Dallas Cowboys training camp ‘True or False’: Filtering reality from imaginary
Brandon George
OXNARD, Calif. – The Dallas Cowboys often live in a grey world. Not much is black and white.
Often times you have to read between the lines to figure out exactly what’s going on with the team.
Owner Jerry Jones often says just because he says it doesn’t mean it’s true. And even when Jones is speaking the truth, he tends to ramble and switch subjects. So following along at home can lead you down a wrong lane.
Cowboys coach Jason Garrett isn’t a fan of telling you his plans. No, not game plans, but certain things that don’t put his team at a competitive disadvantage, such as how they’ll practice or who will practice on a given day.
So, I’ll try to decipher some of the mixed messages in a little game of “True or False.” Play along at home. Here we go:
Garrett said Wednesday at the opening press conference that he doesn’t have a pre-training camp plan for how much QB Tony Romo will practice. True or False?
False. Garrett said the same thing last year before training camp, and a plan was in place for how much Romo would practice. Romo followed the same script throughout training camp last year, not practicing more than two consecutive days. There’s no doubt that Garrett has a plan going into training camp for how much his 35-year-old quarterback who has had multiple back surgeries will practice. In fact, Romo said after the Thursday morning walk-through practice that he will indeed practice three consecutive days at times this training camp. Why wouldn’t Garrett just lay out the plan Wednesday? Garrett doesn’t deal with absolutes. So, if Garrett said up front what the plan is for Romo’s practice schedule and then Romo decides to take a rest day down the line that doesn’t match the schedule, the coach is asked a bunch of questions about why Romo isn’t practicing.
Jones and his son, Stephen, say they’re comfortable with the running backs they have in training camp and believe they can adequately replace DeMarco Murray. True or False?
True. Cowboys officials aren’t just giving this lip service. The Cowboys front office believes they can still thrive at running back with a combination of Joseph Randle, Darren McFadden and Lance Dunbar. But the Cowboys aren’t off to a good start. McFadden strained his hamstring a week ago running routes. This is a different hamstring injury (on the opposite leg) than the one that kept him out of offseason practices. Garrett said Thursday he expects McFadden back in about a week. Stephen Jones said the Cowboys were well aware of McFadden’s long injury history in Oakland before they signed him as a free agent and isn’t too concerned at this point. But if McFadden’s injuries linger or multiply, expect the Cowboys to add a veteran running back late in camp. For the time being, they want to give Randle, McFadden and Dunbar every chance to show they’re ready to replace Murray.
Jones, as has been his recent trend, wouldn’t say Wednesday that he believes the Cowboys are a Super Bowl contender, so he’s not confident this year’s team can compete for a title. True or False?
False. Behind closed doors, the Cowboys feel very much like they had a strong offseason and have added key pieces that should build on a 12-4 year in 2014 and put them in great position to compete for a Super Bowl this season. Jones has learned that saying Super Bowl early on does the Cowboys no favors, especially considering the title drought his team has been in since the mid-1990s.