OTAs/Minicamps Thread...

Cotton

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After scary slip, Ezekiel Elliott has strong first day with Cowboys
5:44 PM ET
Todd Archer
ESPN Staff Writer

IRVING, Texas -- On one of the very first drills Ezekiel Elliott went through with the Dallas Cowboys at Friday’s minicamp, he fell to the ground.

Running backs coach Gary Brown wasn’t afraid to admit the worst went through his mind after the Cowboys’ first-round pick slipped while making a cut through a zigzag drill.

“We don’t need that,” Brown said. “That’s why I told him to slow down a little bit.”

That was about the only down moment from Elliott’s first day. All eyes were on Elliott during the 90-minute practice. He smoothly caught passes out of the backfield. He made quick cuts, throwing a spin move out in one individual drill.

“He’s obviously got talent and has a good background,” offensive coordinator Scott Linehan said. “He got a little head start with some information, emailed him and all that stuff so he could have it. He did a great job of getting himself prepared from a mental standpoint, which shows a lot of his preparation that he probably has a good background in. Those are all really good signs. The talent looks obvious to me. Fun to have him.”

Elliott and the rest of the players taking part in the rookie camp have two more days of practice. Next week will be their first indoctrination into the program with the veterans, when the second week of on-field teaching sessions take place.

There Elliott will work with Darren McFadden, who ran for 1,089 yards last year, and Alfred Morris, who has three 1,000-yard seasons in his career.

Elliott was just glad to be on the field Friday.

“The draft process is crazy with the combine and then the draft part [with] all the traveling and not really having a home,” Elliott said. “So it’s a relief to finally be able to have a stable environment and do what you love and that's play ball."
 

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10 things we learned about the Cowboys from the rookie minicamp, including Dez's health, Prescott's confidence

By SportsDayDFW.com

With the Dallas Cowboys, there is no offseason. There's always something going on.

This past weekend that something was the rookie minicamp. Here are 10 things that we learned about the team.

1. Dez is getting healthy

The wide receiver is working his way back from a January foot and ankle surgery. But he did show at the rookie minicamp and was catching passes on the sidelines. Jason Garrett said the wideout hasn't had any setbacks in his rehab process.

Here's what wide receivers coach Derek Dooley said about Bryant:

"He's not 100 percent like full speed released, cleared to go. It doesn't mean he can't. But I think June 1 is [the target date]. The biggest thing with him is going to be the starting point, conditioning, because it doesn't matter how good you might be.

"If you're not in physical condition to run routes and to get people off you, it's going to be hard. So we almost with Dez have got to go back to square one, go back to the fundamentals. It's almost as if he's had a year off. Develop our skill sets as a wideout, but at the same time, get back into a level of conditioning to allow yourself to apply those skills 65, 70 snaps in a game."

2. Not special treatment for Ezekiel Elliott

The running back might have been the Cowboys' top pick, but that doesn't mean he's going to be treated any different than Rico Gathers, the Cowboys' final pick of the draft.

"He's going to be a normal rookie," running backs coach Gary Brown said after Friday's practice. "He's going to have to earn what he gets. Obviously, he's going to have to bring the doughnuts and the breakfast sandwiches on Saturday. That's not going to change. We might get better ones since he's the fourth pick, he's got a little more bread."

3. Send a thank you card to Emmitt Smith

Turns out that Emmitt Smith was one of the first people to let the Cowboys know about Zeke. The following is from head coach Jason Garrett:

"The first time I really saw him play was the national championship game at our stadium. I actually was at the game sitting with the Joneses and Emmitt Smith was there. And Emmitt said, 'This 15 for Ohio State is pretty good.' I said, 'Really?'

"So I kind of watched him because Emmitt knows a little something about running backs. I watched him closer and closer and obviously he had a big game that night. And then you watch him throughout the next year and he obviously is a really, really good football player."

4. Charles Tapper already had homework to do

So much for not doing any more homework after leaving school.

Charles Tapper, a defensive end out of Oklahoma, received an assignment from defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli when he reported to Valley Ranch. He had to give a report on Hall of Famer Deacon Jones.

"Watching him, he coined the phrase sack, so watching him get 173 sacks I'm definitely going to try to emulate my game after him with his motor and his high energy and his attitude and his aggression he brought to every game," Tapper said. "I'm definitely going to bring that to [my game]."

5. Tyrone Crawford is ready to be a team player

With Randy Gregory and DeMarcus Lawrence suspended for the first four games of the season, the Cowboys are going to need someone to step up and take their snaps.
One of those someones could be defensive tackle Tyrone Crawford.

"I'm going to do what I have to do. It's definitely a possibility if needed," Crawford said. "We can't have guys taking on such a big role they haven't taken on before, so it's all of us working together helping each other out. We'll definitely help this d-line, just for the first four weeks until we get our guys back."

6. Dak Prescott is ready to learn from Tony Romo

And he's not against sitting behind the current Cowboys QB, either.

"I think all of us rookies need to develop to be better NFL players at this point,'' Prescott said. "It's something we haven't done in a league we haven't played in, but I'm coming in to make myself better.

"If that means developing for a year or two years, sitting behind Romo, I'm ready to learn everything I can from him and follow him on and off the field, just the way he carries himself as a pro.''
 

NoDak

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10 things we learned about the Cowboys

1. Dez is getting healthy

2. Not special treatment for Ezekiel Elliott

3. Send a thank you card to Emmitt Smith

4. Charles Tapper already had homework to do

5. Tyrone Crawford is ready to be a team player

6. Dak Prescott is ready to learn from Tony Romo
:unsure
 

Cotton

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:lol

Yeah, I guess it would be nice if I posted the whole article.

________________________

7. He's also a good sport about his tweets

He's since deleted the tweets and he's not going to bring up the fact that he criticized Romo unless the Cowboys QB does so first.

"I'm going to let him bring it up. I think it's funny," Prescott said. "I'm sure he'll think it's funny. I was a frustrated fan at the time. I'm sure you can go back and look at fans of Mississippi State and they may have said something similar at one point or another, so I was just being a fan and now he's my teammate and I'm behind him 100 percent."

8. Rod Marinelli is excited about an undrafted FA

Defensive tackle Rodney Coe was one of the Cowboys' 29 pre-draft visitors. He attended a junior college, Iowa State and Akron. Defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli said he's excited about the defensive lineman.

"He's really a good athlete," Marinelli said. "He was a tailback in JC too, so you know me and movement. He's a big man. He's light on his feet. He's just working. He's got to get in shape better. He's a big, athletic man, and he could play the nose position in a heartbeat. Being an athlete, and just from what I've seen movement-wise, I really like him. I'm excited to have him here."

Click here to see what Stephen Jones, who is also excited about Coe, said about the prospect.

9. Rico Gathers is a project, and that's all right

Tight ends coach Mike Pope said Gathers has a long way to go developmentally, but he can already see the former Baylor basketball player's athleticism.

"Well, I've been married twice, so I've taken on some projects in my time," Pope said. "He can't play full speed until he's absolutely sure what he's doing. I think we'll see that jump out of him as we go forward, but it's going to be a little while."

Gathers doesn't have a bad mentor in Jason Witten, either.

"Witten is the 13th Disciple," Pope said, "he helps everybody."

10. Prescott is confident he can change

The quarterback took his first snap under center (not including goal line situations) was....in the Senior Bowl. Offensive coordinator Scott Linehan said Prescott will have to improve his timing when learning to takes snap from the center.

"It's something that some guys can do right away and other guys it seems like it's a little more of a transition,'' Linehan said. "The one thing we felt great about with Dak is that even in the Senior Bowl it didn't look like it was an issue.

"I've seen some of those guys come in there and bobble snaps and it's like, 'man, it's going to take awhile.' With him, it looked like he had always been there. I think that speaks a lot about how hard he worked and has been working on something he doesn't do a lot. I also think he's a natural athlete who gets how it works."

Prescott doesn't seem too worried about the transition.

"Give me a couple of weeks,'' he said, "and you'll forget I played in the spread.''
 

boozeman

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Those ten things carried the significance of a wet loud fart.
 

Cotton

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Really hoping this kid pans out. He was the most interesting UDFA I saw for us.
 

boozeman

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Really hoping this kid pans out. He was the most interesting UDFA I saw for us.
Unless he can return kicks or punts, I don't see how he has a shot.

Eagen at least has that working for him.

I like the Brendel kid from UCLA. I think he has a shot to win an interior swing job if given the chance.
 

VA Cowboy

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I like how Garrett supposedly didn't know Zeke was good til Emmitt told him. Also how Crawford wants to be a team player as opposed to how he hasn't been one?
 

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Cowboys' 5 biggest positional battles to monitor during OTAs, minicamp, training camp

By Jon Machota , Staff Writer

Since organized team activities begin this week at Valley Ranch, I'm focusing on the five most interesting position battles on the Cowboys roster.

OTAs and minicamp obviously won't decide these spots. It will come down to a combination of the two, training camp, preseason games and who becomes available when teams start trimming their rosters.

But as of right now, these are the groups I have my eye on.

1.) Running back

Ezekiel Elliott wasn't drafted fourth overall to be part of an equal rotation. If the Cowboys really want their running game back at 2014 levels, Elliott will get carries early and often, just as DeMarco Murray did. The rushing attempts Joseph Randle received that season will be given to Darren McFadden and Alfred Morris. I can't see Dallas keeping more than four running backs. Right now, my best guess would be Elliott, McFadden, Morris and Darius Jackson, depending on where Lance Dunbar is in his rehab process.

The next question: Do they keep a fullback? Jason Garrett has kept one on the roster in the past. However, this could be the year they choose to go a little heavier at another position. The fullbacks on the current roster are Keith Smith and Rod Smith. Keith is converting over from linebacker. Rod is converting over from running back.

2.) Safety

It seems likely the Cowboys will go into the season with Byron Jones and Barry Church as their starting safeties. The front runners for the backup spots are Jeff Heath and J.J. Wilcox. I can't see Dallas keeping more than four safeties, so where does that leave sixth-round pick Kavon Frazier? Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said after the draft that they had a fourth-round grade on Frazier.

The Cowboys signed Heath to a new four-year contract in April so he seems safe. Wilcox, a third-round pick in 2013, is entering the final year of his rookie deal.

"I got to get better," Wilcox said last week. "I'm still growing at the position. This is my fifth year playing it. I've been playing offense all of my life, so I still have a lot of upside. I just have to keep learning the game, study hard on the film, just be more consistent in open-field tackling and being the best safety that I can be."

3.) Wide receiver

I think the Cowboys will keep five wide receivers on their active roster. Since you can already write in Dez Bryant, Terrance Williams and Cole Beasley, the final two spots should come down to Brice Butler, Devin Street and Lucky Whitehead.

Butler and Whitehead are the front runners. Butler finished with 12 catches for 258 yards last season while Street caught seven balls for 114 yards and a touchdown. Whitehead is the Cowboys' most valuable receiver on special teams, so if he was to be the odd man out, Dallas would have to find another kick and punt returner.

Also keep an eye on undrafted rookie free agent Chris Brown. Last season at Notre Dame, the 6-2, 195-pounder started all 13 games, catching 48 passes for 597 yards and four touchdowns.

4.) Cornerback

I anticipate the Cowboys going with five cornerbacks on their 53-man roster. Orlando Scandrick, Brandon Carr and Morris Claiborne seem locked in. That leaves two openings. The favorites for those spots are Terrance Mitchell, Deji Olatoye and sixth-round pick Anthony Brown, another player Jones said the Cowboys had as a fourth-rounder on their board.

"We're not hitting or anything, but in terms of his movement and how smart he is, how fast he is, his ball skills, it's all real positive right now," Cowboys secondary coach Joe Baker said of Brown. "[Rookie minicamp] really suits Anthony's skill set because he's quick, he can run. So all of the stuff we're doing on air, he looks fantastic."

5.) Defensive end

Defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli prefers to have an eight-man rotation on his defensive line. That generally means about five ends and three tackles. With Randy Gregory and DeMarcus Lawrence suspended for the first four games, the next few months will determine who will step into those key roles. As of right now, the battle at that position comes down to Benson Mayowa, Jack Crawford, David Irving, Ryan Russell and fourth-round pick Charles Tapper.

I'm predicting that the Week 1 starters at defensive end will be Mayowa on the right side and Crawford on the left.

"You don't have to have the most talent," Marinelli said after a recent rookie minicamp practice. "Jack Crawford is a perfect guy. Every time he came in he impacted the game. He had four sacks as a rotational guy. He had a lot of hits, pressure. He's fresh. He comes in and he's got a great motor. You got an advantage right there.

"It's the motor and the skill and the attitude we're looking for."
 

boozeman

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Oh yeah, that "competition" for two or three roster spots should be enthralling.
 

Simpleton

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1.) Running back

Ezekiel Elliott wasn't drafted fourth overall to be part of an equal rotation. If the Cowboys really want their running game back at 2014 levels, Elliott will get carries early and often, just as DeMarco Murray did. The rushing attempts Joseph Randle received that season will be given to Darren McFadden and Alfred Morris.
If Morris and McFadden carry the ball a combined 50 or so times this year like Randle did in 2014 the whole god damn staff should be fired.

In 2014 our RB's combined for 472 carries and 79 receptions in the regular season. Using that as a benchmark I'd like to see Elliott given about 280-300 carries, along with about 35 receptions and then have the remaining 200 or so carries and 45 or so receptions split between McFadden and Morris. Let's just say that's about 100 carries for each of them and then since McFadden is far superior out of the backfield let's say he'll get about 35 of those receptions with Morris getting about 10.

Surely the coaching staff can figure out a way to get McFadden and Morris about 6-7 carries a game each with McFadden getting about 2 catches per game. We can't be running Elliott into the ground in Week 7 against the Bears or Bengals or some shit. Give him about 18-20 carries a game, mix in a few catches and rest him when the situation calls for it.

Then ride him like a horse in huge regular season games (see at Philadelphia in 2014) and obviously in the playoffs.
 

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Helman: Five Storylines Worth Watching When OTAs Get Started This Week

Monday, May 23, 2016 12:35 PM CDT

By David Helman

IRVING, Texas – It’s not surprising that we hype ourselves up for every tiny development during the NFL offseason. What else are we supposed to do during the grueling, eight-month wait for football?

Far be it from me to suggest that the start of the Cowboys’ OTAs on Tuesday isn’t exciting. It’s the first time we’ll see this team doing something that resembles football since that Jan. 3 loss to Washington. It’s also the first real look we’ll get at a whole cast of new characters – headlined, of course, by Ezekiel Elliott.

Having said all of that good stuff, it’s hard to deny that OTAs can be a bit of a letdown. It’s still May, after all, and the heavy pads and hard hits of training camp are still a decent way off. For the most part, these offseason practices feature a lot of installation, very little hitting and a lot of action performed at half-speed.

There’s still some things we can glean from these light practices, though. With OTAs beginning on Tuesday, I wracked my brain and came up with five storylines that should make things interesting – without getting too carried away.

1) No. 9 should be fine – It’s been almost three months since Tony Romo had surgery to strengthen his thrice-broken collarbone, and he’s expected to be a full participant in on-field activities this spring. That’s not exactly news, as Cowboys officials have predicted this throughout the offseason.

It’s also not indicative of his future health. If you’ll remember, Romo went through OTAs last spring for the first time in three years. It was the healthiest he’d been after two successive years of dealing with back injuries. Ultimately, the collarbone injuries forced him out of 12 games, leading to the team’s disastrous results in 2015.

Still, it’ll be nice to see the Cowboys’ starting quarterback getting work once again. The collarbone has had plenty of time to heal, and it’s definitely a silver lining that Romo’s limited action last year certainly helped his back. This team clearly relies on Romo, as everyone learned last year, so it’s always a positive to have him practicing.

2) Settling in at safety – No, he’s not going to be laying the wood on anyone, but these next few weeks will hopefully serve as an early look at Byron Jones in his new role at safety.

Yes, Jones actually played plenty of safety as a rookie, but he did that while also juggling four or five other responsibilities in the Dallas secondary. The plan for Jones’ second year is to focus on the safety spot, where he showed early potential. Again, these are limited practices, but so much about good safety play depends on taking proper angles and reading coverages. Working against Romo and the Cowboys receivers (albeit minus Dez Bryant) should provide Jones with an early litmus test for Year 2.

3) Hey, what’s up with Chaz Green? – Remember that time the Cowboys spent a top 100 pick on an offense tackle last spring, and we haven’t seen him play yet? After going through rookie minicamp last year, Green had hip surgery, and it confined him to the Physically Unable to Perform list for much of his first season.

The Cowboys brought Green back in time to go through several weeks of practice, but he never appeared in a game and he wasn’t a factor in the depth chart. Now fully healthy, hopefully Green shows glimpses of the talent that made him a third-round pick out of Florida.

When you consider his draft stock, the ideal scenario for Green is that he can become the Cowboys’ swing tackle with an eye on starting at right tackle in the future. Doug Free is 32 and only under contract for two more seasons, and it would be ideal to have Green blossom into a starter-caliber player behind him.

The Cowboys also re-signed Charles Brown to function as their third tackle, but this spring marks the first time Green has truly had his hat in the ring for real playing time.

4) Gathering information – I’ve already spent a lot of space detailing how hard it is to formulate opinions based on the limited amount of action we’ll be seeing during OTAs. But when you’re literally starting from scratch, it becomes at least a little bit easier.

Rico Gathers falls into that category, as this week’s practices will qualify as some of the first organized football he’s played since junior high. The rookie tight end took part in rookie minicamp, but those were non-competitive drills that didn’t involve the defense.

Over these next few weeks, we’ll get to see Gathers line up and try to cope with defenders – not to mention his own knowledge of the playbook. We should also get to see him compete, hopefully one-on-one, against some linebackers and defensive backs. We know the former basketball player has some serious athleticism, but now he’ll have a chance to demonstrate it for us.

These are exactly the type of practices where a guy like Gathers should excel. The limited nature of the practices should keep his head from spinning too much, which will hopefully free him up to display the abilities that made him a sixth-round pick.

5) Keeping them healthy – You’ll have to forgive my cynical outlook, but my main concern with offseason practices is to worry about the health of the players taking part in them. It’s an understandable concern, given that we’re just two years removed from Sean Lee tearing his ACL during the first hour of OTAs.

Whatever we might see during these three weeks of practices, it won’t matter half as much as keeping the roster healthy heading into training camp. The last thing this team needs is to lose one of its key pieces before football season has even rounded into view.

To that end, I actually consider it a good thing that guys like Dez Bryant, Orlando Scandrick and DeMarcus Lawrence look likely to be limited during OTAs. The Cowboys have various players still rehabbing their way back from injuries, headlined by the aforementioned trio.

Sure, it’d be great to see Bryant square off against Scandrick, or to have Lance Dunbar – still rehabbing his torn leg ligaments – catch some passes out of the backfield. I’m sure some people will specifically note that Bryant’s play suffered as a result of missing offseason workouts last year.

Me, personally? I don’t care. Bryant, Scandrick, Lawrence and all the others can refine their timing and their technique at training camp. That’s what those grueling summer practices are for. We saw what injuries can do to a team last year, so I’m all in favor of limiting the opportunity for more to occur – especially in May, before the pads are even on.
 

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Cowboys' OTAs aren't 'real football' but things come 'alive'
4:23 PM CT
Todd Archer
ESPN Staff Writer

IRVING, Texas -- It’s not quite “real football” practice, as Jason Garrett called it last week, but it is the closest thing to football practice the Dallas Cowboys have seen since January.

The Cowboys hold the second of their nine organized team activities today at Valley Ranch and the first that will be open to the media.

“We'll be out there going through what looks like a regular practice that we'll have during training camp and the regular season,” Garrett said. “Obviously different from the fact that we won't have pads on, but we'll structure the practice the same way.”

Football played without pads is like basketball without a hoop. It’s not football. But OTAs do allow the first live looks at players coming back from injuries, free-agent signings and veteran standbys.

Tempo is always important to Garrett. He wants to see the players moving quickly, but not so quick that they are out of control. The on-field teaching sessions that preceded the OTAs were about individual and group technique.

The OTAs allow for 11-on-11 work, albeit without full pads. Those don’t come on until training camp.

“Everything comes alive,” tight end Jason Witten said. “You're down in a stance. You're going to get tired. You're going to get tested a little bit. You can't let it be any other way than to go out there and play. So it will be good for our football team. I think Jason has made it clear, his expectations, talk less and just go to work. And I think the team has really adapted that mindset this offseason.”

So what will we see on the field?

As always, it starts with the quarterback, Tony Romo.

How does Romo look?

From coaches to players to the front office, the feeling is that Romo is in the best shape he has been in the last few years. He had collarbone surgery in March that only temporarily laid him up. He has been throwing for the better part of a month, but his work off the field after breaking his collarbone for the second time on Thanksgiving has paid off. When the season ended, he felt he was ahead of the game because he was able to train harder. He has more strength in his surgically-repaired back and can move more freely. The Cowboys will continue to be smart with Romo, who turned 36 in April, but the early word from the offseason program is encouraging.

What is the running back rotation?

The Cowboys made it clear they did not draft Ezekiel Elliott with the fourth overall pick for him to be a spectator. Do they make the rookie work for the job, or is he running with the first team from the get go? Darren McFadden ran for 1,089 yards last season, largely doing it in 10 games. Alfred Morris has three 1,000-yard seasons to his credit and joined the Cowboys as a free agent. The Cowboys put their other first-round picks in recent years, Tyron Smith, Travis Frederick and Zack Martin, with the starters from the jump, but the line did not have a lot of competition when they were selected. In 2010, Dez Bryant was behind Roy Williams and Miles Austin at receiver. Maybe they will make Elliott wait his turn, too.

The new defensive linemen

Learning about line play is difficult in the OTAs because the players don’t have pads, but the Cowboys have high hopes for Cedric Thornton and Benson Mayowa. Thornton signed a four-year, $17-million deal and the Cowboys believe he will boost their run defense and make things easier for Tyrone Crawford to rush the passer. Mayowa has just two career sacks, but the Cowboys are banking on him being an ascending player. They’ll need him right away with Randy Gregory’s suspension and the looming penalty for DeMarcus Lawrence.

The injured players

Last week Garrett said the team will take it slowly with their players who had offseason surgery, with Romo possibly being an exception. Bryant had a second bone graft on his right foot in January and the team wants to make sure he’s 100 percent right for training camp. Orlando Scandrick’s recovery from a torn anterior cruciate ligament that kept him out last season has gone well, but his eyes are also on training camp. Sean Lee had his knee scoped in late April and the team wants to limit his work until camp as well. Crawford had surgery on a shoulder injury that prevented him from lifting more than 225 pounds last year. Lance Dunbar (knee) and Gavin Escobar (Achilles) are in the middle of their rehabs and likely to open training camp on the physically unable to perform list.
 
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