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Moore: OK, it's one preseason game ... but Cowboys' trio of top draft talents was impressive
By David Moore
OXNARD, Calif. — A good first impression can fade.
Ask anyone who married Henry VIII or drafted Ryan Leaf.
With that in mind, it’s foolish to get carried away after one preseason game. What took place Thursday night in San Diego is no validation that the Cowboys hit the jackpot when they wound up with three of the top 21 players on their draft board.
But the debuts of Bryon Jones, Randy Gregory and La’el Collins did not disappoint.
Jones led the Cowboys in tackles. Gregory picked up a sack and came close on another occasion. Collins made a key block on the team’s lone touchdown and drove a defender all the way to Chula Vista on another play.
Let’s start with Jones, the only one of the three to start.
“I was actually pretty calm, surprisingly calm,” Jones said. “I thought I would be nervous. But I was calm.
“I know I was prepared. I knew I deserved to be out there. I did what I was supposed to be doing, what I was coached to do.”
San Diego’s Keenan Allen, who has a 1,000-yard season to his credit, got the best of Jones for a 12-yard gain on third-and-three on the Chargers opening drive. But Jones was solid at corner for the majority of the game and spent one series in the third quarter at safety.
What did he think of his coverage?
“It was decent,” he said. “But there are plays where it goes 50-50. You got to get it done.
“I’ve got to get my hands on the ball. I got to come up with a PBU [pass broken up] or an interception.”
Gregory didn’t enter the game until veterans Jeremy Mincey and Greg Hardy got their snaps at right defensive end. He made his presence known late in the third quarter with a sack of quarterback Brad Sorensen after he and defensive tackle Davon Coleman ran a stunt.
“He [Coleman] gets up the field and I kind of look like I am giving speed and then I come back under him,” Gregory said. “We ran it perfectly. He set it up perfectly for me. I give him a lot of credit with that sack.”
Moments earlier Gregory had a chance for a sack but came in a bit hot and didn’t have his hips in the right position to pivot.
“It looked like he was getting off the ball well,” coach Jason Garrett said. “It looked like he was up the field a lot early on in the game and then as the game wore on he did a better job leveling off his rush and getting to the quarterback.
“He was around the quarterback a lot. I thought he did good job pushing the tackle back into him. He made a couple plays on the ball.”
Did we see the first of what should be many sacks for Gregory in a Cowboys uniform?
“If I was a betting man, I would say, ‘Yeah,’” he said. “But obviously there is a process with that and I’m going to enjoy that process and I am going to work hard.”
Collins is no stranger to hard work. In his words, he came into the game locked in and ready to roll. Ron Leary opened the game at left guard. Collins entered the game with just under six minutes left in the first quarter and played into the second half.
The rookie from LSU threw a key block on a 5-yard touchdown run by Gus Johnson with 10:12 left in the second quarter that allowed the Cowboys to tie the score at 7-7.
“My eyes was on the backer the whole time,” Collins said. “I just got a really good fit on the three-technique and as soon as the linebacker broke [off] the heels of the defensive linemen, I launched off and picked up a great block.
“The back did a great job of being patient and he got up there right in the middle.”
You can watch video of Collins on the Internet now as he manhandles a Chargers defender down the field, flattens him then takes part in a celebration.
“Hey, man, it’s fun,” Collins said. “I really love this game. For me, that is my touchdown.”
Garrett, as he does after every game, prefaced his comment by saying he would first have to review the tape. But it was hard not to take notice of Collins.
“It certainly looked like he was confident out there,” Garrett said. “He played decisively. That’s always the thing we’re looking at with a young player.
“That’s the style of play he’s known for coming out of school, a physical guy who really wants to get after them, and I think we saw some of that tonight.”
Garrett saw that from Jones and Gregory as well. It was a good first impression.
But no one, especially the principals, refuse to take anything for granted.
“Honestly, I just see myself so far behind that those guys are so advanced at what they do,” Collins said of the offensive linemen ahead of him. “For me, I come in every day with a pen and pad and write down everything that I can to help better my game.
“And then we just go out there every day and grind.”
By David Moore
OXNARD, Calif. — A good first impression can fade.
Ask anyone who married Henry VIII or drafted Ryan Leaf.
With that in mind, it’s foolish to get carried away after one preseason game. What took place Thursday night in San Diego is no validation that the Cowboys hit the jackpot when they wound up with three of the top 21 players on their draft board.
But the debuts of Bryon Jones, Randy Gregory and La’el Collins did not disappoint.
Jones led the Cowboys in tackles. Gregory picked up a sack and came close on another occasion. Collins made a key block on the team’s lone touchdown and drove a defender all the way to Chula Vista on another play.
Let’s start with Jones, the only one of the three to start.
“I was actually pretty calm, surprisingly calm,” Jones said. “I thought I would be nervous. But I was calm.
“I know I was prepared. I knew I deserved to be out there. I did what I was supposed to be doing, what I was coached to do.”
San Diego’s Keenan Allen, who has a 1,000-yard season to his credit, got the best of Jones for a 12-yard gain on third-and-three on the Chargers opening drive. But Jones was solid at corner for the majority of the game and spent one series in the third quarter at safety.
What did he think of his coverage?
“It was decent,” he said. “But there are plays where it goes 50-50. You got to get it done.
“I’ve got to get my hands on the ball. I got to come up with a PBU [pass broken up] or an interception.”
Gregory didn’t enter the game until veterans Jeremy Mincey and Greg Hardy got their snaps at right defensive end. He made his presence known late in the third quarter with a sack of quarterback Brad Sorensen after he and defensive tackle Davon Coleman ran a stunt.
“He [Coleman] gets up the field and I kind of look like I am giving speed and then I come back under him,” Gregory said. “We ran it perfectly. He set it up perfectly for me. I give him a lot of credit with that sack.”
Moments earlier Gregory had a chance for a sack but came in a bit hot and didn’t have his hips in the right position to pivot.
“It looked like he was getting off the ball well,” coach Jason Garrett said. “It looked like he was up the field a lot early on in the game and then as the game wore on he did a better job leveling off his rush and getting to the quarterback.
“He was around the quarterback a lot. I thought he did good job pushing the tackle back into him. He made a couple plays on the ball.”
Did we see the first of what should be many sacks for Gregory in a Cowboys uniform?
“If I was a betting man, I would say, ‘Yeah,’” he said. “But obviously there is a process with that and I’m going to enjoy that process and I am going to work hard.”
Collins is no stranger to hard work. In his words, he came into the game locked in and ready to roll. Ron Leary opened the game at left guard. Collins entered the game with just under six minutes left in the first quarter and played into the second half.
The rookie from LSU threw a key block on a 5-yard touchdown run by Gus Johnson with 10:12 left in the second quarter that allowed the Cowboys to tie the score at 7-7.
“My eyes was on the backer the whole time,” Collins said. “I just got a really good fit on the three-technique and as soon as the linebacker broke [off] the heels of the defensive linemen, I launched off and picked up a great block.
“The back did a great job of being patient and he got up there right in the middle.”
You can watch video of Collins on the Internet now as he manhandles a Chargers defender down the field, flattens him then takes part in a celebration.
“Hey, man, it’s fun,” Collins said. “I really love this game. For me, that is my touchdown.”
Garrett, as he does after every game, prefaced his comment by saying he would first have to review the tape. But it was hard not to take notice of Collins.
“It certainly looked like he was confident out there,” Garrett said. “He played decisively. That’s always the thing we’re looking at with a young player.
“That’s the style of play he’s known for coming out of school, a physical guy who really wants to get after them, and I think we saw some of that tonight.”
Garrett saw that from Jones and Gregory as well. It was a good first impression.
But no one, especially the principals, refuse to take anything for granted.
“Honestly, I just see myself so far behind that those guys are so advanced at what they do,” Collins said of the offensive linemen ahead of him. “For me, I come in every day with a pen and pad and write down everything that I can to help better my game.
“And then we just go out there every day and grind.”
