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DC.com| Eatman: Maybe These Injuries Will Be Blessings In Disguise
Nick Eatman
DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer
Email | Follow nickeatman on Twitter
OXNARD, Calif. - This cup I'm holding today is definitely half full.
Not trying to paint a rosy picture or anything but if you really stop and think about all these injuries, no need to worry. Well, at least not right now.
Sure, there has been more than a fair share of medical setbacks during these four, going on five weeks of training camp. But we knew that, right? We knew there was no way this team would go through another season like it did last year with an undersized number of injuries.
So this should've been expected. However, despite having a full training room at times, the Cowboys really haven't been set back just yet.
In fact, depending on your perspective, this really could be a blessing in disguise.
Before we get too far, let's not forget about tight end John Phillips. In a press conference here last week, head coach Wade Phillips seemed to overlook the tight end, stating none of the injuries so far have been season-ending. To Wade's defense, it sounded like he was referring to the starting players who have been injured.
Either way, John Phillips' injury may not be vital to the team's chances of success this year, but it was still a setback for the offense, especially with how well he had been playing in camp and that first preseason game when he got hurt.
OK, so losing Phillips leaves the team with a void at tight end. Let's not forget that. But who knows, maybe it opens the door for one of these new guys like a Martin Rucker to fill in.
And that's really my point to all of these injuries.
The key is that other than John Phillips, most of these guys will be back for the season opener in Washington on Sept. 12. The exception there is guard Kyle Kosier and maybe safety Gerald Sensabaugh.
Kosier won't be back in time for the first game and realistically could miss the first three with a sprained MCL he suffered last week in Oxnard. As for Sensabaugh, who had a dislocated shoulder in the San Diego preseason game, there's still chance he returns in time for that game. We're still just less than three weeks away from Washington and the initial prognosis was 2-3 weeks. Something tells me Sensabaugh returns.
As for Dez Bryant, Marcus Spears and Marc Colombo, all of them should be ready to play the Redskins on Sunday night in D.C.
So, all of that is the first part of good news.
The second part is what could be developing here as these guys rehab.
Marcus Spears has been out all of training camp with a sprained MCL. The Cowboys know he can play. They know what Spears is as a starter and probably what he will be once the season starts. Why, they even know what he is when he suffers a sprained knee in camp because it's already happened twice in his career.
But what they're getting to see right now is how Jason Hatcher plays as a starting defensive end. Saturday's game in Houston will be yet another showing for Hatcher, who just so happens to be an unrestricted free agent after this season, just like Spears and Stephen Bowen.
So if anything, the Cowboys are getting to see more of Hatcher and Bowen right now. Also, let's say something happens again to Spears in the regular season. Sure, they won't have any other choice but to play Hatcher, but at least the staff will have some tapes of him to see what he does best in this role.
The same goes for just about any other injury.
Colombo hasn't played in two weeks and won't play again until the season opener. In the meantime, the Cowboys get to see what Robert Brewster can do. In fact, if there was any lingering doubt whether or not he could play, Brewster probably helped his cause big time against the Chargers. He started at right tackle and held up well in the first half before moving to the left side with even better results. Colombo's injury gave Brewster an opportunity - against the starters - to see what he could do. And he makes the team now for sure.
Same goes for Sam Young, who probably makes the team as well. He's getting more reps as the second-team tackle where as he might not have played until late in the second half otherwise.
How about Alex Barron? He's pretty much on both sides of this list. While he's going to play Saturday night in place of Colombo on the right side, something he needs to show since he'll likely be the game-day swing tackle, Barron's ankle injury the last two weeks also helped Brewster and Young play more.
Yes, Sensabaugh is out for a few weeks. Here you go Mike Hamlin. The guy really had no shot of beating out Alan Ball for the free safety spot. So Hamlin gets hurt in the second preseason game and in one night in San Diego, it appears rookies Barry Church and Danny McCray closed the gap fast.
Some even thought Church would work with the first-team over Hamlin in these next two weeks. For now, it's Hamlin getting the shot, but bet that Church will get some turns as well.
Down the road this year, the Cowboys need to know how Church or Hamlin, or both will play when called upon.
The Cowboys need to know how Montrae Holland is going to fill in if Kosier or even Leonard Davis has an injury setback.
Even Bryant's injury opened the door more for a guy like Jesse Holley or Manny Johnson. Holley has a legitimate shot to make this team, mainly for his play on special teams. So that would've been seen either way, but it certainly doesn't hurt if Holley can make a play or three as a receiver. And Dez's injury has allowed him more chances to do so.
Up and down the line, the injuries have opened the doors for younger players, and put them on tape, which sometimes can benefit other teams as well.
But the Cowboys can't worry about any of that. What they're trying to do is build a football team, not just for the first game of the season but the last one.
And while these injuries are mostly annoying, they could be giving the Cowboys a better understanding of just what they do have, instead of what is temporarily missing.
Nick Eatman
DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer
Email | Follow nickeatman on Twitter
OXNARD, Calif. - This cup I'm holding today is definitely half full.
Not trying to paint a rosy picture or anything but if you really stop and think about all these injuries, no need to worry. Well, at least not right now.
Sure, there has been more than a fair share of medical setbacks during these four, going on five weeks of training camp. But we knew that, right? We knew there was no way this team would go through another season like it did last year with an undersized number of injuries.
So this should've been expected. However, despite having a full training room at times, the Cowboys really haven't been set back just yet.
In fact, depending on your perspective, this really could be a blessing in disguise.
Before we get too far, let's not forget about tight end John Phillips. In a press conference here last week, head coach Wade Phillips seemed to overlook the tight end, stating none of the injuries so far have been season-ending. To Wade's defense, it sounded like he was referring to the starting players who have been injured.
Either way, John Phillips' injury may not be vital to the team's chances of success this year, but it was still a setback for the offense, especially with how well he had been playing in camp and that first preseason game when he got hurt.
OK, so losing Phillips leaves the team with a void at tight end. Let's not forget that. But who knows, maybe it opens the door for one of these new guys like a Martin Rucker to fill in.
And that's really my point to all of these injuries.
The key is that other than John Phillips, most of these guys will be back for the season opener in Washington on Sept. 12. The exception there is guard Kyle Kosier and maybe safety Gerald Sensabaugh.
Kosier won't be back in time for the first game and realistically could miss the first three with a sprained MCL he suffered last week in Oxnard. As for Sensabaugh, who had a dislocated shoulder in the San Diego preseason game, there's still chance he returns in time for that game. We're still just less than three weeks away from Washington and the initial prognosis was 2-3 weeks. Something tells me Sensabaugh returns.
As for Dez Bryant, Marcus Spears and Marc Colombo, all of them should be ready to play the Redskins on Sunday night in D.C.
So, all of that is the first part of good news.
The second part is what could be developing here as these guys rehab.
Marcus Spears has been out all of training camp with a sprained MCL. The Cowboys know he can play. They know what Spears is as a starter and probably what he will be once the season starts. Why, they even know what he is when he suffers a sprained knee in camp because it's already happened twice in his career.
But what they're getting to see right now is how Jason Hatcher plays as a starting defensive end. Saturday's game in Houston will be yet another showing for Hatcher, who just so happens to be an unrestricted free agent after this season, just like Spears and Stephen Bowen.
So if anything, the Cowboys are getting to see more of Hatcher and Bowen right now. Also, let's say something happens again to Spears in the regular season. Sure, they won't have any other choice but to play Hatcher, but at least the staff will have some tapes of him to see what he does best in this role.
The same goes for just about any other injury.
Colombo hasn't played in two weeks and won't play again until the season opener. In the meantime, the Cowboys get to see what Robert Brewster can do. In fact, if there was any lingering doubt whether or not he could play, Brewster probably helped his cause big time against the Chargers. He started at right tackle and held up well in the first half before moving to the left side with even better results. Colombo's injury gave Brewster an opportunity - against the starters - to see what he could do. And he makes the team now for sure.
Same goes for Sam Young, who probably makes the team as well. He's getting more reps as the second-team tackle where as he might not have played until late in the second half otherwise.
How about Alex Barron? He's pretty much on both sides of this list. While he's going to play Saturday night in place of Colombo on the right side, something he needs to show since he'll likely be the game-day swing tackle, Barron's ankle injury the last two weeks also helped Brewster and Young play more.
Yes, Sensabaugh is out for a few weeks. Here you go Mike Hamlin. The guy really had no shot of beating out Alan Ball for the free safety spot. So Hamlin gets hurt in the second preseason game and in one night in San Diego, it appears rookies Barry Church and Danny McCray closed the gap fast.
Some even thought Church would work with the first-team over Hamlin in these next two weeks. For now, it's Hamlin getting the shot, but bet that Church will get some turns as well.
Down the road this year, the Cowboys need to know how Church or Hamlin, or both will play when called upon.
The Cowboys need to know how Montrae Holland is going to fill in if Kosier or even Leonard Davis has an injury setback.
Even Bryant's injury opened the door more for a guy like Jesse Holley or Manny Johnson. Holley has a legitimate shot to make this team, mainly for his play on special teams. So that would've been seen either way, but it certainly doesn't hurt if Holley can make a play or three as a receiver. And Dez's injury has allowed him more chances to do so.
Up and down the line, the injuries have opened the doors for younger players, and put them on tape, which sometimes can benefit other teams as well.
But the Cowboys can't worry about any of that. What they're trying to do is build a football team, not just for the first game of the season but the last one.
And while these injuries are mostly annoying, they could be giving the Cowboys a better understanding of just what they do have, instead of what is temporarily missing.
