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Interesting they have the camp battle as Spencer vs Ellis. Thought they would would say Jones vs Barber. Maybe you are like me in saying that Jones will have a monster year now that Parcells is gone. I like both running backs, btw.
Three Burning Questions
1. Is Jason Garrett the real deal as offensive coordinator?
Dallas owner Jerry Jones is grooming Garrett to be his next head coach. First, Garrett must succeed as a playcaller, something he has not done at the NFL level. Garrett has a bright football mind, but putting together an innovative game plan, calling plays under pressure and keeping his high-maintenance offensive stars happy will be a real challenge. He will keep the same base offense the Cowboys used a year ago, but will try to do a better job of spreading the ball around to all of his offensive weapons. Offensive line coach Tony Sparano should have a lot of influence with Garrett's playcalling, especially in the run game, and another big key is for Garrett to mesh with QB Tony Romo, while working to improve his mechanics and reads.
Camp battle to watch
LOLB Greg Ellis vs. LOLB Anthony Spencer
For Wade Phillips' 34 scheme to be effective, the Cowboys need two big-time pass rushers off the edge and they already have one on the right side in DeMarcus Ware. Ellis should be the guy, but he is coming off Achilles surgery and it's up in the air how effective he can be. If he's healthy, he's a double-digit sack guy. Spencer is the Cowboys' No.1 draft pick, but on the college level he played with his hand in the dirt and must make the tough transition to OLB. The perfect scenario for Dallas would be a healthy Ellis at LOLB, with Spencer playing DE in nickel situations, while learning the LOLB spot. However, this defense can't function at a decent level if Dallas doesn't get production out of the position, partly to take away the double team from Ware at the other side. Both of these guys should fill huge roles in 2007.
2. Will new head coach Wade Phillips be the right fit?
He is the polar opposite to ex-Dallas coach Bill Parcells and it will be very interesting to see how the players handle his approach. Phillips is a guy with little ego who should work very well with Jones. His upbeat and positive at ude should be a relaxing influence on the entire organization. However, do not mistake his easy going demeanor for a lack of toughness. He is a very aggressive defensive coach and will expect his players to be smart, but also play with an attack mentality. Phillips will run a disciplined football team, but it will also be a loose football team. His approach could have a lot to do with the Cowboys going deeper in the playoffs.
3. Can QB Tony Romo bounce back from the disastrous playoff game against Seattle?
Who is Tony Romo? Is he the guy who led his team to a 5-1 after taking over the starting job, or is he the mistake-prone QB who struggled down the stretch with six interceptions and five lost fumbles? He is a positive guy and his work ethic is solid. He has had a full offseason as the starter to evaluate and improve his mechanics, and make better reads under pressure. Garrett must work well with him, but at least Romo does not have to look over his shoulder to worry about his job security. This is his team and there is reason to think he will be better in 2007 than he was a year ago.
The player under the microscope
WR Terrell Owens. Although he put up solid numbers in 2006 (85 receptions for 1180 yards and 13 touchdowns), he also dropped 18 passes and his off-the-field distractions are well do ented. Although he is a superbly conditioned athlete, at 33, he is starting to show signs of breaking down physically. He still can be a dynamic big-play guy, especially on crossing routes where he can run after the catch, but will he get along with Garrett and adjust to Phillips?
Fantasy take
Does Wade Phillips hate Julius Jones in the red zone as much as Tuna did? Is Tony Romo a legitimate every-week fantasy starter? Watch how the backs are used in camp and see if Romo is throwing confidently in preseason games for clues to the answers.
-- Matthew Berry
• Complete ESPN.com fantasy coverage
Breakout player
WR Patrick Crayton. Although he is listed as the third receiver, Crayton is closer to the field than most people think. Owens and Terry Glenn are both 33 years old, and injuries and durability are a concern. For now, Crayton will work out of the slot and his best attributes are his hands and deep speed. He is a very tough match up versus opponent's No. 3 corner. He is at his best working the middle of the field and also has the moves to make the first tackler miss. He could be a big-play producer.
Comeback player of the year
SS Roy Williams. He has struggled mightily over the last few years when he has been put in coverage situations, and offenses routinely have attacked him with the passing game. With the offseason acquisition of Ken Hamlin from Seattle, the Cowboys now have a true free safety who can play center field, and that will allow Williams to play in the box and attack the run, where he is at his best. Williams is really an undersized linebacker and now Dallas can put him in that role. It should lead to a very productive year.
Offensive philosophy
There are some question marks in terms of how this offense will be run in 2007 because of new coaching faces. Garrett is a bright, young guy with an innovative mind, but he is a first-time playcaller. He likely will stay with the Cowboys' base offense, which is a two-pronged running attack and a passing game that will work harder to spread the ball around to all of the weapons. Garrett will work extensively with Romo on his fundamentals and recognition of defenses, and he will try to make the Cowboys' passing game more explosive. Sparano will have significant input in the run game and will switch his line blocking to more man-to-man instead of zone techniques. Garrett can also get help from receivers coach Ray Sherman, who has been an offensive coordinator -- but how will these coaches and this offense handle the pressure of a tight game in the fourth quarter?
Defensive philosophy
Phillips was hired as the new head coach to replace Parcells for one reason; the Cowboys have excellent defensive personnel and there is a feeling that they can be a dominating 34 defense. Phillips is just the guy who can incorporate his aggressive schemes to dominate offenses. The first thing he will do is to switch from a two-gap read and react look to a one-gap penetrating defense, designed to attack the quarterback. They will also slant a lot more and keep the same concepts that led San Diego to lead the league in sacks a year ago. Phillips has brought Brian Stewart with him to run the defense. They will blitz a lot more off the edge than they did a year ago and their best pass rusher, OLB DeMarcus Ware, should flourish in this scheme. In the secondary, the Cowboys will play a lot less Cover 2 schemes, where offenses picked on Williams in coverage. Instead, they will bring Williams in the box, almost as a linebacker, and will play more three-deep schemes, with free safety Ken Hamlin as a centerfielder.
Gary Horton, a pro scout for Scouts Inc., has been a football talent evaluator for more than 30 years. He spent 10 years in the NFL and 10 years at the college level before launching a private scouting firm called "The War Room."
Interesting they have the camp battle as Spencer vs Ellis. Thought they would would say Jones vs Barber. Maybe you are like me in saying that Jones will have a monster year now that Parcells is gone. I like both running backs, btw.
In a way I want to deal Ellis. All he does is complain. Ship him for a 2nd or 3rd round pick. The best deal would be to send Greg for some young WR help. If Spencer and someone else emerge in camp, release him, but id want to get some value for him.
ellis complained a bit about having to change positions last year, but he was doing a damn good job before he got hurt. older players in the NFL have every right to complain, there's no such thing as a guaranteed contract.
9-7 and the playoffs. NFC sucks balls.
I seriously doubt you could get a 2 or 3 for a guy coming off an injury that typically takes 2 years to fully recover from and ultimately will take a half to full step from him.
5th or 6th round pick at best.
he basically was complaining because the Cowboys said they would not move him and would pay him basically by how he played as an OLB. he wanted to "try" it and if he didnt succeed then move him back to DE and pay him by his successes there. not a bad move by him. i had no problem with it as this was a new position he was playing.
as far as question #2 in the original post, i believe Ellis has already gained the starting spot heading into training camp.
im looking forward to the variety Phillips will bring to this defense. former Cowboys TE and now Lion, Dan Campbell called the Cowboys defense "predictable." he said if they werent sending Ware they sent nobody. so you just had to lock onto Ware in other words.
Ellis Angst Dampens Spirits
Mickey Spagnola - Email
DallasCowboys.com Columnist
July 25, 2007 8:31 PM Change Font Size A A A A
SAN ANTONIO - Sono un, why is it that a little rain must fall on every parade?
Everything was going so swimmingly Wednesday, the Dallas Cowboys' return taking this city by storm, and that would be inside the Alamodome where some 8,000 mighty excited people showed up for the first training camp practice, and outside the Dome, where another couple of inches of rain fell on a water-logged city about to head 20,000 leagues under the sea.
Why, Wade Phillips' return to his native state was being trumpeted. Tony Romo has turned into the Pied Piper. Terrell is happy. The defenders are happy. Julius Jones is happy. The assistant coaches talk without paranoia.
There was Bum out there, watching his son's team practice. Larry Lacewell has returned, still retired but willing to consult anyone who wants his opinion. And for heaven's sake, after a litany of off-season workouts, there the Cowboys were, really working, although not in pads for this very first training camp practice.
Now it wasn't all perfect, since two draft choices still hadn't signed and neither of the team's starting tackles were medically cleared to practice, nor the fourth-round draft choice. But in short order, those little ulus clouds would blow over.
And then, what? What's that? Why is Greg Ellis over there with his helmet off talking to trainers Jim Maurer and Britt Brown? He had been practicing, no matter his protestations over his contract or lack of financial commitment from the team or his paranoia over the Cowboys spending their first draft choice to take a guy with an eye on his starting position.
Just as I predicted, he'd be here and he'd be working as hard as ever. He had gone through the individual drills. He had stretched with the team, and you could see, he was eager to start playing football again after suffering that torn Achilles last Nov. 12 and enduring the subsequent endless stream of rehabilitation drills following the surgery.
But he was doing fine, able to accomplish everything the trainers had asked him to do in the off-season. And when we last saw him rehabbing back the middle of June, he was running those cone drills as if a man training for the NFL combine, not a 31-year-old NFL linebacker trying to return from one of the more serious injuries a professional athlete can suffer.
"It was good," Ellis would say, but you almost wanted to cover your ears so as not to hear, "until then."
Then, the first time Ellis really jumped into somewhat of a real football drill. This was not running on his own or cutting or lifting or anything that goes along with retraining his left foot left dangling by the ruptured Achilles. This was going up against another player, a football-related movement, but not even in pads or against an offensive linemen.
The linebackers were working on something called the "steer drill," where one player tries to step to one side, with hands on the other player's chest, and steer him back to one direction, then reverse and steer back to the other direction.
The first time he tried the maneuver, he felt some pain in that left Achilles. He tried to shake it off, probably in somewhat denial. He convinced himself to go again.
Ellis then was in the midst of "steering" rookie free agent Alex Obomese, stepping one way, then the other. But when he planted again on his left foot and pushed hard on Obomese, this time he felt a lot of pain shoot through his repaired Achilles.
"I got really concerned," Ellis said.
No kidding.
The trainers and doctors certainly must have frozen in their tracks. They don't take lightly to rehabilitation failures. Ellis' repaired Achilles was immediately examined, and as Greg brutally relayed, "They said it was still intact. It hadn't torn again."
That was the good news. The bad news is he didn't do anything more in this non-pad drill and now must spend some time worrying.
Now Phillips seemed to take the setback in stride.
"We expected it and didn't want to push it too hard," the head coach said, claiming he had been tipped off to this possibility by assistant trainer Britt Brown, who is the team's rehab guru.
"Britt, who worked with Dan Marino (rehabbing his torn Achilles) told me beforehand we're going to put him out there and he'll have some pain."
There didn't seem to be too much panic. The thought is the Achilles would be somewhat tender the first time Ellis actually played some football. The thought is he might have just broken down some scar tissue.
Ellis sort of shrugged, saying it is what is, and that he would be further checked once he went in after practice, probably receive more treatment and then see how he felt Thursday when the Cowboys are scheduled for their first camp two-a-day session, beginning at 9 a.m. here at the Alamodome.
"I don't think Greg's hurt," Phillips said. "He had a little pain, but he's not hurt."
The trainers said Ellis was rechecked, and that they were in a wait-and-see mode, but that this didn't surprise anyone since it's the first time he's participated in any football-related activity.
Phillips, though, said he was "hopeful" Ellis would be ready to resume practicing in the morning.
Ellis would like that, but so would the Cowboys, who basically, and maybe only temporarily, were without their top two strong, outside linebackers for the remainder of practice. Ellis was watching, and first-round draft choice Anthony Spencer wasn't even on the premises, still waiting for his agent to come to contract terms with the Cowboys.
So there was a stream of lesser-knowns jumping into the rotation, starting with Obomese, the rookie free agent from UTEP who turned a few heads during off-season workouts; Junior Glymph, touted by the owner during one mini-camp practice as a "guy we're proud of"; and then John Saldi, the son of former Cowboys tight end Jay Saldi who worked this spring in NFL Europa.
Uhhhh.
What a dramatic change from a little pre-practice technique drill the linebackers were working on. There was linebackers coach Paul Pasqualoni working with just Ellis and DeMarcus Ware. Boy, that looked good again seeing those guys back out there together. Because when Ellis departed during that Arizona game, the sacks were just about equal. Ware had five. Ellis had 4˝. Offenses needed peripheral vision when it came to protection.
But without Ellis around, protections basically stared right at Ware. Now he would finish with 11˝ sacks, recording 6˝ of those over the final eight games. But when it came to the other side, a conglomeration of guys accounted for four sacks, but nothing causing offenses to fear.
The Cowboys need Greg Ellis. They need Anthony Spencer. They will make Ware better.
But darn it, and it might only be temporarily, the Cowboys were right back in that same boat they were the latter half of last year. And no matter how upbeat Phillips was following practice, saying, "I'm excited" by what he saw out there Wednesday, a little rain did fall, inside the Alamodome, too.
Can't go anywhere out here in this city without your umbrella these days.
Cowboys sign LB Spencer, the 26th overall draft pick, and third-round OT Marten
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — The Dallas Cowboys signed their top two draft picks Thursday, with first-rounder Anthony Spencer getting a five-year, $9 million deal and third-rounder James Marten getting a four-year deal.
Spencer, a linebacker taken 26th overall, and Marten, an offensive lineman, missed the first practice Wednesday and the morning workout Thursday. The team was hoping to have them by the afternoon session Thursday.
When they arrive, both should get significant playing time because of injuries to the starters ahead of them.
Spencer, who is guaranteed $6 million, was a defensive end at Purdue, getting 10 1/2 sacks as a senior and 21 in his four-year career. The Cowboys will be moving him to outside linebacker to rush the quarterback on the side opposite of DeMarcus Ware. Ware successfully made the switch from college end to linebacker when he arrived two years ago.
Spencer is expected to open the season backing up veteran Greg Ellis, if Ellis recovers from a torn Achilles' tendon that ended his season in November. Dallas' pass rush dropped off drastically after Ellis was hurt.
Ellis tried practicing Wednesday, but felt pain right away and stopped. An MRI showed no damage, only bursitis, and the team plans to bring him along slowly. Without him or Spencer, the Cowboys were forced to use rookie free agent Alex Obomese with the first team.
Marten, from Boston College, could see action at either tackle spot as starters Flozell Adams and Marc Colombo are both on the physically unable to perform list.
The Associated Press
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/foot...164414825_x.htm
Camp Misconception
Brad Sham - Email
DallasCowboys.com Columnist
August 1, 2007 7:11 PM
SAN ANTONIO - Welcome to Camp Misconception.
We're a week in now. Eight actual practice days gone. Twelve football practices conducted, and this is probably enough time to clear up a few things. Some of these things ardent Cowboys fans believed, or feared, as the team convened in San Antonio. Some appear to be beliefs held in the outside world, where all they know about this team is what somebody blogs or puts on television. But a week in, there are definitely some Cowboys Misconceptions out there.
MISCONCEPTION #1: Tony Romo is sill getting over The Bobbled Snap in Seattle. You'd be amazed, or at least I am, how many people out there in football land outside of Dallas-Fort Worth have considered this a major off-season issue. Can Tony Romo put the dropped field-goal snap in the playoffs behind him in time to concentrate on quarterbacking the Cowboys?
The glib answer is, "Is he over it? Have you seen Carrie Underwood?" The truth is, Romo was over it within about two weeks. Not that it won't fuel his furnace in getting prepared for the season. But the snap is no more reminder than some of those December turnovers. Big misconception, now hopefully cleared up.
MISCONCEPTION #2: Greg Ellis is pouting over playing time. Or faking his injury. First things first. Greg Ellis is not faking. He thought his injured Achilles tendon was ready to go until it hollered at him the first day pushing off, though trainers later suggested it's probably bursitis in his heel. He and the athletic trainers have a specific, planned program for working him back to full readiness. He's hopeful of being back in uniform within a week.
Nor is Ellis pouting because the Cowboys drafted Anthony Spencer in the first round at Ellis' position. Ellis is not worried about playing time. He believes Coach Wade Phillips' proclamations that he remains a starter.
What Ellis is upset about is money. The Cowboys gave Terry Glenn an extension before they had to when Terrell Owens was signed. Ellis wants the same treatment. He probably won't get it, and he probably won't retire. He'll probably just be the outstanding pro he is and play well and have a good year and help the team and be unhappy about his money. But he's not sitting out sulking now over playing time.
MISCONCEPTION #3: Leonard Davis is a big slug and the Cowboys threw money away on him. This one you hear from some skeptical Cowboys fans. All they know is that Davis was the second overall pick in the draft by the Cardinals in '01, he never made the Pro Bowl and the Cardinals didn't re-sign him. Why Davis never reached all-star status in Phoenix, who knows? Maybe playing for a bad football team had something to do with it. You don't find an abundance of Pro Bowl offensive linemen from bad teams. Whatever the reason, first impressions of Leonard Davis as a Cowboy are terrific. Sure, it's just a week into camp. Maybe he won't be more than just a pretty good player, and you hate to hand out $16 million bonuses for pretty good. But Leonard Davis showed up in shape. He's fitting in with his teammates. And he's looked somewhere been solid and dominating in the first ten practices.
Maybe he just needed to be a right guard in Dallas. But if you're going by what you see, you cannot say to this point any part of signing Leonard Davis was a mistake. To these old eyes, he makes the offensive line look better. And besides, right now you'd a whole lot rather have Davis than the one guy taken ahead of him in the '01 draft. (I'll save you the trouble: Michael Vick.)
MISCONCEPTION #4: Bill Parcells' last Dallas draft class was a bust. Bobby Carpenter had trouble getting on the field last year. He was inactive for three of the first five games. Second-round pick Anthony Fasano started right away in the two-tight end scheme but only caught 14 passes, none for touchdowns. Third-rounder Jason Hatcher may have been the most productive, and he had all of 2.5 sacks and 13 tackles. Fifth-round safety Pat Watkins couldn't hold the starting job. But hold on before you start making judgments. Carpenter came on at the end and he's all over the place in this camp. Second-team inside linebacker, nickel end, blitzing from all angles.
Carpenter looks like a football player. So does Fasano, who is showing an ability to get down the field and to make conversation-stopping catches. One staffer has compared him favorably to Washington's talented H-back Chris Cooley. Hatcher looks like a breakout pass rusher waiting to happen, Watkins appears ready to at least provide substantial depth, and seventh-round tackle Pat McQuistan, virtually redshirted last year, has already lined up with the first team at both offensive tackles in the first week in San Antonio. Draft class bust? It looks more like we'll be singing a different tune this time next year.
MISCONCEPTION #5: Wade Phillips is just another coaching rollover for the Jerry Jones bulldozer. This does a real injustice to both men and is the single biggest misconception of Camp Riverwalk. It first presupposes that Jones learned nothing from his time with Parcells. Jones chose to make significant changes in his daily approach to accommodate Parcells. Why would anyone presume he took nothing from the experience?
More to the point, anyone who thinks Phillips was hired because he's a marshmallow AntiBill does not comprehend a 31-year NFL coaching career including five as a head coach. The man keeps getting work, people. He has an impressive résumé. You can succeed once by accident. The last six times he's joined a team as head coach or coordinator, his new team made the playoffs.
But don't let me bore you with statistics. Google the man. Look 'em up for yourself. He has not produced these results with milk and cookies. You can be born to leadership or fall into it once, maybe twice. You can't keep racking it up like Phillips has if you have no backbone. Just because Jones, and everyone else, isn't afraid of him, as most were of Parcells, doesn't mean he does not have their respect. Quite the contrary. It's not just players. Office assistants will tell you how much more enthused they are coming to work because their tiptoes are getting a rest.
And make no mistake, the players want to play for this man. Will they still five years from now? Who knows? But do not confuse a mild demeanor with an absence of conviction. Did you hear Phillips at the camp-opening news conference, referring to himself as "a great defensive coordinator and now I want to prove I can be a great head coach?" Does that sound like a man with no ego or sense of himself to you?
Right now, players know they are being respected and they are embracing the pressure that goes with that. That's right, pressure. Wade Phillips is putting his players in a position to succeed. If they don't, it's their fault, not his.
http://www.dallascowboys.com/news.cf...93D04863453B59
Cowboy cuts
RB Jackie Battle
NT Ola Dagunduro
LB Dedrick Harrington
T Jason Hilliard
LB Alex Obomese
WR Jerard Rabb
WR Jamaica Rector
WR Jamel Richardson
NT Montavious Stanley
No one of consequence.
I liked Rector a lot, too bad he was hurt pretty much all off-season
I'll take Sam Hurd or Miles Austin over Rector any day.
I wasnt saying I would take Rector over those guys, just that I think hes pretty good. Urban playing so well got both of those recievers cut
I really think that Hurd is going to become a premier receiver.
cowboys are ed without a healthy terence newman or an elite corner subs ute, aaron glenn certainly isn't elite, and jacques reeves.. well.. ing sucks
barring a miracle trade to get a dominant NFL CB, Dallas will more than likely go 9-7 again, possibly worse
go cowboys :*(
I must have missed when Urban was playing well... if the Cowboys keep 5 WR, Austin is a goner... if they keep 6 it is:
TO, Glenn, Crayton, Hurd, Austin, Stanback
Scott....I just can't see you rooting for a player named "Austin"
Nobody trades a great corner this time of the year. If Newman can't go at near 100% it's going to be a long season.
Hurd, Austin, and Crayton are good and are getting better, but they are possession receivers. The Cowboys need Glenn to stretch the defenses and not allow them to keep so many LB right up on the line of scrimmage to play the run.
We all did, supposedly he has been great in practices.
I think Ive only seen him make one catch in the pre-season
If the Cowboys don't succeed then that is officially the roster with the most underachievers. That defense is stacked with 1st round talent, even at backup positions, and the offense has a ton of talent as well. There's no reason for failure except pure underachievment.
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