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Cowboys 2015 Training Camp Practice Report: Thoughts On What I've Seen From Oxnard
By rabblerousr @rabblerousr
http://www.bloggingtheboys.com/2015...amp-practice-report-thoughts-on-what-ive-seen
Thursday marked the end of my Oxnard sojourn. I was there for a total of 23 days, sixteen practices, 32 posts, two video diaries, and a preseason game. In that time, I have watched a lot of football, and written a LOT about all the football I've watched (I counted: 50,677 words), and have a big bag over-filled with general thoughts and takeaways about the state of the 2015 Cowboys. The first thought to share is that the news is almost all good: this is a very talented, deep and confident team, and one that figures to be much improved in places they were under-fortified in 2014: the defensive line, pass rush, linebacker depth, at cornerback.
This leads to a peculiar bit of good news: this camp has been, well, a bit anticlimactic. And that has nothing to do with the level of talent on the field (it's very high), or the amount of passion and tenacity with which they practice (both are impressive). The good players - those that excelled in 2014 - are even better. Tyron Smith is better; Zack Martin is better; DeMarcus Lawrence is much better. This improvement is nowhere more evident than at wide receiver, where Derek Dooley has done superb work developing what promises to be a very strong receiving corps. Although it's difficult to fathom, Dez Bryant is better. Cole Beasley has taken a huge leap forward; he's been uncoverable all of camp. Terrance Williams has improved noticeably, as has Devin Street. A group that was strong in 2014 is better across the board; frankly, that is scary.
Speaking of receivers, I was struck during camp by the degree to which Tony Romo has developed a unique rapport with multiple wideouts. For years, he and Jason Witten have shared the same brain. It took a while, but he is now regularly on the same page with Dez Bryant. Now, he has achieved the football equivalent of the Vulcan mind meld with Cole Beasley. In his weekly Tuesday morning post walk-through presser, Romo told reporters regarding Beasley:
With us, the way that his brain thinks, he understands coverages and things very quickly and he'll run a route slightly different because he recognizes, "I'm going to be open right now, but I need to come out of it a little bit different way" - and he'll do it. And I see that same thing, at that moment, and I'm like, "Boy, I hope he just comes out"...and he does. And, bam, I'm able to deliver the ball at that point. And that's a unique trait; not everybody has that.
All good news, yes? So, the fact that Oxnard 2015 has been less riveting than previous camps has nothing to do with the talent level on this team, or their rapport. Rather, I believe it has to do with the lack of burning roster questions. With multiple personnel groupings, most NFL teams have a "starting 26." We must ask: how many of those 26 on the Cowboys' roster will be made up of players that didn't start last year? Three, maybe? How many starting spots will be taken by players not on Dallas' roster at all in 2014? One? Two? When we engaged recently in a 53-man roster exercise, 42 of the 53 layers were considered "locks"; that's a secure roster, folks...
By rabblerousr @rabblerousr
http://www.bloggingtheboys.com/2015...amp-practice-report-thoughts-on-what-ive-seen
Thursday marked the end of my Oxnard sojourn. I was there for a total of 23 days, sixteen practices, 32 posts, two video diaries, and a preseason game. In that time, I have watched a lot of football, and written a LOT about all the football I've watched (I counted: 50,677 words), and have a big bag over-filled with general thoughts and takeaways about the state of the 2015 Cowboys. The first thought to share is that the news is almost all good: this is a very talented, deep and confident team, and one that figures to be much improved in places they were under-fortified in 2014: the defensive line, pass rush, linebacker depth, at cornerback.
This leads to a peculiar bit of good news: this camp has been, well, a bit anticlimactic. And that has nothing to do with the level of talent on the field (it's very high), or the amount of passion and tenacity with which they practice (both are impressive). The good players - those that excelled in 2014 - are even better. Tyron Smith is better; Zack Martin is better; DeMarcus Lawrence is much better. This improvement is nowhere more evident than at wide receiver, where Derek Dooley has done superb work developing what promises to be a very strong receiving corps. Although it's difficult to fathom, Dez Bryant is better. Cole Beasley has taken a huge leap forward; he's been uncoverable all of camp. Terrance Williams has improved noticeably, as has Devin Street. A group that was strong in 2014 is better across the board; frankly, that is scary.
Speaking of receivers, I was struck during camp by the degree to which Tony Romo has developed a unique rapport with multiple wideouts. For years, he and Jason Witten have shared the same brain. It took a while, but he is now regularly on the same page with Dez Bryant. Now, he has achieved the football equivalent of the Vulcan mind meld with Cole Beasley. In his weekly Tuesday morning post walk-through presser, Romo told reporters regarding Beasley:
With us, the way that his brain thinks, he understands coverages and things very quickly and he'll run a route slightly different because he recognizes, "I'm going to be open right now, but I need to come out of it a little bit different way" - and he'll do it. And I see that same thing, at that moment, and I'm like, "Boy, I hope he just comes out"...and he does. And, bam, I'm able to deliver the ball at that point. And that's a unique trait; not everybody has that.
All good news, yes? So, the fact that Oxnard 2015 has been less riveting than previous camps has nothing to do with the talent level on this team, or their rapport. Rather, I believe it has to do with the lack of burning roster questions. With multiple personnel groupings, most NFL teams have a "starting 26." We must ask: how many of those 26 on the Cowboys' roster will be made up of players that didn't start last year? Three, maybe? How many starting spots will be taken by players not on Dallas' roster at all in 2014? One? Two? When we engaged recently in a 53-man roster exercise, 42 of the 53 layers were considered "locks"; that's a secure roster, folks...
