IAmLegend
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Alright fellow Zoners,
Attended training camp yesterday. Thought I'd do a little write up on some of the things I noticed. If I say or repeat some of the things that others have already said, just bare with me.
First and foremost, great turnout yesterday. Camp was packed and the fans were all cheering. I live in LA so it's only about an hour drive for me. I'm planning on going to another practice before TC is over too. The weather is perfect in Oxnard, a cool 70 degrees and sunny. Great football weather. But anyways, here we go:
1) Offensive Tempo - This was the first thing I noticed: The offense is moving at a faster tempo, and I dig it. Everything is quick and smooth. They break the huddle and get up to the line in a hurry, and within a couple seconds the ball is hiked and out of Romo's hands in a heartbeat.
2) Romo - Not much to report here, but he looks great. All his throws were on the money and he just looks fresh. He;s got that quick release too. He made a couple of really nice deep throws to Witten; Hit him in stride right on the money. Let's just hope the O-Line can keep him alive this season.
3) Demarcus Ware - D-Ware looks like he's 26 again.. Seriously, I was impressed with how explosive he was off the snap and how smooth he looked. He went up against Tyrone Smith when I watched him, and I know it's not a game simulation, but he was so quick off the ball it looked like he definitely would've gotten some sacks had he been allowed to. Ware just looks great, and finally healthy. Hope he holds up over the season.
4) O-Line - Well, they were about what I expected: Not great, but not as bad as some of the reports I had read previously either. I thought T. Smith looked pretty good, although like I said, Ware just looked quicker than him the few snaps I saw them go against one another. Also, did I miss something or is Doug free hurt? He didn't dress out in pads or run drills yesterday, just jogged laps around the practice field while the other O-Linemen were going through drills.
5) Gavin Escobar - He's huge! I mean I know he's tall, but once you see him in person you realize how big the guy is. I'm pretty tall and he makes me feel short. And he's a solid 250 lbs. But, most importantly, I liked what I saw from him a lot. He's more athletic than he gets credit for. He runs smooth and he snagged every ball that I saw thrown to him. I wasn't crazy about the pick when we drafted him in the 2nd round, but I'm starting to see why the Cowboys liked him so much. I think he could be a really good player. Also, he seemed to have good rapport with Romo. I saw them, along with Witten, all joking around together for a while.
6) Terrance Williams - I spent a lot of time watching the receivers and tight ends. Terrance looked really good physically, as he was exploding out of cuts to catch the ball. But, he dropped a couple passes that should've been easy catches. Hopefully that isn't an issue during the season. He's a big kid with high upside though. I thought he looked good overall.
7) Secondary - Not a lot of notes here cause I only watched them for a few minutes but... Mo Claiborne: I thought he looked good yesterday from what I saw. He just looks athletic and fluid in his movements out there, and you could see his natural ballhawking ability when they were running interception drills. He goes up and gets it like a WR. I really hope he has a big year for us. Also, I thought J.J. Wilcox looked really good going up and getting the ball as well. He's more athletic than I realized and shows good awareness from what I saw. He's definitely off to a good start at TC. I was hoping to see more of Matt Johnson, but I didn't really get to other than the few reps he took and didn't see much.
8) Dez - Naturally, I watched Dez the most cause he's my favorite player, but he was the most impressive of the WR's. As to be expected. He caught every pass thrown at him, and made one great snag during a receiving drill where Coach Dooley threw a bad ball and Dez extended and made a one handed catch with his right hand (he's left-handed). It was pretty impressive. He also looked really loose and was having a good time out there. I expect another big year from Dez. Glad he's on our team.
-Didn't get to meet any of the players other than Cameron Lawrence, who I didn't know much about. He was signing some autographs after practice, along with Ware, but there were so many people so I didn't wait around. I plan on going to another practice before TC ends so I might add some notes to this thread. Overall, they looked good though and I pumped for this season. Can't get here soon enough!
-Here are some videos and pics I took yesterday. I got a True Blue pass so I could get a little closer. Enjoy
Attended training camp yesterday. Thought I'd do a little write up on some of the things I noticed. If I say or repeat some of the things that others have already said, just bare with me.
First and foremost, great turnout yesterday. Camp was packed and the fans were all cheering. I live in LA so it's only about an hour drive for me. I'm planning on going to another practice before TC is over too. The weather is perfect in Oxnard, a cool 70 degrees and sunny. Great football weather. But anyways, here we go:
1) Offensive Tempo - This was the first thing I noticed: The offense is moving at a faster tempo, and I dig it. Everything is quick and smooth. They break the huddle and get up to the line in a hurry, and within a couple seconds the ball is hiked and out of Romo's hands in a heartbeat.
2) Romo - Not much to report here, but he looks great. All his throws were on the money and he just looks fresh. He;s got that quick release too. He made a couple of really nice deep throws to Witten; Hit him in stride right on the money. Let's just hope the O-Line can keep him alive this season.
3) Demarcus Ware - D-Ware looks like he's 26 again.. Seriously, I was impressed with how explosive he was off the snap and how smooth he looked. He went up against Tyrone Smith when I watched him, and I know it's not a game simulation, but he was so quick off the ball it looked like he definitely would've gotten some sacks had he been allowed to. Ware just looks great, and finally healthy. Hope he holds up over the season.
4) O-Line - Well, they were about what I expected: Not great, but not as bad as some of the reports I had read previously either. I thought T. Smith looked pretty good, although like I said, Ware just looked quicker than him the few snaps I saw them go against one another. Also, did I miss something or is Doug free hurt? He didn't dress out in pads or run drills yesterday, just jogged laps around the practice field while the other O-Linemen were going through drills.
5) Gavin Escobar - He's huge! I mean I know he's tall, but once you see him in person you realize how big the guy is. I'm pretty tall and he makes me feel short. And he's a solid 250 lbs. But, most importantly, I liked what I saw from him a lot. He's more athletic than he gets credit for. He runs smooth and he snagged every ball that I saw thrown to him. I wasn't crazy about the pick when we drafted him in the 2nd round, but I'm starting to see why the Cowboys liked him so much. I think he could be a really good player. Also, he seemed to have good rapport with Romo. I saw them, along with Witten, all joking around together for a while.
6) Terrance Williams - I spent a lot of time watching the receivers and tight ends. Terrance looked really good physically, as he was exploding out of cuts to catch the ball. But, he dropped a couple passes that should've been easy catches. Hopefully that isn't an issue during the season. He's a big kid with high upside though. I thought he looked good overall.
7) Secondary - Not a lot of notes here cause I only watched them for a few minutes but... Mo Claiborne: I thought he looked good yesterday from what I saw. He just looks athletic and fluid in his movements out there, and you could see his natural ballhawking ability when they were running interception drills. He goes up and gets it like a WR. I really hope he has a big year for us. Also, I thought J.J. Wilcox looked really good going up and getting the ball as well. He's more athletic than I realized and shows good awareness from what I saw. He's definitely off to a good start at TC. I was hoping to see more of Matt Johnson, but I didn't really get to other than the few reps he took and didn't see much.
8) Dez - Naturally, I watched Dez the most cause he's my favorite player, but he was the most impressive of the WR's. As to be expected. He caught every pass thrown at him, and made one great snag during a receiving drill where Coach Dooley threw a bad ball and Dez extended and made a one handed catch with his right hand (he's left-handed). It was pretty impressive. He also looked really loose and was having a good time out there. I expect another big year from Dez. Glad he's on our team.
-Didn't get to meet any of the players other than Cameron Lawrence, who I didn't know much about. He was signing some autographs after practice, along with Ware, but there were so many people so I didn't wait around. I plan on going to another practice before TC ends so I might add some notes to this thread. Overall, they looked good though and I pumped for this season. Can't get here soon enough!
-Here are some videos and pics I took yesterday. I got a True Blue pass so I could get a little closer. Enjoy
