Browns Watch

It’s never too early to watch the holders of Dallas’ second 2008 first rounder.

The Browns got some good fortune when C LeCharles Bentley passed his physical. Bentley, the Browns top ‘06 free agent prize, tore his patella tendon on the first play from scrimmage on the first day of training camp. He survived a severe post-operation infection that nearly killed him and which required three subsequent surgeries to clean up. Good wishes to LeCharles this year and the rest of his career. I saw stories a few months ago which warned Bentley might never play again.

On the rookie front, none of the Browns’ top three rookies have signed. Negotiations between the team and Tom Condon, the agent for Brady Quinn are moving at a glacial pace. He’s not expected to sign soon.

Programming Note

My grandfather died this morning and I will be participating in his funeral later this week, so I’ll probably miss the opening days of camp. More as I know it.

Cowboys’ Draftees Face a Rush

During the Jones’ Era the Cowboys have waited until the days before camp opened and then signed their draft picks in a rush. Stephen Jones is sticking to the familiar, signing 6th round FB Deon Anderson and getting close to deals with late round defensive backs Alan Ball and Courtney Brown.

The team has begun negotiations with top pick Anthony Spencer. Oddly enough, the lack of a second round pick this year should help the Cowboys get all their rookies to camp on time. A change in the league’s CBA limited the length of 2nd round contracts to four years. This is forcing agents and teams to compress the period over which signing bonus money can be spread and is causing confusion league wide. As of Friday no 2nd round picks had signed a deal.

James Washington Wants You!

… to join his training camp fun.

Super Bowl 28 hero James Washington joins The Blue and Silver Report for our inaugural podcast. Hear him talk about that game, his radio career, his foundation for Southern California youths, his training camp fan package, Roy Williams, Jerry Rice, Michael Irvin and more!

2007 Patriots Defense = 2006 Cowboys Defense?

ESPN and Scouts  Inc. continued their 2007 NFL preview yesterday with a look at the AFC East (article protected). In their New England Patriots write-up, the Scouts Inc. crew noted that the 2007 Pats have some significant questions at safety. On the Patriots’ FS/SS battle:

One of the major concerns of the Patriots defense has to be the safety positions. Free safety Eugune Wilson is a versatile player who is returning after spending last season on the injured reserve. However, he was coming off a poor season in 2005 and there are concerns about his playmaking ability on the backend.

Also there is a major concern about the health of SS Rodney Harrison … who has missed time in each of the last two seasons with injuries. Rookie first-round pick Brandon Meriweather is a versatile player who should develop into a solid frontline starter in the NFL.

Sound at all familiar? A rookie safety being expected to start almost immediately, a hard-hitting SS who may have lost a step in coverage, and a smattering of injury problems (although none as a result of a shooting incident. Take note, Keith).

Throw in a  linebacking corps with two stud OLB pass rushers and no depth behind them, plus a lack of speed in the middle, and you’ve got some significant parallels to the 2006 Cowboys’ defensive back 7. Of course, the 2006 Cowboys did not have anything approaching the talent and production that the Patriots have on their defensive line, but could the Patriots experience a similar breakdown? Could a team exploit a coverage weakness in the middle of the secondary, like the Saints did to the Cowboys in ‘06?

Just speculation at this point, of course, and there is no guarantee the Pats will experience a Greg Ellis-type injury, but it does seem that all of the coronation of the Patriots as 2007 World Champions may be a bit premature.

Michael Irvin Begins His Hall Lap

by donating $100,000 to his high school’s athletic program.

– The cable wars are about to be rejoined. I just received a flyer from a cable competitor about rates, the jist of which is that Comcast will move the NFL network from it’s free tiers and make it part of its pay-for-view sports package. The status and cost of the NFL network was a point of contention between the league and the major carriers last season and it appears cable peace remains far away.

I’m not an advocate for any service over another, but I’m curious to hear what your local carriers have told you about NFL service. The league will surely put more games on their network in the future.

It’s The Time Of The Season…

… when hopes run high.

Jeff Fisher is claiming he expects to get a new extension with the Titans completed at some point during the upcoming season. I’ve heard speculation as recently as last month that he could be a target for the Cowboys ‘08 job if Wade Phillips falters. He would also certainly be part of the any Redskins or Giants searches. (Ponder that for a second. Three divisional teams could — and I stress could — be on the market for a new coach this coming offseason.)

… when rookies sign.

Dallas is talking to most of its second day picks. We should see some movement in the coming days, though the Cowboys’ way has been to wait until just before camp and to sign all the rookies in one big rush. The lack of a second round pick this year could make Stephen Jones’ job easier. The Cleveland Plain Dealer notes a change in the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement is making second round picks harder to sign this year, with one source saying one of the league’s second rounders are close to a deal.

– The same article claims the Browns are uncertain that any of their top three picks, including QB Brady Quinn, will be signed when camp begins next week.

– Former Packers’ GM Ron Wolf makes a case for safety LeRoy Butler’s induction into the Hall of Fame. I have to agree. Butler’s case has some possible ramifications for one Cowboy and his game offers a preview of what we could expect from another.

Butler and Cowboy Darren Woodson were the dominant NFC safeties of the ’90s, though each were used in different ways. Woodson was the glue on a Cowboys back seven, who had the bulk to play linebacker in certain cases and the speed to match up with slot receivers on others. He didn’t rack up huge statistical numbers because the Cowboys didn’t blitz much in those days, but people who watched him knew his worth.

Butler was the better publicized of the two, in part because the late Green Bay DC Fritz Shurmur used him in a more visible way, keeping him around the box and blitzing him frequently. A Butler induction would make a strong case for Woodson, who will probably need some Hall help after the Triplets and Deion Sanders get their Canton busts.

Butler’s game, playing in the box, blitzing and cleaning up in the short zones, will likely be the role Roy Williams will assume under Wade Phillips and Brian Stewart. If he’s half as effective as Butler was, and there’s no reason to expect he won’t be, all the claims of being overrated will disappear.

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