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Delayed in Denver II: Let's talk special teams
8:52 PM Wed, Aug 13, 2008 | Permalink | Yahoo! Buzz
Brian Davis
Not sure if Archer said this, but it was a little warmer this afternoon. Probably in the low 90s. I'm sure it's nothing compared to the weather back home, but we're not home right now, are we?
I kept an eye on the defense most of the afternoon, but I had a great view of the special teams, too.
A lot of you folks want to read about the coverage units. It's hard to tell who was doing well since they weren't tackling people to the ground. Three players really stood out to me on punt coverage: Patrick Watkins, Dowayne Davis and Alan Ball.
Ball should get a gold star for his effort on one punt. Why? Glad you asked. Click and read on.
Ball showed great determination on one punt when he was pushed out of bounds and slammed down by two Broncos, Wale Dada and Lorne Sam. He got back to his feet and locked up with the two again just before the whistle. No, Ball wouldn't have made the tackle, but I thought it was great determination.
Just like in the morning practice, Miles Austin showed good hustle getting downfield. This time he was locked in a good battle with Dada, who must be a special teams ace for the Broncos. I would be very surprised if the special teams coverage isn't vastly improved this Saturday night.
Nick Folk also got a chance at some mid-range kicks. I had him going 8-for-8 at distances of 30, 32, 35, 39, 30, 32, 36 and 39 yards. Folk had the camera guy on top of the scissor lift between the uprights dodging a few flying pigskins.
One key defensive note and one scary moment of the day. The first is at nose tackle. Marcus Spears and Tank Johnson rotated at nose tackle with the first team defense while Jay Ratliff played mostly left defensive end.
Ratliff, last year's starter at nose tackle, learned early in training camp that coaches wanted him to play defensive end, too. He played nose tackle against the Chargers in the preseason opener. But Spears and Johnson could see more time inside during Saturday's preseason game against the Broncos.
Then, Zach Thomas chased a play to the perimeter and a group of guys went out of bounds. Before Thomas could stop himself, he slipped on a concrete sidewalk and almost slammed his knee into a metal bench. You could tell Thomas was a little freaked, but he was fine. Back to the huddle he went.
Thomas did have another nice play worth mention. Anthony Alridge danced outside and tried to slip past Thomas on the sideline. But Thomas got just enough of Alridge that he stepped on the chalk line, and the official ruled the play dead after a 2-yard gain. Alridge kept running, though. Thomas got up and huffed, "Out of bounds!" Back to the huddle again.
Nobody else really jumped out to me defensively during the 11-on-11 drills.
Twice, Jay Cutler found a dead spot in the Cowboys' zone coverage for two passes to Eddie Royal. One particular running play was good for the Broncos; a run fake sucked in Adam Jones and Anthony Alridge raced around the left side for a big gain. Broncos WR Tony Scheffler could have hauled in a huge catch, but the ball sailed beyond his outstretched arms.
The two teams actually wrapped things up around 5:40 p.m. Practice seemed kind of fast this morning and afternoon.
8:52 PM Wed, Aug 13, 2008 | Permalink | Yahoo! Buzz
Brian Davis
Not sure if Archer said this, but it was a little warmer this afternoon. Probably in the low 90s. I'm sure it's nothing compared to the weather back home, but we're not home right now, are we?
I kept an eye on the defense most of the afternoon, but I had a great view of the special teams, too.
A lot of you folks want to read about the coverage units. It's hard to tell who was doing well since they weren't tackling people to the ground. Three players really stood out to me on punt coverage: Patrick Watkins, Dowayne Davis and Alan Ball.
Ball should get a gold star for his effort on one punt. Why? Glad you asked. Click and read on.
Ball showed great determination on one punt when he was pushed out of bounds and slammed down by two Broncos, Wale Dada and Lorne Sam. He got back to his feet and locked up with the two again just before the whistle. No, Ball wouldn't have made the tackle, but I thought it was great determination.
Just like in the morning practice, Miles Austin showed good hustle getting downfield. This time he was locked in a good battle with Dada, who must be a special teams ace for the Broncos. I would be very surprised if the special teams coverage isn't vastly improved this Saturday night.
Nick Folk also got a chance at some mid-range kicks. I had him going 8-for-8 at distances of 30, 32, 35, 39, 30, 32, 36 and 39 yards. Folk had the camera guy on top of the scissor lift between the uprights dodging a few flying pigskins.
One key defensive note and one scary moment of the day. The first is at nose tackle. Marcus Spears and Tank Johnson rotated at nose tackle with the first team defense while Jay Ratliff played mostly left defensive end.
Ratliff, last year's starter at nose tackle, learned early in training camp that coaches wanted him to play defensive end, too. He played nose tackle against the Chargers in the preseason opener. But Spears and Johnson could see more time inside during Saturday's preseason game against the Broncos.
Then, Zach Thomas chased a play to the perimeter and a group of guys went out of bounds. Before Thomas could stop himself, he slipped on a concrete sidewalk and almost slammed his knee into a metal bench. You could tell Thomas was a little freaked, but he was fine. Back to the huddle he went.
Thomas did have another nice play worth mention. Anthony Alridge danced outside and tried to slip past Thomas on the sideline. But Thomas got just enough of Alridge that he stepped on the chalk line, and the official ruled the play dead after a 2-yard gain. Alridge kept running, though. Thomas got up and huffed, "Out of bounds!" Back to the huddle again.
Nobody else really jumped out to me defensively during the 11-on-11 drills.
Twice, Jay Cutler found a dead spot in the Cowboys' zone coverage for two passes to Eddie Royal. One particular running play was good for the Broncos; a run fake sucked in Adam Jones and Anthony Alridge raced around the left side for a big gain. Broncos WR Tony Scheffler could have hauled in a huge catch, but the ball sailed beyond his outstretched arms.
The two teams actually wrapped things up around 5:40 p.m. Practice seemed kind of fast this morning and afternoon.
