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Rob Phillips - Email
DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer
August 30, 2005 6:09 PM Change Font Size A A A A
Quincy Morgan looks to be the fourth receiver, but might get squeezed out because of special teams.
IRVING, Texas - Wide receiver Quincy Morgan has never dealt with a situation like this in his entire career.
Before arriving in Dallas last October in a deadline deal for Antonio Bryant, Morgan was a 3½-year starter in Cleveland and almost notched a 1,000-yard season in 2002. He was thrust into the starting lineup for seven of the Cowboys' final 11 games after Terry Glenn suffered a season-ending foot injury.
Eight months later, Morgan is fighting for a spot on the Cowboys' 53-man roster.
Patrick Crayton has all but won the battle for the third receiver spot behind Glenn and Keyshawn Johnson, and there's no guarantee head coach Bill Parcells will keep Morgan around as the fourth receiver.
"It's been very tough," Morgan said. "Emotionally, playing-wise, all around the board. It's been very tough. It's taught me a lot. There's some growing pains being involved in this (training) camp."
Morgan's receiving ability is not the question. He would make an excellent fourth option if he can't unseat Crayton with a spectacular performance in Thursday night's preseason finale against Jacksonville (7 p.m. CDT at Texas Stadium).
But Parcells wants more from his fourth and fifth receivers than just a pass-catcher.
"There's some considerations that you make that are beyond just receiving," Parcells said Tuesday. "He (Morgan) is in the fight. There isn't any doubt about it."
By "considerations," Parcells means how much his bottom two receivers can contribute on special teams. Morgan doesn't play on coverage units, unlike his remaining competition. Terrance Copper finished fifth last season with 14 special teams tackles, and Tom Crowder has made an impact on punt coverage during preseason.
The Cowboys released rookies Reggie Harrell and Jamaica Rector this week in an effort to the trim the roster down to a league-mandated 65 players, plus NFL Europe exemptions. That leaves just six receivers left on the Cowboys' current 69-man roster: Glenn, Johnson, Crayton, Morgan, Copper and Crowder.
Parcells likely won't keep more than five, but said he might activate all five on game day if his bottom two can contribute on special teams.
Copper might make the team solely for his special teams play, but Parcells has been dissatisfied with his progress at receiver. Copper, a former undrafted free agent out of East Carolina, and Crayton were signed off the practice squad last October after the club placed Glenn on injured reserve.
Crowder is another former undrafted player hoping to carve a niche on special teams. After joining the practice squad for the second time last season, Crowder was moved to wide receiver permanently and spent all off-season refining his pass-catching skills. At the mini-camp in late May, Crowder said he was approaching 10,000 catches in the off-season.
Crowder did make an impressive 26-yard catch in the fourth quarter of Saturday's 21-9 victory over Houston, but Parcells said he's still "not a finished product" at receiver. He also wants Crowder, who has excellent speed, to improve his tackling on special teams once he's in position to make the play.
"He's fast and he's visible, but he got killed the other night (against Houston)," Parcells said. "They could've counted him out once. He lunges and dives indiscriminately into space. That's basically a fundamental flaw.
"I have a couple guys that are offensive players that do that. It's a natural thing. They haven't played much defense and they have a tendency to take their shot at the guy before they're even in position to do it."
Copper and Crowder offer more on special teams, but they can't rival Morgan's experience and talent at receiver. Morgan also is the only backup at Johnson's split-end position on the line of scrimmage. Crayton works behind Glenn at flanker, but he has been entering the game ahead of Morgan when the Cowboys go to three-wide sets.
Parcells has a tough decision to make. Does he value special teams prowess or another pass-catcher in case Glenn or Johnson gets injured?
"You have to decide what you want from your fourth and fifth receiver as a coach," Parcells said. "It's what do I have that fills these roles. In other words, there's jobs to do - who can do them? And that's why I say the puzzle is bigger than that one spot because if you don't have anybody at that position that does it, then you have to have more at some other position that does it."
Morgan likely would have to dazzle the Texas Stadium crowd on Thursday night to beat out Crayton for the No. 3 spot. Crayton has caught everything in sight since training camp began and has led the team in receiving yards the past two preseason games (82, 63), while Morgan has had some crucial drops. He did catch a 2-yard touchdown pass from Tony Romo which gave the Cowboys a commanding 12-point lead over Houston in the fourth quarter.
Morgan said he didn't know how much he would play against Jacksonville.
"I think the coaches know what type of player they have," Morgan said. "Things haven't been going right for me in these preseason games and I've been judged off of one play in these games. But like I say, I can't make judgments for the coaches.
"I just have to keep my faith, man. I want to play this game, whether it's here or anywhere else. I can't go into the tank and be one of those guys who fall off the face of the earth. I just have to keep pushing, whatever happens. It might be here, it might be somewhere else."
That will be left up to Parcells when the Cowboys must finalize their roster come Saturday.
Rob Phillips - Email
DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer
August 30, 2005 6:09 PM Change Font Size A A A A
Quincy Morgan looks to be the fourth receiver, but might get squeezed out because of special teams.
IRVING, Texas - Wide receiver Quincy Morgan has never dealt with a situation like this in his entire career.
Before arriving in Dallas last October in a deadline deal for Antonio Bryant, Morgan was a 3½-year starter in Cleveland and almost notched a 1,000-yard season in 2002. He was thrust into the starting lineup for seven of the Cowboys' final 11 games after Terry Glenn suffered a season-ending foot injury.
Eight months later, Morgan is fighting for a spot on the Cowboys' 53-man roster.
Patrick Crayton has all but won the battle for the third receiver spot behind Glenn and Keyshawn Johnson, and there's no guarantee head coach Bill Parcells will keep Morgan around as the fourth receiver.
"It's been very tough," Morgan said. "Emotionally, playing-wise, all around the board. It's been very tough. It's taught me a lot. There's some growing pains being involved in this (training) camp."
Morgan's receiving ability is not the question. He would make an excellent fourth option if he can't unseat Crayton with a spectacular performance in Thursday night's preseason finale against Jacksonville (7 p.m. CDT at Texas Stadium).
But Parcells wants more from his fourth and fifth receivers than just a pass-catcher.
"There's some considerations that you make that are beyond just receiving," Parcells said Tuesday. "He (Morgan) is in the fight. There isn't any doubt about it."
By "considerations," Parcells means how much his bottom two receivers can contribute on special teams. Morgan doesn't play on coverage units, unlike his remaining competition. Terrance Copper finished fifth last season with 14 special teams tackles, and Tom Crowder has made an impact on punt coverage during preseason.
The Cowboys released rookies Reggie Harrell and Jamaica Rector this week in an effort to the trim the roster down to a league-mandated 65 players, plus NFL Europe exemptions. That leaves just six receivers left on the Cowboys' current 69-man roster: Glenn, Johnson, Crayton, Morgan, Copper and Crowder.
Parcells likely won't keep more than five, but said he might activate all five on game day if his bottom two can contribute on special teams.
Copper might make the team solely for his special teams play, but Parcells has been dissatisfied with his progress at receiver. Copper, a former undrafted free agent out of East Carolina, and Crayton were signed off the practice squad last October after the club placed Glenn on injured reserve.
Crowder is another former undrafted player hoping to carve a niche on special teams. After joining the practice squad for the second time last season, Crowder was moved to wide receiver permanently and spent all off-season refining his pass-catching skills. At the mini-camp in late May, Crowder said he was approaching 10,000 catches in the off-season.
Crowder did make an impressive 26-yard catch in the fourth quarter of Saturday's 21-9 victory over Houston, but Parcells said he's still "not a finished product" at receiver. He also wants Crowder, who has excellent speed, to improve his tackling on special teams once he's in position to make the play.
"He's fast and he's visible, but he got killed the other night (against Houston)," Parcells said. "They could've counted him out once. He lunges and dives indiscriminately into space. That's basically a fundamental flaw.
"I have a couple guys that are offensive players that do that. It's a natural thing. They haven't played much defense and they have a tendency to take their shot at the guy before they're even in position to do it."
Copper and Crowder offer more on special teams, but they can't rival Morgan's experience and talent at receiver. Morgan also is the only backup at Johnson's split-end position on the line of scrimmage. Crayton works behind Glenn at flanker, but he has been entering the game ahead of Morgan when the Cowboys go to three-wide sets.
Parcells has a tough decision to make. Does he value special teams prowess or another pass-catcher in case Glenn or Johnson gets injured?
"You have to decide what you want from your fourth and fifth receiver as a coach," Parcells said. "It's what do I have that fills these roles. In other words, there's jobs to do - who can do them? And that's why I say the puzzle is bigger than that one spot because if you don't have anybody at that position that does it, then you have to have more at some other position that does it."
Morgan likely would have to dazzle the Texas Stadium crowd on Thursday night to beat out Crayton for the No. 3 spot. Crayton has caught everything in sight since training camp began and has led the team in receiving yards the past two preseason games (82, 63), while Morgan has had some crucial drops. He did catch a 2-yard touchdown pass from Tony Romo which gave the Cowboys a commanding 12-point lead over Houston in the fourth quarter.
Morgan said he didn't know how much he would play against Jacksonville.
"I think the coaches know what type of player they have," Morgan said. "Things haven't been going right for me in these preseason games and I've been judged off of one play in these games. But like I say, I can't make judgments for the coaches.
"I just have to keep my faith, man. I want to play this game, whether it's here or anywhere else. I can't go into the tank and be one of those guys who fall off the face of the earth. I just have to keep pushing, whatever happens. It might be here, it might be somewhere else."
That will be left up to Parcells when the Cowboys must finalize their roster come Saturday.
