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yeah you know thats happened a few times and I don't know why they stopped.
I'd like to see him play some receiver.
yeah you know thats happened a few times and I don't know why they stopped.
He would be pretty good on reverses.
That was part of the reason they drafted him but Bill for some reason didn't want to use him.
Training Camp video from 7/31
Awesome. Thanks for the video.
no prob.
Practice Reports for 8/2
http://cowboysblog.dallasnews.com/ar...xnard-xii.html
Tim MacMahon E-mail News tips
Weather: 64 degrees and cloudy.
It's a sleepy Saturday morning in Oxnard. Cowboys are wearing helmets and shoulder pads for the first of two practices today.
Follow the jump, refresh, etc.
11:01 -- Greg Ellis, who has a sore back, is dressed out again. We'll see how much he participates. He was basically a spectator yesterday.
11:05 -- Sure is quiet here. Other than your hard-working DMN crew, the only person in the media tent a couple minutes before practice was Sports Illustrated's Peter King. ... Stretching just started.
11:12 -- OTs Flozell Adams and Marc Colombo aren't out there. I wouldn't get alarmed about this. It's probably just a couple veterans getting a rest in the middle of the grind. Pat McQuistan is playing RT and Doug Free is at LT with the first-team offense.
11:19 -- No sign of CBs Terence Newman (groin), Quincy Butler (hamstring) or Alan Ball (ankle). Those guys and the starting OTs are the only ones who aren't out here.
11:22 -- Let's answer some questions while Cowboys warm up with position drills. ... To be honest, I haven't noticed Tony Curtis much over the last few days. I need to check in to see what's happening in the No. 2 TE compe ion. ... Not quite sure what to think of the DL shuffle at this points. Spears has played solely NT and Ratliff solely DE for the last four practices. If you take Wade Phillips at his word, the coaches just want to create some position flexibility to add to the DL depth and allow them to create favorable matchups.
11:26 -- The WRs are running corner routes, and T.O. dropped one right in front of the crowd. The fans went crazy when he caught the next one. I think they're desperate for some excitement at this point. ... Adams and Colombo just walked onto the field, wearing shorts and T-shirts. ... WR Todd Lowber has been impressive for a guy who was unemployed on the first day of training camp. He's long and athletic, but I can't see him cracking the 53-man roster.
11:30 -- Todd Archer confirmed that the OTs are just getting some rest.
11:32 -- We're about to get some 11-on-11 action. It's coming my way, so I don't have to leave my seat. ... First two plays were fullback dives with Deon "Cricket" Anderson. Zach Thomas stuffed the second one. ... Jay Ratliff is back at NT with Marcus Spears sliding over to DE. ... Greg Ellis is sitting out.
11:36 -- Felix Jones showed his burst by turning the left corner on a sweep. ... CB Evan Oglesby, who had a great day yesterday, stumbled to let Miles Austin turn upfield after catching a short pass. ... Oglesby just broke up a fade route to Austin, who tried to make a leaping catch.
11:39 -- T.O. went in motion from right to left and was pitched the ball. It would have been about a 5-yard gain. T.O. wasn't able to plant his foot and get north-south. ... Roy Williams forced RB Keon Lattimore to fumble. Ken Hamlin recovered the ball. .... Adam "Pacman" Jones and Mike Jenkins are splitting the first-team reps at left CB. ... Horn sounded.
11:45 -- They're doing special teams drills on the field close to the crowd. The gunner candidates are working on their releases. Those jobs belong to Sam Hurd and Pat Watkins at this point. Courtney Brown, who saw some time there last season, is probably next in line.
11:49 -- The injured cornerbacks are on the other field, doing resistance band work with associate athletic trainer Britt Brown. They're not going full speed, but I don't see any hitch in the giddy-ups of Terence Newman and Alan Ball. ... Newman is wearing another "iPractice" T-shirt.
11:51 -- First-round CB Mike Jenkins has extra tape over his left shoe. We'll try to find out why after practice. ... Mat McBriar just boomed a punt that had Adam "Pacman" Jones backpedaling to catch it. Jones and Patrick Crayton are catching punts, but they aren't returning them. ... The punt team isn't running downfield, either. Looks like they're working on blocking assignments.
11:55 -- Horn sounded. More 11-on-11 work about to start. It's on my end of the field, so I'll stay here.
11:57 -- It's actually 7-on-7. ... First play was a corner route to T.O. that was slightly underthrown. The ball bounced off FS Ken Hamlin's shoulder pads in the end zone. T.O. had a step on Hamlin. ... Tony Curtis dropped a pass on an underneath route. Anthony Henry, playing the nickel LB spot, was right there. ... Patrick Crayton caught an out route and the 5 and got into the end zone after making Mike Jenkins miss.
12:00 -- Brad "Checkdown" Johnson is living up to the nickname Patrick Crayton calls him. ...After three short passes, Johnson threw a 15-yard slant to Isaiah Stanback, who made a one-handed catch on a ball behind him in the end zone.
12:05 -- Richard Bartel was fortunate that his out to Mark Bradford wasn't picked off. Anthony Henry broke up the pass. ... Jason Witten made a tippy-toe catch on the sideline. ... Starting offense seems to be having some communication issues. They just had to huddle back up after apparently screwing up a formation.
12:08 -- LB Bobby Carpenter picked off a Romo pass intended for Tony Curtis. Carpenter would have had an easy TD return. ... Another catch for Isaiah Stanback across the middle. ... Horn sounded.
12:13 -- Back to special teams drills. This would be a good time for a quick nap.
12:20 -- Fifth-round CB Orlando Scandrick just flashed his kick-blocking ability. Mat McBriar didn't actually punt the ball, but Scandrick would have blocked it if he did. Scandrick, a 4.32 40 guy, came flying in from McBriar's left.
12:22 -- Another cornerback injury? Evan Oglesby just jogged off the field with head athletic trainer Jim Maurer. We'll get an update ASAP. ... Horn sounded.
12:25 -- Oglesby is back on the field. Maybe he just needed to get some tape dixed or something. .... 11-on-11 starting.
12:27 -- Mike Jenkins held T.O. to keep him from catching the ball after running an out at the goal line. The side judge threw a flag, which T.O. caught and tossed at Jenkins. ... Martellus Bennett caught a 2-yard TD pass from Romo on second-and-goal. Romo scanned the field before hitting Bennett in the right flat.
12:31 -- Another nice play by Bobby Carpenter. Brad Johnson dumped the ball off to Miles Austin across the middle. Carpenter arrived a split-second after the ball and could have had a huge hit. ... Johnson missed a wide-open Isaiah Stanback on a corner route in the end zone. Stanback laid out for the ball but couldn't get his hands on it.
12:34 -- In goal line work, undrafted rookie TE Drew Atchison got behind Justin Rogers for a TD. ... There's the TE screen to Jason Witten again. Didn't work this time. Undrafted OLB Darrell Robertson met Witten near the line of scrimmage.
12:39 -- The Bobby Carpenter Show continues. He broke up a pass in the end zone to TE Martellus Bennett after Tony Romo rolled right. "Way to go, Bobby!" Wade Phillips hollered.
12:40 -- Sack for DeMarcus Ware, who blew by LT Doug Free. ... The side judge let FS Ken Hamlin get away with holding TE Drew Atchison in the end zone on second-and-goal. ... Jason Hatcher blew up a running play on third-and-goal. ... Horn sounded.
Practice over.
sigh..................
Peter King
Training camp postcard: Cowboys
Zack Thomas
Where's Peter?
At the Dallas Cowboys camp site at the Marriott Residence Inn in Oxnard, Calif., which is a siren song of a place to work. In the mornings, there's a marine cloudiness to the practice fields behind the hotel, located about three miles from the Pacific Ocean, and the players love practicing with temperatures in the high 60s. In the afternoon, the clouds burn off, and the men can get a good sweat going, and the 3,000 or so fans who flood the place can get a good tan. I told owner Jerry Jones Friday that it'd be a shame if the team goes to San Antonio next year, which it is contractually obligated to do, and just forgets working here. The quality of work that gets done here is so good, in part because the players don't have spend half their time ing about the heat and humidity. Half the time, there is neither.
Three Observations
1. It's amazing how many big names and big stories there are here. Look, over there -- Dave Campo, back coaching the secondary ... and he's working with Adam (nee Pacman) Jones. With the linebackers, there's a new number 55 --Zach Thomas, the seven-time Pro Bowler coming home to redeem himself. That strong-looking whippet in the backfield? Felix Jones. And the guest coaches: Erik Williams, old Big E, is here on a minority coaching fellowship working with the line. Michael Irvin had been working with the receivers before leaving the other day for the Hall of Fame ceremonies. Dat Nguyen is working with the linebackers. And Nate Newton is hanging around, doing some media and promotional stuff.
2. The Cowboys have upgraded themselves at corner -- maybe in a big way. Even with Terence Newman out -- he'll miss much of camp with a groin pull -- the Dallas secondary is having a good camp. This morning, Anthony Henry (no, he has not been moved to safety yet, and may not be because of how often Dallas will use a third corner on defense) and rookie first-rounder Mike Jenkins took snaps with the first unity, with Jones and feisty fifth-rounder Orlando Scandrick backing them up. All four of those guys will make the team, with Newman likely to be back by early September. That's a quality group of five NFL corners.
3. Confidence oozes here. The players and coaches don't have to say anything. You can just feel it. They don't make excuses about their horrendous loss to the Giants in the NFC semis. They praise the Giants, in fact. "I've got tremendous respect for what the Giants did,'' Wade Phillips told me this morning before practice. "Think about it: They lose to us twice in the regular season, they lose to Green Bay, and they lose to New England?and then they beat us all in the playoffs. What are the odds of that? That's got to be unheard of in NFL history.'' But Dallas doesn't think Eli Manning will be able to shred them the way he did at times in that playoff game, and they're sure they'll protect Tony Romo better when the time comes. We'll see.
New Face, New Place
Middle linebacker Zach Thomas. We'd all given up on Thomas, who turns 35 on Labor Day. But the Cowboys haven't. He's embedded on first and second downs in the middle of the defense, and he should play enough to be in the top three on the Cowboys in tackles. Wade Phillips plans to play the rangy 242-pound Kevin Burnett in pass coverage and in two-minute and no-huddle situations. "I want to keep Zach fresh,'' he said. Thomas is revved up to prove he doesn't have a concussion problem. (More about that in the next Monday Morning Quarterback.) Even Cowboys you talk to with the notebook put away think Thomas will be a 16-game player, even though the odds are against it in the vortex of a physical defense in a physical division. "There's no question in my mind,'' Thomas said about playing a full season. We'll see.
Looking at the Schedule
September and December: brutal. October and November: manageable. Dallas opens at Cleveland, Philly at home, at Green Bay, Washington at home. The Cowboys finish at Pittsburgh, Giants and Ravens at home (both in prime time), at Philly. The only edge I see is favorable bye -- Nov. 9, between road tests at the Giants and 'Skins -- and the 10-day breather after the Thanksgiving Day game to prepare for the tough December slate.
Memorable Image from Camp
Felix Jones is going to be good. Maybe really good. He runs smoothly and with a fluid determination. You aren't going to see many backs cut with the quickness and decisiveness Jones runs with. Friday afternoon, in an 11-on-11 drill, Jones cut to the right, shot forward through a hole around right end, and, just as a safety came up to wrap him up, Jones planted his left foot, zigged to the right and shot forward, the defender left to grab air. I'm not saying he's Barry Sanders, but Jones is a talent. "I haven't played that much,'' Jones told me walking off the field afterward. "But I've been able to become a student of the game. I've watched a lot of film. I know how defenses want to play me.'' Remember this number: 129. Jones played three years in DarrenMcFadden's shadow at Arkansas, and that's how many carries he averaged per year. But the Cowboys all along loved the 6-foot, 212-pound Jones, and it could well turn out to be a big advantage that he carried it so sparingly. Maybe he'll have more tread on his tire when he's called on late in the fourth quarter at the Meadowlands if Marion Barber gets dinged. "We did a study before the draft on carries,'' said Cowboy scouting czar Tom Ciskowski. "That back at Central Florida [Kevin Smith] carried the ball more last year [450 times] than Felix did his entire career [386]. I think if he'd been the feature back at someplace like Memphis State or Oklahoma State, he'd never have been there for us.'' Dallas got him with the 22nd pick of the first round.
Parting Shots
• Terrell Owens might be the most media-friendly guy in camp.
• In the worst-kept secret in the history of pro football, Adam Jones will be reinstated by the commissioner as long as he has an uneventful next month.
• "I haven't thought about left tackle in years,'' Jerry Jones said after Friday's second practice, and he can sleep at night for good reason. Flozell Adams is one of the top three left tackles in the NFC, and at 33, looks in terrific shape.
• Patrick Crayton will be the second starting wide receiver -- with Sam Hurd and Miles Austin likely winning the third and fourth slots -- but I don't think he'll catch more than 50 balls. I think Jason Witten and Terrell Owens will both exceed 90. I asked Todd Archer of the Dallas Morning News what the odds were that the Cowboys will make a trade for a receiver before opening day, and he said: "10 percent.''
• Over-under on Felix Jones carries: 145.
• Don't know why exactly, but rookie TE Martellus Bennett does not impress me. He seems to sulk, and he's not particularly energetic.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...x.html?eref=T1
Dallas Cowboys Training Camp Video 8/1 and 8/2
Some highlights
Now a Seahawk, spurned Jones spurred to burn Cowboys
Aug. 3, 2008
By Clark Judge
CBSSports.com Senior Writer
http://www.sportsline.com/nfl/story/10918165/1
KIRKLAND, Wash. -- Suddenly, I want to be in Dallas for Thanksgiving.
That's when Seattle plays the Cowboys, and it's not so much the two of them that interest me as much as it is running back Julius Jones. Once he played for Dallas; now he plays for Seattle. And now he has declared war on his former team.
"I'm out to prove I'm one of the better backs in the league," he said.
OK, I get that. He played with Dallas for four seasons, split time with Marion Barber and moved on to somewhere he should have more carries, more yards and more scores. But Jones' drive to make more of himself goes way, way beyond that -- and this I gotta see.
"I thought toward the end of my time in Dallas they kind of put me on the back burner," he said. "They had other plans which were ... whatever. I have something to show to them and the whole country that I'm not that guy who was sitting on the bench in the playoff game."
The playoff game he was talking about was a 21-17 loss to the New York Giants, with Jones having three carries -- or as many as quarterback Tony Romo -- and Barber having 27. So Barber ran for over 100 yards. Jones never had a chance, and don't bother reminding him.
"I'm not that guy," Jones reiterated. "I'm way better than that. That was embarrassing, you know what I mean? So I'm out to prove they made a wrong decision."
That could be good, very good, for the Seattle Seahawks because if there's one thing the club couldn't do well last year it was run. Everyone wants to blame former league MVP Shaun Alexander, but he was only part of the problem. The offensive line that was supposed to spring him wasn't all that good, either.
Anyway, Alexander is gone, Jones is here and the offensive line is different -- with Mike Wahle at left guard and Mike Solari as its coach.
If you ask me who makes the biggest difference, I'd say it's Solari. In his nine years as offensive line coach in Kansas City the Chiefs sent three offensive linemen to the Pro Bowl and made stars of running backs Priest Holmes and Larry Johnson.
"You don't get a chance to hire coaches like that very often," coach Mike Holmgren said of Solari.
He has that right. You don't get a chance to sign free agents like Julius Jones very often, either. I'm not saying he's the second coming of Emmitt Smith, but Jones is an upgrade over Alexander. He's younger. He's faster. He can catch the ball out of the backfield. And, get this, he's willing to block.
"Oh, man," Jones said, "I love it."
That's one of the reasons the Seahawks pursued him. The guy can do almost anything, and someone with those qualifications is a perfect fit in Holmgren's backfield. Remember Dorsey Levens in Green Bay? Yeah, so do I, and I remember how effective he was running and catching the ball.
Jones could fill that same role for Seattle, though let's get something straight: Nobody has named him the starter. In fact, Holmgren insists he'd like to have Jones and Maurice Morris share the position, with T.J. Duckett coming off the bench, and he will go with the guy who is hotter at the time.
"I'm not going to go 50-50," he said. "I'm going to go by 'feel.'"
I would, too, and right now I feel like Jones is someone who is going to excel here. As I said, he's perfect for this offense, and if you don't believe me you should have been at Friday morning's practice. Jones was one of quarterback Matt Hasselbeck's favorite targets and seemed comfortable catching the ball.
"We like everything about him," said Tim Ruskell, the team's president of football operations and general manager. "He can catch the ball. He's a good pass protector. And then there are the run skills: He has vision, burst and speed. I figured out with Mike that if you give him a guy who can do a lot of things he will press all those buttons."
Just a hunch, but nobody will need to push Jones' buttons.
"I can't remember the last time I wanted something so bad," he said. "I'm going to try to make life miserable for every team I face and every player I face."
I can think of one team in particular. Sign me up for the Nov. 27 game in Dallas.
"Nobody wants to go out like (the way I did in Dallas)," he said. "I was a starter there, and in the most important game there in -- what? -- four years, and I'm on the bench? They did what they wanted to do, and that's fine."
Somehow, I don't think it was. Happy Thanksgiving, Big D.
blah blah blah....he said it was Bill's fault and still sucked last year. They guy was a freaking starter...how was he on "the back burner"
He should of lost his starting job at least midway through the season, but the staff probably knew he would sulk, be pissy, not be a team player, and not put forth an effort.
He's on a new team now and is still dwelling on the past? Sorry, but Im happy with the direction we went with.
Barber>>>>J.Jones.........and I think Felix will be a better threat than Julius aswell.
Yeah I agree.
Dude had his chances and then some...Jerry Jones has proven time and time again he prefers to re-sign players...why does he think it suddenly changed when it came to him? Does anyone believe that Jerry wouldn't have preferred to re-sign Jones and use that draft pick for a WR or another trade? There isn't a single fan or coach who didn't want Jones to do well here...he wasn't pushed out...this is a 2 RB system.
Jones has talent but he is missing the mental game.
Good luck to him but I look forward to seeing Ware standing over him flexing.
And it looks like a lot of time is being spent with both Barber and Felix in the backfield with Barber as the RB and Felix as a RB/WR. Badass...I hope it works.
It's the same thing with Julius every year. 2 years ago it was some bull excuse coupled with legitimate injury excuse. Last year it was blaming Parcells for his shortcomings. This year it's blaming the Cowboys for casting him aside.
So, Julius... when are you gonna start blaming yourself for being a soft runner who gets arm tackled as much as any back in the NFL?
I wouldn't hold my breath.
Exactly. He needs to take responsibility for his performance rather than place blame on this and that. He ed about not being able to get in a groove by sharing carries with Barber and how it frustrated him when he would get pulled in the redzone. Wonder what his excuse will be this year because he is in a committee situation. Morris is going to get carries aswell.
I rooted for the guy for years and wanted to see him do well in Seattle, but now he's just another NFL player on another team to me. I don't wish him ill will or luck.
+1
I read nothing but good things about Felix in training camp. Romo has said he's really excited about what this guy brings to the offense. And Garrett is a genius, he'll find the best ways to utilize Jones talent.
Wow, Julius sure is bitter.
Get over it dude, you have a chance to start over.
His last chance to reclaim the galloping gobbler. Even though those asshats at Fox totally ed it up.
If Felix Jones lives up to what he has seemingly shown so far in OTAs and the beginning of camp, this was a great upgrade for the Cowboys.
It already appears Felix will be a much better runner than Julius, and a better receiver out of the backfield or in the slot, but just how good he gets and how much he plays will depend on how good he gets in blitz pickup and protection. The NFC East is basically blitz mania, so if a back can't pick it up, *cough* Tyson Thompson *cough*, he can't be very effective.
And Tashard Choice is doing pretty well also
Also seems to have his head screwed on right with a good at ude.From DallasCowboys.com
What's The Scoop:
With Pro Bowler Marion Barber and first-round selection Felix Jones taking the majority of the reps at a crowded running back position, it's easy to lose sight of what Tashard Choice has done so far at this year's training camp in Oxnard, Calif. The fourth-rounder has quietly had one of the better camps, showing the versatility to be a bruiser, a slasher and a receiver all in one.
But Choice doesn't mind the lack of publicity; he's just patiently waiting for his opportunity.
"I just play," Choice said after Monday morning's practice. "I can't worry about anybody else and what position they're in. Marion's a great running back and Felix was great in college and he's going be a great running back too. But whenever I get my chance I just show them what I can do and show them what kind of running back I am."
If Sunday's lone practice was any indication of what kind of running back Choice is, then the Cowboys may have found themselves a draft-day steal. The rookie had one of his best practices to date, breaking lose for several long runs and scoring a couple touchdowns. He even caught a few balls, showing what he can do in space.
But a practice like that is just another brick in the wall for Choice, though, who knows it will take many more to become the complete running back he wants to be.
"In practice you always have some ups," Choice said. "But there's always some things you can improve on. So that might be a thing to make sure of is that I have a good practice in whole in everything I do."
What do you expect from the man that loves to run into the back of his lineman.
I expect much of the same crap we saw last year
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