By DAVID MOORE Follow @DavidMooreDMN dmoore@dallasnews.com
Staff Writer
OXNARD, Calif. — The Cowboys annual Blue-White Scrimmage took place three days after the first Republican Presidential debate.
We mention this for one reason only. In terms of sheer entertainment value, the fumes and leftovers from that debate remain more interesting than anything that took place on the practice fields here Sunday.
In fairness, this stage of camp isn’t about blockbuster ratings, even though the scrimmage was broadcast locally in Dallas-Fort Worth. It’s not about the starters exhibiting peak form with the regular-season opener still five weeks away.
These days leading up to Thursday’s preseason opener against San Diego are about giving other players opportunities to show if they can contribute. It’s about evaluation and building depth to withstand the grind that will come.
“One of the things that we’ve talked about a lot as a staff is to make sure these first two weeks we have great discipline giving the young guys opportunities to get reps in practice leading up to this first preseason game,” head coach Jason Garrett said. “It’s really been our philosophy all along. It’s been our philosophy since I’ve been the head coach.
“And sometimes that’s challenging. You want to get the [starters] out there. But you really build your football team by giving younger guys and backup players an opportunity early on to see where they are, to see them compete on as level a playing field as possible.
“So that continues. Anytime a front-line player is out, it gives those guys even more of a chance and that will certainly happen on Thursday night.”
Injuries kept seven starters out of Sunday’s practice. Another starter who was on the field, defensive end Greg Hardy, won’t be around for the first four games of the season because of a suspension.
Rookie La’el Collins and Darrion Weems worked with the starters on the offensive line with Ron Leary and Doug Free out. Dez Bryant’s absence provided more reps for the young receivers trying earn spots behind Bryant, Terrance Williams and Cole Beasley, who had another outstanding day of practice.
“ [Beasley’s] having a great camp,” offensive coordinator Scott Linehan said of the slot receiver.
Rookie Byron Jones and veteran Corey White, who have been working at safety in recent days, were at cornerback with Brandon Carr and Orlando Scandrick out. Jones got most of the work with the starters along with Morris Claiborne.
“I think we’re getting to look at everybody,” executive vice president Stephen Jones said. “I like our situation at corner. Obviously, we’re a little banged up there.
“That means the ones who aren’t ... we get to see them even more.”
The coaching staff also wants to see how units respond to a challenge. The offense dominated the defense in goal-line situations in Saturday’s practice. Defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli expressed his displeasure throughout Saturday’s practice.
The staff didn’t stop there.
“We challenged our defense [Saturday] in our meetings, explained to them why they were dominated,” Garrett said. “There were a number of different reasons, and we tried to address those and be crystal clear as to what we want and what we expect, and we anticipate them to respond the right way.
“It was not a perfect day for the defense by any means. But they certainly responded well and played a heck of a lot better.”
The presence of linebacker Sean Lee helped the defense respond. He took part in team drills Saturday but wasn’t included in goal-line work. He was on the field Sunday when the offense drove into the red zone and made a difference.
But again, the impact Lee can have on this defense isn’t in question. The question is, can rookie Damien Wilson, who is getting a lot of work with the starters at weakside linebacker while the team limits Lee’s reps, and others help?
That is what this stage of camp is about.
“This is when guys get opportunities,” Stephen Jones said. “Obviously, that’s probably going on to varying degrees across the league. Everybody when you get two weeks into camp, you’re having to work with this.
“Every situation is different. A veteran player who gets hurt is going to be a little different than a younger player who gets hurt. He has to get out here and show or he’s not going to be around here long.
“A veteran player would probably be a little more conservative with it because we know what they can do and we want to make sure they’re ready to go for the Giants.”
Catch David Moore on The Ticket (KTCK-AM 1310 and 96.7 FM) with The Musers at 9:35 a.m. and The Hardline at 3:55 p .m. every Monday through Friday during training camp.
Staff Writer
OXNARD, Calif. — The Cowboys annual Blue-White Scrimmage took place three days after the first Republican Presidential debate.
We mention this for one reason only. In terms of sheer entertainment value, the fumes and leftovers from that debate remain more interesting than anything that took place on the practice fields here Sunday.
In fairness, this stage of camp isn’t about blockbuster ratings, even though the scrimmage was broadcast locally in Dallas-Fort Worth. It’s not about the starters exhibiting peak form with the regular-season opener still five weeks away.
These days leading up to Thursday’s preseason opener against San Diego are about giving other players opportunities to show if they can contribute. It’s about evaluation and building depth to withstand the grind that will come.
“One of the things that we’ve talked about a lot as a staff is to make sure these first two weeks we have great discipline giving the young guys opportunities to get reps in practice leading up to this first preseason game,” head coach Jason Garrett said. “It’s really been our philosophy all along. It’s been our philosophy since I’ve been the head coach.
“And sometimes that’s challenging. You want to get the [starters] out there. But you really build your football team by giving younger guys and backup players an opportunity early on to see where they are, to see them compete on as level a playing field as possible.
“So that continues. Anytime a front-line player is out, it gives those guys even more of a chance and that will certainly happen on Thursday night.”
Injuries kept seven starters out of Sunday’s practice. Another starter who was on the field, defensive end Greg Hardy, won’t be around for the first four games of the season because of a suspension.
Rookie La’el Collins and Darrion Weems worked with the starters on the offensive line with Ron Leary and Doug Free out. Dez Bryant’s absence provided more reps for the young receivers trying earn spots behind Bryant, Terrance Williams and Cole Beasley, who had another outstanding day of practice.
“ [Beasley’s] having a great camp,” offensive coordinator Scott Linehan said of the slot receiver.
Rookie Byron Jones and veteran Corey White, who have been working at safety in recent days, were at cornerback with Brandon Carr and Orlando Scandrick out. Jones got most of the work with the starters along with Morris Claiborne.
“I think we’re getting to look at everybody,” executive vice president Stephen Jones said. “I like our situation at corner. Obviously, we’re a little banged up there.
“That means the ones who aren’t ... we get to see them even more.”
The coaching staff also wants to see how units respond to a challenge. The offense dominated the defense in goal-line situations in Saturday’s practice. Defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli expressed his displeasure throughout Saturday’s practice.
The staff didn’t stop there.
“We challenged our defense [Saturday] in our meetings, explained to them why they were dominated,” Garrett said. “There were a number of different reasons, and we tried to address those and be crystal clear as to what we want and what we expect, and we anticipate them to respond the right way.
“It was not a perfect day for the defense by any means. But they certainly responded well and played a heck of a lot better.”
The presence of linebacker Sean Lee helped the defense respond. He took part in team drills Saturday but wasn’t included in goal-line work. He was on the field Sunday when the offense drove into the red zone and made a difference.
But again, the impact Lee can have on this defense isn’t in question. The question is, can rookie Damien Wilson, who is getting a lot of work with the starters at weakside linebacker while the team limits Lee’s reps, and others help?
That is what this stage of camp is about.
“This is when guys get opportunities,” Stephen Jones said. “Obviously, that’s probably going on to varying degrees across the league. Everybody when you get two weeks into camp, you’re having to work with this.
“Every situation is different. A veteran player who gets hurt is going to be a little different than a younger player who gets hurt. He has to get out here and show or he’s not going to be around here long.
“A veteran player would probably be a little more conservative with it because we know what they can do and we want to make sure they’re ready to go for the Giants.”
Catch David Moore on The Ticket (KTCK-AM 1310 and 96.7 FM) with The Musers at 9:35 a.m. and The Hardline at 3:55 p .m. every Monday through Friday during training camp.
