Travis Frederick Showing Signs of Leadership for the Dallas Cowboys

Smitty

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Rookie Presenting Poise, Confidence in Practice, Interviews

By Danny Webster | Yahoo! Contributor Network – 3 hours ago

Travis Frederick wasn't the immediate eye-opener when he was selected by the Dallas Cowboys late in the first round of the NFL Draft in April.

He's opening some eyes now, and in a good way.

Keep in mind, he's only been a member of the Cowboys for less than two months.

With him garnering those expectations of being a first-round pick, despite not having a first-round grade attached to him, Frederick has come off as a guy who knows what he's talking about when he's on the field.

In a large number of his interviews on DallasCowboys.com, the media has flocked to the former Wisconsin offensive lineman, most notably to ask how he's practicing and what he's learned, among other things. The thing with Frederick, is that he's not only calm with the media, but he knows how to talk about football in a tactical sense.

"I feel pretty comfortable right now with the offense," Frederick said after Monday's practice. "Still definitely a ways to go in my technique and my performance. I feel comfortable and confident to make calls."

One of the qualities that goes highly unnoticed in today's realm of sports is how well they can deliver a message in an interview. Whether that be talking to the general managers during the NFL Combine, or the media in general, if a player can handle him/herself in a communication setting, that's something to take note.

Some players, rookies especially, aren't the first set of players to think of that would be comfortable talking to 10-15 members of the media, especially when it comes to the Dallas media covering the Cowboys.

Frederick's poise in how he has conducted himself during practice and during interviews has truly been outstanding, which shows how much he has learned over the course of these last number of months, and what he's been taught at Wisconsin.

Having someone with that kind of confidence and eloquent speaking, believe it or not, goes a long way in determining the long-term success of a player. It's a trait that goes under the radar. There are players who possess all the talent in the world and can do anything they want on the football field, and there are players who you're not quite sure of, but know that their character can propel them to another level because they're willing to work, just by talking to them.

This rookie out of Wisconsin has done well enough in practice, as well, to validate that confidence as training camp approaches, which is exactly what Jason Garrett and Jerry Jones should be looking for, especially on the offensive line.

If he can have a decent rookie year up front, look no further than seeing Frederick and Tyron Smith to command attention from the other young/struggling players on that offensive line. He has the tools, and he's going to go through his annual rookie hazing, which is understandable.

Just by opening his mouth, there's some cause for excitement. Usually, it's the other way around for most.

Danny Webster is a featured columnist for the Dallas Cowboys. Contact him on Twitter by finding @DannyWebster21.
 

Lotuseater

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I'm sorry, I fail to see the correlation between a good talker and good football player.

I think he's going to be a great player, but not because of how he talks.

Has this guy heard dez Bryant talk yet?
 

L.T. Fan

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I'm sorry, I fail to see the correlation between a good talker and good football player.

I think he's going to be a great player, but not because of how he talks.

Has this guy heard dez Bryant talk yet?
Go up to the bar and ask for one of them half full glasses. :art
 

vince

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I'm sorry, I fail to see the correlation between a good talker and good football player.

I think he's going to be a great player, but not because of how he talks.

Has this guy heard dez Bryant talk yet?
My thoughts exactly, especially the Dez part
 

Bluestar71

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This is another media idiot over-inflating the value of media related interaction. The ability to give a good interview and gel with the media isn't really an indicator of leadership once the camera's are gone. That's a completely different personality dynamic.
 

boozeman

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I'm sorry, I fail to see the correlation between a good talker and good football player.

I think he's going to be a great player, but not because of how he talks.

Has this guy heard dez Bryant talk yet?
While the ability to give a good interview doesn't correlate to playing football all that well (Bobby Carpenter was pretty verbose), it still speaks well for Frederick.

A center had better be intelligent. I have yet to see a dumb one that had staying power (Andre Gurode being a notable exception). This guy will make the line calls and direct the activities of the line. He'd better be able to figure out concepts, visualize them and communicate to his teammates. We needed someone badly last year who could do this because we no longer had Kyle Kosier around to do it.

I find it funny you are down on a smart producer from a big school, yet you are so certain a neophyte like J.J. Wilcox is going to be good.
 

Bluestar71

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While the ability to give a good interview doesn't correlate to playing football all that well (Bobby Carpenter was pretty verbose), it still speaks well for Frederick.

A center had better be intelligent. I have yet to see a dumb one that had staying power (Andre Gurode being a notable exception). This guy will make the line calls and direct the activities of the line. He'd better be able to figure out concepts, visualize them and communicate to his teammates. We needed someone badly last year who could do this because we no longer had Kyle Kosier around to do it.

I find it funny you are down on a smart producer from a big school, yet you are so certain a neophyte like J.J. Wilcox is going to be good.
Doesn't sound like he's down on Frederick. "I think he's going to be a great player . . ."
 
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I thought Gurode didn't make the line calls. It was our way around his retardness.
 

Carp

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Doesn't sound like he's down on Frederick. "I think he's going to be a great player . . ."
It's weird though, he almost takes it as an insult to prop any rookie not name JJ Wilcox.
 

Hawkeye19

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While the ability to give a good interview doesn't correlate to playing football all that well (Bobby Carpenter was pretty verbose), it still speaks well for Frederick.

A center had better be intelligent. I have yet to see a dumb one that had staying power (Andre Gurode being a notable exception). This guy will make the line calls and direct the activities of the line. He'd better be able to figure out concepts, visualize them and communicate to his teammates. We needed someone badly last year who could do this because we no longer had Kyle Kosier around to do it.

I find it funny you are down on a smart producer from a big school, yet you are so certain a neophyte like J.J. Wilcox is going to be good.
The more I hear about Frederick-- the more I like him. Intelligence is an asset in any profession-- and in football-- C is one of the positions that benefits from that trait the most.

Frederick is a hard worker, has a nasty streak, has the build and potential to be a plus run blocker, has a solid anchor in pass blocking, and is smart and capable when it comes to picking up the offense and making line calls.

The only negatives I have heard about him was that we took him a round too early, and he's not that athletic. IMO-- he is showing the early signs of being a long term, capable starter for us-- and that means some stability at one of the weakest units on the team. That's a huge win in my book-- even if we took him 15-20 spots higher than we needed to.

He has to show up in camp-- and I'm interested in seeing his rapport with Romo-- but I really like this kid and am rooting for him to prove the haters wrong.
 

Rev

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It's weird though, he almost takes it as an insult to prop any rookie not name JJ Wilcox.
His account must have been hacked.
 

Lotuseater

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While the ability to give a good interview doesn't correlate to playing football all that well (Bobby Carpenter was pretty verbose), it still speaks well for Frederick.

A center had better be intelligent. I have yet to see a dumb one that had staying power (Andre Gurode being a notable exception). This guy will make the line calls and direct the activities of the line. He'd better be able to figure out concepts, visualize them and communicate to his teammates. We needed someone badly last year who could do this because we no longer had Kyle Kosier around to do it.

I find it funny you are down on a smart producer from a big school, yet you are so certain a neophyte like J.J. Wilcox is going to be good.
Hey, I said I think Fred is going to be a great player, just not because of how he talks. I have always believed intellegence is highly undervalued in sports. Especially at center, so I'm in agreement with you here.
 

Lotuseater

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It's weird though, he almost takes it as an insult to prop any rookie not name JJ Wilcox.
I have a stong inclination that Wilcox is going to be that playmaker at safety that we have been missing forever. This team has been hostage to the safety position for years and years, and I think they have finally found a couple that can play.
 

Smitty

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If Wilcox ends up as a huge steal, Frederick is legit, Leary develops into a major upgrade and grabs one of the guard spots, Free returns to his 2010 form as an average player, Ratliff produces in the new scheme, and we stay relatively healthy.... this team could make some noise.
 

L.T. Fan

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If Wilcox ends up as a huge steal, Frederick is legit, Leary develops into a major upgrade and grabs one of the guard spots, Free returns to his 2010 form as an average player, Ratliff produces in the new scheme, and we stay relatively healthy.... this team could make some noise.
Another half full glass. Pull up a chair.
 

Donpingon

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Yep. To the degree that a smattering of optimism is expressed about the upcoming season for Dallas..
Well in the NFL yesterday's losers are tomorrow's winners, it wouldn't shock me, but I'm not hanging my hat on that. I'm really mad at the Escobar pick. If we absolutely had to take a TE, we could've had Eiffert in the 1st and Frederick in the 2nd. Instead we're stuck with Frederick in the 1st and a guy who won't be on this team in a few years in the 2nd.
 
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