What are your initial impressions?
“Well the initial impressions are the Cowboys got out of there it looks like without significant injuries and without just a whole lot of significant work for the regulars and therefore from an observers point of view, there’s only so much we can learn from a game like this. But, we were able to see some of the competitions further down the roster because the Cowboys choose to play it like they do and some of those were moderately interesting and we can draw some conclusions, but it’s so early in the preseason process and unlike some other teams in this league the Cowboys pretty much hide everybody in week one, so I’m not positive what really can be learned from a game like.”
What did you think of Gus Johnson at running back?
“I think in the case of Gus Johnson and Lache Seastrunk they both have certain attributes that are interesting and they both look at times like they might have some potential and I really do think that Gus Johnson is the better of the two just because of his all-around more solid game. I think he can do more things better than Seastrunk even though Seastrunk seems to have more juice in his wheels if you will. I’m not positive the Cowboys are comfortable with either playing a really big role if any. I think they would love to put the better of the two on their practice squad. But I thought overall Johnson looked pretty solid. I think he’s decisive and I think he gets up field. He hits the hole and I think he’s a bit of a load to bring down. I think Johnson could hypothetically surprise us and contribute but I think overall they would love to get him to the practice squad and see some contributions from more proven players on their actual 53-man roster as they break camp.”
Who impressed you or disappointed you?
“I think La’el Collins was fantastic. I think he is already one of the five best linemen on the roster. I think it will be a little while before the Cowboys promote him to starting left guard but I don’t think there’s any question about his quality, so you love that. You love that Randy Gregory showed us some flashes of his future. The Cowboys have a very very talented rookie class. They might have three special players from this draft with Collins and Gregory and Byron Jones, so those are all great thing. I think Corey White showed me some really solid things at corner in his first game at corner in his first game action since being brought over from New Orleans in the spring time, so I liked that. I liked Lucky Whitehead’s wheels. He really has burst as a returner. Of course nobody wants to see that fumble but you saw many people were telling us back in May that he would probably win the return job if he doesn’t mess it up. Those were the good things. Over on the bad side of the ledger I suppose you can see that the Cowboys offensive line, it’s deep and it’s talented, but when Doug Free and Tyron Smith and Chaz Green all don’t play tackle, the guys they do have playing are just not up to grade. That’s OK because it’s quite possible none of the tackles that played tonight will actually be on the roster, but they had some real pass protection issues in this game just because they didn’t have their first, second or third choice tackles in the lineup tonight. We’d like to think when those guys are healthy that problem disappears quickly. I really found Dustin Vaughan and Jameill Showers interesting. I think we need to see them every preseason game a decent amount and decide which is better and whether either is worth putting on the roster. The fact that Jameill Showers can play special teams is really unique and interesting and I’m curious if that puts him at an advantage to maybe fill a special teams role and be your third quarterback. I don’t know that we’ve ever really seen that before since like Danny White maybe, but that’s interesting for sure.”
Did you take anything from Greg Hardy’s playing time?
“I’m sold on Greg Hardy in general so I didn’t really need to see a whole lot of eye-popping plays but I do think it’s important they play him a couple series in every game to facilitate the transition that he’s going to need to get back into full Greg Hardy form. He had a couple moments where you saw a little bit of his ability. Nothing comes quickly to mind, but like I said, I’m far more interested in treating this like maybe a baseball rehab assignment. You really don’t care what happens in the at bats, you just want him to get a lot of at bats. That’s kind of where I’m at with Greg Hardy in August. I just want to see him get a lot of snaps and get reacclimated to the NFL game and get acclimated to the Cowboys defensive style, which is going to be somewhat different that what he did in Carolina.”
“Well the initial impressions are the Cowboys got out of there it looks like without significant injuries and without just a whole lot of significant work for the regulars and therefore from an observers point of view, there’s only so much we can learn from a game like this. But, we were able to see some of the competitions further down the roster because the Cowboys choose to play it like they do and some of those were moderately interesting and we can draw some conclusions, but it’s so early in the preseason process and unlike some other teams in this league the Cowboys pretty much hide everybody in week one, so I’m not positive what really can be learned from a game like.”
What did you think of Gus Johnson at running back?
“I think in the case of Gus Johnson and Lache Seastrunk they both have certain attributes that are interesting and they both look at times like they might have some potential and I really do think that Gus Johnson is the better of the two just because of his all-around more solid game. I think he can do more things better than Seastrunk even though Seastrunk seems to have more juice in his wheels if you will. I’m not positive the Cowboys are comfortable with either playing a really big role if any. I think they would love to put the better of the two on their practice squad. But I thought overall Johnson looked pretty solid. I think he’s decisive and I think he gets up field. He hits the hole and I think he’s a bit of a load to bring down. I think Johnson could hypothetically surprise us and contribute but I think overall they would love to get him to the practice squad and see some contributions from more proven players on their actual 53-man roster as they break camp.”
Who impressed you or disappointed you?
“I think La’el Collins was fantastic. I think he is already one of the five best linemen on the roster. I think it will be a little while before the Cowboys promote him to starting left guard but I don’t think there’s any question about his quality, so you love that. You love that Randy Gregory showed us some flashes of his future. The Cowboys have a very very talented rookie class. They might have three special players from this draft with Collins and Gregory and Byron Jones, so those are all great thing. I think Corey White showed me some really solid things at corner in his first game at corner in his first game action since being brought over from New Orleans in the spring time, so I liked that. I liked Lucky Whitehead’s wheels. He really has burst as a returner. Of course nobody wants to see that fumble but you saw many people were telling us back in May that he would probably win the return job if he doesn’t mess it up. Those were the good things. Over on the bad side of the ledger I suppose you can see that the Cowboys offensive line, it’s deep and it’s talented, but when Doug Free and Tyron Smith and Chaz Green all don’t play tackle, the guys they do have playing are just not up to grade. That’s OK because it’s quite possible none of the tackles that played tonight will actually be on the roster, but they had some real pass protection issues in this game just because they didn’t have their first, second or third choice tackles in the lineup tonight. We’d like to think when those guys are healthy that problem disappears quickly. I really found Dustin Vaughan and Jameill Showers interesting. I think we need to see them every preseason game a decent amount and decide which is better and whether either is worth putting on the roster. The fact that Jameill Showers can play special teams is really unique and interesting and I’m curious if that puts him at an advantage to maybe fill a special teams role and be your third quarterback. I don’t know that we’ve ever really seen that before since like Danny White maybe, but that’s interesting for sure.”
Did you take anything from Greg Hardy’s playing time?
“I’m sold on Greg Hardy in general so I didn’t really need to see a whole lot of eye-popping plays but I do think it’s important they play him a couple series in every game to facilitate the transition that he’s going to need to get back into full Greg Hardy form. He had a couple moments where you saw a little bit of his ability. Nothing comes quickly to mind, but like I said, I’m far more interested in treating this like maybe a baseball rehab assignment. You really don’t care what happens in the at bats, you just want him to get a lot of at bats. That’s kind of where I’m at with Greg Hardy in August. I just want to see him get a lot of snaps and get reacclimated to the NFL game and get acclimated to the Cowboys defensive style, which is going to be somewhat different that what he did in Carolina.”
