DMN: John Garrett: Bennett showing signs of maturity and moving toward his potential

[WoodysGirl]

11:34 PM CDT on Thursday, August 26, 2010


SportsDayDFW.com


Dallas Cowboys tight end coach John Garrett was interviewed on KESN-FM on Wednesday to discuss the growth of Martellus Bennett , the loss of John Phillips and the younger players vying for a spot. Here are some highlights:

What do you see for Martellus Bennett this year and can he mature and take it to the next level?
Well, he’s showing signs that he has matured. He really had a great approach in rehabbing his ankle. He was really professional, he stayed alert and alive in the meetings, and once he was healthy, he showed it, in practice, that he was ready and then he went out for San Diego and made some plays in the passing game and continued to show his ability to block and move people at the point of attack. So we were pleased with his game performance and as we know, he’s got a long way to go to be the kind of player that we hope him to be but also that he hopes to be. We’re moving towards that and we’re really pleased with his development right now.

Before John Phillips was injured, was he ahead of Bennett on the depth chart?
We don’t compare players and John has his specific role, which he fulfilled last year very well. And John is the guy that when somebody gets hurt, he comes in and takes great pride in knowing both positions and even the fullback position. So, they are completely different and they have different roles and there are certain things that Martellus does better than John at this stage and he will continue to do those things and we expect Martellus to continue to have an expanded role in this offense, both in the run game and the pass game, as he demonstrated the ability to handle it and demonstrates his performance in those roles.

To listen to the interview, click here.

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