Dallas Cowboys News

[DC_fan]

Cowboys practice report: Day 2

July, 22, 2013 9:53 PM CT

By Calvin Watkins | ESPNDallas.com

OXNARD, Calif. -- Here's the Day 2 practice report from Dallas Cowboys training camp:

*The early portions of practice saw several members of the offensive line get pushed to the ground on running plays. We're not talking about the third unit here, the first- and second-teams got knocked around by the Cowboys defense. During a DeMarco Murray run, four linemen hit the ground and two more on the next play, prompting one of the coaches to yell, "Gotta stay up." As the practice moved on, the linemen, especially the interior of the line, got better. However, coach Jason Garrett benched the first-team line after center Travis Frederick botched a snap to Tony Romo. When the line returned a few plays later, another coach yelled, "welcome back."

*One team official said it's early, but after two days of practices, tackle Jermey Parnell is struggling. Last season he shared snaps with Doug Free at right tackle. While Free is having a solid two days of camp, Parnell looks slow getting off the ball and is having trouble defending Kyle Wilber off the edge. Ben Bass, a defensive tackle, slid past Parnell for a sack and he missed a block on a screen pass to Dwayne Harris.

*Rookie wide receiver Terrance Williams got snaps with the first- and second-team units on Monday and was inconsistent. He was wide-open when he dropped a pass from Romo. Someone from the sidelines yelled at Williams for dropping the ball. Williams also dropped a pass on Sunday.

*DeMarcus Ware had three sacks on Monday and is displaying power, speed, and, well, he's just all over the field. He doesn't appear to have any problems in his shoulder, which was operated on in the offseason.

*Jason Hatcher is also off to a strong start of camp; he's getting pressure on the quarterback and at one point on Monday, was being held by two offensive linemen on a pass rush.

*The Cowboys have forced turnovers from the safeties and linebackers but none from the cornerbacks. While Orlando Scandrick knocked a pass away for Dez Bryant on Sunday, Morris Claiborne picked up his first PBU of camp on Monday. Also, Will Allen, a safety, made the play of the day when he took a deep ball out of the hands of wide receiver Miles Austin. Allen appears to be the safety with range the Cowboys have been looking for the past couple of years.

*Hate to beat up on the line again, but when Costa snapped the ball before Kyle Orton was ready for it in the shotgun formation, Garrett said, "that's how you lose."

*Rookie running back Joseph Randle did a good job of concentrating when a ball was tipped by Bass over the middle. Randle snagged it and ran downfield for a nice gain.

*Defensive end Monte Taylor continues to make plays with Tyrone Crawford out. Taylor stopped Lance Dunbar for a tackle for loss in the afternoon session. In the morning practice, he pushed the pocket, forcing Orton to scramble.

*The Cowboys can make a roster move with Crawford when they reduce the roster to 75 on Aug. 27, not when they do it on Aug. 31, the final cut-down day. Dallas will have to keep Crawford on its 90-man roster because the only other move the team can make is releasing him, and the Cowboys don't want to do that. Crawford is a valuable player who will be moved to injured reserve after the Cowboys make a roster move in late August.

http://espn.go.com/blog/dallas/cowboys/post/_/id/4710513/cowboys-practice-report-day-2-2

 

[DC_fan]

Cowboys practice report: Day 3

July, 23, 2013 10:14 PM CT

By Calvin Watkins | ESPNDallas.com

OXNARD, Calif. -- In the first padded practice of training camp, the Cowboys worked on their third-down situations and field goal attempts and punt coverage in team drills on Tuesday.

There was one change to the depth chart on defense.

• The Cowboys moved defensive end Kyle Wilber from the first team to the second team for the afternoon practice. Ben Bass, an undrafted second-year player from Texas A&M, got the snaps with the first team. Wilber is making the switch from outside linebacker to end, and there is going to be an expected learning curve. Bass impressed the coaches in training camp last season but didn't make the final 53-man roster. With the Cowboys gearing toward younger players for the defensive line, Bass is off to a strong start.
• Danny McCray moved from the third-team defense at safety to the second team over Matt Johnson, but it wasn't due to performance. Johnson suffered cramps and was given a seat to deal with his health issue. But McCray played pretty well Tuesday, with two hard hits on run plays. McCray shed a block from a defender to make a tackle on running back DeMarco Murray.
• Dez Bryant is just, well, it's hard to describe. He beat cornerback Morris Claiborne on four plays in the one-on-one passing drill. In the team period, Bryant caught a back-shoulder fade from Tony Romo against Brandon Carr. The pass hit Bryant in the cuff of the arm. It seemed as if Bryant saw the ball at the last minute and it just stuck to his body. Bryant and Romo have incredible chemistry right now.
• Mountain West Conference line judge Cat Conti was one of four referees working practice on Tuesday. Why is this important? Well, Conti, a woman, quit her job as a high school drama teacher to become a referee. Conti said it took just one year for it to happen and that the ultimate goal is to become an NFL official.
• Safety Barry Church redeemed himself after arriving late on a deep pass to Bryant, which resulted in a touchdown, to come up fast and smash Bryant down on a hitch. The Cowboys are looking for range from their safeties, and so far, Will Allen has provided that. Church is getting better at it.
• Wide receiver Miles Austin continues to struggle. He allowed Sean Lee to knock a pass out of his hands, the second consecutive day that's happened. Austin is running hard but is struggling a little bit when it comes to contested catches. Allen knocked a pass out of Austin's hands in Monday's session.
• Eric Rogers is moving up fast. The undrafted free agent receiver from Cal Lutheran continues to make plays on the second and third teams. Rogers is fighting for a roster spot and has done a nice job of catching passes in traffic and, when open, doesn't drop the ball. The Cowboys might keep five or six receivers, and Rogers is in the mix for one of the last spots at that position.
• The start of the third-down situations was bad for the defense. DeMarcus Ware and Bass were flagged for jumping offsides on two of the first three plays. When Ware was flagged, defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin slammed his hat down.
• It was a feisty day for tight end Jason Witten. He committed two false start penalties, caught some balls and upset Ware. After a running play, Ware yelled a profanity and said he was being held by Witten.

http://espn.go.com/blog/dallas/cowboys/post/_/id/4710620/cowboys-practice-report-day-3-3

 

[DC_fan]

Cowboys to sign free agent DE

Dallas have signed free agent DE George Selvie.

Selvie is 26 yrs old and stands 6-4 and weighs 270. He has had previous stops at St Louis (who drafted him in 2010), Carolina and Jacksonville.

 

[DC_fan]

Cowboys practice report: Day 4

July, 24, 2013 9:38 PM CT

By Calvin Watkins | ESPNDallas.com

OXNARD, Calif _ The Cowboys' fourth day of practice had the team work on the two-minute offense, shotgun formations and the hurry up. There were no new injuries from the full padded practice.

*The two newest players had an instant impact. Defensive end George Selvie had numerous pressures and one sack on his first day on the job. Landon Cohen, the defensive tackle, was also impressive with his pressure on the quarterback. Cohen also knocked down a pass. The Cowboys weren't looking for an expensive veteran player such as John Abraham. Instead, the Cowboys were looking for younger players who could create competition along the defensive line.

*Defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin isn't afraid to make changes to the defense when he sees something he doesn't like. Kiffin benched defensive end Ben Bass for a mistake for Cameron Sheffield. A few plays later, Bass returned with the first team and didn't get benched again.

*Wednesday was wide receiver Cole Beasley's best day of camp. His two best plays came on a quick slant where he sliced through the defense untouched for about 15 yards. In a one-on-one drill, Beasley made a diving catch near the sidelines. Beasley has terrific speed and displays an ability to find open spots in a defense to become an open target.

*The Cowboys' wide receivers took a big lead in their battle with the defensive backs. Things changed on Wednesday during the one-on-one period. The receivers didn't make a catch on the first four pass attempts until Beasley made a diving catch near the sidelines. Brandon Carr and Morris Claiborne are playing Miles Austin and Dez Bryant tightly in man coverage. It takes a perfect throw sometimes to complete a pass but other times you see where the corner will hold the receiver to slow things down.

*When veterans make a mistake coach Jason Garrett penalizes them. Tight end Jason Witten has some of the best hands on the team but he dropped a low throw from Tony Romo and Garrett sat the veteran tight end. It was the only drop of the day from one of the Cowboys' best players.

*Defensive end Monte Taylor, who was impressing the coaches, was kicked out of a field goal unit because he was the 12th man. Details.

*With Jermey Parnell out with a mild hamstring strain, the Cowboys mix and match a little bit at tackle. When Tyron Smith missed a few snaps with a helmet issues, Darrion Weems checked in at left tackle. For the plays he was in, he held DeMarcus Ware pretty good.

*The longer wide receiver Danny Coale sits, he's got swelling in the left knee, the more he gets behind. Eric Rogers and Jared Green were impressive during one-on-ones and in team drills.

*Cornerback Orlando Scandrick knocked a Romo pass down on a corner blitz. Scandrick is good at anticipating the snap count and timing his jump to make these kinds of plays.

*Wednesday's practice ended when B.W. Webb snagged the first interception of camp by a cornerback when he grabbed an underthrown Kyle Orton pass in team drills.

*Former Cowboy and Hall of Fame wide receiver Michael Irvin visited training camp to conduct interviews for NFL Network. Irvin hugged several players: Tony Romo, Orlando Scandrick, Morris Claiborne and Bryant. Irvin also shared a moment with Jerry and Stephen Jones.

*After four days of practice a total of 13,230 fans have visited. There is no practice on Thursday.
http://espn.go.com/blog/dallas/cowboys/post/_/id/4710711/cowboys-practice-report-day-4-2

 

[DC_fan]

Cowboys Stadium becomes AT & T Stadium

The Cowboys and AT & T have come to an agreement for the name of the stadium and a street outside the stadium to have the name AT & T. It will be worth approx $20m a year to the Cowboys.

 

[DC_fan]

Cowboys practice report: Day 6

July, 26, 2013 9:58 PM CT

By Calvin Watkins | ESPNDallas.com

OXNARD, Calif. - The Cowboys worked on late game situations and punt coverage.

*When the Cowboys worked on late game situations we thought the team didn't take enough shots to the end zone. Most of the passes were underneath and quick throws. You would have liked to have seen a few deep balls to the speedy receivers. A prime example of this is after the defense was called for offsides, Tony Romo didn't throw a deep pass, instead he threw two quick throws to Anthony Armstrong then a spike. Romo threw away his next pass and the Cowboys got a made field goal estimated at 50 yards. The drill started with the offense down 24-23 with 1:36 to play in the game. That seemed like plenty of time for the Cowboys to take a few shots at the end zone.

*Terrance Williams had his best day of training camp. After a slow start, Williams has picked things up of late. Williams said he's working hard on taking notes and doing what the coaches are telling him. Williams made a nice diving catch on a slant from Romo during team drills and he scored a touchdown on 7-7.

*Both Sean Lee and Bruce Carter made an impact on the same play. Carter pushed Romo out the pocket forcing the referees to throw a flag on Doug Free for holding. Lee tipped the pass away as Romo made a dangerous throw against his body intended for Jason Witten. It was Romo's only bad pass of the day.

*With Miles Austin given the day off to rest, Cole Beasley lined up as the first-team slot receiver and Williams moved to the first-team opposite Bryant.

*Armstrong had a strong day with a touchdown catch over Micah Pellerin on a back shoulder throw from Romo. Armstrong got open against the first-and-second team defense and made some plays in the late game situation drills.

*DeMarco Murray made a nice catch over the middle but fumbled the ball when Lee poked it out. The entire defense has been in force turnover mode under defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin.

*Chris Jones did a nice job punting against the wind while backed up in the end zone. Jones had hang times of 4.1, 4.2 and 4.7 seconds. In comparison, Spencer Benton punted with the wind and got hang times of 3.7, 4.7 and 3.8 seconds.

*Joseph Randle is still behind Lance Dunbar and Phillip Tanner on the depth chart, but it's the little things that hurts the rookie running back. He muffed a punt on the scout team.

*During linemen drills, Nate Livings made his presence felt when he stopped Landon Cohen. After the drill was over, Livings gave Cohen a playful shove.

*The second-team offensive line is as follows: LT Darrion Weems, LG Kevin Kowalski, C Phil Costa, RG Ray Dominguez and RT Edawn Cougham. Line coach Bill Callahan was raving about Kowalski's improvement as a blocker and said he's the best note taker he's ever seen.

http://espn.go.com/blog/dallas/cowboys/post/_/id/4710961/cowboys-practice-report-day-6-3

 

[DC_fan]

Cowboys Nation

Posted by Rafael at Saturday, July 27, 2013


Following up this morning's piece, here are some profiles of draftees and bubble players on Monte Kiffin's side of the ball.

-- Matt Johnson: the once invisible man is becoming more and more visible. He's playing the free safety role on the second team, dropping into the deep middle when the team runs cover 3, while J.J. Wilcox patrols the box. He's been solid in support and keeps the top of the shell. The offense has had problems completing deep passes on any of the Cowboys zones thus far, and Johnson's play is one reason why. He's started with the do-no-harm (to your unit) philosophy and has slowly expanded his range and his risk taking.

Yesterday, he made Tony Romo pay for a lazy throw in a full scrimmage. The offense lined up in a "tight" I right, with Dez Bryant as the X and Jason Witten as the Y, and Gavin Escobar in front of DeMarco Murray in a straight-I. The formation was tight because both receivers were set much closer to the open OT and the TE than normal. The formation hinted a power run was coming and Romo hoped to spring Bryan open up the left sideline off a play action fake. Romo's fake held Morris Claiborne and Bryant blew past him. Romo's throw was high and on the numbers, left for Bryant to snag. Johnson held his half of the deep zone, undercut Dez and intercepted the pass. He tweaked a knee on the return, but walked off the knock and completed the session.

With Will Allen playing a surprisingly good FS for the first unit, Johnson's steady emergence suddenly gives the team options at the free. Knock on wood and find your rabbit's foot. It's been ages since we've able to say that.

-- J.J. Wilcox: He looks comfortable going down-hill, and the strong safety duties fit him. He got a well-publicized correction earlier this week for jacking up receivers in drills. Wilcox clearly wants to show off his aggressiveness and he looks like a player. The scolding goes farther than possibly causing an injury. Wilcox has a hair trigger on his charges and this scheme requires discipline and control. I've seen running backs and tight ends burn him in one-on-one drills with combo out-and-up moves. Teams will run hi-lo patterns and him successfully until he settles in. He's got a lot of promise, but Barry Church is the number one at the moment and Wilcox has a ways to go to beat him.

-- DeVonte Holloman: Another athletic, aggressive missile in the back seven. Holloman is running with the 3rd unit at the moment as the strong-side OLB. He can cover ground and has broken up passes in drills. He's still trying to get the scheme basics down. He dropped out of his zone in a Wednesday scrimmage and let Joseph Randle take a short flat pass far up the field. He'll require some patience, but he may be worth the wait.

-- Jason Durant: He's the forgotten guy in the LB unit, playing next to Sean Lee and Bruce Carter. He's been steady and productive . You find yourself watching the bigger names and then he pops out and makes a big stop. He stoned a screen pass to DeMarco Murray yesterday. Unless he falls off a cliff in the next two weeks, he appears to have the SOLB spot locked up.

-- Will Allen: he's not a kid, which is why we keep circling back to him. The hope is that he's not a camp flash-in-the-pan, who ages rapidly during the regular season, like the Joe Hardy character in "Damn Yankees" after he backs out of his deal with the devil. Allen is steady, and gets to the football every day. He's been active in passes and simply understands the zome game better than Matt Johnson right now. He's also been very good near the line, timing his charges through the line very well.

-- Morris Claiborne: He's not rehabbing a surgically repaired wrist, as he was last summer and it shows. Check out this photo of Claiborne on the sidelines with fellow CB Brandon Carr. Look at Claiborne's arms. They're huge, and he's getting better at using them. Experienced hands like Miles Austin can work past him but the kids have a hard time breaking Claiborne's jams.

​

-- Sean Lee: A toe injury shut him down in the Carolina game last year. Put that out of your memory. Lee has. He looks tailor made for the Tampa-2. He's instinctive in his zone drops and catches like a tight end. He times his runs through run alleys superbly and makes plays in the backfield when the opportunity presents itself. Most impressive is his work in the deep middle of the Tampa-2 When he has to "run vertically between the hash marks or track Jason Witten in man-to-man, Lee has shown that he can erase Witten as an option.

-- Ben Bass: He tweaked an ankle yesterday, but the injury does not appear serious. That may be a blessing, because the temptation is to over-use him right now, trying Bass in different places along the line. He's a classic Rod Marinelli lineman, showing excellent get-off from the tackle and end spots. He's most effective using a straight jet around the edge from left end and has a nice swim move when he works inside. He's 294 and he's going to be a very important rotation player for the Cowboys, now that Tyrone Crawford's season has ended.

Notes

-- What could have been. Dallas would have a really good second DL unit right now if Tyrone Crawford and Josh Brent were around to work with Ben Bass.

-- Watch the new guys on the D-line. Landon Cohen (92) is a powerful, compact mass of a man who has rudely welcomed Ryan Cook back to full pads action. Cohen dropped Cook on his backside more than once on Wednesday, and he can create an interior push when he stays low off the football. Can he do this against the first unit? He'll get some reps in tomorrow's scrimmage

http://www.cowboysnation.com/2013/07/cowboys-camp-13-kid-watch-defensive.html

 

[DC_fan]

Tony Romo would like to be an offensive coordinator some day

Posted by Michael David Smith on July 26, 2013, 5:43 PM EDT
AP

Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo is expected to get more involved in the game planning this season. Some day, he’d like to be the person who’s in charge of game plans.

Romo will have some say in which plays end up in the game plan this year, and people who know him say that’s something that he hopes leads to a career in coaching when his playing career is over.

“He’d like to be a coordinator one day,” one person close to him told TheMMQB.com.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has said he’d like to see Romo become more like Peyton Manning in his approach to the game. Romo has never been given the kind of playcalling responsibilities that Manning has had for most of his career, but maybe that’s a responsibility Romo will have when his playing days are done.

http://www.prosportsdaily.com/Headlines/ExternalArticle?articleId=260074

 

[DC_fan]

Cowboys practice report: Day 7

July, 28, 2013 8:18 PM CT

By Calvin Watkins | ESPNDallas.com


OXNARD, Calif. -- The Cowboys conducted their annual Blue and White scrimmage on Sunday. The veteran players conducted a regular practice before the younger players, led by quarterbacks Alex Tanney and Nick Stephens, took over.

• With Dez Bryant missing practice with a sore hip, Dwayne Harris and Miles Austin got the early portions of the first-team snaps. Austin, however, got a break and Terrance Williams saw some time.
• The young receivers were inconsistent on Sunday. Tim Benford and Jared Green had drops. Benford dropped a touchdown pass in 7-on-7 while Green let a ball go through his hands. Green also had a touchdown reception in the back of the end zone as he got both feet in. But Williams caught a touchdown pass on a slant in the 7-on-7 period. Eric Rogers continues to improve by making catches all over the field; he made an amazing Hail Mary reception over two defenders that was waived off.
• Linebacker Ernie Sims is on track to make this team as one of the backup linebackers. He penetrated the line and picked up a tackle for loss on Phillip Tanner. Sims is just in the right spots against the run and continues to play physical. If anything happens to Bruce Carter or Justin Durant this season, Sims is more than capable of taking over.
• When the younger players took over, both offenses struggled to get anything going down the field. Defensive ends George Selvie and Monte Taylor picked up sacks, Kyle Wilber provided good pressure on the quarterbacks and the run defense shut everything down. The biggest play from the offense came when Stephens threw a deep pass more than 20 yards, resulting in a pass interference penalty on Devin Smith. Both young quarterbacks, Stephens and Tanney, failed to lead a drive for a field goal or a touchdown. Stephens was the only quarterback to get his team across midfield, and that was because of the penalty.
• Rookie running back Joseph Randle showed his skills somewhat during the practice when he zipped through the line on a draw up the middle. During the scrimmage, Randle didn't see many running lanes.
• During the two-minute drill with the first team, Bill Callahan was yelling for a timeout and either was ignored or nobody heard him, because Tony Romo spiked the ball. Callahan is on the sidelines with Wade Wilson as they call the plays, with Jason Garrett standing behind the offense.
• Defensive end Jason Hatcher has been outstanding in training camp practices. We just don't say it enough.
• Linebacker Cameron Lawrence did a nice job of flushing Tanney out of the pocket on a pass rush to force him to throw a pass away.
• You always talk about Jason Witten's ability to make catches, but he's a pretty good blocker. When Orlando Scandrick blitzed, Witten moved him out of the way with a strong physical play.
• Safety Jeff Heath had a strong hit on Joseph as he hit the hole.
• There were 8,479 fans at camp on Sunday. The total attendance for camp is 29,816.

http://espn.go.com/blog/dallas/cowboys/post/_/id/4711120/cowboys-practice-report-day-7-2

 

[DC_fan]

Cowboys practice report: Day 8

July, 29, 2013 9:34 PM CT

By Calvin Watkins | ESPNDallas.com

OXNARD, Calif. -- The Cowboys mixed up the depth chart during Monday's practice and worked on some red zone and team drills.

*The Cowboys are increasing the competition at left guard by rotating Nate Livings and Ronald Leary at the spot on the first-team. Livings has struggled at the start of camp while Leary has excelled at times.

*With Dez Bryant out with a sore hip, Terrance Williams got some snaps with the first team and Miles Austin picked up snaps with the second-and-third units. Tyron Smith also missed a few snaps with the first-team for Edawn Coughman.

*Williams continues to get better with every practice. He beat Sterling Moore on a double-move for a touchdown during one-on-one drills. Williams also made a nice leaping catch for a score in team drills over Morris Claiborne while catching a Tony Romo pass.

*Monday morning, coach Jason Garrett was praising wide receiver Andre Smith's hands. Well the free agent receiver, dropped two passes, one in the end zone in an individual drill. Smith, however, also caught a touchdown pass from Kyle Orton.

*During the one-on-ones, Brandon Carr did a nice job of knocking a pass away intended for Anthony Amos.

*Austin and Romo have great chemistry. On a back shoulder fade throw, Austin turned around at the perfect time to catch the end zone pass to beat Brandon Carr.

*Bruce Carter picked up an interception during pass coverage drills on a pass intended for Phillip Tanner.

*Sometimes down the field blocking by wide receivers are huge when it comes to big gains. Dwayne Harris made a nice block on Carr as Lance Dunbar picked up big yardage.

*On consecutive plays, the quarterbacks made some poor throws. Romo was picked off by Caleb McSurdy and Orton had a pass tipped by Alex Albright.

*Jason Witten made a nice one-handed catch with Sean Lee draped over him for a touchdown in the back of the end zone. After the catch, Lee dropped an expletive.

*New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi and his attended practice on Monday afternoon. He spoke to the team after practice and received a warm applause.

*Friday's practice was changed to 4:45 p.m. PT.

http://espn.go.com/blog/dallas/cowboys/post/_/id/4711239/cowboys-practice-report-day-8-2

 

[DC_fan]

Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders

 

[DC_fan]

Cowboys practice report: Day 9

July, 30, 2013 9:47 PM CT

By Calvin Watkins | ESPNDallas.com

OXNARD, Calif. -- The Cowboys worked on short yardage, two-minute and goal line situations in addition to the individual drills during Tuesday's practice.

*Quarterback Tony Romo participated in the session after convincing the coaches he didn't want a day off. Romo looked good at moving around the pocket and was throwing tight spirals. Romo showed good movement when flushed out of the pocket by Kyle Wilber in the goal line drills. Romo scrambled to his right and threw a hard pass into the end zone.

*Without a fullback on the roster the Cowboys used Dante Rosario as the H-back on goal line plays. The first score of the drill came with Rosario blocking for running back Phillip Tanner. Tanner followed that up with a good block on defensive tackle Monte Taylor. Tanner's block allowed Kyle Orton's time to throw a touchdown pass to Rosario in the back of the end zone.

*Safety Matt Johnson is technically a rookie. He missed all of last season with a hamstring injury and the time away shows. On a short pass to Rosario, Johnson came up fast to make the tackle, but the tight end side-stepped him and ran down field. Johnson is anxious to make plays but if he slowed down he would have made the tackle for a loss.

*Cole Beasley (quad) returned to practice after missing two days of work and dropped two passes. After his last drop, a player on the sidelines yelled at him to take his gloves off.

*DeMarcus Ware is such an explosive force on defense where he makes plays all over the field. During an end around with receiver Dwayne Harris, Ware came from the other side of the field and yanked him down from the shoulder pads after a short gain. You could blame Gavin Escobar for missing the block or Ware being to fast to stop. During pass rush drills, Ware worked on both the left and right sides and while Tyron Smith and Doug Free held their own at times, Ware's speed allowed him to beat Free quickly for a sack. Taylor also beat Free during the pass rush.

*Linebackers Alex Albright and Ernie Sims got some first team snaps with Justin Durant getting an off day.

*Wide receiver Terrance Williams displayed his speed after catching a hitch and getting down field. Williams got off the line of scrimmage quickly, displayed patience by catching the pass and quickly got up field.

*Gossip Girl and Revenge TV star Connor Paolo was in attendance.

http://espn.go.com/blog/dallas/cowboys/post/_/id/4711371/cowboys-practice-report-day-9-2

 

[DC_fan]

Cowboys practice report: Day 10

August, 1, 2013 10:00 PM CT

By Calvin Watkins | ESPNDallas.com

OXNARD, Calif. -- The Dallas Cowboys' afternoon practice Thursday was much better than the sloppy morning walk-through. The team worked on situational plays from inside the 5, two-minute drills and driving the ball from the defense's 25.

• Quarterback Tony Romo's best pass of the day was a beautiful throw over the defense and into the hands of tight end Jason Witten in the two-minute period. Witten appeared to have landed in the end zone but was ruled down at the 2. Romo completed 12 of 16 passes in the 11-on-11 drills Thursday. He was able to beat the rushes of Jason Hatcher and Barry Church to get throws off to Miles Austin for a completion and for a near one-handed catch from Dez Bryant.

• Defensive end George Selvie is impressing the Cowboys' coaches and scouts. He signed late last week, and already he's getting some first- and second-team snaps because of injuries to the line. The defense had five sacks in team drills, and Selvie picked up two of them. His last sack, on quarterback Kyle Orton, ended the two-minute drill.

• Bryant returned to practice and made his presence known very quickly. During one-on-ones, Bryant made a nice leaping catch in the corner of the end zone despite tight coverage by Brandon Carr. Bryant, who missed the previous four practices with a sore quad/hip, ran hard, attacked the ball when it was thrown to him and fought off tight coverage at the line of scrimmage. On a nice DeMarco Murray run, Bryant had a strong block on Orlando Scandrick to clear things out downfield.

• In the seven-on-seven period, Orton was picked off on consecutive pass plays. Cornerback Brandon Underwood snagged the first one, and safety J.J. Wilcox made a leaping catch of another underthrown pass in the end zone. Orton, however, made a couple of nice throws in the team periods, during which receiver Dwayne Harris, who has had a strong camp, made a sliding catch.

• After rookie running back Joseph Randle made a catch in seven-on-seven, running backs coach Gary Brown yelled, "High and tight." Brown wants Randle to hold the football high and close to the body to prevent defenders from trying to poke the ball out and creating a fumble.

• Witten was feisty Thursday. He told a teammate in the huddle to be quiet, he used a profanity to do it and he shouted another profanity at linebacker Justin Durant. The remark at Durant was said in jest, and the other one was meant to be helpful.

• During team drills, Austin drew a defensive holding call in the end zone. On the next play, with the ball spotted at the 2, Austin caught a touchdown pass, upsetting Scandrick.

• During punt coverage drills, Eric Frampton beat the blocks of Anthony Amos and Xavier Brewer as the gunner. Harris beat Brewer as the gunner on another punt, and Scandrick also beat the blocks running downfield. New special-teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia plans to use more starters on these units for the coming season. Wilcox is the projected punt protector, the only rookie on the first-team punt unit.

• Hatcher was all over the place with a sack and a tackle for loss.

• Kicker Dan Bailey missed two field goals.

• Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul attended practice with his son.

http://espn.go.com/blog/dallas/cowboys/post/_/id/4711525/cowboys-practice-report-day-10-3

 

[DC_fan]

 

[DC_fan]

Brian Waters to become a Cowboy?

Speculation is rife at the moment that the Cowboys will announce the signing of veteran free agent guard, Brian Waters.

The 36 year old was released by the Patriots in April. Waters had seeked a release so he could move back to Texas so he could be closer to his family.

Brian was picked up by Dallas as a rookie free agent back in 1999, but was quickly released. Since then he has spent 11 years with the Chiefs and two with the Patriots.

The Cowboys are suffering injuries to their guards, with Livings and Bernadeau suffering from injuries.

If Waters does sign then it will greatly improve the OL

 

[DC_fan]

Brandon Moore?

You can now add the name of former Jets guard, Brandon Moore to the list of possible Cowboy signings.

One way or another it looks like the Cowboys will be signing a new guard this afternoon.

 

[DC_fan]

 

[DC_fan]

Dallas Cowboys Season Preview

2012 Record: 8-8, 3rd NFC East

Offseason Additions: Justin Durant, Will Allen

Draft Additions: C/G Travis Frederick, TE Gavin Escobar, WR Terrance Williams, RB Joseph Randle

Offseason Losses: Felix Jones, Kevin Ogletree, Marcus Spears, Victor Butler, Dan Connor, Mike Jenkins, Gerald Sensabaugh

Starting Offense: QB Tony Romo, RB DeMarco Murray, WR Dez Bryant, WR Miles Austin, TE Jason Witten, TE Gavin Escobar, LT Tyron Smith, LG Ronald Leary, C Travis Frederick, RG David Arkin, RT Doug Free

Starting Defense: DE DeMarcus Ware, DT Jay Ratliff, DT Jason Hatcher, DE Anthony Spencer, OLB Bruce Carter, MLB Sean Lee, OLB Justin Durant, CB Morris Claiborne, S Barry Church, S Will Allen, CB Brandon Carr

K: Dan Bailey

P: Chris Jones

Offense: The Dallas Cowboys offense was about as average as it gets last season. They ranked 15th in points per game, 3rd in passing yards per game, but second to last (31st) in rushing yards per game. Tony Romo had a career year as he threw for 4,903 yards and 28 touchdowns, but led the league with 19 interceptions. That didn’t stop the Cowboys from giving him a 6 year, $108 million contract this offseason, and Romo will now be expected to take this team to the playoffs and beyond. Tony Romo will largely be playing with the same supporting cast he had last season, and Dez Bryant is just beginning to hit the prime of his career. In the last eight games of the year last season Bryant had 879 yards and 10 touchdowns. If he can continue to keep his head on straight, he will take his place right behind Calvin Johnson as the second best wide receiver in the game. The Cowboys still have Miles Austin, who never lived up to his first year starting for the Cowboys but isn’t a bad #2 receiver, and Jason Witten, one of the best tight ends in the league despite being past his prime, to help support Tony Romo and Dez Bryant in the passing game.

The offensive line, especially in the running game, was the major problem in the Cowboys’ offense last season. Tyron Smith was successful in the passing game last season, but struggled in the running game. He put on some extra weight during the offseason to improve this year in the rushing game this season. Right tackle Doug Free signed a huge contract a few years ago, but after playing terribly in 2012, he was forced to either take a cut in pay or be released, and Free will once again start at right tackle. The interior of the offensive line was the weak point last season, and adding Frederick will help solidify the center position, but both guards are still subpar, as is the group of running backs on the Cowboys roster. DeMarco Murray was supposed to take over for Felix Jones as the starter in 2012 after averaging 5.5 yards per carry in his rookie season, but he struggled with injuries (only played 10 games) and watched his per carry average plummet all the way to 4.1. The rushing attack will once again struggle to provide balance with the Cowboys potent passing attack, and with so little production out of the running game, the Cowboys may struggle to finish higher than 15th in points per game again in 2013.

Defense: The Dallas Cowboys had a very poor defense in 2012 as they allowed 25.0 points per game, good for 24th in the league. Despite the costly addition of Brandon Carr, and drafting Morris Claiborne, the pass defense ranked only 19th in passing yards allowed per game. Their defense was even worse against the run as they ranked 22nd while allowing 125.2 yards per game. Despite the presence of one of the best pass rushers in the league, DeMarcus Ware, the Cowboys ranked 20th in sacks as a team, and that helps explain how they had only 16 defensive takeaways, 4th fewest in the league. So what did the Cowboys do in the offseason to improve their horrible defense?

The Cowboys fired defensive coordinator Rob Ryan during the offseason and hired Monte Kiffin, the master of the Tampa 2 defense who has been in the college ranks for the last few seasons. Kiffin coached some of the best defenses of the last ten to fifteen years when he was in Tampa Bay with Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks, John Lynch, and the rest of the gang, and the Cowboys are hoping he can bring the defense back to prominence. However, the biggest difference between those Buccaneers teams and these Cowboys teams are that those Buccaneers teams were solid, and deep, at all of the positions on the field. These Cowboys have a few great defensive players, but the holes they have on defense may keep them from becoming elite.

DeMarcus Ware has been one of the best defensive players in the NFL since he entered the league in 2005. In his eight seasons, Ware has 111 sacks, and he put another 10 pounds of muscle this offseason in order to help his transition from an outside linebacker to a defensive end. He has had double digit sacks in every season since 2006, and I don’t think this season will be any different. Anthony Spencer will be starting at the other defensive end position, and he is coming off of a career year in which he had 11 sacks, but had never had more than six sacks in a year before that. The Cowboys will need him to perform like the player he was in 2012 and not the player he was from 2007-2011 if the Cowboys are going to improve their pass rush. The defensive line should also receive a boost from the return of Jay Ratliff. After playing in only six games in 2012, and almost getting cut, Ratliff should return more motivated than ever.

The starting linebackers on a team that runs a Tampa 2 are extremely important, and the Cowboys have line-backing core that should perform very well this year. Sean Lee is one of the best linebackers in the league while he is healthy, and the Cowboys defense regressed painfully when he missed the last ten games last season. With Lee by his side, third year linebacker Bruce Carter should continue to blossom into the star he was becoming prior to dislocating his ankle last season. To round out the starting linebackers the Cowboys signed Justin Durant away from the Lions, and while he won’t play third downs because he is a liability in pass coverage, he excels at stopping the run and that’s why the Cowboys signed him.

With a strong starting defensive line, and an excellent group of linebackers, the secondary is the biggest question mark for the Cowboys. Rookie Morris Claiborne struggled badly to begin the season last year, like many rookies do, but he didn’t allow a touchdown after week 10 last year according to Walterfootball.com. Brandon Carr didn’t play like the corner the Cowboys thought they were getting when they gave him a 5 year, $50 million deal, but he was a dependable starter and should be once again in 2013. While the starting corners for the Cowboys are above average, the Cowboys have one of the worst pairing of starting safeties in the league. Barry Church is coming off of a torn Achilles, and even before the injury he was a subpar player. Will Allen comes over from the Steelers, and while he isn’t a starting quality safety, he shouldn’t be worse than Sensabaugh was last season. The Cowboys should once again struggle to stop opposing tight ends.

2013 Outlook: The NFC East is wide open for the taking in 2013. The Redskins won the division last season, but teams have an entire season of tape on RGIII now and defenses will adjust. The Giants were built on a fearsome pass rush that isn’t so fearsome anymore. The Eagles are in the process of rebuilding and figuring out if Chip Kelly’s offense will work in the NFL. That leaves us with the Cowboys, who have had one of the more talented rosters in the NFC years now, but always found a way to lose when it mattered most. Tony Romo takes a lot of criticism because he has struggled in games when it has mattered most, but I still think Romo is a top 12 quarterback in this league. The Cowboys improved their offensive line during the offseason, and even though the improvement may be marginal, that should pay dividends in the running game. I think the defense is where the Cowboys will really show improvement in 2013. With the hiring of Monte Kiffin the Cowboys will switch to a 4-3 defensive front, and the Cowboys linebackers should thrive in this formation. If the safeties can prove to be just average, the defense, barring any injuries, should greatly improve from last season, and that’s why I am picking the Cowboys to win the NFC East.

2013 Projection: 10-6, 1st NFC East


With thanks to the guys at Third and Goal Sportss
http://www.thirdandgoalsports.com/dallas-cowboys-season-preview/

 

[Raider_69]

Brandon Moore would sooner retire and not earn another cent than to be lumbered with the shame of wearing a Cowboys uniform.
Says it all DC. Says. It. All.

 

[DC_fan]

Brandon Moore would sooner retire and not earn another cent than to be lumbered with the shame of wearing a Cowboys uniform.
Says it all DC. Says. It. All.

His heart wasn't in it for playing another season, regardless of the team. He did himself and the Cowboys a big favour in not signing