Cbz40
The Grand Poobah
- Messages
- 31,387
- Reaction score
- 39
'07 seventh-rounders shine in secondary
3:59 PM Tue, Jun 09, 2009 | Permalink | Yahoo! Buzz
Tim MacMahon/Blogger
Alan Ball and Courtney Brown, the defensive backs the Cowboys drafted in the 2007 seventh round, haven't made much of an impact the last two seasons.
That could change if they can keep performing like they did during today's OTA workout. Granted, the Cowboys aren't even wearing shoulder pads, but the coaches are encouraged by what they've seen out of Ball and Brown this spring.
Ball, solely a cornerback the last two seasons, is working primarily at safety. Brown, a college cornerback the Cowboys converted to a safety, is working primarily at corner. The idea is to create depth in the secondary by having backups -- rookie fifth-rounder DeAngelo Smith is also working at both spots -- who can play multiple positions.
But Ball and Brown might be convincing the coaches that they been playing their second-best positions the last two years.
Ball, who filled in for Ken Hamlin (absent due to personal reasons) as the first-team free safety, has displayed good instincts back there. He had a pick on a classic tip drill play and is often around the ball.
Can Ball hold up against the run as a 6-1, 186-pound safety? Wade Phillips thinks so.
"He's such a competitor," Phillips said. "He is a good tackler. He's going to give it everything he's got. We'll see what he has. I've had smaller guys that have played safety before. Not many of them can do it, but I think he's one that can."
Brown (6-1, 204) was too hesitant to be effective as a safety. But he's a phenomenal athlete with top-of-the-chart measurables (4.32 40, 41.5-inch vertical in pre-draft workout) for a corner.
When the Cowboys originally made Brown a safety, there was talk that he didn't have the fluid hips necessary to play corner in the NFL. That wasn't evident today, when he had a pair of spectacular pass breakups. One was an out on which he flashed closing speed to deflect a Tony Romo rope to Kevin Ogletree. The other came on a Roy Williams go route down the left sideline, with Brown running stride for stride in press-man coverage with Williams and swatting the ball away with his left hand.
"There is a difference in the physicality between cornerback and safety," Phillips said. "We put him as a cornerback playing safety last year, and that hurt him some as far as being physical, although he's still working at that. But at cornerback, if he can cover like he covered today, he may have a home out there."
3:59 PM Tue, Jun 09, 2009 | Permalink | Yahoo! BuzzTim MacMahon/Blogger
Alan Ball and Courtney Brown, the defensive backs the Cowboys drafted in the 2007 seventh round, haven't made much of an impact the last two seasons.
That could change if they can keep performing like they did during today's OTA workout. Granted, the Cowboys aren't even wearing shoulder pads, but the coaches are encouraged by what they've seen out of Ball and Brown this spring.
Ball, solely a cornerback the last two seasons, is working primarily at safety. Brown, a college cornerback the Cowboys converted to a safety, is working primarily at corner. The idea is to create depth in the secondary by having backups -- rookie fifth-rounder DeAngelo Smith is also working at both spots -- who can play multiple positions.
But Ball and Brown might be convincing the coaches that they been playing their second-best positions the last two years.
Ball, who filled in for Ken Hamlin (absent due to personal reasons) as the first-team free safety, has displayed good instincts back there. He had a pick on a classic tip drill play and is often around the ball.
Can Ball hold up against the run as a 6-1, 186-pound safety? Wade Phillips thinks so.
"He's such a competitor," Phillips said. "He is a good tackler. He's going to give it everything he's got. We'll see what he has. I've had smaller guys that have played safety before. Not many of them can do it, but I think he's one that can."
Brown (6-1, 204) was too hesitant to be effective as a safety. But he's a phenomenal athlete with top-of-the-chart measurables (4.32 40, 41.5-inch vertical in pre-draft workout) for a corner.
When the Cowboys originally made Brown a safety, there was talk that he didn't have the fluid hips necessary to play corner in the NFL. That wasn't evident today, when he had a pair of spectacular pass breakups. One was an out on which he flashed closing speed to deflect a Tony Romo rope to Kevin Ogletree. The other came on a Roy Williams go route down the left sideline, with Brown running stride for stride in press-man coverage with Williams and swatting the ball away with his left hand.
"There is a difference in the physicality between cornerback and safety," Phillips said. "We put him as a cornerback playing safety last year, and that hurt him some as far as being physical, although he's still working at that. But at cornerback, if he can cover like he covered today, he may have a home out there."
