After a day off the team was back at work on Saturday in the lead up to Sunday’s scrimmage. That will be broadcast on all Cowboys media at 6 PM CST! It should be a real good look at the team and how things are developing.
The fun note of the day was that it was also, Dak’s 24th birthday and the crowd of over 7,000 regaled him with “Happy Birthday”! His dad flew in to surprise him as well.
The “Compete” period had several interesting match ups up front between the offensive & defensive line. Throughout the week it was clear that the O line was dominant but Saturday was a bit of a different story. It appeared that it was La’ell who struggled the most on the day, below you can see first round selection, Taco getting the best of him. Crawford zipped past Collins as well in the second clip.
Taco with some shiftiness on La'el pic.twitter.com/bK7NmrYjGm
— David Helman (@HelmanDC) July 30, 2017
Crawford and La'el pic.twitter.com/GTrVD8X2xR
— David Helman (@HelmanDC) July 30, 2017
But then you’ll always have Martin bringing some order to the madness. A lesson for the rookie!
Taco vs. Martin #CowboysCamp pic.twitter.com/IQbC7KnW71
— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) July 30, 2017
There were several guys that reportedly showed flashes worth getting y’all updated on. The frenzy over Jaylon Smith seems to have subsided ever so slightly, but worth noting that on one of his ten snaps, he read the play and made a burst to force McFadden into a loss. On another, he met the runner squarely in the hole and there was another where he had to take on a guard and there was a little struggle getting off that block. Jerry touted the performance of our sixth round pick, CB, Marquez White. Not the first sighting this week by any means, but Marquez has had a solid week. Several media members were minimizing his chances of making the 53, but his week, albeit just one, is making people take notice and if he can continue his play, may force the team to deal with a tough decision!
Brice Butler is putting a stranglehold on the 5th WR spot as he had another solid day. Though there was one play in his direction that really got my attention. It was Brice on the right, covered by Nolan Carroll. He laid a beautiful double move getting separation from the defender. However, Byron was giving support and made a diving catch, albeit he was OB. The supporting coverage isn’t something we’ve been accustomed to very often, but this was sweet.
Dak looks for Brice on the double move. Byron makes a hell of an effort, but outta bounds. pic.twitter.com/IuYFoR64Eb
— David Helman (@HelmanDC) July 30, 2017
If you hadn’t heard the team signed Luke McCown the other day and he was dressed & practicing yesterday. The Dallas media drilled Jerry on why McCown and not Kaepernick as the player they signed. The whole back up QB situation is a bit perplexing. This is more about Linehan’s preference than Jerry’s, in my opinion. Linehan is the sole reason that Kellen Moore is on the team as the backup. With Dak’s skill set, the most logical preference as a back up would be a player with a similar style of play. That’s not Kellen Moore. There are several players out there that would be more suitable and yes, Kaepernick is one of them. Tough sell in Dallas and one that obviously Jerry doesn’t want to go to war over, at least not for a back up QB.
A noteworthy injury is that of rookie, Jourdan Lewis with the dreaded hamstring, severity unknown. But this injury along with the court case in the beginning of the week has hurt him significantly in missing crucial snaps. He will now have missed at least two weeks of camp, certainly a setback. A player in the secondary that is looking really solid is none other than #32, Orlando Scandrick. When I’ve watched tape of camp, he’s always in the right place technique wise and doing well in blanketing the receiver with seemingly little effort. All between the ears and his experience is extremely obvious.
There was a Dan Bailey sighting yesterday as he went 5 for 5 including one from 57 yards. Charles Tapper shows some speed but little else from what I’ve gathered. Joey Ivie, who some felt has a chance for the 53 has been out all week with lower back issues.
What should we be looking at in the HOF game? First of all, the presumed starters won’t be out there. That’s fine as we should see plenty of action with our rookie crop, particularly from the secondary. We want to get a real good and lengthy look at Auwzie, Frazier, Woods & White back there. We’ll get a look at the linebackers. Won’t expect a lot of snaps for Jaylon but he does need work and 10-12 plays would be ideal. But how about Lotulelei and Nzeocha, those are guys we should all want to see and any UDFA’s that might flash. Or how about getting a look at Thornton & Paea at the one technique? Certainly we need to get eyes on Taco for our collective assessments! On the offensive side of the ball, we need to figure out the LG spot and who will be the swing tackle. If I’m coaching this team, Rico is getting about 75% of the snaps in the HOF game and at least 50% in the last four games. When you think the preseason games aren’t important, this is the time to be very interested.
In Jerry’s interview an interesting piece of information came out and one I’m not sure many can fathom the full potential of the statement. It does concern me! That’s the fact that Zeke actually met with the NFL in the last month to go over statements, etc. What disturbs me in the ongoing investigation is that while Goodell hasn’t been involved, supposedly, it means his new hire of Lisa Friel on matters of DV is handling this one. Here’s the rub, Friel was brought in to show that there’s a commitment to dealing with DV cases, accurately and firmly. That’s fine in theory, but there are other issues that everyone may not be aware of. She had a chance of dealing with the case of Josh Brown, the punter for the NYG’s. For a punishment that holds a minimum of a 6 game suspension, it turns out that Brown only got a 1 game rip? Now Friel is a life long NYG fan, with season tickets and who rumor has it has a life size wall mural of Eli in her home. I doubt there are any of us that find it odd that Zeke’s investigation has gone on for over a year with little or no credible evidence. We know that the DA’s office elected to not pursue charges but the NFL doesn’t need the burden of proof to suspend a player. Does Friel need a skin on the wall? Would there be a team she’d be any happier to hit with a suspension than the Dallas Cowboys? Jerry’s expecting a decision this week. If we don’t hear anything this week, prior to the HOF game, then the outcome isn’t likely to be a good one for Zeke.They would want to tick Jerry off the week of his HOF induction. Just an opinion based on the timing of an announcement. The league should have announced a decision a long time ago, but this cloud has hurt things in Dallas and with Zeke. Due to the Schefter proclamation of a pending suspension, its also meant that Garrett & Jerry get bombarded with questions about Zeke and there’s not much they can do but the typical support statements that we hear every day. It also means that there aren’t any interviews of Zeke as the team is doing all that is possible to keep him from the harassment that would surely come his way. Stay tuned for how this plays out.
One final note and that’s regarding Damontre Moore. He was suspended the other day for two games for a DWI back in December. In light of other suspensions of teammates, Damontre stepped up and apologized to the Dallas fans for his mistake in judgement, albeit before he was with the team. Saw people being upset and granted it was a short jab to the midsection, but the team knew about the distinct probability of his getting this suspension. There is something to this young man skill wise that is missing with several other DE’s on the current 90. He’s got speed and pass rush moves that far exceed that of most of the younger DE’s. Precisely why they took the opportunity to sign him.
