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Your Dallas Cowboys Numbers of the Day

One — mark it down.  Watch it again on your Tivo, cause you saw something exceptional last night.

Marion Barber’s 4th quarter hairball was the first lost fumble of his career.

Six — The Cowboys defense has absorbed six deep drives into its territory, three against the Eagles and three last night, and held the opposition to field goals.  It’s week four.  Adam Jones is still making mental mistakes, but the Cowboys showed no fear last night against the Packers.  Dallas didn’t make any concessions to a team that has a better passing attack than the Browns.

For much of the game the Cowboys played a base 3-4 against the Packers three receiver sets.  Dallas stayed in a front seven to maximize their blitz and their run defense.  The Cowboys sole adjustment was removing the strong safety, adding Adam Jones, moving Terence Newman to the slot and playing with three corners and just one safety.

Aaron Rogers had only one play longer than 20 yards against this package.  That was his first play from scrimmage, when Greg Jennings caught a seven yard slant and pivoted outside away from Anthony Henry for a 25 yard gain.  Mike Jenkins is showing better coverage on the outside each week. (It appears the coaches are making things easy for him and fellow rookie corner Orlando Scandrick.  Jenkins is playing outside on the right exclusively and Scandrick is learning the slot.  With regular slot man Newman healthy, Scandrick isn’t getting so much work right now.)

Nine — The number of sacks the Cowboys have recorded the last two weeks.  They played the top two NFC offenses besides their own and racked up nine sacks.  Add this component to the improving coverage and we’re seeing the steady defensive improvement we saw last season.

But this squad has more tools to work with.

Patience, Grasshoppers. Patience.

Cowboys by the Numbers — The Secondary

Three Eagles receivers — Greg Lewis, Hank Baskett and DeSean Jackson — had 100 yard games against the Rams.  The Cowboys corners shackled Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow.  Something has to give.

Here are the cornerback coverage lines:

player	att.	comp.	yds.	YPA	Def.	drops, yds.	pen.
Anthony Henry	9	2	16	1.8	3	1 (25)	0
Adam Jones	6	2	20	3.3	1	1 (5)	1
Orlando Scandrick	2	1	9	4.5	0	0	0

Those are stellar lines for each corner, though they’re artificially high thanks to Braylon Edward’s butter fingers. He dropped the lone pass where a Cleveland receiver got behind the Cowboys secondary and two in the game.

– Anthony Henry was the top target. The Browns went at him six times in the first quarter alone and nine times during the game. His strong start pushed Rob Chudzinki and Derek Anderson to target other corners. Four passes to Edwards netted zero yards. Henry tackled Edwards on a smoke route for no gain, got a break when Edwards dropped a 25 yard bomb, then broke up a pass and defended a fade in the end zone.

Henry’s yards came when he covered Winslow. The tight end beat Henry on a deep in for 15 yards and Henry left Winslow in the end zone, allowing the Brown to catch a one yard pass for Cleveland’s lone TD.

– Adam Jones got more attention as the game proceeded and did fairly well. That yardage and completion line includes a three yard interference call in the end zone, where he let Edwards cross his face on a square in and tackled the receiver while Anderson’s pass was in the air.

Jones had a breakup and was ready to tackle Edwards on a five yard stop where the receiver dropped the ball. The lone reception came in the 4th quarter, when Jones’ man got behind him on a deep out.

– Orlando Scandrick was sound.  He missed a tackle on an Edwards curl but Zach Thomas cleaned up after a nine yard gain.  He had solid coverage on a fade to Edwards that Anderson tossed too high and out of bounds.

Dallas kept the Cleveland stars under control and the Cowboys corner trio played a big part in that.  I don’t think the Eagles backups — Jackson, Baskett and Lewis are the Eagles’ 3rd, 4th and 5th receivers (Reggie Brown and Kevin Curtis are hurt) — will terrorize the Dallas wideouts.  Tackling will be key.  The Eagles will throw a lot more short passes and I expect them to complete quite a few.  If the Cowboys’ corners wrap up quickly and limit short throws to short gains, they should be okay, whether Terence Newman plays or not.

Cowboys @ Browns Preview, Part One

Why wait?

Opening Sunday is coming and you’re no doubt past due for some real football. Today, we begin by considering the matchups when the Browns offense faces the Dallas defense.

The Browns rocketed to a 10-6 mark last year on the shoulders of their offense. Ranked 12th in yards per game and 8th in points per game, Cleveland overcame a horrible preseason, in which all of its QBs struggled to settle into new OC Rob Chudzinski’s scheme, which he brought from San Diego, where Chudzinski served as Cam Cameron’s understudy.

The Browns appeared headed for a long year when they were drubbed 34-7 by the Steelers in week one. HC Romeo Crennell made what appeared to be a panic move when he benched starter Charlie Frye in the second quarter of the game and replaced him with Derek Anderson.

Crennell was actually making a bold statement, in showing confidence in Anderson’s wide open game. Crennell amplified the move by trading Frye to Seattle the following week, leaving only rookie Brady Quinn as a backup. Anderson and his mates responsed by hanging 51 points on Cincinnati the following week, scoring through the air and on the ground, where RB Jamal Lewis rushed for 216 yards.

The keys to Cleveland’s success were the concurrent breakouts of Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow Jr. Both were top picks, Winslow going 6th overall in 2004 and Edwards going 3rd in 2005. Both missed significant time in ‘05 and ‘06 with knee injuries. Both regained their health in ‘07 and tore up opposing secondaries. They form the core of Cleveland’s passing attack:

Targets	Att.	% of Anderson’s Att.	YPA
Braylon Edwards	147	27	8.8
Kellen Winslow	141	26	7.9
Donte Stallworth, J. Jurivicius	79	15	10.4
total	367	68

(Stallworth played as the 3rd option for New England last year and his attempts from Tom Brady were almost identical to those Joe Jurivicius got from Anderson. Both QBs had very similar attempt totals and given good health for Edwards and Winslow, I see Stallworth filling the same role for the Browns.)

The table shows that Anderson is indeed a down-the-field thrower. More than two thirds of his passes went to his starting receivers and his tight end. He checks down grudgingly, which is one reason why he had the second highest QB bad decision total last year.

As I noted yesterday, Winslow lined up as a receiver on 75% of his plays, far more than any TE in the game.The Browns in effect run a three receiver offense, which suggests Dallas may go to its nickel a lot on early downs in order to match up. Dallas won’t go man-to-man on every down or maybe even on the majority of its downs, as the Cowboys like to zone blitz a lot.

When Dallas does match up, we might see a repeat of the strategy the team employed against New England’s three WR sets last year. In that game Dallas gave safety help to the corner who matched up against Randy Moss and took its chances on Donte Stallworth and Wes Welker. The Cowboys matched up well against the wide outs for three quarters but could not win in the slot, where Welker destroyed Nate Jones.

Terence Newman did not play in that game and his presence Sunday could allow the Cowboys to match up 1 through 3. Newman will likely get Edwards. #2 Anthony Henry, the biggest Cowboys corner at 6′1″, 207, would get the 6′4″ 240 lb. Winslow and Adam Jones will get Stallworth. Jones has improved every game for Dallas but would likely get some safety assistance; he’s a hyper-aggressive CB who tries to jump everything short and he had a lot of trouble in Oxnard and in the early games when he faced fast WRs.

Cleveland could use more three WR sets to try and create better interior matchups for Winslow, but they’ve lost Joe Jurivicius for the season and #4 Joshua Cribbs for the game. They will rely on 4th and 5th WRs Syndric Steptoe and Paul Hubbard. Dallas can emphathize.

Up front, the Cowboys front seven will match up against a Browns line considered one of the best in the NFL. The Cleveland line allowed just 10 sacks last year, according to Scientific Football ’08’s line blocking metrics, lowest in the game. The Browns invested heavily in their line last year, picking LT Joe Thomas 3rd overall in the draft and spending a mint to lure LG Eric Steinbach from Cincinnati. They formed an effective left side of the Browns line.

The line was doubly effective when you consider that Cleveland flexed Winslow off the tackles so much, meaning the Browns backup tight ends and backs were very effective at assisting their linemen.

The Cowboys are a blitzing team that likes to rush five men on most passing downs. They prefer to send both OLBs, Demarcus Ware and Greg Ellis together, in addition to the line. Dallas will probably try this early, to learn if the Browns can handle both of them without assistance. Ware and Ellis combined for 26.5 sacks last year, almost as many as the entire Cleveland team (28 sacks). The Browns have two very good pass blocking tackles, in Thomas and RT Kevin Shaffer. Each gave up only two sacks last year. However, it’s very hard to block two blitzing OLBs with an offensive line without sacrificing interior protection.

And the interior is probably the weakness of Cleveland’s protection. Steinback gave up 3.5 sacks and C Hank Fraley surrendered 2.5, the two highest totals on the line. The Cowboys will likely rotate rushing NTs Jay Ratliff and Tank Johnson at Fraley. Also look for Dallas to fake outside blitzes and try interior stunts and blitzes with SOLB Bradie James. The Browns had a lot of trouble in their preseason games handling interior blitzes and their QBs took a lot of shots. I expect the Cowboys to test the Browns inside and keep testing then until the blitzes don’t work.

Dallas will want to hit Anderson early and test his mettle. He missed the last two Browns games recovering from a concussion he suffered when Osi Umenyiora slammed his head into the Meadowland’s turf. Reports today said the Browns are optimistic Anderson can play. The Cowboys will try to make his afternoon a short one. If the can stay upright, they’re hoping the pressure can produce more bad decisions and several turnovers.

Wednesday: The Cowboys defense versus the Browns running attack.

Three Factoids That May Shape the Cowboys-Browns Bottom Line

1. New DL coach Todd Grantham is already paying dividends, getting Marcus Spears to play far above his Kacey Rogers-era level and getting Tank Johnson into opposing backfields with regularity this preseason.

He may pay another dividend — as a spy. Grantham was Cleveland’s defensive coordinator last year and has as much insight into the Browns defensive capabilities and thinking as anybody in the Cowboys meeting room. I’m guessing he’s spent some time talking to the offensive coaches the last two weeks.

2. We’ve heard since OTAs that the Cowboys are working on nickel and especially dime packages that line up Anthony Henry inside, on opposing tight ends.

You won’t have to wait long to see them. As I pointed out in Thurday’s piece on Jason Witten, the Browns use TE Kellen Winslow Jr. as a wide receiver. He was “flexed” off the line, or lined up as a receiver on 75% of Cleveland’s plays last year, easily the most for any NFL tight end.

Dallas usually slides Terence Newman inside when it plays nickel, but the Browns signed speedster Donte Stallworth this offseason to pair with Braylon Edwards. In effect, they’re running a three-WR base set, with the 6′4″, 250 lb. Winslow as their slot option.

There’s no way Dallas is going to stay in their base and put Roy Williams in coverage against Winslow. The Cowboys may open in their nickel with Henry over the tight end and Newman and Adam Jones lining up over the wideouts.

3. How well would the Cowboys do against their offense? And vice versa? I’ve watched the Browns the last three weeks and notice their packages and offensive plays greatly mirror Dallas’. Cleveland OC Rob Chudzinski and Cowboys OC Jason Garrett are both aggressive play callers with gunslinger QBs who like to throw down the field.

Tony Romo had the third-highest percentage of bad decisions among starting QBs last year. Derek Anderson had the second-highest percentage. The difference is that Romo was more accurate and had a solidly higher YPA and a significantly higher SYPA (success % times YPA). Whichever defense is better able to throw their opposing QB out of his confort zone and press him into more bad decisions will have a huge edge.

4. Bonus crumb — A review of the Vikings video showed Alan Ball making several tackles as a gunner on the punt coverage teams. With Miles Austin and Sam Hurd hurt, Ball bought himself a longer stay with his special special-teams play.

Jones Move to Left Corner Likely a Peek at Regular Season Nickel

Dallas coaches and brass have been very careful not to sound presumptuous about Adam Jones’ status, claiming in every interview I’ve seen this summer that they’re not locking him into their lineup. They’ve been very coy about naming any starters thus far.

However, Wade Phillips’ claim that Jones will start at left corner against the Texans suggests Dallas is tipping its hand on its preferred nickel package for the upcoming season.

Consider:

1. Dallas will likely start the season with Terence Newman at his familiar left corner spot and Anthony Henry at his regular spot on the right.
2. Newman has been sliding inside to play the slot receiver the past few years any time Dallas goes to the nickel package.
3. Jones played left corner at Tennessee.
4. Given the choice, Dallas will use Jones in his old spot rather than going with the rookie Mike Jenkins, who started in Newman’s place against Denver.

It’s time. Phillips said his team had its best practice of the summer Tuesday, in part because the team had a precise game plan. The Cowboys have begun to prepare the team for the rhythm and pace of the season. Hence, the move to Jones.

Watch what they do, not what they say. They’re not going to make any statements to offend Roger Goodell, but they’re not going to enter Cleveland week unprepared either.

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.

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.

The Sports Doctors 07/31 Podcast

For those who missed the show and want to hear the Thursday broadcast, you can listen to it here.

You can also hear the replay on the KSOX ESPN 1240 radio affiliate when the show is not live by clicking on the links to the right.

The Sports Doctors — 07/31/08

Welcome to the July 31^st thread for The Sports Doctors, streamed live from KSOX, ESPN Radio 1240.

Once again, the Doctors will be in at 6 pm ET, 5 pm CT. We’ll go over today’s practice and and have an in-depth discussion about the Cowboys’ secondary. We’ll also have comments from Dave Campo, Terence Newman, Anthony Henry and Ken Hamlin.

And, as always, we’ll take your calls at 888-806-1661.

If you do not feel like calling in, post your questions on this thread. Just post your Name and Town (and country, if not in the United States) and we’ll try to answer them on the air.

To listen live, click on one of the links to the right. If all goes well, we’ll have a replay after the show.

Newman: A “Significant” Groin Injury

Wade Phillips opened his presser today with the news that an MRI on Terence Newman revealed a “significant” groin injury that will keep him out a minimum of three weeks.

Dr. Luis Rios, the medical doctor half of the sports doctors, said, “if this is a normal individual, I’d tell them they were out at least six weeks. But pro athletes are not normal people and with the trainers they can access, I’d say maybe four to six weeks.  I doubt he’ll play in the pre-season, but why does he need to?”

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.

Camp Cowboys: Compare and Contrast, ‘07 vs. ‘08

It’s hard to get a definite read on anything after three days of camp. Hudson Houck laughed when I asked him on Saturday what, if anything he could tell me after one day in pads? “That I still have 22 practices to go,” was his reply.

Still, Cowboys fans hate deferred gratification. Especially after 12 years without a playoff victory. With that in mind, I went back one year to see where the team was at the same stage in their Phillips Over San Antonio ‘07 Tour. This year’s tour is already looking much better. Consider:

– At quarterback, Tony Romo was looking sharp but everybody was wondering if his dropped ball in Seattle would harm his development. Now, he’s trying to stay out of the tabloids. Call this one a wash.

– At running back, Dallas was staying with the status quo, starting Julius Jones and rotating Marion Barber into the lineup. This year, the unit looks faster and deeper. Felix Jones and Tashard Choice have not played pro games yet, but I can already say with confidence that Felix will be a better receiver than Julius and I’ll take Choice already over Tyson Thompson. Score: plus one for the ‘08 squad.

– On the offensive line, the Cowboys were waiting for starters Flozell Adams and Marc Columbo to return from knee scopes. Jim Molinaro and Pat McQuistan were manning the tackle spots. This year, McQuistan is at right tackle and second year man Doug Free is at the left tackle spot. The starting lineup looks set. Score: plus one for the ‘08 squad, based on health and continuity.

– At wide receiver, Terry Glenn was about to drop off the roster with a knee injury, not to return until January. Isaiah Stanback was in a walking boot. This year, Glenn is gone again, perhaps for good. Stanback is playing, though he’s still far from polished. Sam Hurd looks better, but if he’s not displacing Patrick Crayton, he’s risen to his level. That’s a step down from ‘06, when T.O., Glenn and Crayton were the trio, but a minor step up from last year, when Hurd was an unknown. Score: a wash

– At tight end, Jason Witten was a sure thing and Anthony Fasano was the clear backup. Tony Curtis was a promising backup. This year, Curtis is the number two. Martellus Bennett has replaced Fasano, who’s now a Dolphin. He’s a big, talented player, but nobody knows how Bennett will play this year. Score: minus one, because of inexperience.

– On the defensive line, Jason Hatcher’s promising start was wiped out by a hamstring injury. Jason Ferguson was the starting nose tackle. Chris Canty and Marcus Spears were eager to wipe out underachiever labels. This year, Canty and Jay Ratliff are set at RE and NT, after stepping up their respective games last year. Tank Johnson replaces the departed Ferguson. He shows some explosion in drills, but I’ll wait until I see him in some real games before I rate him against Ferguson. Score: plus one for ‘08, because there is far less uncertainty this year.

– At linebacker in ‘07 it was Demarcus Ware and a lot of questions. Greg Ellis was rehabbing a torn Achilles and was grumpy about his contract. Anthony Spencer was an unknown rookie. Inside, Bradie James was claiming his poor ‘06 was due to playing overweight in Bill Parcells’ scheme. Kevin Burnett was an injury prone enigma and Bobby Carpenter had the eau de bust about him.

This year, many experts are touting the Cowboys’ LB corps as the league’s best. Ware and Ellis both had double digit sacks last year. Spencer looked good in a backup role. James bounced back with a steady season. Burnett found a home in the nickel, where he excelled in coverage. And the Cowboys added Zack Thomas to replace Ayodele, who’s also joined Parcells and Tony Sparano in Miami. Score: plus one for the ‘08 guys.

– In the secondary, the Cowboys were hoping for better health and play at several positions. Anthony Henry was trying to come back from a knee injury that hobbled him in ‘06. Terence Newman was days away from a plantar fascia tear. Ken Hamlin was a low budget signing from Seattle but hardly a sure thing. He had a so-so ‘06 after missing ten games in ‘05 with a severe head injury. It was far from clear if he could regain his outstanding ‘04 form. One year ago, Roy Williams was the surest bet in the secondary.

Today, he’s the most maligned. Hamlin earned his first Pro Bowl berth in ‘07. Newman overcame his heel injury and earned his first trip to Honolulu. Henry was leading the league in picks when he suffered a high ankle sprain that cost him six starts.

In addition, the Cowboys have Adam Jones and first rounder Mike Jenkins replacing Jacques Reeves and Nate Jones. Score: plus two for the ‘08 team, based on better health, and much greater depth.

Overall, the ‘08 team looks much deeper and has far fewer question marks than Wade 1.0. The injury questions at offensive tackle, outside linebacker and cornerback are gone. You could pencil in the entire starting 22 for Dallas today, where you could not do so for several positions last year.

It’s far too early to hit the giddy button, but there’s clearly far less reason to even consider locating the panic button this time around. Let’s hope things stay this way.

Dallas Cowboys Camp: Sunday Appetizer

Some “press pancakes,” complements of Chef Terence Newman:

Q: I see you guys practicing a lot of press coverage. Are you planning on being more aggressive this year?

Newman: I hope so. I hate sitting off, playing off-man. To me that’s not a great style of defense. There’s no aggresiveness in that, you’re just sitting back waiting. You know the guys on this team like to get up in people’s faces and make things happen, make them work a little bit… If we can get up and press and Demarcus Ware, Greg Ellis and Tank Johnson, if we get those guys to do what they do, this team could be awesome.

Q: All of you want that?

Newman: Yeah, we’re used to that. That’s what we’re capable of doing so why not allow your guys to go up, press, buy a little more time for the interior guys and make plays that way.

Q: Is that something you’ve asked coaches for in previous years and…

Newman: Oh, I’ve asked Stew [DC Brian Stewart] earlier this year, I said, ‘hey, let’s press some more…’ I know they want to do some zone blitzes and whatnot, that’s what they did in San Diego but with the players we have here I think you have to let them play to their abilities…

Q: does the defense feel that they’ll be the talk this year and take the ink away from the offense?

Newman: Offense is always going to get the hoopla, but we don’t care. We go out and do what we do. We’re the gritty side of it. We’ve got a lot of softer guys on offense, but defense is where all the tough guys are so, we’re cool with that.

Is he entirely tongue-in-cheek on that last one? I report, you decide.

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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