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Starting From Scratch
Eatman: Continuity Rare For Special Teams Coaches
Nick Eatman
DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer
Email | Follow nickeatman on Twitter
OXNARD, Calif. - Out here at training camp, you hear a lot of cliché words to describe the everyday grind of training camp.
Competition. Consistency. Focus. Execution.
Another one is continuity.
You'll hear Jason Garrett talk about being in his fourth year as offensive coordinator and the players getting adjusted to his scheme.
On the other side, Bradie James was glowing about the fact Wade Phillips will be calling plays for a second straight year.
And what about special teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis? Yeah, he starts over. Happens every year. By now - his 23nd season in the NFL - he's used to it.
Compare him to a Triple-A baseball manager in the minor leagues. You groom these players, try to teach them the ropes and make them the best they can be. And when the light finally comes on and they start to emerge from prospect to player ... they're gone.
And you have to start all over.
Now, DeCamillis doesn't hope that will happen. If he had his way, and with that many years in the league his opinion does count, DeCamillis wouldn't change much from last year. He will try his best to keep the core special teams players intact as much as possible.
But if not, he's prepared for a big change. And he knows it's for no other reason than the business aspect of the NFL. It happens.
And it might just happen again this year. In fact, of the five players who led the team in special teams tackles in 2009, four of them seem to be battling for a roster spot and the fifth one will probably be a starter now, meaning a more limited role on the coverage teams.
Let's start with Sam Hurd, the team leader with 19 special teams tackles, and a player who has been a staple on coverage teams since he got here in 2006. Right now he's in the mix, of course, if the team keeps six wideouts. But when it comes to wide receiver, he probably would be considered the sixth, behind Patrick Crayton and Kevin Ogletree.
And there's no certainty the Cowboys will even keep six. It seems to fit right now, but a few more injuries to the wrong position at the wrong time and you might have to end up going long at another spot just to get by.
So keeping six is no guarantee. And don't look now, but Jesse Holley is coming on strong as well, both as a receiver and special teams guy. DeCamillis said he's pleased with Holley's work there. Don't forget that when Holley was doing Michael Irvin's reality show 4th & Long, they had to do all of those special teams drills for Joe Avezzano and Bill Bates. So it's not foreign to him.
The fact is, Hurd's role isn't safe right now. Being fifth or sixth at receiver, and making $1.7 million isn't helping him. What will help him is that not only is he a great special teams player, but DeCamillis is definitely in his corner.
Pat Watkins had 18 tackles and probably would've had the team lead had he not injured his knee in the final month of the season and missed the last three games. And that same knee has kept him out nearly three weeks now in training camp.
It's clear the Cowboys don't feel Watkins is the answer at safety. That's why they keep drafting guys like Mike Hamlin and Akwasi Owusu-Ansah, or moving Alan Ball from cornerback. They're looking for another answer, but Watkins has stuck around because he's figured out the special teams part of this game. He's tall, rangy and can really fly down the field. For the last three years he's been just short of a special-teams ace. Those guys are tough to part with.
But it might be hard to keep him if rookie safeties like Danny McCray and Barry Church keep performing well on special teams.
Ball had 16 tackles last year and was one of the gunners on punt coverage. But he's going to start this year at free safety. That doesn't mean he won't do any special teams, but it's unlikely he'll be able to keep the same role.
And then Deon Anderson and Steve Octavien both tied for fourth in special teams tackles last year with 12.
Anderson will probably make this team, but the Cowboys are high on rookie Chris Gronkowski, who can play some H-back and tight end. As it stands now, the Cowboys might justify keeping both players, but again, just like with Hurd, if something happens just before the season and a roster spot is needed, keeping two fullbacks might not work.
And salary cap or no salary cap, football is still a business. In football, the tie goes to the cheapest, even if it's not really a tie.
As for Octavien, he might just be the odd man out unless there is an injury. The Cowboys just have too many young linebackers and they're all backups. Jason Williams and Sean Lee aren't going anywhere, and neither are Brandon Williams and Victor Butler. That's three second-year pros and a rookie - it's hard to move those guys off the roster.
Now Butler wasn't far behind on the tackle sheet, registering nine solo stops. That's at least some continuity for DeCamillis, who also has to replace Bobby Carpenter and now John Phillips, who is out for the year.
Who knows, maybe all five of those aforementioned players will be back. But even the doubt means DeCamillis has to make sure his next group of players are ready to go, just in case.
"What you have to do is make sure your system adapts to the guys that come in," DeCamillis said. "When you have young guys - and it's happened over and over, over the years now - you have to make sure your system adapts to young players and they're able to get it. Once they get it, and that's why training camp and OTAs are so important, now we want them to be able to play fast on Sundays. That's hopefully what happens."
Sounds easy enough, right? Just make the special teams stuff so easy that the rookies and young players easily understand. Well, the flip side to that is if you keep basic and vanilla on one side, it's not too hard for the opposing teams and special teams coaches to figure it out as well.
"That's exactly right. That's why your teaching process has to be simple for your team, but complex for the other team," DeCamillis said. "To me, that's the sign of a real good football coach."
For the last 22 years, DeCamillis has showed the signs why he's a great football coach.
And this year, just like all the rest, he'll have to start from scratch to prove it all again.
Eatman: Continuity Rare For Special Teams Coaches
Nick Eatman
DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer
Email | Follow nickeatman on Twitter
OXNARD, Calif. - Out here at training camp, you hear a lot of cliché words to describe the everyday grind of training camp.
Competition. Consistency. Focus. Execution.
Another one is continuity.
You'll hear Jason Garrett talk about being in his fourth year as offensive coordinator and the players getting adjusted to his scheme.
On the other side, Bradie James was glowing about the fact Wade Phillips will be calling plays for a second straight year.
And what about special teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis? Yeah, he starts over. Happens every year. By now - his 23nd season in the NFL - he's used to it.
Compare him to a Triple-A baseball manager in the minor leagues. You groom these players, try to teach them the ropes and make them the best they can be. And when the light finally comes on and they start to emerge from prospect to player ... they're gone.
And you have to start all over.
Now, DeCamillis doesn't hope that will happen. If he had his way, and with that many years in the league his opinion does count, DeCamillis wouldn't change much from last year. He will try his best to keep the core special teams players intact as much as possible.
But if not, he's prepared for a big change. And he knows it's for no other reason than the business aspect of the NFL. It happens.
And it might just happen again this year. In fact, of the five players who led the team in special teams tackles in 2009, four of them seem to be battling for a roster spot and the fifth one will probably be a starter now, meaning a more limited role on the coverage teams.
Let's start with Sam Hurd, the team leader with 19 special teams tackles, and a player who has been a staple on coverage teams since he got here in 2006. Right now he's in the mix, of course, if the team keeps six wideouts. But when it comes to wide receiver, he probably would be considered the sixth, behind Patrick Crayton and Kevin Ogletree.
And there's no certainty the Cowboys will even keep six. It seems to fit right now, but a few more injuries to the wrong position at the wrong time and you might have to end up going long at another spot just to get by.
So keeping six is no guarantee. And don't look now, but Jesse Holley is coming on strong as well, both as a receiver and special teams guy. DeCamillis said he's pleased with Holley's work there. Don't forget that when Holley was doing Michael Irvin's reality show 4th & Long, they had to do all of those special teams drills for Joe Avezzano and Bill Bates. So it's not foreign to him.
The fact is, Hurd's role isn't safe right now. Being fifth or sixth at receiver, and making $1.7 million isn't helping him. What will help him is that not only is he a great special teams player, but DeCamillis is definitely in his corner.
Pat Watkins had 18 tackles and probably would've had the team lead had he not injured his knee in the final month of the season and missed the last three games. And that same knee has kept him out nearly three weeks now in training camp.
It's clear the Cowboys don't feel Watkins is the answer at safety. That's why they keep drafting guys like Mike Hamlin and Akwasi Owusu-Ansah, or moving Alan Ball from cornerback. They're looking for another answer, but Watkins has stuck around because he's figured out the special teams part of this game. He's tall, rangy and can really fly down the field. For the last three years he's been just short of a special-teams ace. Those guys are tough to part with.
But it might be hard to keep him if rookie safeties like Danny McCray and Barry Church keep performing well on special teams.
Ball had 16 tackles last year and was one of the gunners on punt coverage. But he's going to start this year at free safety. That doesn't mean he won't do any special teams, but it's unlikely he'll be able to keep the same role.
And then Deon Anderson and Steve Octavien both tied for fourth in special teams tackles last year with 12.
Anderson will probably make this team, but the Cowboys are high on rookie Chris Gronkowski, who can play some H-back and tight end. As it stands now, the Cowboys might justify keeping both players, but again, just like with Hurd, if something happens just before the season and a roster spot is needed, keeping two fullbacks might not work.
And salary cap or no salary cap, football is still a business. In football, the tie goes to the cheapest, even if it's not really a tie.
As for Octavien, he might just be the odd man out unless there is an injury. The Cowboys just have too many young linebackers and they're all backups. Jason Williams and Sean Lee aren't going anywhere, and neither are Brandon Williams and Victor Butler. That's three second-year pros and a rookie - it's hard to move those guys off the roster.
Now Butler wasn't far behind on the tackle sheet, registering nine solo stops. That's at least some continuity for DeCamillis, who also has to replace Bobby Carpenter and now John Phillips, who is out for the year.
Who knows, maybe all five of those aforementioned players will be back. But even the doubt means DeCamillis has to make sure his next group of players are ready to go, just in case.
"What you have to do is make sure your system adapts to the guys that come in," DeCamillis said. "When you have young guys - and it's happened over and over, over the years now - you have to make sure your system adapts to young players and they're able to get it. Once they get it, and that's why training camp and OTAs are so important, now we want them to be able to play fast on Sundays. That's hopefully what happens."
Sounds easy enough, right? Just make the special teams stuff so easy that the rookies and young players easily understand. Well, the flip side to that is if you keep basic and vanilla on one side, it's not too hard for the opposing teams and special teams coaches to figure it out as well.
"That's exactly right. That's why your teaching process has to be simple for your team, but complex for the other team," DeCamillis said. "To me, that's the sign of a real good football coach."
For the last 22 years, DeCamillis has showed the signs why he's a great football coach.
And this year, just like all the rest, he'll have to start from scratch to prove it all again.