Good Camp Battles to Watch

While there's already some great intrigue created by this past mini camp session, the truth always finds a way to come to the surface - once the pads get on, its a different story. Let's look at a few key "camp battles" to watch at this year's training camp and preseason.

The top camp battle for me is going to be in the secondary, Watkins vs. Hamlin

Let's be real here, the Hamlin signing is a short-term insurance policy, that provides us with a good veteran and solid depth at FS. Its still likely that Hamlin will lineup opposite Roy Williams, but don't count out Patrick Watkins. Watkins was miffed when he fell to the 5th round last year, came to camp with a chip on his shoulder, and eventually cracked into the starting lineup. For a rookie he played well, sure he had a few mess ups, but that's to be expected from a rookie.

Either way you cut it though, Watkins will see significant playing time, and should Hamlin falter in training camp or the preseason, you can feel good about Watkins getting back in the lineup.

According to our readership 50% believe Hamlin will be the starter, 44% believe Watkins will be the starter, and 5% are not sure. Those numbers are close. We'll see how this one unfolds, its going to be a good one.

The San Antonio Express recently chimed in on the topic as well:

Dallas believes Pat Watkins can still emerge as a starter down the line.

The Cowboys may have settled for Ken Hamlin on a one-year deal because they're planning on Watkins as their starting free safety in 2008 and beyond. An athletic freak, the 6-5 Watkins should benefit from his season to learn.

Carpenter vs. James

If you look at how the starting LBs in the Phillips 34, its safe to assume the starters will be:
OLB Demarcus Ware
MLB Bradie James*
MLB Akin Ayodele
OLB Greg Ellis*

The (*) meaning those in jeopardy of losing their starting spot. In this discussion we're focusing on James. James is the incumbent, but there's evidence the Cowboys are preparing for a scenario that would have Carpenter overtaking James at MLB. Carpenter worked at MLB last offseason, and again this offseason.

James has had one solid season, and has been adequate, and last year did not help his cause with several busted plays directed right at him. Sean Payton knew the weakness in the LB core, and tore it up. Then came Detroit later, and they tore it up. James was horrible in coverage and got ate up regularly.

Is 2nd year player, Carpenter ready to man the spot. Carpenter ran the 2nd team defense and called the plays on defense during mini camp. According to Coach Phillips, he wants the best players on the field and wants to utilize their skills as best as possible. If there's a chink in the armor then its Bradie James, and it would be ludicrous not to want competition there. Carpenter was rated much higher at MLB than James coming out of college, and is way more athletic. You can bet Carpenter is going to be out there more and more.

Worst case scenario, you'd see Carpenter play extensively in nickel packages. Either way you cut it, you gotta have this explosive sideline-to-sideline player on the field somewhere and I think Phillips already recognizes this.

Ellis vs. Spencer

We've all read the same old news, and its a broken record...Ellis wants an extension, and he wants a commitment from the Cowboys. The stark reality is that the Cowboys are not going to redo the contract and Ellis needs to get over that. Sure he can ask for a trade, but the Cowboys are not inclined to make a trade. Ellis is a solid player, and performed pretty good in his new position at OLB in the 3-4, and this year should be no different, so just get out there and play Greg.

Ellis' latest tirades mostly stem from the Cowboys drafting Anthony Spencer, who right now looks to be the real deal and will indeed provide a dynamic one-two death blow punch as he lineups up opposite Ware.

Ellis is the starter according to Coach Phillips, but this is going to be a camp battle to watch. I expect Spencer to overcome Ellis this offseason, and at the latest sometime early in the season. Spencer was brought here to attack the QB, and its hard to envision the Cowboys holding him back.

Jones vs. Barber

The media wants to make this into something sensational, but the reality here is going to be that these two RBs will contribute similarly as they did last year; however, I honestly believe this will be Julius Jones' season. All his talk about 1600 yards and 20tds can come true in this new offense. Garrett likes how Jones runs and sees the same elusiveness that Emmitt had. Back when Jones was drafted his highlight reel looked like Emmitt Smith, and he looked like that player his rookie year, then came his "robotic" running style, overcoached or whatever you want to call it. Garrett is going to let Jones be that instinctive runner again, and watch out.

Jones thinks he won't be extended; so, not only does he want to play well this season, this is his time to show off his skills for potential teams for 2008. Its not something I personally want to see happen, but its very possible. Some rumors apparently already have Arkansas' RB Darren McFadden penciled in as our starter next season, far fetched? Maybe, maybe not. But let Jones get his run on and see what fans think then. I see the mood changing should Jones have an explosive season.

Barber will be used the same as last year, he too will get his chances to run instinctively, and this can only help Barber.

At the end of the day, there's not a camp battle here, just some interesting topics for fans to argue over.

FACT: Jones and Barber will share the load and BOTH will take this running attack to another level, the best duo in the league. Other teams are installing the two back system, but we have one if the better duos in the league.

Somehow its good to have these type of problems, its good to have this type of depth and competition in areas were it seems incumbents are locks, but not this year. The Cowboys are doing a great job in the scouting department and continue to inject quality players to an already full roster of pretty good players.

Garrett's Bringin' Witten Back

There's already evidence of Witten getting more action in the passing game, Coach Phillips stated Witten was in motion, and in some wide-out sets. Look for Garrett to utilize Witten in the same vein as Novacek. He can block in the running game but will be more effective in the passing game which will open up more one-on-one matchups and more explosiveness from the running attack.

Last year Witten had (1) TD.... let me say that again, Witten had (1) TD last season. Now, there is something horribly wrong with that statistic, and I expect a lot more usage from Witten this year. Gone will be the 3 straight running plays for no gain with Barber. Rest assured, Witten will get in the game this year as Garrett's Bringin' him back.

Roy Williams at MLB in Nickel Packages

News from mini camp had Roy Williams lining up at MLB next to Kevin Burnett in some nickel packages. Hamlin and Watkins manned the safety spots interestingly enough. Back in March after we signed Hamlin I envisioned a way that Roy could be closer to the line while Watkins and Hamlin played saftety

Quoting my own blog from march 23:

I see the Cowboys using all 3 safeties during the course of a game. The Cowboys want Roy closer to the line, so we could see some sort of hybrid formation where Roy is indeed closer to the line, and Hamlin moves to SS, and Watkins at FS, this is probably more of what we're going to see.

This is now reality as this was practiced live at mini camp, from dc.com:

When the Cowboys went to their nickel defense in Sunday's practice, safety Roy Williams teamed with Burnett as the inside linebackers in the 4-2-5 package.

The idea is to get Williams closer to the line of scrimmage, where he is more effective, and out of coverage. Williams had trouble at times last season covering tight ends and receivers down the middle as a safety.

Ken Hamlin and second-year safety Pat Watkins manned the two safety spots in the package, while the corners remained unchanged from last season, with Glenn and Anthony Henry covering the outside receivers and Terence Newman jumping into the slot.

Up front it was DeMarcus Ware at right end and Anthony Spencer at left end, with Chris Canty and Jay Ratliff inside at the tackle positions. Ellis, though, said new head coach Wade Phillips has talked to him about rushing from an inside spot once he's healthy.

This might be the type of player Phillips wants at one of the nickel linebacker spots since Keith Davis was manning the same spot on the seconnd-team defense.

Cowboys Mini Camp Day 1 Notes

Football is in the air, as the Cowboys began their offseason Mini Camp. Let's take a look at the headlines in today's mini camp.

TO
The leading headline of course was Terrell Owens. TO was not expected to participate during this mini camp; however, surprisingly he did participate quite a bit. He caught a couple of passes, including a deep bomb from Tony Romo. TO caught everything thrown to him, no dropped passes.

Ellis Update
Greg Ellis was at mini camp, but he was not practicing on field; instead, Ellis was on the sideline working on his rehab with some intense agility drills. Wade Phillips commented on the future of Greg Ellis, and Phillips said: "He's our starting outside backer," "Everybody saw last year what happened when he wasn't there. He can be a dominant player."(DMN) Ellis looked in great shape and apparently there are no signs of a limp. Good news to hear all around. Several players see Ellis as the leader on defense including 2yr DE Jason Hatcher whom we interviewed a couple of weeks ago.

Carpenter playing at MLB again?
Today the Cowboys worked Carpenter at MLB, and why wouldn't they, he's a very athletic gifted tackler. Phillips keeps repeating the notion that he wants the best players on the field and he wants to utilize their strengths in a way that will benefit the team. Carpenter is not a bust, and did not have a disappointing year. To even think he did, is a farce. Carpenter was held back by Parcells to a degree, but once he was injected at the end of the season and playoffs, you could see the first round talent was the real deal. The question however remains, where is he going to play? MLB or OLB?

I'm confident Carpenter will be on the field on a regular basis. Does that mean Carpenter could replace James at MLB? Yes, its a possibility and to not consider that would be plain dumb. James struggled in coverage bigtime, and Carpenter is a well rounded player that can do a better job. Carpenter could also see time at OLB in the nickel, were his coverage skills could come into play again. Carpenter knows this and says: "It was a rough transition last year," Carpenter said. "But looking at it this year, I feel confident that I can play either/or and be successful at both. I just want to be out on the field making plays."(DMN)

Romo on Fire
Romo has been hard at work mentally and physically. Romo was on fire today when he connected for 16 of 20 during 11-man drills today against the defense. Even though the high pressure packages on defense were not in effect, Romo still looked sharp by several reports from this first mini camp. Romo has been relieved of duty on field goals and Brad Johnson will be the new holder thankfully.

Julius Jones Not Practicing With Team?
From DMN: Julius Jones is getting the majority of the reps with the first-team offense, but he hasn't necessarily made a great impression on Wade Phillips.

Phillips pointed out that Jones is one of the only guys that hasn't been working out at the Cowboys' facility. Jones opted to work out in Arizona instead.

Phillips noted that Jones, who is chiseled as usual, appears to be in great shape and knows the team's new pass protection schemes. But Phillips prefers his players to work out with the team strength coaches. Phillips also believes the off-season conditioning program is important to the "team aspect."

Phillips Differentiates Between Laid Back & Hardwork
I knew this would come into question, but Coach Phillips made it clear today during his press conference when it came to his coaching styles and philosophy. Phillips said: "Hard work and good times go together," Phillips said. "But hard work has got to come first."(DMN)

Isaiah Stanback Still Learning
Last year the Cowboys used a 4th round pick on Skylar Green in hoping he would be the answer in the return game; however, this was not the case and Green is no longer with the team. A year later, the Cowboys are still looking for an answer. Stanback was drafted this year in the same round and is a converted QB to WR/PR specialist according to the Cowboys. Playing WR for Stanback is nothing new, he actually started out as a WR, but was converted to a QB. Kinda sounds like Patrick Crayton who the Cowboys hope to have the same conversion success with Stanback. Today Stanback did field some punts. "Stanback looked like a beginner back there. He had trouble judging a few punts, although he fielded every ball cleanly during the second practice.

The other Cowboys who caught punts today are Terence Newman, Patrick Crayton, Jamaica Rector and Quincy Butler." (DMN)

Rookie QB Matt Moore Looked Bad?
Apparently undrafted rookie Matt Moore looked horrible today, and was outplayed with 3rd string incumbent Matt Baker. From DMN: Moore's first pass in 7-on-7 drills was picked off. He fumbled his first snap in 11-on-11 drills. He didn't do anything too impressive with any of the few other reps he got. Incumbent third-stringer Matt Baker looked much better, but it's not like the job will be determined by the events on the first day of minicamp.

Cowboys Mini Camp Dates Set

Saturday, May 12
10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. PRACTICE (Open to the Media)
12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. OPEN LOCKER ROOM TO MEDIA
1:30 p.m. COACH PHILLIPS AVAILABLE
3:00 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. PRACTICE (Open to the Media)

Sunday, May 13
12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. OPEN LOCKER ROOM TO MEDIA
1:45 p.m. to 3:45 p.m. PRACTICE (Open to the Media)

Monday, May 14
10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. PRACTICE (Open to the Media)
12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. OPEN LOCKER ROOM TO MEDIA
1:30 p.m. COACH PHILLIPS AVAILABLE
3:00 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. PRACTICE (Open to the Media)

Cowboys Draft in The Bag!

Here's a rundown of the players we drafted with a few quick thoughts on the picks

1st Pick (1st round)
DE Anthony Spencer - Purdue
6-3, 261lbs

Spencer will be in the OLB rotation with Ellis and Carpenter. This is an immediate impact player and could find himself in heavy rotation.

2nd Pick (2nd round)
OT James Marten - Boston College
6-7.5, 309lbs

Marten was the 2nd player the Cowboys drafted, and one of the top LT in this draft. This is a depth pick and future starter pick right here, straight up. Assuming Marten can live up to his dominating prowess he'll be set to be an impact player. This is a big player here.

3rd Pick (4th round)
QB Isaiah Stanback - Washington
6-2, 216lbs

Stanback is the replacement for the pick we missed on with Skylar Green. Same round, same purpose. Stanback will be on special teams and probably utilized in the return game. We did not draft him for a backup QB.

4th Pick (4th round)
OT Doug Free - Northern Illinois
6-6, 324lbs

Free could be the steal at this part of the draft. Free blocked well for the top rushing leader in ncaa last year, and you'll notice he is another big guy at 6-6 324. He'll be plugged in for a backup role and groomed for future spot on the line.

5th Pick (6th round)
K Nick Folk - Arizona
6-1, 225lbs

Folk is a surprise here considering fellow prospect Mason Crosby was still on the board as well. Folk has a strong leg and can kick the ball deep. He'll compete with Gramatica this year. I don't want to waste a spot with (2) kickers. Do you?

6th Pick (6th round)
FB Deon Anderson - Connecticut
5-10, 236lbs

Anderson was drafted to give the Cowboys some options as FB. Garrett is hoping to get more from the FB this year, and Anderson will give Polite some competition for that roster spot.

7th Pick (7th round)
CB Courtney Brown - Cal Poly
6-1, 205lbs

Brown was drafted for CB depth, we didn't draft an impact CB in the early rounds, so this means we'll be rolling with Henry, Newman, and Glenn as the starters, but after that we have Jacques Reeves and Nate Jones who signed their 1yr tenders this year, so this pick protects and gives up depth for this year and especially next year when Reeves and Jones could move on.

8th Pick (7th round)
CB Alan Ball - Illinois
6-1, 175lbs

Ball was drafted for the same reason as Brown, see above*


More Notes
Overall, I like the feel of this draft, and I like how we have positioned ourselves for next year's draft. We have (2) first rounder and this will REALLY help us out, especially if we choose not to re-sign Julius Jones next year, and this will give us some options for a high end WR, if we lose one or both of our receivers.

One thing you'll notice in this draft is the size of the Offensive Lineman, we took. They are BIG. Garrett is bringin' BIG back. Remember the amount of beef we had on our lines back in the 90's, well they could be makin a comeback here pretty soon...

Cowboys Top Targets for Draft Day

Here are the top targets as of this draft's eve:

DE/OLB Anthony Spencer - Purdue

S/CB Brandon Meriweather - Miami

CB Aaron Ross - Texas

WR Dwayne Jarrett - USC

WR Robert Meachum - Tennessee

WR Dwayne Bowe - LSU

Cowboys Narrow Draft Target to Three

Unlike previous years, we've known a week or two before the draft who the Cowboys were probably going to draft. This year, there is no clear cut draft prospect that is penciled in. We have learned through a close source to the team that the Cowboys have narrowed their pick to three.

DB - Aaron Ross - Texas 6-0.5 193lbs. 4.50/40

S - Brandon Meriweather - Miami 5-10.5 195lbs. 4.47/40

WR - Dwayne Jarrett - USC 6-4 220lbs. 4.62/40


In addition, there are two teams offering their #1 in 2008, and #2nd rounder, plus another 2nd day pick this year to the Cowboys. This is another option currently on the table and it will be considered, but will not be executed until #22 is on the clock.

Jerry Jones Rules on Draft Day

First, let me make it clear I am not bashing Jerry Jones, but during Parcells' reign did we ever see Jerry hold a pre-draft declaration as he did today in his latest press conference. I think Jerry was very definitive in this latest PC; moreover, he pretty much let it be known that he is back and in FULL control come draft day.

Sure, we heard there will be input by the scouts, Ireland, and Coaches, but let's be real. Parcells had huge control on who we drafted during his tenure. The only thing that should concern some fans is the history of Jerry Jones' drafts. Jimmy and Bill had their control, but rest assured, the big boss is back in full control. Let's hope he has learned from past draft class busts and lead us with another solid draft.

Draft Talk: Russell Will Not Be #1 Overall Pick

While the consensus think that JaMarcus Russell will be the #1 Overall pick in this year's draft I don't believe this at all. Here's why: The Raiders need immediate talent on offense and Russell would need a year or two on the bench. He has a big arm, who cares, so what. Russell, in my opinion has "bust" written all over him. LSU simply has not put out very solid players in a long time, let alone at QB.

In addition, its a known fact that Al Davis still likes Andrew Walter, a 3rd round pick a few years ago, but, there is noise in Detroit which could make QB Josh McCown available via trade or from release from the Lions. Davis will take McCown. There's also a possibility that Daunte Culpepper could reunite with Moss in Oakland, his release from the Dolphins is imminent. Even though Culpepper would be a risky acquisition, it could pay off.

My take: The Raiders are going to draft WR Calvin Johnson - Georgia Tech. He's the best player in this draft and a sure shot impact starter. This also protects them in the future should the team decide to cut ties with Moss next year.