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Cowboys rookies get a chance to make a splash
12:49 AM CDT on Sunday, August 22, 2010
Column by DAVID MOORE / The Dallas Morning News
dmoore@dallasnews.com
Column by DAVID MOORE / The Dallas Morning News | dmoore@dallasnews.com
David Moore
Archive | E-mail
SAN DIEGO – A few pesky questions were addressed by the Cowboys in Saturday's 16-14 win over the San Diego Chargers.
Tony Romo does not need to join the red ruffed lemur on the endangered species list when Marc Colombo and Kyle Kosier aren't around.
The Cowboys can score a touchdown in the red zone.
The defense can produce turnovers.
Some of the team's largely invisible draft class even showed up.
Dez Bryant was not among them. The headliner of the group stood on the sideline in a Cowboys cap and T-shirt with a towel draped around his neck. His moment came when he was the first to congratulate Miles Austin for his touchdown reception once Austin returned to the Cowboys' bench.
It's unlikely Bryant will make his debut this preseason. He has not been cleared to practice in the final week of training camp, and coach Wade Phillips said Saturday night the training staff has told him not to expect the No. 1 pick until the regular season opener at Washington on Sept. 12.
But the two players taken after Bryant in April's draft, linebacker Sean Lee and Akwasi Owusu-Ansah, made their first appearances. Lee was active and had some good moments while Owusu-Ansah was a little shaky as a return man but had a big play.
Almost.
"They made some mistakes," Phillips said. "Lee came off his guy one time, but he learned as the game went along, I thought."
Keith Brooking hurt his right shoulder in the first quarter and did not finish the half with the rest of the starters. In a regular-season game, he would have returned. Instead, the coaches used the opportunity to give Lee an extended look.
Lee, who was slowed early in camp with a strained quadriceps, appears to have the same temperament and instincts for the inside linebacker position as Brooking. He's something of a Brooking Lite and is the heir apparent at the position.
Lee played well overall. He made a nice goal-line tackle, though the Chargers scored on the next play. He shed blocks to make tackles in the running game and was generally around the ball.
He was also hit with a penalty for illegal contact on a pass play, was knocked on his back during a blitz and whiffed on a tackle in the fourth quarter.
"He hasn't had any game experience," Brooking said. "He is able to get his feet wet. He made some plays out there.
"He has some things to learn, but all in all, I think he's pretty productive."
The night didn't go as smoothly for Owusu-Ansah. He returned four kickoffs for an average of 18 yards. He had a 47-yard punt return late in the fourth quarter called back because Cletis Gordon blocked a Charger in the back. He got some work at safety in the second half and broke up a pass on his second play.
"It was more than I expected," said Owusu-Ansah, who had off-season shoulder surgery.
"I was coming off the line and they were killing me and I was like, 'Wow, it's not what I anticipated.' I've been so successful beating everyone who is in front of me."
While watching Lee and Owusu-Ansah, it was impossible not to notice rookie free agent Barry Church, who returned a fumble 80 yards to set up the Cowboys' first offensive touchdown of the preseason and broke up a pass.
Church is physical, moves well in space and is much better in coverage than the Cowboys imagined. He has a chance to make the team and enhance the stock of the rookie class just as free agent Kevin Ogletree did last year.
Speaking of the 2009 class, it should not be excluded from the discussion. That group missed so many games Phillips calls it his redshirt class.
Only five of the 12 players selected by the Cowboys in '09 have played in a regular-season game. One of those MIAs, Robert Brewster, started at right tackle for the injured Colombo and played well considering the Chargers blitzed on every third down.
He moved to left tackle in the third quarter and did a good job there, too, though he was hit with a false start.
• • •
12:49 AM CDT on Sunday, August 22, 2010
Column by DAVID MOORE / The Dallas Morning News
dmoore@dallasnews.com
Column by DAVID MOORE / The Dallas Morning News | dmoore@dallasnews.com
David Moore
Archive | E-mail
SAN DIEGO – A few pesky questions were addressed by the Cowboys in Saturday's 16-14 win over the San Diego Chargers.
Tony Romo does not need to join the red ruffed lemur on the endangered species list when Marc Colombo and Kyle Kosier aren't around.
The Cowboys can score a touchdown in the red zone.
The defense can produce turnovers.
Some of the team's largely invisible draft class even showed up.
Dez Bryant was not among them. The headliner of the group stood on the sideline in a Cowboys cap and T-shirt with a towel draped around his neck. His moment came when he was the first to congratulate Miles Austin for his touchdown reception once Austin returned to the Cowboys' bench.
It's unlikely Bryant will make his debut this preseason. He has not been cleared to practice in the final week of training camp, and coach Wade Phillips said Saturday night the training staff has told him not to expect the No. 1 pick until the regular season opener at Washington on Sept. 12.
But the two players taken after Bryant in April's draft, linebacker Sean Lee and Akwasi Owusu-Ansah, made their first appearances. Lee was active and had some good moments while Owusu-Ansah was a little shaky as a return man but had a big play.
Almost.
"They made some mistakes," Phillips said. "Lee came off his guy one time, but he learned as the game went along, I thought."
Keith Brooking hurt his right shoulder in the first quarter and did not finish the half with the rest of the starters. In a regular-season game, he would have returned. Instead, the coaches used the opportunity to give Lee an extended look.
Lee, who was slowed early in camp with a strained quadriceps, appears to have the same temperament and instincts for the inside linebacker position as Brooking. He's something of a Brooking Lite and is the heir apparent at the position.
Lee played well overall. He made a nice goal-line tackle, though the Chargers scored on the next play. He shed blocks to make tackles in the running game and was generally around the ball.
He was also hit with a penalty for illegal contact on a pass play, was knocked on his back during a blitz and whiffed on a tackle in the fourth quarter.
"He hasn't had any game experience," Brooking said. "He is able to get his feet wet. He made some plays out there.
"He has some things to learn, but all in all, I think he's pretty productive."
The night didn't go as smoothly for Owusu-Ansah. He returned four kickoffs for an average of 18 yards. He had a 47-yard punt return late in the fourth quarter called back because Cletis Gordon blocked a Charger in the back. He got some work at safety in the second half and broke up a pass on his second play.
"It was more than I expected," said Owusu-Ansah, who had off-season shoulder surgery.
"I was coming off the line and they were killing me and I was like, 'Wow, it's not what I anticipated.' I've been so successful beating everyone who is in front of me."
While watching Lee and Owusu-Ansah, it was impossible not to notice rookie free agent Barry Church, who returned a fumble 80 yards to set up the Cowboys' first offensive touchdown of the preseason and broke up a pass.
Church is physical, moves well in space and is much better in coverage than the Cowboys imagined. He has a chance to make the team and enhance the stock of the rookie class just as free agent Kevin Ogletree did last year.
Speaking of the 2009 class, it should not be excluded from the discussion. That group missed so many games Phillips calls it his redshirt class.
Only five of the 12 players selected by the Cowboys in '09 have played in a regular-season game. One of those MIAs, Robert Brewster, started at right tackle for the injured Colombo and played well considering the Chargers blitzed on every third down.
He moved to left tackle in the third quarter and did a good job there, too, though he was hit with a false start.
• • •