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Bledsoe getting familiar Cowboys receivers other than Glenn
Aug 08, 2005 9:23 PM
AP News
OXNARD, Calif. -- Drew Bledsoe was already used to throwing passes to Terry Glenn, and they reconnected quickly after the quarterback signed with the Dallas Cowboys this offseason.
During six years together in New England, Glenn had his only two 1,000-yard receiving seasons and they played in a Super Bowl. Both were first-round draft picks by Bill Parcells, their coach again in Dallas.
Bledsoe needed just a few passes to get back in sync with Glenn, who missed the Cowboys' final 10 games last season with a foot injury.
He's also getting familiar in camp with two of his new receivers, Keyshawn Johnson and Pro Bowl tight end Jason Witten.
"Jason is a guy that very quickly you develop a lot of confidence in. He always seems to be open, he's very physical, catches the ball very well. ... He's going to be just a great weapon for me," Bledsoe said Monday. "Keyshawn, I've never had a big receiver like that. I'm learning that sometimes when he looks like he might be covered, he's really not."
Parcells knew that Bledsoe and Glenn already had a good working understanding of each other. And it was obvious early in camp that Bledsoe liked dumping passes to Witten, who caught 90 passes last season and is similar to former New England tight end Ben Coates.
But the connection between Bledsoe and Johnson has taken a little getting used to on both sides, and a few reassuring words from their coach.
Parcells spoke to Bledsoe about the qualities the 6-foot-4 receiver has, like being able to make catches in traffic and take balls away from defenders. The coach also talked to Johnson, telling him to be patient during their time of getting acquainted.
Johnson said Bledsoe is getting used to the fact that he can throw to him when defenders are right with him.
"He's getting more comfortable with knowing, OK, I can throw the ball in an area where it looks like he's covered and the opportunity will still be there for him," Johnson said.
During three series in an intrasquad scrimmage Saturday, Johnson caught three passes from Bledsoe. Johnson made several catches from Bledsoe with defenders right on top of him during team drills Monday, when the team returned to practice after a day off.
"He does a great job with his body language at the top of his routes, which allows him to get separation," Bledsoe said. "You have to just have confidence that he's going to come out of the route because he doesn't give it away at all. So it took a little while to get that, but I'm figuring it out with him."
Johnson has been with a dozen quarterbacks in his 10 seasons, and said this is the first time in his career that he's had a quarterback that he could say is better than any other in the league, except running quarterbacks Donovan McNabb, Michael Vick and Daunte Culpepper.
That includes Tom Brady, the quarterback who took over for the Patriots in 2001 after Bledsoe suffered a chest injury in the second game of the season. Brady remained the quarterback and New England has won three of the last four Super Bowls.
"If Mo Lewis don't hit Drew in the sternum, do we ever hear of Tom Brady in the real world of the National Football League?," Johnson said. "Drew Bledsoe's probably still the quarterback of the New England Patriots. ... I've seen a lot, I don't see any that are so far greater that you say they shouldn't have signed him."
Johnson caught 70 passes for 981 yards last season, when 41-year-old Vinny Testaverde was the Cowboys' starting quarterback. Glenn had a team-best 400 yards receiving when he got hurt.
Glenn's best season was as a rookie in 1996, when he caught 90 passes for 1,132 yards and the Patriots went to the Super Bowl. Neither he nor Bledsoe played when New England was back in the Super Bowl five years later, and both went to different teams in 2002.
`Drew came here to try to take this team where it needs to be, and that's the same goal that I have," Glenn said. "We are picking up where we left off. It feels good playing with a quarterback who he has thrown to me before, and feels good throwing to a receiver he knows."
Game notes
Jim Burt and Carl Banks, two of Parcells' former New York Giants players, were in camp Monday helping teach the 3-4 defense they played and that Parcells is installing in Dallas. It was strange seeing them in Cowboys apparel. "They will notice that back East," Burt said. "It was a rivalry. The hatred was a competitive hatred, not a true hatred. I'm 46 years old, and I got over it." When asked if the current Dallas players knew who he was, Banks responded, "Maybe their parents do." ... During the 100-play intrasquad scrimmage Saturday, Parcells said there were only six mental errors on the offensive line, and one guy had three of them. He didn't identify him, but third-year tackle Torrin Tucker was beaten for quarterbacks sacks on consecutive plays by a rookie free agent. ... The Cowboys wore their early 1960s throwback helmets at practice Monday. They will wear the throwback uniforms three times this season: the final preseason game Aug. 27 vs. Houston, then Sept. 19 vs. Washington and Thanksgiving Day against Denver.
