Questions about Josh Brent

[guag]

1. When exactly is he able to play? Like which game?
2. Is he in good enough shape right now where he would be able to make an immediate impact at the 1T spot?

 

[joseephuss]

He was suspended 10 games, so the first game he can play is when the team travel to New York to play the Giants. He may not be in shape now. At least football shape, but he has several more weeks of practice to get into shape. I don't know if he will have an immediate impact, but by the time he actually gets to play he should be in decent game day shape. It will still take him a few real live games to get in full fitness condition.

 

[Bluefin]

I was listening to Talkin' Cowboys Thursday and Mickey Spagnola talked about Josh Brent.

Spags ran into Amobi Okoye (who wore pads this wk and will likely start practicing next wk) the other day in the locker room and told him getting all these DL back soon is like having a guy on a hill with a bugle and the reinforcements are coming.

Okoye said, "Yeah...like the guy next to me."

The locker next to him belongs to Brent.

Once Mickey figured out who Okoye was talking about, he asked, "So you think this guy can play?"

Brent said, "Oh, you should see this guy move."

Mickey then said Brent still looks a little heavy but that Okoye was talking about having someone who can really anchor as a NT and be hard for offenses to move.

I don't know if the team is relying on getting anything from Brent this season or if they are thinking more about 2015 and beyond.

Nick Hayden is a free agent following this season.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

I was listening to Talkin' Cowboys Thursday and Mickey Spagnola talked about Josh Brent.

Spags ran into Amobi Okoye (who wore pads this wk and will likely start practicing next wk) the other day in the locker room and told him getting all these DL back soon is like having a guy on a hill with a bugle and the reinforcements are coming.

Okoye said, "Yeah...like the guy next to me."

The locker next to him belongs to Brent.

Once Mickey figured out who Okoye was talking about, he asked, "So you think this guy can play?"

Brent said, "Oh, you should see this guy move."

Mickey then said Brent still looks a little heavy but that Okoye was talking about having someone who can really anchor as a NT and be hard for offenses to move.

I don't know if the team is relying on getting anything from Brent this season or if they are thinking more about 2015 and beyond.

Nick Hayden is a free agent following this season.

Seeing how the #1 DT spot plays out is going to be one of the more interesting topics throughout the rest of this season and into the offseason.

 

[xwalker]

1. When exactly is he able to play? Like which game?
2. Is he in good enough shape right now where he would be able to make an immediate impact at the 1T spot?

He is eligible to return week 11. He started practicing this week. Many reports say that he's been working out really hard, but how long it takes to get into game shape is anybody's guess.

The difficult issue is that they generally only have 4 DTs active for a game. I don't think Marinelli wants to have only 2 pass rushing DTs and 2 run stopping DTs. He really only wants 1 run stopper type (1-tech only) but neither Hayden or Brent are pass rushers. Marnielli seems to get attached to "his" guys and Hayden seems to be one his guys. It won't be easy to convince Marinelli to bench Hayden in favor of Brent, but Jerry appears to determined to get Brent on the field.

 

[cowboys1981]

He is eligible to return week 11. He started practicing this week. Many reports say that he's been working out really hard, but how long it takes to get into game shape is anybody's guess.

The difficult issue is that they generally only have 4 DTs active for a game. I don't think Marinelli wants to have only 2 pass rushing DTs and 2 run stopping DTs. He really only wants 1 run stopper type (1-tech only) but neither Hayden or Brent are pass rushers. Marnielli seems to get attached to "his" guys and Hayden seems to be one his guys. It won't be easy to convince Marinelli to bench Hayden in favor of Brent, but Jerry appears to determined to get Brent on the field.

Maybe on 3 and short or goal line situations we line them both up to stop the run.

I don't see RM wanting Hayden cut. I'm sure he's bonded with a lot of players.

My guess is they split reps to keep legs fresh.

 

[BAT]

I was listening to Talkin' Cowboys Thursday and Mickey Spagnola talked about Josh Brent.

Spags ran into Amobi Okoye (who wore pads this wk and will likely start practicing next wk) the other day in the locker room and told him getting all these DL back soon is like having a guy on a hill with a bugle and the reinforcements are coming.

Okoye said, "Yeah...like the guy next to me."

The locker next to him belongs to Brent.

Once Mickey figured out who Okoye was talking about, he asked, "So you think this guy can play?"

Brent said, "Oh, you should see this guy move."

Mickey then said Brent still looks a little heavy but that Okoye was talking about having someone who can really anchor as a NT and be hard for offenses to move.

I don't know if the team is relying on getting anything from Brent this season or if they are thinking more about 2015 and beyond.

Nick Hayden is a free agent following this season.

If this is indicative of how everyone feels about Brent at VR then it makes more sense that Bishop was let go. That one tech spot is overcrowded as it is. Although not sure why the journeyman McClain is getting so much benefit of the doubt, his play has been nothing special since returning from injury or the entirety of his pro career.

 

[5Stars]

I have a feeling that Brent will come back with a mind set to give back to the team that stuck beside him. He let a lot of people down. Now, he gets another chance to redeem himself.

I hope he learned something in prison. I hope he has some dog in him! His team does....

 

[joseephuss]

At the beginning of the season Okoye said he would definitely be ready to play against the Giants in week 7. I haven't seen any move to put him on the 53 man roster. Will he be available soon?

 

[guag]

I don't see RM wanting Hayden cut. I'm sure he's bonded with a lot of players.

I mean he's already got the nickname. That right there pretty much cemented Hayden's spot on this roster as long as he's willing and able (asterisk on the "able").

 

[Bluefin]

At the beginning of the season Okoye said he would definitely be ready to play against the Giants in week 7. I haven't seen any move to put him on the 53 man roster. Will he be available soon?

He should be.

Mickey Spagnola said on Talkin' Cowboys Thursday that Amobi Okoye is expected to return to practice next week.

Okoye is still on NFI right now, which is basically the same as Reserve/PUP.

The player must sit out the first six games of the season before he can be activated.

Players don't have to be activated at this point.

Teams can observe players for up to six weeks before a decision must be made.

If the player is cleared to practice, the team gets a three week window from that date to make a decision (add to active roster, leave on PUP or NFI, or release player).

So, if Okoye starts practicing next week, Dallas will have three weeks to determine whether or not to activate him and add him to the roster.

That means the earliest Okoye could play is week 10, the London game against Jacksonville.

If the Cowboys use up the six week observation window before allowing Okoye to practice, the longest they can wait to activate him is week 15 (at Philly).

 

[Bullflop]

I'll be tempering my expectations for Brent this season. Even though he'd been working out at a training facility before returning to VR, it's a big order to recover from a full season out of football and return to football shape. Whatever we're able to get from him this year would be above and beyond my expectations. I think it might be a bit more realistic to hope for some good things from him in 2015. Anything good from him this year would be gravy.

 

[xwalker]

Maybe on 3 and short or goal line situations we line them both up to stop the run.

I don't see RM wanting Hayden cut. I'm sure he's bonded with a lot of players.

My guess is they split reps to keep legs fresh.

That leaves them short of pass rushing DTs. If D-Law is good when he returns, Mincey can take some reps as a pass rushing DT which would solve the issue.

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

The team wants him at 320. He came in at 330.

Using a conservative approach, I assume that Brent was not able to work out at all during his incarceration. He was released at the end of July. From that point, he has been working out with Gurode and other trainers at a Dallas area training complex from August 1 to September 30, two months.

At this point he has been with Woicik since the end of September. He is not to return to practice until after week 8 which is October 28 so about a month. There are 3 weeks between his return to practice and his first game back vs the Giants on November 23. He will be allowed to go and practice with the team in London.

So assuming that he did not work out significantly in the 6 months of his incarceration, by the time he is eligible to play in game 11, the following are all true:

He will have been working out with professional trainers for 18 weeks or 4.5 months.
He will have been working out with Woicik and the team for 8 weeks or 2 months.
He will have been practicing with the team for 3 weeks.

In comparison, the NFL offseason begins towards the end of April and goes on for 10 weeks until the middle of June. Training camp and the start of the season lasts about 6 weeks.

I think he will be ready.

 

[cowboys1981]

That leaves them short of pass rushing DTs. If D-Law is good when he returns, Mincey can take some reps as a pass rushing DT which would solve the issue.

They'd still have Melton and Crawford for pass rush. I think a rotation between the two will likely take place since JJ wants him to play and RM has a bond with Hayden.

 

[cowboys1981]

IMO getting him some MMA work would do him some good. Just a thought.

 

[JohnsKey19]

Brent's return coincides with the bye week so it's really perfect timing for him. Look for him to play primarily on 1st downs and short yardage situations. 12-15 plays tops early on...

 

[dogunwo]

I know it is asking too much, but I just hope that his return isn't too much of a story.

 

[big dog cowboy]

If D-Law is good when he returns

If?

 

[PJTHEDOORS]

1. When exactly is he able to play? Like which game?
2. Is he in good enough shape right now where he would be able to make an immediate impact at the 1T spot?

Something he's never done in his NFL career. Make an impact.