Training camp thread...

boozeman said:
I think Tanney has deserved a shot to come in after Orton next time. If for nothing else to see if he's capable of stepping up.
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Agree. I am about ready to flush Stephens although I would like to see what he could do with better receivers. The crew he had for the most part in the Oakland game were not running good routes.
 
The degree to which we've ignored the tackle spot is simply stunning. It's on the verge of becoming a huge issue.
 
Camp observations: Orlando Scandrick rebounds

August, 13, 2013

By Todd Archer | ESPNDallas.com


OXNARD, Calif. – Getting kicked out of a practice for shoving an official is never a good thing, but how Orlando Scandrick reacted a day later was a positive.

Scandrick was as active as he has been in all of training camp. In team drills, he took onDeMarco Murray for a tackle and in the final situation of practice he knocked down a pass to rookie wide receiver Terrance Williams.

On to the observations:

** Williams had a productive day as well. In one-on-one he beast CB Brandon Underwoodon a fade, leaping for the pass and getting his feet on the ground. He had a touchdown in the slot in team drills and beat the defense’s blitz with a quick throw on a skinny post.

** DE Jason Hatcher had two sacks in the first six plays of practice. The defense had four sacks (DeMarcus Ware, Toby Jackson) but was unable to come up with a takeaway during the practice.

** Rookie S Jeff Heath has quietly had a good camp but there are still rookie moments. He made a nice breakup on a Kyle Orton throw to TE Gavin Escobar, closing fast on the ball, but then on a Nick Stephens’ deep ball to Anthony Armstrong, he jumped too early and Armstrong was able to come down with an acrobatic reception.

** How competitive does it get during practice? In the blitz period the defense in unison hollered “short” after they stopped TE Jason Witten on a third-down pass. Was it short? The measurement would’ve been close, but the defense, led by Sean Lee, wasn’t relenting.

** LB Caleb McSurdy was throwing his weight around. He knocked TE James Hanna to the ground after a catch to the flat and did the same to RB Phillip Tanner.

** With James Nelson leaving practice early and Jermey Parnell and Demetress Bell not ready for team work, first-teamers Doug Free and Tyron Smith took turns with the second and third teams.

** Quarterbacks often tell their pass catchers where trouble is coming from where they throw the ball. Orton did a nice job of throwing a pass slightly behind TE Dante Rosario so he could turn to avoid an oncoming defender and not take a kill shot.

** LB Bruce Carter has been kind of quiet lately, but he was able to alter a Tony Romothrow to Witten on a corner route with a last-second jump in seven-on-seven drills.

** Romo went 13 of 21 in team and seven on seven drills. He missed on his last two passes, but that came after Jason Garrett ruled Williams was down at the 2 when he actually scored in situational work.
 
Genghis Khan said:
Don't watch Escobar if you want to keep your sanity.
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Based on the fact that we are all still cowboy fans you could say we all lost our sanity long ago.
 
W2W4: Cowboys training camp: Day 16

August, 13, 2013

By Calvin Watkins | ESPNDallas.com


OXNARD, Calif. -- The Cowboys are nearing the end of training camp and are in preparations for their third preseason game of the summer at Arizona.

Here's a preview:

Injuries piling up: Cornerback Morris Claiborne (knee) is the latest Cowboys' player out and it appears he won't practice this week. There are a few other players, Eric Frampton(hamstring), Alex Albright (back), Ernie Sims (groin) and Sean Lissemore (knee) and J.J. Wilcox (personal) who most likely won't play against the Arizona Cardinals. With a bulk of these injuries on defense, it leaves the unit short-handed.

More zone read: The Cowboys worked on defending the zone read offense in Monday's practice. The Cowboys face two teams, Philadelphia and Washington, which uses a form of it and the Oakland Raiders ran a few plays in the second preseason game against them.Dwayne Harris was the quarterback for the zone read and coach Jason Garrett said his team has to prepare for it just in case they see it more than once during the season.

Brian Waters update: Nothing really to report Tuesday morning. The Cowboys have made an offer to Waters but he's still thinking about it. The Cowboys are trying to bolster the interior of the offensive line because of injuries to Ryan Cook, Kevin Kowalski and Nate Livings and the unknown with Ronald Leary, who hasn't played in a NFL regular season game. Cowboys want a veteran presence as a swing guard in case of more injuries.

Anthony Armstrong moving up: If the Cowboys keep six receivers, Anthony Armstrong has the lead. His special teams play will help in the discussion as to whether or not to keep him, but he's doing a nice job with his route running and catching tough passes. Jared Green is still in the mix yet his two drops against the Raiders in the fourth quarter raised concerns about him.
 
 
Barry Church tests out new approach to going for the ball against Dez Bryant -- and wins

Barry Church knows what he was doing wrong in pass defense in past years. He was waiting for the ball to come down to make a play on it.

But he can’t afford that against Dez Bryant, and he showed a different approach in practice this week by going up to break up a deep pass for the Cowboys’ most athletic receiver.

“Instead of waiting for the ball to come down, when you’re facing him, you’ve got to go get the ball,” Church said. “I mean, that guy, he jumps over everybody to go get it. When we’re going against him, the coaches harp on it a lot: going to attack the ball when it’s up in the air like that.”

Church said it’s a result of the emphasis on turnovers in training camp.

“Past years, I kind of waited for the ball to come down to me or try to get it back down,” he said. “But this year, we’re kind of big on creating turnovers and getting to the ball first. … The receivers are taught to go up and get the ball at the highest point. So are we as defensive backs. So whoever gets to the ball usually wins.”

-- Carlos Mendez
 
Parnell, Bell to practice with rest of team

August, 13, 2013

By Calvin Watkins | ESPNDallas.com


OXNARD, Calif. -- A couple of injured offensive tackles will get some team work in Tuesday.

Tackles Jermey Parnell and Demetress Bell returned to practice for individual drills Sunday, but coach Jason Garrett said the pair will slowly move into team drills for Tuesday's afternoon practice.

Parnell has recovered from a strained hamstring suffered early in training camp. Bell was overweight and failed to pass the conditioning test. Once Bell passed the conditioning test, he was cleared to practice.

Injuries along the offensive line forced the Cowboys to mix and match players at different spots and Garrett said he shortened practice Monday because of a shortage at the tackle spot.

"They've been in their pads, and that's been good for them," Garrett said of Parnell and Bell. "We anticipate them taking the next step and being in a limited role, maybe stay out of some of the one-on-one competitive stuff, but get involved in some of the team situations."

Garrett has said Parnell is still in the running to make the team as the swing tackle. He was sharing some first-team snaps at right tackle with Doug Free, but once Parnell went down, Free took command of the position.

Bell, who started five games for the Philadelphia Eagles last season, was signed to add competition to the tackle spot, but his weight was an issue.

"He's been a good player," Garrett said. "Again, he's a guy we talked a lot about before the (2008) draft. He went elsewhere and he's had a relatively productive career so far.

"Those positions are really of great value, if you're a tackle in the National Football League and your big and long and you can pass protect, you can be of value to a football team. He was on the street, he was somebody we knew about and we brought him in. To be honest with you, he was overweight and out of shape, we still thought it was worth bringing him in here and getting himself in shape and he's been working hard the last couple of weeks."

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Well, thank GOD.
 
Iamtdg said:
Barry Church tests out new approach to going for the ball against Dez Bryant -- and wins

Barry Church knows what he was doing wrong in pass defense in past years. He was waiting for the ball to come down to make a play on it.

But he can’t afford that against Dez Bryant, and he showed a different approach in practice this week by going up to break up a deep pass for the Cowboys’ most athletic receiver.

“Instead of waiting for the ball to come down, when you’re facing him, you’ve got to go get the ball,” Church said. “I mean, that guy, he jumps over everybody to go get it. When we’re going against him, the coaches harp on it a lot: going to attack the ball when it’s up in the air like that.”

Church said it’s a result of the emphasis on turnovers in training camp.

“Past years, I kind of waited for the ball to come down to me or try to get it back down,” he said. “But this year, we’re kind of big on creating turnovers and getting to the ball first. … The receivers are taught to go up and get the ball at the highest point. So are we as defensive backs. So whoever gets to the ball usually wins.”

-- Carlos Mendez
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Way to alert the rest of the league, asshole!
 
It would be just like this team to cut Parnell and keep Bell. Parnell is nothing great and evidently he's been slacking this year but he did make for a decent backup and Bell is a complete piece of shit.
 
Iamtdg said:
Barry Church tests out new approach to going for the ball against Dez Bryant -- and wins

Barry Church knows what he was doing wrong in pass defense in past years. He was waiting for the ball to come down to make a play on it.

But he can’t afford that against Dez Bryant, and he showed a different approach in practice this week by going up to break up a deep pass for the Cowboys’ most athletic receiver.

“Instead of waiting for the ball to come down, when you’re facing him, you’ve got to go get the ball,” Church said. “I mean, that guy, he jumps over everybody to go get it. When we’re going against him, the coaches harp on it a lot: going to attack the ball when it’s up in the air like that.”

Church said it’s a result of the emphasis on turnovers in training camp.

“Past years, I kind of waited for the ball to come down to me or try to get it back down,” he said. “But this year, we’re kind of big on creating turnovers and getting to the ball first. … The receivers are taught to go up and get the ball at the highest point. So are we as defensive backs. So whoever gets to the ball usually wins.”

-- Carlos Mendez
Click to expand...

High pointing the ball is one of the most basic parts of playing DB in the NFL, these jokers are just now figuring this out?
 
Scout's Notebook: RB Blocking Well; DE Claimed Off Waivers

Posted 1 hour ago

Bryan Broaddus Football Analyst/Scout








OXNARD, Calif. –Some thoughts from the practice field here in Oxnard:
•Jason Garrett said not to read too much into the playing time of these young quarterbacks and how they are being used. Nick Stephens has been the first man off the bench in the battle with Alex Tanney for a potential spot on this roster. Garrett offered that it was about getting both reps and that was the important thought.
•Lance Dunbar continues to work as that second running back behind DeMarco Murray and if something did in fact happen to Murray, I believe this coaching staff would be comfortable playing him in that role. Where Dunbar has improved the most is his willingness to develop as a pass protector. He gives up height to everyone that he takes on but he has shown the ability to be good with his technique and physical.
•The Cowboys keep trying to fix the defensive end position. The club claimed Thaddeus Gibson, who now joins his eighth team in four seasons. Gibson (6-2, 243) has played as an outside linebacker in 3-4 scheme. He was recently cut by the Titans but has also played with Chicago, Houston, Washington, San Francisco and Pittsburgh.

A former fourth-round pick in 2010 out of Ohio State, Gibson has three career tackles.
To make room, the Cowboys waived tackle James Nelson, which should suggest Demetress Bell is ready to return to practice.
•It’s clear that James Hanna will be the tight end that will be paired with Jason Witten when the offense gets in their "12" personnel package. Hanna has been steady since he has returned from his hamstring injury at the beginning of camp but not as dominate as I thought he would have been in this offense. Where he is completely different from Gavin Escobar is his quickness in and out of routes but also his ability to separate. I am still waiting for him to put together those two or three practices then carry that into a game.
•The staff had to shorten practice on Monday because of the depth of his offensive tackles was stretched to the point that both Doug Free and Tyron Smith had to take reps with the second offensive line. Today's practice should fully see the return of Jermey Parnell and Demetress Bell. From observing practice on Monday, it appears that Parnell will once again stay at right tackle and Bell play on the left. These additions should give Garrett the relief that he needed.
•Having worked in this league for a number of years, I fully understand how injury can take its toll on your squad during these training camp practices but I have to admit as disappointed that Jay Ratliff and Anthony Spencer have missed the majority of these practices, the injury to Morris Claiborne might be the one that has me struggling the most. I am not here to blast Claiborne for not being on the field because he more than showed his toughness last season fighting through all kinds of issues but with the new scheme and missing the adjustments in it through practices and preseason games just bothers me. If Claiborne was a nine year veteran and dealing with the constant wear and tear that players go through, I would totally understand but he is just in his second season and for some reason that just doesn't seem right. I hope I am wrong about that.


•Nick Hayden still continues to get reps with the first defense as Sean Lissemore remains the backup. Ben Bass is once again back inside at the under tackle and it made me wonder after his work at defensive end in his role as a starter, if the numbers didn't fall right would he be the guy that the coaches go to over George Selvie as a backup to Anthony Spencer to maybe save a roster spot? I have always believed that you want to carry as many offensive and defensive linemen on your roster as possible because those guys are hard to find during the season. With this front office that might not be the case at all but with injuries to Ratliff and Spencer it is a situation that they might be forced to do. Keep on eye on how this rotation works the next several weeks.
 
“But this year, we’re kind of big on creating turnovers and getting to the ball first.
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This year? WTF?!
 
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