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Two-For-One
Eatman: Cowboys Trying To Avoid These Double Moves
Nick Eatman
DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer
SAN ANTONIO - The term is rather common in the NFL these days.
Dez Bryant fires off the line of scrimmage, he cuts to the left, then quickly jerks back to the right and then explodes up the field.
It's the "double move" - two different maneuvers to get to one place. Most of the time the defender is left either on the ground looking for his jockstrap, or he's at least hesitated enough for the receiver to get by him.
That double move is common.
One that isn't is something the Cowboys could potentially face three times this season. That double move is something this team should fear.
If one thing has been noticeable in this first week of camp, it's the fact the Cowboys seem rather loaded across the board with their 22 starters. What isn't so solid is the depth behind the starting lineup.
That's where the real question marks lie with this team.
And in three different spots - center, nose tackle and nickel cornerback - you've got starting players as the backups to other starting players.
At center, Andre Gurode is a four-time Pro Bowler who has manned the middle of the offensive line for several years. If he's healthy, the Cowboys are in good shape. But if not, it's pretty unclear what will happen if Gurode were to suffer an injury.
For now, the backup plan is to slide Kyle Kosier, from his starting left guard position over to center. Then veteran Montrae Holland comes in at left guard. Double move.
Sounds good I guess, except for a couple of things that could be bothersome. Like, Kosier has NEVER snapped in an NFL game before. He's not a center and only really worked at it as a rookie in San Francisco because he was a young player and tried to learn as many things as he could. But he only did it in practice, never a real game.
To me, it seems a bit risky, considering how important the center position is. In anything you do, hockey, basketball, baseball, most things run right through the center, or the center of attention. And football is no different, although they usually don't garner the accolades and attention like the glamorous positions. Doesn't mean it's not vital.
And right now, if something were to happen to Gurode, the Cowboys are counting on a guy that hasn't ever played the position in the NFL. Not only that, but he really doesn't get a lot of work practicing it, because he's starting at his own position.
Throw in the fact that Kosier is 31 years old, and you wouldn't think the Cowboys would want him to have a heavy workload in the preseason games, playing a quarter or so with the first-team offense and then getting second-team work at center. I'm sure he'll have to get some reps in the preseason, but it can't be too much. Let's not forget Kosier is a candidate to get limited reps anyway, not the other way around.
Naturally, the Cowboys would love for someone else to emerge. A guy like Travis Bright, or even rookie free agent Phil Costa, who has playing experience at both guard and center, could help themselves dramatically if they can become a viable option.
The reason Kosier makes sense is the team can maybe go on game day without having to make eight linemen active. Still it's a risky process.
Let's look at safety. Alan Ball is the projected starter and so far in camp, he hasn't done anything to alter those plans. The way the Cowboys do these "camp battles" is pretty simple. They pick a guy, and he gets the first-team reps. It's happening with Doug Free and Alex Barron at left tackle, and at free safety Alan Ball is ahead of Mike Hamlin and Pat Watkins.
So Ball is the safety. However, if something happens to one of the three corners, that could change.
Sure, the Cowboys are looking for a fourth corner to emerge, but the chances are slim that anyone from the group of Jamar Wall, Cletis Gordon and Bryan McCann is a better option than Ball. So if an injury occurred to Terence Newman, Mike Jenkins or Orlando Scandrick, it's likely that Ball would slide into the third spot - not necessarily in the slot. Newman and Scandrick are better suited for that, but still Ball would likely be in the top three.
Then, you've got to replace Ball at safety, likely using Mike Hamlin or Pat Watkins. The longer we go without rookie Akwasi Owusu-Ansah even stepping on the field, the more likely it is he doesn't even play in a regular season game until November, at the earliest.
One more position we might see the double move - defensive tackle.
Jay Ratliff is an All-Pro nose guard. He's the man. To steal a line from my radio and TV co-host Dia Wall, the way Ratliff plays is downright "beastly." And beastly guys don't get hurt much. But there's always a contingency plan.
Last year it was Junior Siavii, who is back again this season. The Cowboys drafted Josh Brent in the supplemental draft for some possible depth. He shows up and breaks his hand.
Right now, it seems the best option to replace Ratliff is Marcus Spears, who just so happens to start at end. Now this scenario is probably one where the Cowboys use Spears to get through a game or two, and desperately look on the outside for a replacement. Either way, Spears has the size to play inside, but you are taking one of the team's best run-stoppers away from his natural position.
Why it makes sense to use Spears is because of the depth behind him at end with Stephen Bowen, Jason Hatcher and even Marcus Dixon. But once again, it's another situation where the Cowboys are making two moves because of one injury.
On paper, yes, this team looks like a serious contender to make a run. But that could change if we see more double moves on the depth chart than we see in the open field.
Eatman: Cowboys Trying To Avoid These Double Moves
Nick Eatman
DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer
SAN ANTONIO - The term is rather common in the NFL these days.
Dez Bryant fires off the line of scrimmage, he cuts to the left, then quickly jerks back to the right and then explodes up the field.
It's the "double move" - two different maneuvers to get to one place. Most of the time the defender is left either on the ground looking for his jockstrap, or he's at least hesitated enough for the receiver to get by him.
That double move is common.
One that isn't is something the Cowboys could potentially face three times this season. That double move is something this team should fear.
If one thing has been noticeable in this first week of camp, it's the fact the Cowboys seem rather loaded across the board with their 22 starters. What isn't so solid is the depth behind the starting lineup.
That's where the real question marks lie with this team.
And in three different spots - center, nose tackle and nickel cornerback - you've got starting players as the backups to other starting players.
At center, Andre Gurode is a four-time Pro Bowler who has manned the middle of the offensive line for several years. If he's healthy, the Cowboys are in good shape. But if not, it's pretty unclear what will happen if Gurode were to suffer an injury.
For now, the backup plan is to slide Kyle Kosier, from his starting left guard position over to center. Then veteran Montrae Holland comes in at left guard. Double move.
Sounds good I guess, except for a couple of things that could be bothersome. Like, Kosier has NEVER snapped in an NFL game before. He's not a center and only really worked at it as a rookie in San Francisco because he was a young player and tried to learn as many things as he could. But he only did it in practice, never a real game.
To me, it seems a bit risky, considering how important the center position is. In anything you do, hockey, basketball, baseball, most things run right through the center, or the center of attention. And football is no different, although they usually don't garner the accolades and attention like the glamorous positions. Doesn't mean it's not vital.
And right now, if something were to happen to Gurode, the Cowboys are counting on a guy that hasn't ever played the position in the NFL. Not only that, but he really doesn't get a lot of work practicing it, because he's starting at his own position.
Throw in the fact that Kosier is 31 years old, and you wouldn't think the Cowboys would want him to have a heavy workload in the preseason games, playing a quarter or so with the first-team offense and then getting second-team work at center. I'm sure he'll have to get some reps in the preseason, but it can't be too much. Let's not forget Kosier is a candidate to get limited reps anyway, not the other way around.
Naturally, the Cowboys would love for someone else to emerge. A guy like Travis Bright, or even rookie free agent Phil Costa, who has playing experience at both guard and center, could help themselves dramatically if they can become a viable option.
The reason Kosier makes sense is the team can maybe go on game day without having to make eight linemen active. Still it's a risky process.
Let's look at safety. Alan Ball is the projected starter and so far in camp, he hasn't done anything to alter those plans. The way the Cowboys do these "camp battles" is pretty simple. They pick a guy, and he gets the first-team reps. It's happening with Doug Free and Alex Barron at left tackle, and at free safety Alan Ball is ahead of Mike Hamlin and Pat Watkins.
So Ball is the safety. However, if something happens to one of the three corners, that could change.
Sure, the Cowboys are looking for a fourth corner to emerge, but the chances are slim that anyone from the group of Jamar Wall, Cletis Gordon and Bryan McCann is a better option than Ball. So if an injury occurred to Terence Newman, Mike Jenkins or Orlando Scandrick, it's likely that Ball would slide into the third spot - not necessarily in the slot. Newman and Scandrick are better suited for that, but still Ball would likely be in the top three.
Then, you've got to replace Ball at safety, likely using Mike Hamlin or Pat Watkins. The longer we go without rookie Akwasi Owusu-Ansah even stepping on the field, the more likely it is he doesn't even play in a regular season game until November, at the earliest.
One more position we might see the double move - defensive tackle.
Jay Ratliff is an All-Pro nose guard. He's the man. To steal a line from my radio and TV co-host Dia Wall, the way Ratliff plays is downright "beastly." And beastly guys don't get hurt much. But there's always a contingency plan.
Last year it was Junior Siavii, who is back again this season. The Cowboys drafted Josh Brent in the supplemental draft for some possible depth. He shows up and breaks his hand.
Right now, it seems the best option to replace Ratliff is Marcus Spears, who just so happens to start at end. Now this scenario is probably one where the Cowboys use Spears to get through a game or two, and desperately look on the outside for a replacement. Either way, Spears has the size to play inside, but you are taking one of the team's best run-stoppers away from his natural position.
Why it makes sense to use Spears is because of the depth behind him at end with Stephen Bowen, Jason Hatcher and even Marcus Dixon. But once again, it's another situation where the Cowboys are making two moves because of one injury.
On paper, yes, this team looks like a serious contender to make a run. But that could change if we see more double moves on the depth chart than we see in the open field.