News: Fox: Cowboys DE Jeremy Mincey getting reps at DT during OTAs

[ccb04]

I've been saying this for a while now. He's seem time inside throughout most of his career. They had intentions of doing it at times last season...and he worked some at DT during training camp in 2014. But with the injuries at DE (Spencer, Lawrence, Gardner, etc.), it wasn't nearly as feasible. Now (barring injury -- knock on wood), they have the option to.

From an August 2014 ESPN article: http://espn.go.com/blog/dallas/cowboys/post/_/id/4731046/mincey-a-threat-when-he-moves-inside

Defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli still believes Mincey can be a threat at third downs, just at a different position. Mincey will often slide inside to defensive tackle in Dallas’ nickel and dime packages.

“He’s got some real quickness inside as a rusher,” Marinelli said. “He’s got quickness, maybe not long speed. And real smart.”

The 6-foot-4, 280-pound Mincey has played end and tackle throughout his eight-year career. Many of Mincey’s 20 sacks, with a high of eight in 2011, have come as an interior rusher.

“I’ve always been a good inside rusher,” Mincey said. “That’s what’s kept me around the league for a while.

 

[Aven8]

What I noticed in that article is that is the 2nd Cowboy player that says Gregory has some skills.

Look out boys and girls! Gonna be fun.

 

[Maxmadden]

I am. I'm an official Marinelli fanboy. A Vietnam tunnel rat who only get the highest praise from his players.

He came in and turned a terrible defense into one that, at the very least, forced numerous turnovers. I haven't looked it up but we were definitely near the top of the league in that category, with marginal talent.

He's a fundamental sensei.

Marinelli wants sacks and TO's. Outside of a blue chip prospect, I don't think they believe they're going to get a lot of that kind of production at the position, and I also think their opinion of guys outside that blue chip category, the guys that are "good" compared to the rest of the pack, isn't that broad as to warrant more resources dedicated to it, especially when you consider opportunity cost of possibly selecting a top notch corner or defensive end. They feel like it's a position where they get some guys that have a little talent and are dedicated to their craft, give them a few years of tutelage and training in the system, and the results compared to one of these "good" (in our system) 1-techniques will be comparable.

You can get by with a mediocre 1-tech, especially if you have horses at DE and a strong LB core with depth. A weak DE rotation, weak secondary, and trotting out a Cameron Lawrence field is going to get you exploited much more than a 1-tech will, especially considering the amount of snaps in the nickel.

I'd like to see an upgrade to Hayden as well, but I trust the FO, whose overachieved significantly since Garrett's reign outside of the Claiborne debacle, that other positions were simply more important to address than to target any guys who are going to make a significant impact there.

Back to the topic, it's pretty obvious there's going to be a significant emphasis on pass rush this season with all the new toys. It's also pretty obvious that Mincey, our best pass rusher last season (mind boggle), is going to be playing a lot of snaps at DT in passing situations. I think they're going to try and get him as many reps as possible there, and I'd expect to see him playing a lot of snaps there in the preseason as well.

I agree and I am on board with Marinelli. He has a vision of what he wants and how he gets pressure on the QB. They are giving him the tools to succeed, if Mincey is one of your better rushers then he will find a way to get him on the field.