DandyDon1722
It's been a good 'un, ain't it?
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Hey Everybody,
First day of camp and there were some very interesting things going on. I'll keep each topic short and to the point.
Weather: A little warmer than I thought it would be, but absolutely perfect, mid 70's, slight breeze but unbelievable.
Crowd: They say around 5,000 - 6,000 but it was packed for the set up they had. What really struck me were all the kids and younger people with their gear on and all fired up. Generations of fans were well represented.
Jerry World: It really does have a carnival like atmosphere. Music is always constant, lots of food tents and a kids zone. They had a separate stand for hats along with a semi for a good variety of merchandise. Couple of new T-shirts and jackets I hadn't seen before.
Pre-Practice - It was what you would expect. The Cheerleaders performed, National Anthem (by three of the girls which was excellent) Navy color guard and the VIP's of Oxnard were introduced. Then they had three guys in parachutes drop in which although was over the top, was pretty cool. All the players watched and cheered when they landed with both American and Cowboy flags.
Practice: Opened without vets, but after about an hour they all came on the field. Make no mistake, Jason Witten is still the fan favorite followed by Romo and Dez. Demarcus is really under the radar as far as the fan's reactions were concerned.
Tempo: If I write that practice was upbeat, quick paced, no-nonsense, efficient and serious, JG doubters or haters would probably say that's what it's supposed to be -- well, it was. I've been here before and there was no scenes like Campo yuking it up, or Wade waltzing around with a smile on his face or TO mugging for fans, none of that. The horn blows in between drills and players sprint to the next one. They get in and out of water breaks and there is a sense of urgency all the time.
Best Scene Of The Day: In first team one on one drills, Leary false started and was immediately pulled. A few minutes later, Tyson Walters false started and tried to line up for the next play, but the play was stopped and he was pulled. You false start, you 're out, period.
Second Best Scene Of The Day: Twenty minutes after practice ended, Callahan was still working with the entire offensive line as Garrett looked on. They were working on sliding drills, left and right. Callahan was actively involved and players were listening to every word.
Player Of The Day: Hakiim Salam (sp?) - he was impressive with his hands, caught a TD when he split the defense and outran everybody. He's flat out fast.
Pleasant Surprise Of The Day - John Hannah caught everything. He's a big target and you can tell he's athletic. We were waiting for the drops but the ball never hit the ground when thrown to him.
Claiborne: Was very aggressive in press coverage. He's got a swagger to him and has very good technique. Receivers did not get separation on him. You are gonna like him a lot.
Target Of The Day: Brandon Carr. In the very first, first team drills he was thrown at five times in a row with five straight completions, three by Dez and one a beautiful back should throw by Romo. I'm not sure what he was told to do but he was very passive on each throw. It's not like he got beat, it's like he just hung around the play. I wouldn't read to much into it.
The Uh-Oh Moment: The punters were flat out horrible. A couple of shanks went into the crowd and I would say out of 15 punts, only a couple boomers. One thing that is completely obvious, Dez is a punt returner. Ogletree and Murray both took turns but you were holding your breath when the balls in the air with those guys (they were too). Dez just has a feel for it.
What's Impressive In Person: Romo's arm strength. He was throwing 30 yard outs to about five yards in front of us and the zip he has on the ball was startling compared to Orton and McGee. By the way, Orton was solid today.
Who's Impressive In Person: Sean Lee is EVERYWHERE. He is so fast to the ball it's stunning. If he didn't have a number on his jersey I promise every one of you would ask "Who is THAT guy" Barring injury, he's a Pro Bowler for years to come.
What Caught People's Attention: Couple of guys next to me told everybody to watch. From the 20, the first team would run a play. After the play everybody had to run all the way to the end zone, then the second team would run a play and do the same. Every single time Romo would full out sprint into the end zone. Orton and McGee jogged it in.
Callahan Is ENGAGED: He is energetic, he teaches something to somebody on every single play. He is right in the middle of the players on every snap during group drills. He had guys pass protecting with their left arms behind their backs working on foot speed.
Drill I Have Never Seen: Receivers had a ball attached to a strap as players ran behind them trying to tug the ball out of their grasp while they were running (probably called the Roy Williams drill).
Now I Know: What I would look like at a Cowboy's practice because Cole Beasley looks like a high school kid out there (I might be bigger). I don't know how he's gonna survive.
Nice To See: Refs were on the field all day at every drill. I saw Callahan have an animated conversation with one of the them after a play. When he got the explanation he patted the guy on the rear and hustled back to the sidelines.
The Position That Grabs You: Linebacker with Ware, Butler, Conner, Lee, Spencer, they are very active. I know we always say this but all Victor Butler did today was beat his man off the edge. Carter looked quick and instinctive also.
How Practice Ended: With sprints - a lot of them, guys with hands on knees struggling. They were busting it after three hours.
Last But Not Least: Not one bad snap today.
My One Prevailing Thought: I don't know how the season is going to play out, I don't know how off season acquisitions will help or how the schedule is going to be a factor, or if we are talented enough to win a Super Bowl but I know this.
Once the festivities ended and Garrett had the field it was a three hour non-stop professional football practice where players sprinted to drills, were held accountable on mistakes and where the biggest question mark on the team stayed as a group after practice and worked.
If you would've seen it -- you would've loved it.
First day of camp and there were some very interesting things going on. I'll keep each topic short and to the point.
Weather: A little warmer than I thought it would be, but absolutely perfect, mid 70's, slight breeze but unbelievable.
Crowd: They say around 5,000 - 6,000 but it was packed for the set up they had. What really struck me were all the kids and younger people with their gear on and all fired up. Generations of fans were well represented.
Jerry World: It really does have a carnival like atmosphere. Music is always constant, lots of food tents and a kids zone. They had a separate stand for hats along with a semi for a good variety of merchandise. Couple of new T-shirts and jackets I hadn't seen before.
Pre-Practice - It was what you would expect. The Cheerleaders performed, National Anthem (by three of the girls which was excellent) Navy color guard and the VIP's of Oxnard were introduced. Then they had three guys in parachutes drop in which although was over the top, was pretty cool. All the players watched and cheered when they landed with both American and Cowboy flags.
Practice: Opened without vets, but after about an hour they all came on the field. Make no mistake, Jason Witten is still the fan favorite followed by Romo and Dez. Demarcus is really under the radar as far as the fan's reactions were concerned.
Tempo: If I write that practice was upbeat, quick paced, no-nonsense, efficient and serious, JG doubters or haters would probably say that's what it's supposed to be -- well, it was. I've been here before and there was no scenes like Campo yuking it up, or Wade waltzing around with a smile on his face or TO mugging for fans, none of that. The horn blows in between drills and players sprint to the next one. They get in and out of water breaks and there is a sense of urgency all the time.
Best Scene Of The Day: In first team one on one drills, Leary false started and was immediately pulled. A few minutes later, Tyson Walters false started and tried to line up for the next play, but the play was stopped and he was pulled. You false start, you 're out, period.
Second Best Scene Of The Day: Twenty minutes after practice ended, Callahan was still working with the entire offensive line as Garrett looked on. They were working on sliding drills, left and right. Callahan was actively involved and players were listening to every word.
Player Of The Day: Hakiim Salam (sp?) - he was impressive with his hands, caught a TD when he split the defense and outran everybody. He's flat out fast.
Pleasant Surprise Of The Day - John Hannah caught everything. He's a big target and you can tell he's athletic. We were waiting for the drops but the ball never hit the ground when thrown to him.
Claiborne: Was very aggressive in press coverage. He's got a swagger to him and has very good technique. Receivers did not get separation on him. You are gonna like him a lot.
Target Of The Day: Brandon Carr. In the very first, first team drills he was thrown at five times in a row with five straight completions, three by Dez and one a beautiful back should throw by Romo. I'm not sure what he was told to do but he was very passive on each throw. It's not like he got beat, it's like he just hung around the play. I wouldn't read to much into it.
The Uh-Oh Moment: The punters were flat out horrible. A couple of shanks went into the crowd and I would say out of 15 punts, only a couple boomers. One thing that is completely obvious, Dez is a punt returner. Ogletree and Murray both took turns but you were holding your breath when the balls in the air with those guys (they were too). Dez just has a feel for it.
What's Impressive In Person: Romo's arm strength. He was throwing 30 yard outs to about five yards in front of us and the zip he has on the ball was startling compared to Orton and McGee. By the way, Orton was solid today.
Who's Impressive In Person: Sean Lee is EVERYWHERE. He is so fast to the ball it's stunning. If he didn't have a number on his jersey I promise every one of you would ask "Who is THAT guy" Barring injury, he's a Pro Bowler for years to come.
What Caught People's Attention: Couple of guys next to me told everybody to watch. From the 20, the first team would run a play. After the play everybody had to run all the way to the end zone, then the second team would run a play and do the same. Every single time Romo would full out sprint into the end zone. Orton and McGee jogged it in.
Callahan Is ENGAGED: He is energetic, he teaches something to somebody on every single play. He is right in the middle of the players on every snap during group drills. He had guys pass protecting with their left arms behind their backs working on foot speed.
Drill I Have Never Seen: Receivers had a ball attached to a strap as players ran behind them trying to tug the ball out of their grasp while they were running (probably called the Roy Williams drill).
Now I Know: What I would look like at a Cowboy's practice because Cole Beasley looks like a high school kid out there (I might be bigger). I don't know how he's gonna survive.
Nice To See: Refs were on the field all day at every drill. I saw Callahan have an animated conversation with one of the them after a play. When he got the explanation he patted the guy on the rear and hustled back to the sidelines.
The Position That Grabs You: Linebacker with Ware, Butler, Conner, Lee, Spencer, they are very active. I know we always say this but all Victor Butler did today was beat his man off the edge. Carter looked quick and instinctive also.
How Practice Ended: With sprints - a lot of them, guys with hands on knees struggling. They were busting it after three hours.
Last But Not Least: Not one bad snap today.
My One Prevailing Thought: I don't know how the season is going to play out, I don't know how off season acquisitions will help or how the schedule is going to be a factor, or if we are talented enough to win a Super Bowl but I know this.
Once the festivities ended and Garrett had the field it was a three hour non-stop professional football practice where players sprinted to drills, were held accountable on mistakes and where the biggest question mark on the team stayed as a group after practice and worked.
If you would've seen it -- you would've loved it.
