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Corner Watch, Post-Denver

Corner is supposed to be a new strength on the team. How did they play, with Terence Newman out of the lineup:

Here are the six guys behind Newman in the pecking order:

Anthony Henry:

• Thrown at: 3
• Completions: 3
• Yards: 54

Eddie Royal blew up Henry’s line with a 32 yard catch where Henry got his hands on the ball but could not bat it away from the Bronco. Played soft on a Brandon Marshall comeback on the next play and surrendered a four yarder later.

Mike Jenkins

• Thrown at: 4
• Completions: 4
• Yards: 54

Welcome to the NFL rookie. Denver went after him on their opening drive. Brandon Marshall ran him off on a comeback; Jenkins was still running up the field when Marshall made his cut. Denver then crossed him up, running a stop and go to Royal that got Jenkins to bite. He slipped, letting Royal cruise for 35. Marshall ended Jenkins’ evening by executing Sprint Right Option, otherwise known to Dallas fans as “The Catch” play. Marshall ran what looked like a square in, then pivoted and took off for the deep right corner, where he caught Jay Cutler’s pass for a touchdown.

Evan Oglesby

• Thrown at: 6
• Completed: 3
• Yards: 37

A decent line, but it’s actually less than meets the eye. Twice he was beaten but saw his receivers drop the passes, at eight and 19 yards. Brandon Stokley beat him with ease when the Broncos starters were in. Oglesby’s good camp work may be eroding, because…

Adam Jones

• Thrown at: 4
• Completed: 3
• Yards: 6

How about that YPA of 1.5. Jones looked much more comfortable than he did in San Diego. His tackling was much better and he dropped an interception. He’ll likely start in the nickel on the right corner, with Newman playing the slot when teams go three wide. If Jones continues to play this way, Oglesby is back on the bench, and the fans will resume their chants to get Anthony Henry benched too.

Mike Lombardi said on last week’s show that Jones is not Deion Sanders. Who is these days? If Jones can play nickel corner like this, we’ll all be ecstatic. Jacques Reeves could never sub like this.

Orlando Scandrick

• Thrown at: 1
• Completed: 1
• Yards: 0

Scandrick’s lone throw was a memorable one. He blew up Broncos wideout Glenn Martinez on the goalline; Scandrick tracked his man into the end zone, saw Martinez cutting beneath him, released his original WR and rolled up to pop Martinez. The kid is making big hits on a regular basis. He also came within an eyelash of blocking a field goal and had a 32 yard kickoff return. Those are three good ways to keep yourself on the active roster on Sundays.

Alan Ball

• Thrown at: 4
• Completed: 1
• Yards: 20

Another less-than-meets-the-eye line. Ball took a penalty on one of the other plays, escaped a completion on another play because Marcus Smith tipped the ball and avoided being beaten for a TD on a fade when Patrick Ramsey’s pass floated wide and out of bounds. Ball looked lost on a couple of these plays and needs to make some positive plays to earn another year on the roster.

– Two weeks ago, Oglesby looked like he might force the coaches to keep six corners. He looked pretty good against San Diego but Adam Jones and Orlando Scandrick have probably jumped him in the pecking order. Oglesby still has a decent chance but he’ll need big games against Houston and Minnesota to turn momentum back in his favor. If the decision had to be made today, I think Dallas would keep five corners.

Selective Perception is Alive and Well in Cowboys Land

“Nobody knows anything…”

– William Goldman

Goldman was a highly successful screenwriter and said that oft-quoted line about Hollywood, but it could apply today, given the knee-jerk reactions in some quarters after yesterday’s loss to Denver.

To those in Hype-land, last night’s perfromance by the first team was “pathetic,” “putrid” and worse. Yeah, so? And if it was, what would it mean? Those same guys were dominant against the Chargers, who will have a better year than Denver. Did the Cowboys become chopped liver in seven days? Did they lose the killer instinct for winning meaningless mid-August games?

For those who need reminding:

• Dallas’ record at this time in ‘07: 2-0.
• New England’s record at this time in ‘07: 0-2.
• Miami’s record at this time in ‘07: 2-0.

Nobody knows anything at this point, at least based on pre-season performances.

You can say the Cowboys hot start helped propel them to a strong season, but that would be logically inconsistent. Because:

Dallas went 0-2 in their last two pre-season games, finishing 2-2. After last year’s Broncos game, Denver was hot because the Cowboys were blitzing like mad. The third game is supposed to be “the dress rehearsal” and yet Dallas looked awful losing to the Texans.

Do we take the two early wins as being indicative of future performance, or the last two? Or concede that none of these games mean anything?

Last year Wade had “Camp Cupcake.” This year he’s had “Camp Marshmallow.” Yet he was 2-0 last year with the softies. And he’s 0-2 this year with the softies. Do we say that the softness made for a healthier, better team in ‘07 or a weaker, less disciplined team this year? Or again conclude that we can’t conclude anything from the results so far?

I’ll go off camp performance. I’ve watched the last four. In ‘05, Dallas had no pass rush, save for Demarcus Ware, and Bill Parcells was trying to make do with Rob Petitti at RT and Keith Davis at FS. Those gambles went snake eyes and his guys were a disappointing 9-7.

In ‘06, Parcells started with Drew Bledsoe, in spite of hot-shot Tony Romo’s hot camp. In one late camp practice, the Tuna took a long, slow walk to an empty end of the practice field after watching his guys blow assignment after assignment. He looked skywards, as if to say, “why me? Why am I still doing this?” That team lived down to his fears, with a maddening tendency to yo-yo from week to week, playing up to tougher opponents like Indy and playing down to mediocrities like that year’s Raiders.

Last year Romo looked razor sharp in San Antonio, T.O. was unstoppable and the defense showed more athleticism and speed. Those tells carried over to the season, not the up and down pre-season performances.

My point? Camp performances have been pretty consistent indicators of team performance. And this year’s camp was the best of the bunch. The one thing that concerned me was the over-aggressive play of the secondary, which drew a lot of laundry when the real refs arrived.

Seeing Adam Jones‘ play jump up made me feel a lot better. Anthony Henry gave up one big throw, but had his hands on the football that play. He’ll be there. So will Terence Newman. Getting Mike Jenkins farther along his learning curve will help. The special team’s overall performance last night matched the level of attention its received this summer.

Since everybody is tailoring the Cowboys performances to their own biases, I’m taking the liberty of staying calm. The first teamers looked good in Oxnard and they looked good in San Diego. That works for me, last night notwithstanding. The defense looked like it had more rush options and showed that against the Chargers. I’ll rely on those performances.

Hey, I know just as much as anybody else, which at this point is exactly nothing.

A Closer Look at the Tape

The Cowboys have broken camp at Oxnard and will begin butting heads with the Broncos tomorrow and Thursday, with two days of two-a-days scheduled.

In the meantime, here are some more crumbs of football goodness from the Chargers game:

Heavy Jumbo:   Teams don’t game plan in their first preseason matches but it’s clear the Cowboys know the Chargers tendencies.  On San Diego’s second play from scrimmage they went to their heavy packages, with two tight ends, two backs and just one wide receiver.

Dallas countered with a 4-4-3 package.  There are several interesting aspects to the package.  First, the position switch the team practiced was in effect, as Tank Johnson and Marcus Spears were the DTs and Jay Ratliff and Chris Canty were the DEs in a three point stance.  Greg Ellis and Demarcus Ware were the OLBs and Bradie James and Zach Thomas were inside.  Anthony Henry was the lone corner.

Both DTs exploded into the backfield, with Johnson getting the sack when the Chargers tried picking him up with a fullback.  Tank threw the FB aside and wrapped up Philip Rivers.

Inside Pressure — Dallas rushed their inside backers at Tony Romo a lot during practice and this carried over to the game.  Bradie James was given lots of first down blitzing responsibility and he got in free on pass plays or he got to the fullback on the offense’s side of the ball on running plays, giving Zach Thomas a free lane to the ball.

Spears Unleashed — Todd Grantham may already be paying dividends.  He had two blowups on Dallas first two drives and shows much better agility than we’ve seen in the past.

Crayton Miscast — One reason to applaud Miles Austin’s strong game is that it would allow Patrick Crayton back into his ideal role as the 3rd receiver.  KC Joyner mentions in Scientific Football ‘08 that Crayton had a YPA under 3.0 against “red” caliber corners (those who ranked in the top third of NFL CBs) but had a YPA over 10 against “yellow” (league average) and “green” corners (those in the bottom third).

Crayton is devastating in the middle of the field, but can’t shake the big time guys.  He showed that in Dallas first two series, with two impressive catches over the middle.  Both converted 3rd downs and kept drives alive.

Keep the Starting Job — The starting line of Canty, Ratliff and Spears lived in San Diego’s backfield.  The group of Bowen, Johnson and Hatcher?  Not so good.  Hatcher could hold his point but Johnson was up and down against the run and Bowen was pushed around.

On the Line — We can handicap positions after every game but the biggest issues were for second year man James Marten and for backup center Cory Procter.

Marten was being beaten around the edge inside.  When you’re working in a limited area you cannot let guys get around you.  He also failed to switch on a Chargers twist, letting his guy get a free shot at Brad Johnson.

Procter lacks ballast.  This was a problem last year, when big DTs and NTs pushed him into the backfield.  Procter had the same problem Saturday.  He got all the snaps at center, with Joe Berger working at guard but I wonder if Berger, who can also play center, will get some looks in the pivot this week.

Good Marks for the Backup Backs — The biggest question for Felix Jones and Tashard Choice entering ‘08 is their ability to block.  So far, very good.  Both rookies showed the will and the ability to find blizers and stop them.

Game ball – MIles Austin.  We know what the Cowboys have at most of their starting spots but somebody has to step up at receiver.  Austin made a strong case, running tight routes and displaying good hands.  He ran a precise deep in on Dallas’ field goal drive at the end of the half.  When he entered the game last year you knew he was running deep.  Now, he’s putting the full repertoire together.  He’s got the deep speed this team needs at the two.

Continued play at this level would be a BIG plus to this team.

Most Smug Man Today — Anthony Henry.  Everybody and their dog was ready to shunt him to safety or the bench when Adam Jones was signed.  Not so fast.  Henry played well on Saturday and had a big goal line stop.  Jones, on the other hand, was caked in rust.  He missed tackles.  He looked slow reacting to the ball.  He drew penalties.  He’s got talent, without question.  But he’s not in sync with the game yet.

So what do we know?  We know the coverage teams were ragged.  Half of them were where they needed to be on any given play but half were slow arriving.

What we learned was that guys like Julius Crosslin, Marcus Smith and Junior Siavii have limited time on the Cowboys’ roster.  But that’s not really news, is it?

Why I’m Not Worried About The Special Teams — Yet

The late political pundit Molly Ivins was once asked how she became such a leftist firebrand when she was raised in a conservative Baptist household? “I was baptised several times as a child,” she said with a grin. “I was dropped in the water at least three times… but it never took.”

Molly could have been talking about the Cowboys punt coverage units. They were one of the trouble spots in 2007 and the team did not skimp on time or effort at Oxnard to prepare them for 2008. Every day several segments of each practice were devoted to special teams.

And in each drill, several coaches worked with the players to improve their techniques. Dallas broke every different special teams play into micro pieces, to allow every player to receive one-on-one prep with an assistant. Special teams has received as much attention as you could hope to see, which is why I’m staying far away from the panic button, even after the Cowboys’ woeful performance containing Darren Sproles Saturday night.

The fickle finger of fate will point at Bruce Read if the units don’t develop better consistency this year. However, at this point, I wonder if it’s the core guys on that group, the Justin Rogers, the Deon Andersons, the Kevin Burnetts, the Bobby Carpenters, the Pat Watkins and the like who might be having trouble getting those lessons to take?

Listen to Read’s descriptions of the team’s special teams teaching approach, the number of players he runs through, how much turnover occurs on special teams week to week and the many new return options Dallas has in ‘08:

Cowboys @ Chargers Preseason Thread

10:38 — 2nd half begins.  Richard Bartel is at the controls.

10:22 — Nick Folk nails a FG at the gun. Chargers 24, Cowboys 10

10:10 — San Diego scores on a third short run. Chargers 24, Cowboys 7

10:09 — Alan Ball is flagged for interference, putting the Chargers inside the Dallas five — again.

10:07 — James Marten fails to switch on a Chargers twist, allowing a linebacker to come up the middle and drop Brad Johnson on a third down pass inside the five.

10:03 — Dallas puts its starting nickel 4-2-5 D in the game on 3rd and long and the front four blew up Billy Volek’s line. Chris Canty had Volek around the ankles when the QB threw the ball away.

9:59 — The Chargers are blitzing Brad Johnson heavily, which will give the Cowboys lots of good tape on the kid blockers.

9:53 — Nick Kaeding nails a 53 yarder. Chargers 17, Cowboys 7.

9:52 — The Chargers have their backups in as well. The game is getting sloppier by the minute.

9:43 — Sproles slices up the middle for a TD. Chargers 14, Cowboys 7.

9:42 — Anthony Spencer jumps offsides, moving the Chargers to the Dallas six.

9:40 — Dallas pulls all its defensive starters but Phillip Rivers is still running the top Chargers’ O. A 21 yard pass to Chris Chambers and a 21 yard screen to Darren Sproles push the Chargers inside the Cowboys’ 15.

9:37 — Johnson throws a stop, but Crayton runs an up. Quentin Jammer picks the ball and the Chargers take over one play into the quarter.

9:35 — the 1st quarter ends with Dallas in Chargers territory after Johnson finds Crayton over the middle for 15 yards on a 3rd-and-7 play.

9:32 — Brad Johnson replaces Romo. Felix Jones catches his first pass for one yard. On the next play he takes a toss right for 19 yards.

9:26 — Jacob Hester scores off left tackle. Dallas 7, San Diego 7.

9:25 — Dallas stuffs two Chargers runs on 1st and 2nd downs.

9:24: Marcus Spears blows up a run, leading to a 4 yard loss, but Ken Hamlin is flagged for interference in the end zone on the following play.

9:22 — Chargers 2nd series gets one 1st down and then sputters. Mike Jenkins breaks up a 3rd down pass. Danny Amendola fumbles the punt, giving the Chargers the ball inside the Dallas 30.

9:15 — Dallas 7, San Diego 0. Two series: a three and out for the Chargers and an 8 play, 54 yard TD drive for the Cowboys. Romo got quick throws to Witten (2) and one over the middle to Crayton. The gold star goes to Andre Gurode, who handled Jamal Williams with ease.

Here ‘ya go!

“Are you ready for some sock-ker!?”

– The Simpsons, mocking Hank Williams Jr.’s tired opening line.

Finally. Real action that everybody can see. For those living in a cave, the NFL Network will broadcast the Cowboys/Chargers game, so get yourself to a friend with cable, or a sports bar. The game will be visible nationwide. It’s only a preseason game, meaning the starters will play at most a quarter. That said, here are some matchups to look for, some rookies to track and where to find them.

When Dallas Has the Ball

– The same starting 11 will return to the field from the Giants playoff game, with Marion Barber now the man at running back. Deon Anderson will play fullback when Dallas goes to its 21 packages (two backs) and Tony Curtis will join Jason Witten when Dallas calls for its 12 sets (two TEs). See how often Martellus Bennett spells Curtis. The more he plays in the first quarter, the more ready the coaches feel he is. He’ll play a lot, regardless.

When the starters are in, take a look to see how Andre Gurode fares against mammoth NT Jamal Williams. And don’t dawdle. Williams sat out the first week of camp and likely won’t play more than a series or two, if he plays at all.

The Chargers front appears a bit dinged. Starting DEs Igor Olashansky and Luis Castillo have missed time with back problems and may also miss the game entirely.

At linebacker, former 49ers ILB Derek Smith will start for Stephen Cooper, who will miss the first month on suspension.

In the secondary, however, the Chargers appear loaded and will challenge the Cowboys receiving corps. Quentin Jammer has resumed with strong ‘07 with a strong training camp. He and Antonio Cromartie will match up against T.O. and Patrick Crayton. Crayton was very strong against league-average CBs but really struggled against blue-chippers, so Dallas may throw away from him if Jammer gets him.

The game will also let us see Chargers 1st rounder Antoine Cason, whom the San Diego scribes call one of the team’s best performers in camp.

Watch to see if Felix Jones gets some reps with the first team. The Cowboys have installed some special sets that get him on the field with Marion Barber and on 3rd down but they may be kept under wraps until the games count.

When the second quarter begins, watch the second line. Doug Free has been working exclusively at left tackle but watch James Marten and Pat McQuistan, who have both been rotating at left guard and right tackle. If Dallas goes all backups, look for a Free, Marten, Cory Proctor, Joe Berger, McQuistan lineup from left tackle to right tackle. Dallas won’t keep all five of these guys, with Berger and Marten probably facing the longest odds at this point.

When San Diego Has the Ball

The Chargers are really beaten up here, so the Dallas starting eleven will match up against a lot of backups. Center Nick Hardwick has yet to practice while rehabbing an injured ankle. Former 49er Jeremy Newberry will take his place until at least October, as Hardwick is expected to miss four games. That said, Newberry is being paced slowly; the 12 year vet’s knees are cartilage deficient.

The Cowboys will also miss three key Chargers skill-position players. WR Vincent Jackson played lights out week one, but strained a hamstring and has missed the last week. He’s out. So is Antonio Gates, who is rehabbing a surgically-repaired big toe and is aiming for the season opener.

Dallas will also miss LaDainian Tomlinson, who will be held out of every pre-season game, according to head coach Norv Turner. Tomlinson has nothing to prove and with the other injuries, Turner will not risk his biggest offensive weapon.

Rookie Watch

Where some Dallas bubble boys are working out:

– Danny Amemdola has been playing the slot, gunner on punt coverage teams, punt and kickoff returner.

– Alonzo Coleman has been playing RB, and coverage on punts and kickoff teams. The same is true for Keon Lattimore. They are both batting to be the 4th running back, if the Cowboys keep four.

– Erik Walden is backing up Demarcus Ware at WOLB and is on the coverage teams as well.

It’s Only the Beginning

Training Camp has been encouraging. It’s been fun. It’s been informative.

But it’s only the beginning of the Cowboys’ journey.

On the opening day of camp, I asked Hudson Houck what he could tell about his linemen, with OTAs and mini-camps under his belt. He refused to handicap his group, saying, “all I know is that I have 22 more practices to go.”

On Wednesday, with 18 of those practices in the books, I asked him the same question. He again deferred, saying they still had pre-season games to play before the staff determined how many players the Cowboys would keep at each position and which ones.

Armchair GMs like me like to play the “pick-53″ game, where we try to determine the Cowboys final roster as soon as possible. Because the Cowboys are so deep and veteran-laden, this exercise is not so hard, give or take a half dozen or so players.

But we don’t really know and can’t know about the back roster today. The games count, in that respect.

Will Danny Amendola stick? He’s been promising, but if he looks pedestrian in the games, all the good workouts come to nothing. James Marten, Joe Berger, Keon Lattimore, Alonzo Coleman, Marcus Dixon, Erik Walden, Evan Oglesby, Alan Ball, Courtney Brown… All these guys have put themselves in position to grab a roster slot. Nothing more.

That doesn’t mean camp has been worthless. It tells us a lot about veterans. We know a Flozell Adams is ready because he has years and years of play to draw upon, in addition to his camp work. The kids, on the other hand, are a blank slate.

That’s why you need to adjust your pre-season viewing. Don’t look to the score. Look at the guys fighting for jobs. And treat their play as individual auditions. The kids I named will get a lot of playing time. But they will do so with and against a lot of second and third teamers who won’t have real chances to make a squad.

Find them as soon as they enter the game. Note how they perform, especially against first team opposition. Note how each of them does on special teams. Make a point of learning where they line up on special teams. I’ll have a piece on this tomorrow. And let those plays be your guides for establishing the Dallas back roster.

Because the last two weeks have only been the prelude. The real auditions begin tomorrow in San Diego.

Note: We’ve got a full plate for this afternoon’s episode of “The Sports Doctors.” Bryan Broaddus, a former NFL scout and a regular of “Galloway & Company” on ESPN 103.3 in Dallas. He’ll discuss the Brett Favre trade, what teams are looking for this time of the year, Steve Smith and Anquan Boldin and how hard it is to make a trade and how good the Dallas back roster really is. He’ll also take on as many questions you can serve up, either in this thread or via call.

Bryan will be with us from 5:05 to 5:20 CT. As always, our number is 888-806-1661. We’ll also continue our profile of team hot spots with a look at the special teams, with comments from ST coach Bruce Read. You can listen locally at 1240 AM or listen to our live stream here on site. We hope you can join us. And if you join us, we hope you participate.

Oxnard Outtakes

Killing time in the Phoenix airport, having broken camp yesterday. Here are some of the odder and sweeter moments from Oxnard:

– looking over two days into camp and seeing Duane Thomas and Calvin Hill carrying on about the old days.

– asking Duane Thomas a question, expecting a curt answer and shaking my arm 20 minutes later to keep it from falling asleep cause Duane was still debriefing.

– Watching Erik Williams coach the offensive tackles. His mild-mannered coaching demeanor contrasts his playing style — completely.

– Seeing Adam Jones put an assistant’s son on his shoulders and carry him around after practice. The team could go from being all business during practice to playful minutes after the final drill.

– Standing alone on the far field sideline one morning and seeing Kevin Burnett trotting my way. He stepped past me, nodded, then found a space on the fence where he could, um, phone his attorney.

Needless to say, I didn’t ask for an exclusive.

– Sitting against the fence on the near field and watching Rowdy’s four wheeler whiz past no more than a foot from my knees.

– Looking down the sideline and watching Rowdy miss Brad Sham by the same distance.

– Watching Jason Witten and his son C.J. playing hide and seek in the press tent after practice.

– Watching Reggie Herring and Dave Campo battle for the title of Most High-Voltage position coach.

– Hearing Campo get hoarse by the end of every session and wondering how he got his voice back overnight.

– Hearing the defensive players mimic his hoarse commands.

– Seeing mammoth Marc Colombo cooing over his child after practice. The tot looked like a toy in Marc’s arms.

– Watching the stoic Flozell Adams light up meeting a group of kids after an afternoon session.

– Watching master teachers like Hudson Houck and John Garrett work. There are moments when I circled the field before the scrimmaging began, when it felt like I was walking the halls of a football university, with as many as eight different lessons going on at the same time.

– Listening to the defensive linemen jaw about their rapping skills.

– Walking across the practice field after posting a late story and watching Stephen Jones play touch football with his kids…

More to come. Join Louie and me this afternoon for the latest episode of “The Sports Doctors.” We’ll be joined again by “Outsiders” Dave Halprin of BloggingtheBoys.com and Shango from thedallascowboyshow.com. We’ll give our impressions of camp and set up the Chargers game. That’s 6 pm ET and 5 pm CT. You can hear the live stream right here on blueandsilverreport.com.

Romo-commotion

He’s hiding in plain sight again.

Every day, the Cowboys defense sends blitzers at Tony Romo.  Sometimes, a single linebacker comes up the middle.  At other times, both inside backers will twist.  In other instances, the defense will overload a side and overwhelm the line from the left or the right.  Or bring a safety.  Or bring a cornerback.

And on every play, at least one guy will break free.

It simply does not matter.  Tony Romo has been feeling the pressure and finding the man that pressure leaves open:  the back releasing on a hot read;  the tight end who cuts his route short to take the quick pass;  the receiver adjusting into a slant, or stop, or fade or smoke route.

Romo finds them.  What’s more, Romo completes the pass to them.

As impressive as Terrell Owens has looked,  as dominant as Flozell Adams has been at left tackle, as deep as the secondary now looks, the biggest reason to believe in the 2008 Cowboys is the mental sharpness and consistency Tony Romo has displayed the last thirteen days.

The Dallas defenders are good, yet I can count on the fingers of one hand the times they’ve sacked him.  They force incompletions now and then and they’ve even picked him a handful of times.

Never, however, have they flustered him.  And that fact should leave Cowboys fans everywhere calm.

Torquing Down — Morning Report, August 6th

The Cowboys began the slowdown Wade Phillips mentioned earlier this week, in anticipation of their game with the Chargers. The morning workout was conducted in shorts and shirts, with no contact of any type.

The emphasis was again, on recognition, substitution, moving through game sequences at game speed and execution of situational packages. It’s very difficult to get a read on individual progress in this environment, since the 11-on-11s are conducted at half speed; the secondary players were not allowed to make attempts to pick off the ball.

Notes:

– Flozell Adams was given the morning off, giving Doug Free a lot more reps at left tackle. The linemen worked on technique — on mirroring their men along the line and keeping that man directly in front of them.

The Cowboys worked extensively on screen passes. They have made this a theme of the week, with both Marion Barber and Felix Jones getting their share of touches.

Blurbs of the day:

Listen to Jerry Jones discuss the team’s “loose focus” and their awareness of what’s at stake in 2008. You can also hear NFL Films Senior Producer Rob Gehring discuss the work that goes into a single episode of the show and what fans can expect from the first episode, which debuts tonight at 9 pm Central time.

Trickeration Tuesday: Cowboys Camp Report, August 5th

…otherwise known as the Felix Jones Show.

The Cowboys showed some of their more creative plays today, all designed to get Felix Jones and Marion Barber the ball in space.  The team tried them in their initial sessions, where the plays are shown to the team on note cards and run against nobody.

They were later implemented in the 11-on-11 drills to end the session, and worked effectively.  Mostly, they showcased the elusiveness, speed and receiving skills of the rookie running back from Arkansas.

Three plays were out of the ordinary in the initial drills.  On the first, Dallas went four wides, with Isaiah Stanback as the split end and Patrick Crayton, Sam Hurd and Miles Austin on the opposite side.  On the snap, Stanback ran a slant towards the center of the field.  Tony Romo took a semi-roll right towards the trio of receivers, stopped and threw left, where Felix Jones had three linemen leading him in a screen down field.

On the next play, Dallas put Terrell Owens as the split end, with Jason Witten, Hurd and Crayton on the opposite side.  Before the snap, Owens came in motion right.  He continued into the backfield, as if to take a reverse right.  Romo faked to T.O. pivoted left and threw a throwback screen, this time to Marion Barber, who followed his escourt to an imaginary touchdown.

On the last play, Dallas had Stanback and Owens left, with T.O. in the slot.  Jason Witten was flexed off the left tackle, giving Dallas three receiving options upfield.  Felix Jones was alone in the backfield with Crayton on the right.

Owens again motioned towards the backfield and this time lined up as the tailback behind Jones.  At the snap, T.O. flared to the right, and Romo feignted a throw in his direction.

On the left side, Witten and Stanback both angled towards the post, clearing out the left side.  After Romo completed his fake right to T.O., he again turned left and threw back to Jones.

The offense tried these plays in their final drill, with the throwback to Barber off the T.O. I-formation look working for an effective gain on Romo’s next-to-last series.

On the final series of the day, Brad Johnson and Jason Garrett called three consecutive plays for Jones, and they hinted at the explosiveness the rookie can add.  On the first series play, Jones caught a throwback screen after the fake reverse to Owens and took the ball far upfield.

On the next play, he ran a draw left and slithered back towards the right for a healthy gain.

On Felix’ final play he again lined up as the lone back and ran a wheel route up the left sideline.  Felix got far behind his linebacker and caught what would have been a touchdown in a real game.

We likely won’t see these plays until the regular season, but we can see Jones’ raw skills on display Saturday against the Chargers.

Get your popcorn ready…

Cowboys Camp Brunch - August 5th

While you wait for this afternoon’s practice, listen to two Cowboys discuss Jerry Jones’ relationship with his players. First, hear Calvin Hill discuss Jerry’s compassion, for stars and non-stars alike. Next, listen to camp cut-up Tank Johnson describe the second chance the Cowboys have given him.

Amping Up: Cowboys Late Report, August 4th

After two practices in shorts and shirt the Cowboys looked ready for some hitting this afternoon, working out in shorts and shoulder pads.

The defense set its practice tempo by practicing its interception return drill for three reps. When the defensive backs and linebackers broke into their positional drills, each began by practicing catching the football. Dave Campo told his charges, “I want to see you catch every ball!” The defense works on creating turnovers every day, either practicing stipping the ball, intercepting it or both.

After further positional drills the receivers and corners squared off in one-on-one drills while the the rest of the offense went 9-on-9. I focused on the larger scrum and compiled these notes:

– Tank Johnson blew up several inside runs, getting steady penetration into the backfield. He’s a bit streaky but can be very disruptive when he gets rolling.

– Bobby Carpenter was Johnson’s parter in crime on a couple of runs, stopping inside blasts cold.

– The Cowboys tight ends did a job sealing the perimeter. Both Felix Jones and Tashard Choice turned the corner with regularity.

– Choice shows great bounce to the outside, beating linebackers and safeties to the perimeter after starting his runs inside.

– Deon Anderson had the best sounding block, hitting Anthony Spencer and producing a heavy “thwack.” Batman and Robin would have been proud.

The team then held a field goal drill. Nick Folk made all but one of eight attempts by my count.

The team then held its first 11-on-11 and Tony Romo was sharp again, hitting 5 of 7 passes, many on three step drops. He floated a perfect fade down the left sideline into Miles Austin’s hands. Anthony Henry had near-perfect coverage but was helpless to prevent Romo’s perfect throw, which was in Austin’s hands before Henry even knew it was coming.

Brad Johnson took his turn and also beat heavy blitzing, finding Martellus Bennett on a hot route and Austin on a stop route, where Austin survived a Mike Jenkins‘ necktie tackle.

Johnson finished his sequence with a deep-in to Terrell Owens, who snuck into the rotation with the second team.

Richard Bartel then finished the drill, completing a deep seam to Jason Witten and a deep in to Isaiah Stanback. Both passes were in front of Roy Williams, who seemed to concede too big a cushion.

The backs and receivers then held a second one-on-one drill while the offensive and defensive linemen went two-versus-two in a twist drill. The starters held their own against the starters, though the backups also had their moments. Doug Free rode Demarcus Ware into the pile when the veteran tried crashing inside.

The offense then worked on running its two minute offense the length of the field against the starting defense, reprising the ending drill from this morning’s practice. Martellus Bennett capped the first team’s sequence with a TD catch between Zach Thomas and Bradie James, who pinballed the rookie. Roy Williams topped the defense’s play with a ferocious stop of a Alonzo Coleman toss play from the two. (The ball was placed according to a pre-determined script, not according to the performance of the previous play.)

Notes: Courtney Brown got lots of reps with the first and second units today. He also worked with the first team nickel, teaming with Ken Hamlin.

The kindly lion Tank Johnson stooped to move a snail outside the practice fence, so his teammates would not trample it during their drills.

Specializing In Special Teams: Cowboys Early Report, August 4th

The Cowboys continued their preparations in shorts and shirts this morning, bypassing hitting and stressing game speed, coordination and substitutions. There were lots of 11-on-11 drills, but no tackling.

On offense, the team worked on moving out of its own red zone, with Tony Romo and Brad Johnson leading drives that started inside the two. The team also worked on sequencing scripted plays; a chain crew was on the sideline for every series and the players were advised to know the down and distance every time they stepped onto the field.

It’s a bit difficult to discuss coverage, or one-on-one matchups when the defense was advised not to intercept any passes, but I can add these points from the practice:

– the Marcus Spears/Jay Ratliff rotation continues, with Ratliff back at DE and Spears at NT just a day after they had practiced back at their original positions.

– The defense had a mix of zone blitzes and press coverage packages in their half of the practice today. I don’t know how this will translate into games but the mix looked about 50/50 in the drills.

– If you’ve worried about Terence Newman, stop. He’s doing agility drills with a large bungee cable, which lets a trainer create resistance. He’s also running long, slow sprints at about half speed. I also saw him tossing the ball with a staffer and he turned and caught the ball with ease. His groin strain may have been “significant” but so is the pace of his recovery.

– James Marten is working up and down the line. I saw him take several reps at left tackle today.

– the kickoff return unit pairs this morning:

• Miles Austin and Isaiah Stanback;
• Danny Amendola and Felix Jones;
• Adam Jones and Mike Jenkins.

I spoke to special teams coach Bruce Read today about his special teams leaders and the improved options in the return game. You can hear his responses below:

Pre-Breakfast Snack, Cowboys Camp, August 4th

Terence Newman loped across the practice field after the Cowboys’ practice Sunday, dressed in warmups. He smiled and moved easily. Granted, he was not trying to cut but moving forward did not seem to trouble him.  I’d make a bullish estimate on his return.

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