News: Camp Notes: Lamb's Debut, CB Rotation

speedkilz88

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Camp Notes: Lamb’s Debut, CB Rotation; More




  • In his first NFL practice since the 2015 season, defensive end Aldon Smith got an early rep against Pro Bowl left tackle Tyron Smith in one-on-one drills. Smith showed burst trying to beat Smith with an outside move. Call it a draw.

  • Donovan Wilson seems to be picking up where he left off last preseason. The coaching staff gave Wilson an opportunity to work with the first-team defense, and he definitely made the most of it. Wilson read Dak Prescott looking to make a near side throw outside the numbers, and he darted in front of the ball for a nifty interception. It was the first takeaway of training camp for a defense that is stressing the importance of generating turnovers.

  • It's been a talking point all offseason that the cornerback depth chart is wide open, and it sure looked that way Friday. Every position in the secondary was rotating throughout practice. Chidobe Awuzie and Daryl Worley split reps on the left side, while Anthony Brown and Trevon Diggs split reps on the right side. Jourdan Lewis and Brown split time as the slot cornerback. Xavier Woods and Ha Ha Clinton-Dix were the initial starting safeties, but both Darian Thompson and Donovan Wilson got a chance to work with the starters.

  • It's typically a position that doesn't catch the eye, but the Cowboys' defensive tackles seemed to have a solid Day 1. Gerald McCoy wears his new uniform well, and he had a fair share of wins in 1-on-1 pass rush reps. Antwaun Woods and Trysten Hill also jumped out of the solo portion, as they each tallied several wins against their offensive counterparts. Then there was Tyrone Crawford, who actually started at defensive tackle in the full-team portion of practice. Dontari Poe is still on the team's PUP list while he works back from an offseason surgery, but it'll be exciting to add him to the group when he's ready.
 

jazzcat22

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So a good comment about Hill, that will get the naysayers panties in a wad. :muttley::lmao2:..yes it is day one of solo drills...

Good to hear about Wilson, maybe he can unseat Woods. I am ok with Woods, to see how the new scheme works for him, but think they can do better. Is Wilson a better tackler, as it seems he is the better ball hawk.

Glad to see them rotating the DB's, as they need to to get the right mix, then focus on them for most of TC for the reps. Since they are limited in time.

So maybe Aldon Smith is not rusty as many said. :popcorn:...yes it is not an actual game yet...
 

CWR

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So a good comment about Hill, that will get the naysayers panties in a wad. :muttley::lmao2:..yes it is day one of solo drills...

Good to hear about Wilson, maybe he can unseat Woods. I am ok with Woods, to see how the new scheme works for him, but think they can do better. Is Wilson a better tackler, as it seems he is the better ball hawk.

Glad to see them rotating the DB's, as they need to to get the right mix, then focus on them for most of TC for the reps. Since they are limited in time.

So maybe Aldon Smith is not rusty as many said. :popcorn:...yes it is not an actual game yet...

Aldon is going to suprise. I think he ends up with a very positive, although not elite season. I understand the skepticism though.
 

AsthmaField

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  • It's been a talking point all offseason that the cornerback depth chart is wide open, and it sure looked that way Friday. Every position in the secondary was rotating throughout practice. Chidobe Awuzie and Daryl Worley split reps on the left side, while Anthony Brown and Trevon Diggs split reps on the right side. Jourdan Lewis and Brown split time as the slot cornerback. Xavier Woods and Ha Ha Clinton-Dix were the initial starting safeties, but both Darian Thompson and Donovan Wilson got a chance to work with the starters.

That it really good to hear. The coaches giving everyone an equal opportunity to play and even guys like Wilson and Thompson to get reps with the 1’s is exactly the way that it needs to be. It’s the way that great coaches like Parcells and Jimmy Johnson always did it.

I’ve not been one to bang on the old coaching staff all the time... but they never really did it that way, which always bothered me. The only young guys who really got that chance were high round picks like Elliott, Martin, etc.

it’s refreshing to see open competition at nearly every position.

Kudos to big Mike.
 

speedkilz88

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EfeOqJ0XkAEwSGc


 

Stash

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That it really good to hear. The coaches giving everyone an equal opportunity to play and even guys like Wilson and Thompson to get reps with the 1’s is exactly the way that it needs to be. It’s the way that great coaches like Parcells and Jimmy Johnson always did it.

I’ve not been one to bang on the old coaching staff all the time... but they never really did it that way, which always bothered me. The only young guys who really got that chance were high round picks like Elliott, Martin, etc.

it’s refreshing to see open competition at nearly every position.

Kudos to big Mike.

I'll bash the former staff enough for the both of us!
:thumbup:

The had a terrible practice of having sacred cows and untouchable 'starters', despite the fact that those starters weren't good enough.

Witten and Heath come to mind - Witten because he was nearing the end of his career.

Crawford is the last one that I still see left.

But as you said, it's great to see open competition and open spots in a secondary with questions to answer. If they can manage to assemble a quality, cohesive unit with what they have, the overall defense should be more than solid. The front 7 already looks plenty stout.
 

gimmesix

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So a good comment about Hill, that will get the naysayers panties in a wad. :muttley::lmao2:..yes it is day one of solo drills...

Good to hear about Wilson, maybe he can unseat Woods. I am ok with Woods, to see how the new scheme works for him, but think they can do better. Is Wilson a better tackler, as it seems he is the better ball hawk.

Glad to see them rotating the DB's, as they need to to get the right mix, then focus on them for most of TC for the reps. Since they are limited in time.

So maybe Aldon Smith is not rusty as many said. :popcorn:...yes it is not an actual game yet...

Hopefully after a year of adjusting, Hill's ready to play fast. The speed of the game has always been considered one of the toughest things to adjust to for rookies. One of the main reason Hill was drafted is because he is supposed to have a great get-off for a player his size. We didn't really see that last year, and without it, he was just a big man who plays a little tall and can be redirected too easily.
 

jterrell

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Hopefully after a year of adjusting, Hill's ready to play fast. The speed of the game has always been considered one of the toughest things to adjust to for rookies. One of the main reason Hill was drafted is because he is supposed to have a great get-off for a player his size. We didn't really see that last year, and without it, he was just a big man who plays a little tall and can be redirected too easily.
Hill is 22 now.
Not sure why many fans are the way they are other than sheer stupidity tbh.
No reason to hate on that kid.
If he had went to Bama and spent 2 years developing then 2 playing he'd have been drafted top 5 NEXT year
He needs to add strength and hone his technique.
That applies to most rookies but is more extreme when you are literally a kid.
About half of all R1 DL are JUCO guys who are 4-5 years post high school.
Guys get bigger and stronger until at least 25.

Hill could certainly bust out. If he has nay injury or general laziness wins.
But he also very much could end up 6-7 time Pro Bowler before all is said and done.
He;s younger than McCoy by 10 years.
He's younger than McCoy was as a rookie.
 

TheMarathonContinues

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Hill is 22 now.
Not sure why many fans are the way they are other than sheer stupidity tbh.
No reason to hate on that kid.
If he had went to Bama and spent 2 years developing then 2 playing he'd have been drafted top 5 NEXT year
He needs to add strength and hone his technique.
That applies to most rookies but is more extreme when you are literally a kid.
About half of all R1 DL are JUCO guys who are 4-5 years post high school.
Guys get bigger and stronger until at least 25.

Hill could certainly bust out. If he has nay injury or general laziness wins.
But he also very much could end up 6-7 time Pro Bowler before all is said and done.
He;s younger than McCoy by 10 years.
He's younger than McCoy was as a rookie.
Hill unfortunately felt victim of the team possibly drafting him too high and coming right after Taco was a bust. Hill wasn't even given a chance by fans who didn't even watch him play.
 

Cover 2

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Aldon is going to suprise. I think he ends up with a very positive, although not elite season. I understand the skepticism though.
I'd be thrilled if he got us 7 sacks. That would be a very good season for someone as rusty as he is, but he's so talented, I'm not counting him out.
 

Hennessy_King

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Hill is 22 now.
Not sure why many fans are the way they are other than sheer stupidity tbh.
No reason to hate on that kid.
If he had went to Bama and spent 2 years developing then 2 playing he'd have been drafted top 5 NEXT year
He needs to add strength and hone his technique.
That applies to most rookies but is more extreme when you are literally a kid.
About half of all R1 DL are JUCO guys who are 4-5 years post high school.
Guys get bigger and stronger until at least 25.

Hill could certainly bust out. If he has nay injury or general laziness wins.
But he also very much could end up 6-7 time Pro Bowler before all is said and done.
He;s younger than McCoy by 10 years.
He's younger than McCoy was as a rookie.
He was a marinelli pick strike 1
He wasnt that good in college strike 2
Was picked over superior talent strike 3

Watching the kids tape and production. He should have went no higher than the 4th round. Rod marinelli pushed the pick then put the kid in the dog house lol. Hes a 2nd round pick that couldnt even suit up most of the year to contribute.

Picked over safeties that contributed immensely to their teams last season. Hoping for him to be a jag rotational piece at this point is probably his ceiling tbh
 

darthseinfeld

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So a good comment about Hill, that will get the naysayers panties in a wad. :muttley::lmao2:..yes it is day one of solo drills...

Good to hear about Wilson, maybe he can unseat Woods. I am ok with Woods, to see how the new scheme works for him, but think they can do better. Is Wilson a better tackler, as it seems he is the better ball hawk.

Glad to see them rotating the DB's, as they need to to get the right mix, then focus on them for most of TC for the reps. Since they are limited in time.

So maybe Aldon Smith is not rusty as many said. :popcorn:...yes it is not an actual game yet...
Id really like to see Hill dialed in. Guy has alot of talent. Alot of his problems last season stemmed from issues the coaching staff had with his maturity. Hopefully he grew up a bit
 

darthseinfeld

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He was a marinelli pick strike 1
He wasnt that good in college strike 2
Was picked over superior talent strike 3

Watching the kids tape and production. He should have went no higher than the 4th round. Rod marinelli pushed the pick then put the kid in the dog house lol. Hes a 2nd round pick that couldnt even suit up most of the year to contribute.

Picked over safeties that contributed immensely to their teams last season. Hoping for him to be a jag rotational piece at this point is probably his ceiling tbh
He has alot of raw physical talent. His problem is two fold. He is raw as a player, and he is too immature to be coached well. I blame Marinelli for pounding the table for him. However I blame Hill completely for his inability to get on the field.

If he can get dialed in, he could be starting caliber DT. But thats gonna take a big reversal in his approach
 
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