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Do the Cowboys Need a Receiver? I Think They Do — Updated with Roy Williams News

Any veteran receiver.

We’ve been down the Roy Williams/Anquan Boldin/Chad Johnson road before. My opinion has not changed. If they can be had for a decent trade price and accept Terry Glenn money, fine. Otherwise, no. You don’t lose your mind.

My question is more modest. Might the Cowboys pursue *any* decent veteran? Might they call a team like the Rams and see what Torry Holt costs? Could an Isaac Bruce be pried from the 49ers?

I’m asking because Sam Hurd’s injury gives leaves Dallas with four receivers, and Isaiah Stanback has a trick shoulder. Mike Jefferson is on suspension, and may be done as a Cowboy.

The Cowboys need another dependable body, with emphasis on dependable, and I’m not horribly picky right now.

Update: Lions HC Rod Marinelli said today the team told WR Roy Williams they were not interested in trading him.

Matt Maiocco of the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, one of the best beat guys around, wrote in his blog today that the Lions contacted the 49ers about Williams:

The 49ers do not appear interested in making any trades, especially for a receiver. The Lions contacted them to gauge interest in Roy Williams. The 49ers were not interested. Williams was not known for putting in a lot of time to learn Martz’s system.

They’re shopping him folks.  The Lions may still be asking too much for him, but they’ll swap Roy Williams if they get their price.

Update II: The Eagles and the Giants are both pursuing Chiefs’ TE Tony Gonzalez, according to this story.

Stanback Gets His Pearson Moment

“…nobody cares if you’re an undrafted free agent or a first rounder, if you’re on the roster you need to go out there and make plays.

When my turn came with the Dallas Cowboys my rookie year [1973] the two guys ahead of me — I was the third stringer at the flanker position — in consecutive weekends Otto Stowe and Mike Montgomery, the two guys ahead of me got hurt. And I’m the only one left. And I’m on the roster. Coach [Tom] Landry didn’t ask me, ‘can you do it?’ He expected me to do it ’cause I was on the roster.

If I step up up into that spot, I’m expected to step up and make plays, and my teammates expect to count on me. They didn’t care if I was an undrafted free agent from Tulsa weighing 165 to 170 pounds, they didn’t care. They said, ‘hey, he made this team and we need him now and we expect him to step up.’

And that’s the same situation with these guys [Sam Hurd, Miles Austin and Isaiah Stanback]. They’re on the roster and that gives me confidence that the people looking at them everyday in practice and in meetings and in everything they do say, ‘hey, they’re good enough to be on this roster,’ then I say, “hey, they should be good enough to throw them the ball and get some production from them…”

– Drew Pearson, in an interview on The Sports Doctors, August 5th, 2008, on whether the backup WRs can support Terrell Owens and Jason Witten.

At camp, Isaiah Stanback was looking for every opportunity to get on the field, be it as a returner, on the edge of the wedge and as a receiver. He has put off surgery on his injured shoulder because he didn’t want to lose a second season to injury. I spoke with a source an hour ago who said Stanback practiced this afternoon and “looked fine.” He’s going to be the third receiver in Cleveland this Sunday.

In the last two weeks the two guys ahead of him in the Cowboys receiving totem, Miles Austin and Sam Hurd, have gone down with injuries. Nobody knows if he’s got anything resembling Drew Pearson’s game but Stanback has Pearson’s attitude, and that’s a start.

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…

Understudy Sunday: Cowboys Camp Report, August 3rd

The team rested veterans Zach Thomas, Terrell Owens and Jason Witten for today’s practice, giving youngsters Kevin Burnett, Sam Hurd and Martellus Bennett an opportunity to make plays into the 11-on-11 drills. They all responded, with Burnett showing saavy at his inside linebacker spot. Hurd and Bennett got open in the full scrimmages and caught every pass thrown their way save one.

For Hurd, it was a strong bounce back from Friday’s one-on-ones, where he had trouble beating hard press coverage.

Bennett showed that he could fulfill John Garrett’s claim that he would be ready for the regular season. He got open short and deep, getting great separation and displaying great acceleration upfield when the secures the ball. It seems he can be as good as he wants to be. Barring injury, the question is the length of his learning curve.

Pre-scrimmage

– Anything to get better: Bobby Carpenter spent time with the backup wide receivers catching passes from the ball machine.

– In the positional drills, Jay Ratliff was back with the nose tackles and Marcus Spears was working again with the defensive ends.

Early Scrimmage Notes:

Tony Romo was red hot when he worked the first team offense, going six-for-six in his initial sequence despite some heavy pressure on some plays. Don’t take this as a new development. Romo has made quick decisions all throughout camp and seems to be getting faster in his decision making. The defense can pressure him, but cannot get sacks.

The best play of the series came when Romo threw a stop fade up the left sideline to Sam Hurd, who shoved both heels just in bounds and made a slow-motion fall while snatching Romo’s pass. Adam Jones was helpless to stop it.

Brad Johnson took over and had a mixed set of plays. He faced more pressure, as his protection was not as solid as Romo’s, and he had a slant dropped by Miles Austin.

Tashard Choice stood out on one play where he stepped up to blunt a Justin Rogers’ blitz, giving Johnson time to get his pass away.

Romo returned and made the type of throw you expect from a multi-year vet. Romo floated left in the pocket, away from right –side pressure and spotted Miles Austin running a go route against Evan Oglesby up the left side. Romo threw the ball wide and short; Austin spotted the ball and stepped into the shallow corner of the end zone to make the touchdown catch. Austin and Romo showed great intuition on the improvised throw.

The team then broke for a kickoff coverage drill, with emphasis on the breaking up the wedge and herding the returner into a center-of-the-field scrum.

The team returned to 11-on-11s, practicing red zone plays. The offense started with the ball at the nine and moved the ball regularly, as Romo remained hot. He completed three of four in the drill, including one to Bennett that would have gone for a score were the action live.

Johnson worked with the second unit and was also successful, running a TD draw to Tashard Choice, finding Bennett on a short route towards the left sideline. On the next play, Johnson looked off the safeties and hit Patrick Crayton beneath the post for a score.

After another special-teams drill , the WRs, RBs, TEs and QBs went 7-on-7 against the linebackers and D-backs while the offensive and defensive lines went 1-on-1 in a pass rushing drill. Some motifs from that drill:

– Erik Walden keeps getting inside pressure by starting upfield and then exploding inside. He got Doug Free this time.

– Flozell Adams remains the rock, stopping Demarcus Ware the three times they faced off.

– Andre Gurode blunted very inside rusher he faced. He’s also ready to go.

– Leonard Davis is solid in his pass protecting, though he again was bent backwards by a stiff two-handed Jay Ratliff punchout.

– Marc Colombo grabbed a jersey on one play but also looked steady on his edge.

The team ended the day with an 11-on-11 drill that worked on plays in the mid-field area. Dallas ran several packages that lined up Martellus Bennett wide, though the ball usually went elsewhere. Bennett attracted a linebacker in coverage each time. He’s got the speed to beat linebackers.

Hurd again caught a couple of passes, both against Oglesby, who had a bad day at the office after several consecutive good ones.

The “oooooooh” play came when Dallas ran a flea-flicker, with Marion Barber taking a handoff and tossing back to Romo. Adam Jones bit on the fake and Patrick Crayton ran a deep out behind him for a huge gain.

Notes:

Your throat-tightening moment of the day came in the final drill when Gurode and Jay Ratliff got tangled up on a pass play. Both lay face down on the ground for a while, neither moving. Then, Ratliff got up and Gurode slowly got up. Ratliff walked without distress to the defensive group on the far sideline. Gurode flexed his knee a few times and then went on with the drill. He didn’t miss a single play.

Cowboys Camp — August 2nd

The Cowboys are having their first run of consecutive two-a-days. Since both of yesterday’s workouts were in shorts and today’s early workout is also in shorts, they can handle the increase in time. I, on the other hand, am sitting out the morning session with a sore brain, but will be back in the lineup for the afternoon session.

Here are some notes and quotes from yesterday’s workout.

Getting off the Bubble

Yesterday, I profiled eleven guys I list as bubble boys, players who are fighting for the last half dozen or so spots on the roster. The key is making yourself impossible to cut. And yesterday, Evan Oglesby contined his push to make himself uncuttable. He tracked Mike Jefferson in the one-on-one drills and made an interception of a bobble pass.

Later, in the 11-on-11 two minute drills he picked off Tony Romo, cutting under Sam Hurd. Oglesby has had several big days the first week, and may push for time in the regular nickel if he’s not careful.

Flo is Ready to Go

The theme for week one is the sharpness of the offense. I’ve remarked throughout the week that Terrell Owens has been unstoppable. He and Romo are in sync. Same with Jason Witten. If the Cowboys were a college team and the Chargers game actually counted in the standing, the team, especially the offense, would be ready to handle it. The starting eleven is already set and the only question is whether Sam Hurd or Miles Austin will be the third receiver or whether they will rotate there.

Another veteran in mid-season form is Flozell Adams. Players can sometimes up their playing levels during their contract years and then drop back into a confort zone when they get their money. Not so with Adams, who is keeping everybody away from his quarterback. He’s made Demarcus Ware look ordinary when the two have squared off, and they do so a lot.

Jerry Jones told the press yesterday that Flozell’s brought him peace of mind. Jerry also expressed gratitude that Flozell stayed off the market, adding that losing Flozell would have moved Leonard Davis to left tackle and disrupted the offensive line’s continuity.

Can The Kids Keep Tony Upright?

Running backs coach Skip Peete told me he has confidence in rookie Felix Jones and Tashard Choice as blockers, saying they’re tough and tenacious. He mentioned that the coaches would have more drills isolating the backs and linebackers in the coming days but warned that such drills can be misleading.

Your Antacid Moment

Lest you get too giddy about the ‘08 Cowboys, here’s something to give you pause.

Jerry Jones mentioned yesterday that the team’s scouts had concluded their self-evaluations of the team’s strengths and weaknesses, based only on the accumulated Oxnard practices. If there’s a major question mark it remains the third receiver spot. Sam Hurd had a very productive opening to camp but yesterday he had trouble with all of the team’s top corners. Adam Jones, Anthony Henry and Evan Oglesby all smothered him in the one-on-ones. This merits further attention. Terrell Owens is money and Patrick Cratyon gets open, though he dropped two passes today. Hurd and Miles Austin are still question marks to my eyes.

Dallas Is Not On the Schedule: Cowboys Camp Afternoon Report, August 1st

The ghost of Bum Phillips descended on Oxnard today, and Bum is still very much alive.

When he coached the Oilers in the ‘70s, Phillips the elder was often questioned by the Houston media for holding training camps which were very light on hitting.

“Houston is not on our schedule,” was always Bum’s reply.

Wade Phillips seems to be applying his daddy’s philosophy. Just one day after telling the media that the next few practices would be some of the most important of the summer, the Cowboys emerged in shorts for both morning and afternoon workouts.

That does not mean the mental intensity of the workouts diminished but it’s probably not what most fans and press members had in mind.

The afternoon session resembled a mini-camp, with the emphasis on technique and on learning assignments in each package. The session continued themes the team began to explore earlier in the week – red zone play; kickoff coverage and returns and the hurry-up offense were again practiced, in stripped down 1-on-1 WR-on-CB drills and in 11-on-11 sessions later. Here are some notes from the various sub-sessions.

1-on-1s:

• T.O. beats everybody – still. Repeat after me – T.O. beats everybody. He’s still unstoppable, but Adam Jones is slowly eating away at T.O.’s margin for error. Jones jockeyed for every matchup he could obtain with Owens, but Owens keeps on winning. Owens ran a stop-and-go route on the first matchup and got a step behind Jones. The corner once known as Pacman rushed to recover but could never make up the step. Owens caught a perfect Tony Romo pass in stride and made the score.In their last matchup, Jones blanked Owens but the receiver caught the pass on an out and up, route. Jones had a chance to bat the ball down but it got past his outstretched hand. Owens laughed at Jones, patted him on the shoulder and said, “I like that work, baby. I like that work.”
• Adam Jones beats everybody not named T.O. He blanked Sam Hurd on a couple of passes.
• Mike Jenkins looked like a rookie today. He didn’t give up any deep passes, but gave up deep ins, out routes and was kept off-balance all drill by various receives. These are the rookie growing pains.
• Sam Hurd had a tough drill. The corners seemed to dial him in. Jones gave him fits and Anthony Henry cut underneath him to make a pick.
• Anthony Henry can cover anything from the numbers out but any deep in route gets him.
• Evan Oglesby was flagged by a referee covering the drill. The officials are available to the corners to discuss the rules interpretations and the corners asked a lot of questions, learning what was permissible and what won’t be this year.
• Mike Jefferson earned Ray Sherman’s ire after Oglesby outfought him for a deep pass. “Stack him, Mike! Stack him!” Sherman yelled this three times at his rookie and gave him a withering stare.
• Isaiah Stanback shows the best deep speed besides T.O. He got behind Orlando Scandrick for one catch but bobbled another pass after beating his man.

11—on—11 notes:–

• Patrick Crayton ran a reverse at the beginning of the next to last drill and Jay Ratliff, playing at LE, was waiting for him.
• Marcus Spears blew up a Marion Barber draw one play later, getting into the backfield.
• Dallas ran several effective tight end screens the last couple of days. Today, Andre Gurode got to the perimeter to lead a Jason Witten screen.
• Bobby Carpenter was again around the ball on passes into his area. He’s making all the calls for the second unit.
• T.O. ended this phase of practice by catching a post on Mike Jenkins for a TD. Any questions?

Other Notes:

– Sports Celebrity watch: Michael Strahan was on the sidelines today, as was CNNSI’s Peter King.

– Dallas ended its practice with several two minute drills. Evan Oglesby had his defensive mates cheering when he picked off Tony Romo on the second play of the 1^st offense’s first series.

– Danny Amendola is making strides as a receiver, but he needs to add some special teams skills to his resume in order to win one of the last spots on the team.  He was working as a gunner on punt coverage teams today.

Cool, but Hot — Cowboys Camp Report, July 28th

The famed Oxnard weather finally appeared Monday morning with overcast skies, cool ocean breezes and temperatures in the 70s. The atmosphere was perfect for practicing football and the Cowboys took advantage, drilling fundamentals, special teams and working a lot more 9-on-9 running drills and 11-on-11 open drills.

Fundamentals are a constant at every Wade Phillips practice. Today, for instance, the quarterbacks, tight ends, fullbacks and running backs spent a lot of time working on proper spacing on running plays. The staff rolled out long blue and yellow strips, marking off the camps on the line of scrimmage and the backfield units worked on running their plays through their designed gaps.

Across field, Hudson Houck worked his guys on running the same running plays against different defensive fronts, so his blockers knew precisely who they should block, regardless of the scheme they face.

In individual drills the tackles continued to practice beating spin moves. Erik Williams showed his group how to slide laterally and not lunge, which would give his opposing lineman a free shot into the backfield.

The teams then worked up to a 9-on-9 running drills. There were good plays by both offense and defense but the offense got the better of most plays. Their run blocking looks better than this point last year.

The team then alternated kickoff coverage and return drills between two 11-on-11 anything goes sessons. Observations from those sessions are below.

Notes:

Terence Newman missed the practice with a leg injury. Dave Campo told me after practice that he’s not sure whether Newman injured an ankle or a groin. Nor was he sure of the severity, leaving all questions for the training staff. I’m sure we’ll all learn more at Wade Phillips’ afternoon presser.

Mike Jenkins got the majority of the reps with the first team and Campo said his play made a quantum leap from yesterday’s session, which was Jenkins’ first. When asked why Adam Jones didn’t get the reps, Campo said simply that Jones has yet to be re-instated and he does not want to give him first team play until he’s sure the former Pacman can play.

Erik Walden is running with the second unit at weakside outside linebacker, behind Demarcus Ware. He showed a burst in yesterday’s session but was stonewalled by Flozell Adams and Doug Free in the 11-on-11s today. That’s typical. New players will have a good practice and follow it up with a so-so performance.

Jenkins’s time with the first unit gave Alan Ball a lot of reps at corner on the second unit, opposite Adam Jones.

Brad Johnson continues to look for Mike Jefferson.

Johnson also threw a lot of deep balls in the 11-on-11s. Don’t get carried away thinking he’s found the fountain of youth. One was broken up and another was picked.

Zack Knows – The defense faced a shotgun formation while in its base. Zach Thomas yelled “watch for the draw” and then stepped up to stop Marion Barber when the offense in fact ran the draw. It’s hard to fool the old vet.

The defense sees Terrell Owens everywhere. On one play Owens and Sam Hurd lined up in a slot formation, with T.O. inside. When he released upfield both corners on that side hesitated, wondering whether he should take the receiver. A safety rotated over the top. While all three DBs were tracking Owens, Felix Jones ran untouched around end to their side of the field. Owens laughed at the trio when he loped back to the huddle.

Tank Johnson continues to show an inside burst. We know Jay Ratliff can be what Bradie James terms a “hybrid” nose tackle, in that he can rush as well as stopping the run. If Johnson can make a contribution, and it appears he can, the Cowboys rush gets that much stronger.

Dallas continues to sprinkle zone blitzes into liberal doses of man-to-man coverage.

The defense blitzed their Mike inside backers a lot today and Bradie James and Bobby Carpenter broke through cleanly numerous times. The result was several Tony Romo incompletions.

T.O. has been Mr. Sizzle for the passing game thus far. Jason Witten is Mr. Reliable. Romo could hit him on deep ins and outs whenever he needed a play. He’s another veteran who could start the season this Sunday.

Bobby Carpenter got a lot of love from his position coaches today. He had his assignments down and was cursing when he mistimed a leap and therefore missed a sure interception.

Dallas practiced a play where the tight end , linemen and fullback all block to the strong side while the tailback takes a pitchout naked around the weakside end. The play broke for a huge gain when it was run in the 11-on-11s.

The Cowboys are not scaling back their running play list. They have more traps and toss plays than ever.

Evan Oglesby had two breakups at right corner.

It’s Alumni Week. First, Dave Campo and Hudson Houck return. Then, Duane Thomas and Calvin Hill stop by. Erik Williams pops in on a coaching fellowship and today Michael Irvin and Nate Newton are about, Irvin hosting for ESPN Radio in Dallas.

Note: I will not be covering this afternoon’s session, which will focus on special teams. The next report will come mid-day tomorrow.

T.O. Beats Everybody: Dallas Cowboys Camp Report: July 27th

Your line for the day: T.O. beats everybody.

Repeat after me: Terrell Owens beats everybody.

Owens put on a scintillating show for HBO and the crowd, schooling every defensive back who tried to cover him. Adam Jones was on the down end of the day’s signature play; in a one-on-one drill, Owens rotated into a matchup with Jones. Richard Bartel was under center but with the desired matchup up for the first time today, Tony Romo was waved into the spot. Jones locked on to Owens for five yards but T.O. exploded away when he added the second half to the out-an-up. He was five yards in the clear when he gathered in Romo’s deep pass.

It’s always a question when a receiver is running free whether the receiver is really that good or the secondary is suspect. I remember watching Terry Glenn do the same thing to Terence Newman and Anthony Henry back in ’05 and it was the set up to a big season.

The corners are good. They knock down bad passes and they take some good ones away too. Owens is simply playing at a different level at the moment.

Say it with me…

The day began with the setup for kickoff return and coverage units. On the far field Bruce Read set up his first and second units, which lined up as follows:

First unit:

• First line: Pat Watkins, Bobby Carpenter, Justin Rogers, Martellus Bennett, Kevin Burnett
• Wedge: Tony Curtis, Cory Proctor, Pat McQuistan, Anthony Spencer
• Returners: Miles Austin, Sam Hurd

Second Unit:

• First line: Tashard Choice, Darrell Robertson, Mark Bradford, Erik Walden, Dowayne Davis
• Wedge: Julius Crosslin, Stephen Bowen, Jason Hatcher, Ronnie Cruz
• Returners: Orlando Scandrick, Mike Jenkins

You probably wondering where Adam Jones, Felix Jones and Isaiah Stanback were?

Adam was on the short field, where a large group of returners was taking turns fielding punts, including Patrick Crayton, Terence Newman, Anthony Henry, Danny Amendola and Quincy Butler.

When the team broke into units the receivers worked on catching passes at their highest point on fade routes and making one-handed catches.

The quarterbacks and running backs started with the most basic of skills, perfecting the spacing on a handoff. Across the short field, Hudson Houck and his guys worked on combination blocking in the middle and on the edge of the line. Houck worked with the interior linemen and had coaching fellow Erik Williams working with the offensive tackles.

On the back field, Todd Grantham and his guys worked on proper footwork on stunts and on proper hand usage on rushes.

Across the defensive field Dave Campo ran the secondary through defending stack or “bunch” formations, stressing communication, switching and proper spacing when receivers criss-crossed.

The offense and defense then worked together, with the receivers going one-on-one against the corners and the offense going 9-on-9 against the defense. Following both produced a mild headache but here’s what I gleaned:

Adam Jones can blanket receivers. He nevertheless had a frustrating session as Sam Hurd, Patrick Crayton and T.O. caught passes in front of and behind him.

That’s because Crayton and Hurd are running very precise routes. Hurd has been very impressive the last couple of days at getting separation. He told me yesterday he’s gunning for a starting spot and he’ll definitely get more playing time if he keeps playing this way.

Same as it ever was with Anthony Henry. Guys seem ready to blow past him and eat up his cushion with ease, but he stays with his man up the field and makes up ground when the ball is in the air. He recovered and stole the ball from Hurd on a deep route early in the drill. Guys can get away from him on deep ins, but receivers have always been able to do this.

Isaiah Stanback can beat jams and get up the field but the two deep throws I saw in his direction were thrown out of bounds. Give him an incomplete for the day.

Meanwhile, the offensive line got the better of the defense on most of the running plays. Felix Jones and Tashard Choice made impressive gains in the session going inside and outside. Marc Colombo has showed some good drive on plays to the right, while the interior trio of Kosier, Gurode and Davis created lots of lanes for the backs.

Jones’ speed is as good as advertised, but I think the fans will be pleasantly surprised by Choice’s explosiveness. He’s decisive and is quick through the hole.

On the defensive side, Anthony Spencer stopped everything to his side. He started to get reps more late in the season for his run stopping ability and he looks like he’s still improving.

In the next session the team went back to kickoff returns, with John Garrett and Bruce Read splitting the duties. Garrett worked with the up men, drilling them on getting the proper drops back towards the wedge and then turning, finding their targets, engaging and maintaining blocks to the whistle.

Read meanwhile worked with the wedge players. After a few minutes both halves of the unit worked together. Here, Stanback and both Jones took turns as returners: one return pair consisted of Miles Austin and Felix Jones and a second had Adam Jones and Sam Hurd. It appears that Read may have an abundance of return men this year. Austin was effective last year after replacing Tyson Thompson and Dallas now has three other returners who may be as good or better.

The team again split up with the tight ends and receivers going 7-on-7 on one half of the field while the offensive and defensive linemen staged their 1-on-1 on the other half.

I spent most of my time watching the linemen but caught these tasty crumbs:

First, Dallas unveiled its two tailback set, with Felix Jones and Marion Barber lining up in the backfield together. Felix motioned into the flanker spot and ran a go route. He got wide open and Tony Romo found him.

Next, Martellus Bennett drew his first cheers of the camp, catching a deep seam route.

The lineman drill showed the relative skills of veterans and the rookies, as the kids could beat other kids but had a lot more trouble dealing with the vets.

Rookie Erik Walden showed an impressive burst on an inside counter move that left Doug Free grasping for air. He found no such room on his next rotation when he went after Flozell Adams, who was his steady self, keeping everybody, including Demarcus Ware, away from his quarterback.

Jay Ratliff is getting a lot of reps at both end and nose tackle. He zipped past Leonard Davis on one play but had trouble with Colombo when he tried going wide. Colombo handled all comers his way.

Tank Johnson shows some explosiveness, in the drills and in the 1-on-1s. He got the better of Andre Gurode on one play but was stacked up by Kyle Kosier on another. Kosier was another mister steady.

It’s one step back and one step up for James Marten, who is trying to make it as a guard. He was pushed deep into the pocket on one rotation but fought back on his next chances.

The practice ended with a full 11-on-11 drill, that I’ll term a stalemate. The offense made some plays while the defense stopped others. Newman blanketed Crayton out of the slot and picked off a pass. Felix Jones took a stretch play for a long gain up the left side, showing impressive speed around the corner.

A likely immaterial drill note:

Backup QB Brad Johnson is doing his best to give UFA Mike Jefferson a chance to make the squad. Johnson threw almost all of his downfield passes Jefferson’s way. The rookie make a couple of sliding catches but also dropped a few. He’s still a long shot from where I’m sitting.

Seeing Stars — Afternoon Report, July 26th

After their intense full pads morning workout the Cowboys scaled back to helmets, shoulder pads and shorts for their afternoon session. The practice focused on special teams, fun and caution.

After the extended stretching session that opens every practice the team broke into individual units, who also spent a lot of time working on stretches, all targeting the hamstrings and other leg muscles which can so often pull after intense exertion.

Bruce Read’s guys again worked on punt coverage and blocking on the far field.

Later in the practice the teams worked on punt returns, with Adam Jones and Terence Newman alternating as returner. Jones showed the breathtaking shake that made him such a return weapon in ’05 and ’06. The man can change direction multiple times at high speed. That warp drive lateral movement recalls Deion Sanders, who had the same ability to lose the first gunner up the field.

The offensive and defensive lines squared off in man-on-man drills, which drew lots of ooohs from the crowd, especially when Jason Hatcher poleaxed Leonard Davis. Hatcher’s teammates were jumping up and down after Bigg Leonard got his comeuppance.

The team engaged in 7-on-7 drills but I was occupied on the far field interviewing one of the great Cowboys personalities. Duane Thomas appeared at today’s practice, honored for scoring the first touchdown at Texas Stadium. Thomas stood with Calvin Hill, Larry Lacewell and team announcer Brad Sham recalling the glory years of ’70 and ’71 when the team made its first two Super Bowl appearances and won its first title.

Thomas agreed to take questions and held court for more than half an hour, discussing psychology, the relationship of theology and football, personal development and how he viewed playing football as art, among other topics. I’ll give a much fuller write-up on his comments later, since trying to encapsulate them here could not do them justice.

Other tid bits:

I spoke to much of the Cowboys’ receiving corps today. Terrell Owens, Partrick Crayton, Sam Hurd and Isaiah Stanback all shared their thoughts, along with WR coach Ray Sherman. The unit is tight and they believe they can carry on despite Terry Glenn’s departure. They all noted that the receivers – and the offense – were were all very successful last year and feel they can continue to improve.

Coach Sherman and the other receivers were all complimentary of Stanbach. Hurd and Crayton depict him as a player on the cusp, who has the skills to stretch a defense if he can take the next step in his learning curve.

More on this later.

Note: Keyshawn Johnson also spent some time on the sidelines, adding to the Cowboys Alumni star power.

Building Blocks — Camp Report, Morning, July 26th

The morning was surprising hot and so was the pace of the Cowboys first practice in full pads. The structure of the practice showed the emphasis on building units upon sound fundamentals.

Perhaps the best way to understand the work underway is to compare it to the structure and pace of Bill Parcells’ Oxnard camps, since this is the first session here for Wade Phillips.

The first and most noticeable difference is in tone. Camp Bill was fast paced and intense. It also had the shadow of paranoia about it. A high school coach who was spotted charting plays one year was brought before The Tuna by security and interrogated. The electronic press had their video access limited in year one.

And the practices were hard to view for the fans. There are two fields at Oxnard, one near the fans stands and another set behind it. Parcells always kept his offensive players on the far field and at the left end, where they were hardest to view.

Camp Wade, by comparison is an open city. The offense works out right in front of the fan stands, giving them what they want – the maximum chances to ooh and aah over a Tony Romo pass and a T.O. or Jason Witten catch.

Security is still tight – two bragged to me this morning of spotting and evicting a “reporter” with a counterfeit press pass, but everything sits in plain sight. HBO has brought “Hard Knocks” here, after all, and their cameras are everywhere, on the sidelines and in the bleachers. Players linger much longer after practice, working in small groups and signing autographs. At Camp Wade, openness and progress are not seen as enemies.

With that atmosphere surrounding them, the players jumped immediately into work. On defense, the initial drills emphasized chaos – for opposing offenses. Each position coach took a unit and stressed stripping the football, handing the football properly after an interception or fumble recovery and knocking down passes. After two minutes, the groups rotated to the next station, where they learned another way of disrupting an offense.

At this point, the offensive and defensive units returned to their respective coaches and worked from individual drills to unit drills. For instance, the quarterbacks and receivers worked together on routes and route combinations, with nobody opposing them. Then, the tight ends and running backs were summoned from the far end of the field, where those units were working with the offensive linemen on run blocking.

The QBs, RBs, TEs and WRs, then worked on integrated patterns. Later, they joined with their linemen and squared off against the defense.

The initial pairing saw the offensive and defense square off on running plays. The group then broke up and special teams coach Bruce Read took over, working today on punt coverage. He, like his coaching peers, broke the act down into discrete units: gunners worked in units on their releases, while the core group worked on blocking inside charges. The units later merged and worked on covering together.

Later, the team returned to 11 on 11 drills, with new units being run in on every play. The result was hard to track. The first offensive line, for example, would stay in for several plays while a new QB, RB, TE and WR set would enter on each play. The constant churn made it hard to get a feel for who looks good and who looks bad, since players didn’t have extended runs today. Nonetheless, here are some observations of scattered plays:

Sam Hurd’s route running looks very crisp. He got consistent separation on all CBs I saw in 1-on-1 drills and turned Terence Newman around on a comeback route.

Terrell Owens could start the season now. He torched Newman on a deep fade where T.O. started in the slot. He left Adam Jones in his wake a couple of times. I’ve watched enough camps now to get a feel for whether a player is doing well or the corners are stumbling. It’s only day two, and day one in pads, but don’t worry about T.O. slowing down.

– WR coach Ray Sherman and WRs Sam Hurd and Patrick Crayton all commented on Isaiah Stanback’s deep speed. He got behind Adam Jones with ease on a fly pattern but could not snatch a pass that was short and outside. He lined up exclusively as the flanker this morning.

– Anthony Spencer can’t be blocked by running backs or fullbacks on blitzes, at least not the ones I saw try to block him today.

– The defensive line, or at least the first unit, got the better of the offensive line in the 11-on-11 drills, which is no surprise on day two. The rushers put steady pressure on Tony Romo and Jason Hatcher batted down one of his passes.

Dallas is practicing a lot more press coverage. On one play the offense lined up in a slot formation and Anthony Henry and Terence Newman both took a man, lining up just two to three yards off the ball. Newman told me he has asked DC Brian Stewart to let the defense play more press. “I know they want to zone blitz, that’s what [Stuart and Phillips] did in San Diego, but with the players we have here, I think you have to let them play to their abilities.” Based on this morning’s work, the defensive coaches may have paid attention.

Other Notes:

– Felix Jones was not at the morning practice, but is expected to play this afternoon.

– Terence Newman and Adam Jones alternated returning punts. I asked Newman if he was going to return more kicks this year and he smiled, shook his head and said, “we’ll see when the first game comes…”

– The special teams punt coverage session was an ensemble production today: While ST coach Read focused on the inside blockers, Dat Nguyen coordinated the rotation of rushers. On the outside, TE coach John Garrett worked with the gunners on their releases.

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