MichaelWinicki
11-15-2010, 12:47 PM
The Morning After Observations
Mon, 15 Nov 2010 15:05:00 -0500
More Thoughts and Observations from the Shocker in New Jersey:
* The Story of Bryan McCann is certainly an interesting one. I find the story of the guys on the bottom of the roster far more interesting than the back story of a 1st Round pick. He went undrafted out of SMU despite his sub 4.3 40 time and his 40-inch vertical leap. Walterfootball.com rated him as the 26th best corner in the 2010 draft. He was invited to camp and actually made some nice impressions, but when the Cowboys kept just 3 corners, he was out of the mix. He ended up spending a few weeks with Baltimore on their active squad, but never played before being released in September. He then worked his way back to the Dallas practice squad before being promoted on November 4th to the 53-man Cowboys roster when they finally cut Jason Williams. He has played exactly 2 games for the Cowboys and has made strong impressions in each contest. And he now has the longest interception return in Dallas Cowboys history. I love his speed, and it was on full display during kick returns, but now we got a good look at it over 100 yards. He instantly looks more dangerous than Akwasi Owusu-Ansah on returns and has the job for as long as he can keep it up. I also loved how he fought Hakeem Nicks with all of his ability on Sunday in coverage. He lost quite a few of the battles, but Nicks is a superstar in the making, so he is on a long list of DBs that will lose some against him. This is the type of player the Cowboys need to find. A kid with ability that fell through the cracks. Turn over the bottom of the roster and find a few of these hungry kids who can make a play for you. Speed kills. And McCann has that and a fair amount of courage for a newbie. I like what I see, and it looks like we will see more.
* It was a bit shocking to see the Cowboys defense play relatively well despite very few moments of greatness from DeMarcus Ware against back-up Left Tackle Shawn Andrews. For that matter, Anthony Spencer was unable to accomplish a whole lot off the right flank in terms of getting to the QB. For this uptick to sustain, the idea of having two dominating edge rushers get to the QB on a somewhat routine basis has to emerge far more frequently.
* I have been skeptical about the Cowboys kicker situation since they came up with this idea last spring, so you can imagine after a missed extra point, a missed chip shot FG, and a kick out of bounds on a kickoff that my feelings have not improved. I really don't understand how this issue can be ignored for much longer. David Buehler has moments where he seems reasonable, but for the most part, kicker seems to be a spot where the Cowboys can get better at a relatively reasonable cost. And yet, we never hear about competition at that spot during the week with guys brought in for visits or anything. I would like to think the new coach will address that issue before it costs him a game.
For once, a Monday where the Cowboys can feel good about looking at some film. Plenty to work on, and a ton rides on how they perform against Detroit this week. They really need a home win against a poor team to establish some level of momentum and confidence, but Detroit is a team with 2 or 3 guys who terrify opposing coaches who try to scheme against them so they will be a handful.
Back to work. We must put the anointing oil away for now.
Read more: http://www.theticket.com/Shows/BaDRadio/BobsBlog/tabid/453/Default.aspx
Mon, 15 Nov 2010 15:05:00 -0500
More Thoughts and Observations from the Shocker in New Jersey:
* The Story of Bryan McCann is certainly an interesting one. I find the story of the guys on the bottom of the roster far more interesting than the back story of a 1st Round pick. He went undrafted out of SMU despite his sub 4.3 40 time and his 40-inch vertical leap. Walterfootball.com rated him as the 26th best corner in the 2010 draft. He was invited to camp and actually made some nice impressions, but when the Cowboys kept just 3 corners, he was out of the mix. He ended up spending a few weeks with Baltimore on their active squad, but never played before being released in September. He then worked his way back to the Dallas practice squad before being promoted on November 4th to the 53-man Cowboys roster when they finally cut Jason Williams. He has played exactly 2 games for the Cowboys and has made strong impressions in each contest. And he now has the longest interception return in Dallas Cowboys history. I love his speed, and it was on full display during kick returns, but now we got a good look at it over 100 yards. He instantly looks more dangerous than Akwasi Owusu-Ansah on returns and has the job for as long as he can keep it up. I also loved how he fought Hakeem Nicks with all of his ability on Sunday in coverage. He lost quite a few of the battles, but Nicks is a superstar in the making, so he is on a long list of DBs that will lose some against him. This is the type of player the Cowboys need to find. A kid with ability that fell through the cracks. Turn over the bottom of the roster and find a few of these hungry kids who can make a play for you. Speed kills. And McCann has that and a fair amount of courage for a newbie. I like what I see, and it looks like we will see more.
* It was a bit shocking to see the Cowboys defense play relatively well despite very few moments of greatness from DeMarcus Ware against back-up Left Tackle Shawn Andrews. For that matter, Anthony Spencer was unable to accomplish a whole lot off the right flank in terms of getting to the QB. For this uptick to sustain, the idea of having two dominating edge rushers get to the QB on a somewhat routine basis has to emerge far more frequently.
* I have been skeptical about the Cowboys kicker situation since they came up with this idea last spring, so you can imagine after a missed extra point, a missed chip shot FG, and a kick out of bounds on a kickoff that my feelings have not improved. I really don't understand how this issue can be ignored for much longer. David Buehler has moments where he seems reasonable, but for the most part, kicker seems to be a spot where the Cowboys can get better at a relatively reasonable cost. And yet, we never hear about competition at that spot during the week with guys brought in for visits or anything. I would like to think the new coach will address that issue before it costs him a game.
For once, a Monday where the Cowboys can feel good about looking at some film. Plenty to work on, and a ton rides on how they perform against Detroit this week. They really need a home win against a poor team to establish some level of momentum and confidence, but Detroit is a team with 2 or 3 guys who terrify opposing coaches who try to scheme against them so they will be a handful.
Back to work. We must put the anointing oil away for now.
Read more: http://www.theticket.com/Shows/BaDRadio/BobsBlog/tabid/453/Default.aspx