Apollo Creed
Stackin and Processin, Well
- Messages
- 9,027
- Reaction score
- 1,223
As soon as I got there I realized this hour wait in the heat thing wasn't gonna cut it. So I hopped outta line and started throwing football in the shade with some kids whose father happened to work for the stadium. Told him I'd throw him some cash if he let me go in with them when he opened the door. Got in an hour early and was able to patrol the dome for what I assumed the best seat to be. Got to sit at about the 20 on the action side of the field, front row.
Anyway I wasn't able to really take notes but I'll tell you what stood out to me.
-Matt McBriar may be the best punter in the league, the guy can do what he wants with the football. He's a weapon, watching him pin the ball inside the 10 is a thing of beauty.
-Watching Holley, AOA, McCann, etc return kicks makes me nervous. Can't risk Dez getting hurt, I'm hoping Murray can contribute in that department right away.
-We have a very good and athletic set of TEs. Those guys are truly going to be weapons and make me not so worried about Smith starting right away. Bennett is growing and getting more comfortable with himself, remember he's still young and the maturation process takes time. I'm hoping he has a really nice season and sets himself up to be trade bait because Phillips could start for a few teams in this league. He looks like a poor mans Witten and really seems to be a Garrett type of guy.
-Dez Bryant. I'm running of things to say about the kid. Michael Irvin said it best, some people are born to do certain things in this world, and that kid is meant to receive the football. It's so natural, he's so fluid, his routes are getting cleanear and he makes one handed and leaping catches look routine. He is a spark plug, he ignites the guys around him, he is the leader that a lot of you guys have been crying for. He plays hard every play, every route, he looked great today.
-Tony Romo. Cris Collinsworthless made a good point about Tony, if you keep him upright, he can make every throw in the world. Today he was, I'm not kidding maybe 35 for 40 on throws. He made a couple errors and had a couple miscommunications but when you give him time to throw and a clean pocket he will pick you apart. His best throws are definitely the deep out, and touch throws. He looked like a franchise QB growing into his own that looked very comfortable and the guys around him defintiely listened when he spoke up.
-They went over some end of the half and desperation situations, made for some pretty entertaining stuff once the ball started getting lateraled around over and over again. Bennett and Dez are the go to guys in hail mary situations, with Bennett seeming to be the primary target on the play, his basketball background makes me like those odds he's good at boxing out.
-Gronk. How could I forget about him, watched him completely lay out two guys on a 2 on 2 KR sealing situational drill. One of them happened to be the Beuhler. I like his chances of sticking around.
-Miles, Witten, Ware, Austin, Ratliff, Romo - guys are just all around pros. They do their job, make everything seem routine and really set a good example for these young guys.
-Sean Lee looks a lot thicker. Looks like he put in some work this offseason, he makes me less worried about our ILB situation especially if Carter can step in next year.
-The negatives. I didn't get to see too much OL and defensive work from my angles, those guys were off on the side a lot. We really need a new OL coach and DB coach, bad.
-Elam and Sensy are who they are. Average athletes, averate safeties, that are going to give you average results. But if they both play average this year that will be a huge upgrade over last years performance. So I'm cool with that.
-Rob Ryan. I like how he interacted with his big guys. He's going to get maximum effort from the uglies and thats very good news. He wasn't as vocal as a I thought he would be and as expected, had the guys in some interesting looks today. He's going to create confusion and help cover up our warts. Couldn't have found a better man for the job this defense has needed an identity and some swagger for quite some time now, he's gonna bring that. We don't need the defense to be great, or even good, just don't be bad. Because this offense is going to score a lot of points, trust me, a healthy Dez, Miles, and Witten - you're gonna need a dream team of corners and safeties to stop that.
-Newman was walking around seemingly painlessly. Felt sorry for the guy, he's always been a good teammate and hard worker, and has always gotten grilled.
-Scandrick is who is, a decent nickel CB that lacks the athleticism to make him a starter. But he's playing for a contract, so I'm expecting a decent year from him and the rest of the secondary.
-Garrett. Man, I've talked so much crap about this guy and I've quietly found myself becoming a convert. I love how this man has gone about his business since he took over. Todays practice was crisp, they went through a lot of drills, a lot of the nuances, the little things, went over bad throws on back shoulder fades, fumble recoveries after blocked punts, desperation situations, etc. I love how he interacts with his guys, he doesn't just walk around as a figure head. He's coaching each guy up. Loved hearing him getting on Ogletree, you can tell he likes that kid. He lets Rob run his defense, and Joe run the ST. But you can see his touch in all the things. It seems like the guys know that someone is watching their every move and that they know that failure won't be accepted with a gee golly oh well anymore.
-I loved seeing guys taking blame for mistakes. No finger pointing, no excuses, lots of accountability and communication. This was a dialed down camp, with dialed down expectations, and I think this team loves the fact that they are flying under the radar. They could sneak up on a lot of teams this year, 10 or 11 of them I hope.
Overall I had a great time and feel much more optimistic after seeing these guys live. I know its just one practice but for a team coming off a lockout they looked good. Any other questions feel free to ask. I have some pictures and video from my phone I'll try to get up later.
Anyway I wasn't able to really take notes but I'll tell you what stood out to me.
-Matt McBriar may be the best punter in the league, the guy can do what he wants with the football. He's a weapon, watching him pin the ball inside the 10 is a thing of beauty.
-Watching Holley, AOA, McCann, etc return kicks makes me nervous. Can't risk Dez getting hurt, I'm hoping Murray can contribute in that department right away.
-We have a very good and athletic set of TEs. Those guys are truly going to be weapons and make me not so worried about Smith starting right away. Bennett is growing and getting more comfortable with himself, remember he's still young and the maturation process takes time. I'm hoping he has a really nice season and sets himself up to be trade bait because Phillips could start for a few teams in this league. He looks like a poor mans Witten and really seems to be a Garrett type of guy.
-Dez Bryant. I'm running of things to say about the kid. Michael Irvin said it best, some people are born to do certain things in this world, and that kid is meant to receive the football. It's so natural, he's so fluid, his routes are getting cleanear and he makes one handed and leaping catches look routine. He is a spark plug, he ignites the guys around him, he is the leader that a lot of you guys have been crying for. He plays hard every play, every route, he looked great today.
-Tony Romo. Cris Collinsworthless made a good point about Tony, if you keep him upright, he can make every throw in the world. Today he was, I'm not kidding maybe 35 for 40 on throws. He made a couple errors and had a couple miscommunications but when you give him time to throw and a clean pocket he will pick you apart. His best throws are definitely the deep out, and touch throws. He looked like a franchise QB growing into his own that looked very comfortable and the guys around him defintiely listened when he spoke up.
-They went over some end of the half and desperation situations, made for some pretty entertaining stuff once the ball started getting lateraled around over and over again. Bennett and Dez are the go to guys in hail mary situations, with Bennett seeming to be the primary target on the play, his basketball background makes me like those odds he's good at boxing out.
-Gronk. How could I forget about him, watched him completely lay out two guys on a 2 on 2 KR sealing situational drill. One of them happened to be the Beuhler. I like his chances of sticking around.
-Miles, Witten, Ware, Austin, Ratliff, Romo - guys are just all around pros. They do their job, make everything seem routine and really set a good example for these young guys.
-Sean Lee looks a lot thicker. Looks like he put in some work this offseason, he makes me less worried about our ILB situation especially if Carter can step in next year.
-The negatives. I didn't get to see too much OL and defensive work from my angles, those guys were off on the side a lot. We really need a new OL coach and DB coach, bad.
-Elam and Sensy are who they are. Average athletes, averate safeties, that are going to give you average results. But if they both play average this year that will be a huge upgrade over last years performance. So I'm cool with that.
-Rob Ryan. I like how he interacted with his big guys. He's going to get maximum effort from the uglies and thats very good news. He wasn't as vocal as a I thought he would be and as expected, had the guys in some interesting looks today. He's going to create confusion and help cover up our warts. Couldn't have found a better man for the job this defense has needed an identity and some swagger for quite some time now, he's gonna bring that. We don't need the defense to be great, or even good, just don't be bad. Because this offense is going to score a lot of points, trust me, a healthy Dez, Miles, and Witten - you're gonna need a dream team of corners and safeties to stop that.
-Newman was walking around seemingly painlessly. Felt sorry for the guy, he's always been a good teammate and hard worker, and has always gotten grilled.
-Scandrick is who is, a decent nickel CB that lacks the athleticism to make him a starter. But he's playing for a contract, so I'm expecting a decent year from him and the rest of the secondary.
-Garrett. Man, I've talked so much crap about this guy and I've quietly found myself becoming a convert. I love how this man has gone about his business since he took over. Todays practice was crisp, they went through a lot of drills, a lot of the nuances, the little things, went over bad throws on back shoulder fades, fumble recoveries after blocked punts, desperation situations, etc. I love how he interacts with his guys, he doesn't just walk around as a figure head. He's coaching each guy up. Loved hearing him getting on Ogletree, you can tell he likes that kid. He lets Rob run his defense, and Joe run the ST. But you can see his touch in all the things. It seems like the guys know that someone is watching their every move and that they know that failure won't be accepted with a gee golly oh well anymore.
-I loved seeing guys taking blame for mistakes. No finger pointing, no excuses, lots of accountability and communication. This was a dialed down camp, with dialed down expectations, and I think this team loves the fact that they are flying under the radar. They could sneak up on a lot of teams this year, 10 or 11 of them I hope.
Overall I had a great time and feel much more optimistic after seeing these guys live. I know its just one practice but for a team coming off a lockout they looked good. Any other questions feel free to ask. I have some pictures and video from my phone I'll try to get up later.
