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Updated: August 22, 2010, 3:34 AM
Forcing The Issue
Eatman: Rookie Safeties Making It Interesting
Nick Eatman
DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer
SAN DIEGO - First it was the tight end position. Last week, it was the offensive line. And after Saturday night's preseason game in San Diego, you got the sense the safety position might be headed there as well.
You know - half the guys at the position are in street clothes, leaving the rest of them scrambling to get through practice, much less a game.
Gerald Sensabaugh's first-quarter shoulder injury, which sounds like could keep him out for a week or two, thins out an already-thin safety position even more. X-rays on Sensabugh's shoulder were negative, which is a good thing of course, but the subluxation of the injury could put him on the shelf for a bit.
Either way, the safety spot is getting a little bit dicey - injuries or not.
And this isn't or should be a surprise to anyone. It was arguably the most discussed position on the team heading into training camp. Three preseason games in the books, including Saturday's 16-14 win here at Qualocomm Stadium, we still have plenty of questions about the safety spot.
But it's not exactly with the starters, assuming Sensabaugh isn't seriously injured. That's because Alan Ball has pretty much solidified his spot, even though some might say by default. But however you slice it, Ball is this team's starting free safety and that's not going to change between now and the start of the season.
The only question was if Mike Hamlin or Pat Watkins would beat him out. Well, they weren't even on the field Saturday night, and Watkins hasn't played at all.
Don't look now, but both of those guys might be worried more about being on the team, rather than starting. If Saturday showed us anything - other than the offense certainly misses its two starting linemen, but that's for another day - it's that a pair of rookie safeties aren't afraid to make a play.
In fact, they might just play their way on this team.
And since I'm not talking about Akwasi Owusu-Ansah, whose spot seems rather safe, then it's going to be very interesting to see how what happens with Barry Church and Danny McCray.
"It's coming down to the wire," said safety coach Brett Maxie. "We're going to have some really tough decisions to make in the next few weeks. I don't know what's going to happen. But I know those two kids played really well tonight."
Those kids are going to make it very hard for the Cowboys to cut. In fact, I see both of them making it on the team, especially McCray. This guy has a ways to go in terms of being a safety, but that's not where the Cowboys will play right now - at least they hope not. But McCray is here because he can play special teams.
In fact, Cowboys special teams coach Joe DeCamillis wasn't even expecting to see McCray when he was watching LSU tape in the offseason. But he kept showing up on the tape on special teams. Well, he keeps showing up in the preseason games, too.
The official stat book had McCray down for three special teams tackles against the Chargers. He said afterwards he thought it could've been "four or five." He's right, and it felt like about six or seven, because that's about how many plays he made. Along with the tackles, McCray also flew down the field on punt coverage and drew a block-in-the-back penalty, which pinned the Chargers back inside their 10.
Later in the game, McCray pounced on a fumble by Owusu-Ansah on a kickoff return. It just seemed like a few other plays on special teams where guys nearly made the play . . . but McCray did.
"I thought McCray played outstanding on special teams," head coach Wade Phillips said. "They couldn't block him. He was making plays on all of their guys."
I just don't see how this guy isn't on the roster. And since he's really just a special teams guy, that might not bode well for a guy like Watkins, whose best moments have come in kick coverage, too. Cheaper guys with upside typically win out, especially if the race is close.
But now you've got to figure Church in this mix too. And I would say that even if the rookie from Toledo hadn't scooped up that fumble and returned it 80 yards to set up the first touchdown. Now that was a great play by him - sure you'd like to see him score, but he was running out of gas and room. But let's not forget some of the moves he made just to get down there and flip the field position. Without that fumble and return, the Cowboys don't score at all in the first half and we're spending all week (aside from just half the week) talking about the offensive struggles.
I thought Church was showing up even before the return. He had to go in there when Sensabaugh went down and made a touchdown-saving tackle on the goal line. He also made a nice tackle in the open field, just a few snaps before his fumble recovery.
"I thought he played real well tonight," Maxie said of Church. "He's a guy who understands what we're doing. For a young guy to come in like he did, I thought he played well."
And they didn't just play well, but they played a lot. They had to.
"I'm Ok now," McCray said just before he boarded a bus to head back to Oxnard. "But if you had asked me when we were leaving the field, I was exhausted. But it was good to play a lot."
Now, let's also point out that McCray had some issues, too. On defense, he's got some rough edges. Head coach Wade Phillips said McCray was the primary culprit in a 56-yard Chargers reception in the third quarter.
But Phillips did point out McCray's play in run support.
"I really thought both the young safeties came in and did some good things," Phillips said. "They had some rookie mistakes. Overall, I thought they did well."
And let's not overlook Owusu-Ansah either. He played the majority of the game, too and also returned punts and kickoffs. More than anything, he showed up like a rookie, too. He fumbled one kickoff and then showed some really nice burst on a punt return later in the game.
But of course, there is a big difference between Owusu-Ansah and the other two. Draft picks, especially fourth-rounders, don't need to show a whole lot - just something. Rookie free agents need to show a ton - and McCray and Church did just that Saturday night.
If anything, they showed enough to make this thing very interesting.
Forcing The Issue
Eatman: Rookie Safeties Making It Interesting
Nick Eatman
DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer
SAN DIEGO - First it was the tight end position. Last week, it was the offensive line. And after Saturday night's preseason game in San Diego, you got the sense the safety position might be headed there as well.
You know - half the guys at the position are in street clothes, leaving the rest of them scrambling to get through practice, much less a game.
Gerald Sensabaugh's first-quarter shoulder injury, which sounds like could keep him out for a week or two, thins out an already-thin safety position even more. X-rays on Sensabugh's shoulder were negative, which is a good thing of course, but the subluxation of the injury could put him on the shelf for a bit.
Either way, the safety spot is getting a little bit dicey - injuries or not.
And this isn't or should be a surprise to anyone. It was arguably the most discussed position on the team heading into training camp. Three preseason games in the books, including Saturday's 16-14 win here at Qualocomm Stadium, we still have plenty of questions about the safety spot.
But it's not exactly with the starters, assuming Sensabaugh isn't seriously injured. That's because Alan Ball has pretty much solidified his spot, even though some might say by default. But however you slice it, Ball is this team's starting free safety and that's not going to change between now and the start of the season.
The only question was if Mike Hamlin or Pat Watkins would beat him out. Well, they weren't even on the field Saturday night, and Watkins hasn't played at all.
Don't look now, but both of those guys might be worried more about being on the team, rather than starting. If Saturday showed us anything - other than the offense certainly misses its two starting linemen, but that's for another day - it's that a pair of rookie safeties aren't afraid to make a play.
In fact, they might just play their way on this team.
And since I'm not talking about Akwasi Owusu-Ansah, whose spot seems rather safe, then it's going to be very interesting to see how what happens with Barry Church and Danny McCray.
"It's coming down to the wire," said safety coach Brett Maxie. "We're going to have some really tough decisions to make in the next few weeks. I don't know what's going to happen. But I know those two kids played really well tonight."
Those kids are going to make it very hard for the Cowboys to cut. In fact, I see both of them making it on the team, especially McCray. This guy has a ways to go in terms of being a safety, but that's not where the Cowboys will play right now - at least they hope not. But McCray is here because he can play special teams.
In fact, Cowboys special teams coach Joe DeCamillis wasn't even expecting to see McCray when he was watching LSU tape in the offseason. But he kept showing up on the tape on special teams. Well, he keeps showing up in the preseason games, too.
The official stat book had McCray down for three special teams tackles against the Chargers. He said afterwards he thought it could've been "four or five." He's right, and it felt like about six or seven, because that's about how many plays he made. Along with the tackles, McCray also flew down the field on punt coverage and drew a block-in-the-back penalty, which pinned the Chargers back inside their 10.
Later in the game, McCray pounced on a fumble by Owusu-Ansah on a kickoff return. It just seemed like a few other plays on special teams where guys nearly made the play . . . but McCray did.
"I thought McCray played outstanding on special teams," head coach Wade Phillips said. "They couldn't block him. He was making plays on all of their guys."
I just don't see how this guy isn't on the roster. And since he's really just a special teams guy, that might not bode well for a guy like Watkins, whose best moments have come in kick coverage, too. Cheaper guys with upside typically win out, especially if the race is close.
But now you've got to figure Church in this mix too. And I would say that even if the rookie from Toledo hadn't scooped up that fumble and returned it 80 yards to set up the first touchdown. Now that was a great play by him - sure you'd like to see him score, but he was running out of gas and room. But let's not forget some of the moves he made just to get down there and flip the field position. Without that fumble and return, the Cowboys don't score at all in the first half and we're spending all week (aside from just half the week) talking about the offensive struggles.
I thought Church was showing up even before the return. He had to go in there when Sensabaugh went down and made a touchdown-saving tackle on the goal line. He also made a nice tackle in the open field, just a few snaps before his fumble recovery.
"I thought he played real well tonight," Maxie said of Church. "He's a guy who understands what we're doing. For a young guy to come in like he did, I thought he played well."
And they didn't just play well, but they played a lot. They had to.
"I'm Ok now," McCray said just before he boarded a bus to head back to Oxnard. "But if you had asked me when we were leaving the field, I was exhausted. But it was good to play a lot."
Now, let's also point out that McCray had some issues, too. On defense, he's got some rough edges. Head coach Wade Phillips said McCray was the primary culprit in a 56-yard Chargers reception in the third quarter.
But Phillips did point out McCray's play in run support.
"I really thought both the young safeties came in and did some good things," Phillips said. "They had some rookie mistakes. Overall, I thought they did well."
And let's not overlook Owusu-Ansah either. He played the majority of the game, too and also returned punts and kickoffs. More than anything, he showed up like a rookie, too. He fumbled one kickoff and then showed some really nice burst on a punt return later in the game.
But of course, there is a big difference between Owusu-Ansah and the other two. Draft picks, especially fourth-rounders, don't need to show a whole lot - just something. Rookie free agents need to show a ton - and McCray and Church did just that Saturday night.
If anything, they showed enough to make this thing very interesting.
