Woods
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Just piecing together various reports, Wade's PC, etc.
(Long post.)
* Firstly, thankfully no players were seriously injured when the practice facility collapsed. Buehler had a few stiches in his knee and a concussion, but fortunately, nothing more serious.
* Hopefully, Coach D recovers soon. I think it was a good sign he was initially walking around and was talking. I'm hoping he'll be fine in a couple of months.
* McGee seems to have turned a few heads, according to various reports. In one of the session workouts, McGee only missed one pass. That pass was thrown low to the WR's foot, but the catch was made anyway. I think it's tremendous that we're getting ahead of the game and developing a young, promising QB. Several reports highlighted McGee's leadership qualities this mini-camp, specifically the way he carries himself in the huddle and outside of the huddle. He seems to have a bit of charisma. On the other hand, Carpenter is basically going to give the other QBs a chance to rest their arms during TC.
* I'm not sure whether M Johnson or Ogletree will make the 53 man squad this year, but I think that they will make a strong case to develop on the PS, regardless. During this mini-camp, both players seemed to catch the ball well. There were reports that M Johnson had trouble shedding Mickens on several plays during the Saturday session, I believe, but I think both these WRs are fairly athletic and have good hands. IMO, we'll only keep 5 WRs this year, so Stanback, T Wilson, M Johnson, and Ogletree will be competing for that one spot.
* As for Brewster, most of the work the OL did was mostly in drills rather than hitting, but Brewster did move well for a man his size (about 325 lbs). He seems to have good footwork. Now, he'll have to work on his strength, but that is doable. Strength can always be developed, as long as the player puts in the work. But with having natural feet, I think you either have that or you don't. Of course, footwork can be improved with practice, but I'd imagine it's easier to build strength rather than compensate for heavy feet. If Brewster can develop and play RT and OG, that would be huge for us, esp in one to two years from now.
* I think one of the main highlights of the rookie mini-camps was the play of the Secondary draft picks, including Mickens, D Smith, and Hamlin. From all accounts, these guys can at least catch the football. In several reports, during one of the sessions, these three guys didn't drop one football in the drills. Maybe that shouldn't be surprising as all three of these guys made a ton on interceptions in college, but still, it's definitely good news given how many "sure" interceptions we dropped last season. In addition, QBs McGee and Carpenter had to continuously check down because of the great coverage the three Secondary players were making.
* I'm glad Mickens was able to go through the workouts - and apparently without any problems. In addition, in the one on one drills versus M Johnson, M Johnson couldn't get any separation. This guy can end up being a huge steal for us. Mickens said that before his injury, and I believe in his soph year in college, he was running a 4.41 in the 40, so he's plenty fast when healthy. He ran around a 4.53 leading up to the Draft, but that time is misleading, IMO. Mickens is much faster than that - when healthy.
* On to the LBs . . . . Hodge will be playing ILB in Wade's scheme. (Hodge thought he would be playing OLB when he arrived.) I think Hodge will have the ability to be a good nickel LB in time and an excellent STs player. He was doing well playing in space during the mini-camp. In fact, in one of the workout sessions, he pitched a shutout. I'd have to say that Hodge was also one of the pleasant surprises this mini-camp. You can already tell that Coach D likes him. In addition, Hodge appears to have a very solid built for the position. He's 6' tall, but he weights about 240 lbs. To compare, Brooking is about 6-2, and weighs around 242 lbs, or so. Also, Hodge runs the 40 in around 4.58, though he's been timed as fast as 4.49. Hodge is also a very high energy player, just the type we need on STs, for sure.
As for Vic Butler, there were comments made that he initially looked as good as hoped. Again, he was very productive in college, and he has a good physique for the OLB position with long arms, etc. Several comments were made that something was definitely there to develop with Butler, which is encouraging.
J Williams drew positive comments regarding his athletic skills. He's raw, but he should be molded into exactly what the coaching staff is looking for at the ILB position, though it may take a couple of years. In the meantime, he can play STs and learn his craft.
I don't remember reading much on B Williams, but I'll just add that he's only 20 years old (and turns 21 in June). His 10 yard split is smoking for an OLB. In fact, if I remember correctly, it was faster than Ware's out of college. Williams has a very fast first step and he's got good size, especially for a 20 year old! I really looking forward to watching him progress over the next few years.
* Finally at TE, J Phillips caught the well well, but he's going to have a lot of competition vs. Hannah to make the roster. I think that Hannah, Phillips, and Cricket will be competing for the last couple of roster spots on the team. I wouldn't be surprised if we decide to keep 4 TEs and no FB (maybe one on the PS, just in case), but let's see what happens over the next few months. I think the positive on Phillips is that given his college's pro-style run offense and that Virginia has churned out a couple of other productive TEs in the NFL over the past few years, you know what to expect with Phillips and that his progess should be fairly quick.
To sum it up, I think the Cowboys' brass was very satisfied from what they saw from the rookies this weekend. Each player has been productive in college, and each player seems serious about the business of playing professional football. Many, if not all, of these players are self-starters. You don't need to coax them to work hard. They want to work hard and dedicate themselves to playing football. In my book, that's huge - especially considering that these guys have elite athletic ability as well. When you combine the two, and fingers crossed that they remain healthy, we should come out on top with this year's Draft. I really like how Tom C went about identifying these draft picks.
After learning a bit more about our draft picks, and the initial impressions that they made in the mini-camp, I could really care less what the "mediots" think.
(Long post.)
* Firstly, thankfully no players were seriously injured when the practice facility collapsed. Buehler had a few stiches in his knee and a concussion, but fortunately, nothing more serious.
* Hopefully, Coach D recovers soon. I think it was a good sign he was initially walking around and was talking. I'm hoping he'll be fine in a couple of months.
* McGee seems to have turned a few heads, according to various reports. In one of the session workouts, McGee only missed one pass. That pass was thrown low to the WR's foot, but the catch was made anyway. I think it's tremendous that we're getting ahead of the game and developing a young, promising QB. Several reports highlighted McGee's leadership qualities this mini-camp, specifically the way he carries himself in the huddle and outside of the huddle. He seems to have a bit of charisma. On the other hand, Carpenter is basically going to give the other QBs a chance to rest their arms during TC.
* I'm not sure whether M Johnson or Ogletree will make the 53 man squad this year, but I think that they will make a strong case to develop on the PS, regardless. During this mini-camp, both players seemed to catch the ball well. There were reports that M Johnson had trouble shedding Mickens on several plays during the Saturday session, I believe, but I think both these WRs are fairly athletic and have good hands. IMO, we'll only keep 5 WRs this year, so Stanback, T Wilson, M Johnson, and Ogletree will be competing for that one spot.
* As for Brewster, most of the work the OL did was mostly in drills rather than hitting, but Brewster did move well for a man his size (about 325 lbs). He seems to have good footwork. Now, he'll have to work on his strength, but that is doable. Strength can always be developed, as long as the player puts in the work. But with having natural feet, I think you either have that or you don't. Of course, footwork can be improved with practice, but I'd imagine it's easier to build strength rather than compensate for heavy feet. If Brewster can develop and play RT and OG, that would be huge for us, esp in one to two years from now.
* I think one of the main highlights of the rookie mini-camps was the play of the Secondary draft picks, including Mickens, D Smith, and Hamlin. From all accounts, these guys can at least catch the football. In several reports, during one of the sessions, these three guys didn't drop one football in the drills. Maybe that shouldn't be surprising as all three of these guys made a ton on interceptions in college, but still, it's definitely good news given how many "sure" interceptions we dropped last season. In addition, QBs McGee and Carpenter had to continuously check down because of the great coverage the three Secondary players were making.
* I'm glad Mickens was able to go through the workouts - and apparently without any problems. In addition, in the one on one drills versus M Johnson, M Johnson couldn't get any separation. This guy can end up being a huge steal for us. Mickens said that before his injury, and I believe in his soph year in college, he was running a 4.41 in the 40, so he's plenty fast when healthy. He ran around a 4.53 leading up to the Draft, but that time is misleading, IMO. Mickens is much faster than that - when healthy.
* On to the LBs . . . . Hodge will be playing ILB in Wade's scheme. (Hodge thought he would be playing OLB when he arrived.) I think Hodge will have the ability to be a good nickel LB in time and an excellent STs player. He was doing well playing in space during the mini-camp. In fact, in one of the workout sessions, he pitched a shutout. I'd have to say that Hodge was also one of the pleasant surprises this mini-camp. You can already tell that Coach D likes him. In addition, Hodge appears to have a very solid built for the position. He's 6' tall, but he weights about 240 lbs. To compare, Brooking is about 6-2, and weighs around 242 lbs, or so. Also, Hodge runs the 40 in around 4.58, though he's been timed as fast as 4.49. Hodge is also a very high energy player, just the type we need on STs, for sure.
As for Vic Butler, there were comments made that he initially looked as good as hoped. Again, he was very productive in college, and he has a good physique for the OLB position with long arms, etc. Several comments were made that something was definitely there to develop with Butler, which is encouraging.
J Williams drew positive comments regarding his athletic skills. He's raw, but he should be molded into exactly what the coaching staff is looking for at the ILB position, though it may take a couple of years. In the meantime, he can play STs and learn his craft.
I don't remember reading much on B Williams, but I'll just add that he's only 20 years old (and turns 21 in June). His 10 yard split is smoking for an OLB. In fact, if I remember correctly, it was faster than Ware's out of college. Williams has a very fast first step and he's got good size, especially for a 20 year old! I really looking forward to watching him progress over the next few years.
* Finally at TE, J Phillips caught the well well, but he's going to have a lot of competition vs. Hannah to make the roster. I think that Hannah, Phillips, and Cricket will be competing for the last couple of roster spots on the team. I wouldn't be surprised if we decide to keep 4 TEs and no FB (maybe one on the PS, just in case), but let's see what happens over the next few months. I think the positive on Phillips is that given his college's pro-style run offense and that Virginia has churned out a couple of other productive TEs in the NFL over the past few years, you know what to expect with Phillips and that his progess should be fairly quick.
To sum it up, I think the Cowboys' brass was very satisfied from what they saw from the rookies this weekend. Each player has been productive in college, and each player seems serious about the business of playing professional football. Many, if not all, of these players are self-starters. You don't need to coax them to work hard. They want to work hard and dedicate themselves to playing football. In my book, that's huge - especially considering that these guys have elite athletic ability as well. When you combine the two, and fingers crossed that they remain healthy, we should come out on top with this year's Draft. I really like how Tom C went about identifying these draft picks.
After learning a bit more about our draft picks, and the initial impressions that they made in the mini-camp, I could really care less what the "mediots" think.
There are fortunately a variety of reports to sift through to try and get a better feel for the draft picks and UDFAs.
