Vela notes from scrimmage 8/18/15

RS12

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Notes

— If you’re looking for a fighter, or find yourself facing a fight, get close to Damien Wilson. Wilson dropped three Rams in the initial free melee. Wilson also distinguished himself in the drills. He was the most active Cowboys linebacker in space today. He’s running 1st team on the strong side right now. He could give Kyle Wilber a strong run for the starting job there. If he has a strong first quarter of the season, Wilson could hold off Anthony HItchens when Roland McClain returns.

— Kyle Wilber worked second team at middle linebacker today, backing up Jasper Brinkley. It’s very thin inside with McClain and Anthony Hitchens out.

— The Cowboys are also thin on the weakside. Sean Lee also sat out,and Andrew Gachkar took his role. The Rams repeatedly beat the first defense with draws and screens because Wilson aside, the linebacking corps on the field today lacked athleticism.


— That said, Greg Hardy had one of his practices as a Cowboy. He was un-blockable, playing at his customary right end. He also beat blockers at left end at at the 3-technique.

— The coaches worked extensively with Randy Gregory at right end and Hardy at the under tackle. The two practiced a lot of stunts together. The coaches are clearly intrigued at the idea of teamming the two on the right side when Hardy’s suspension ends.

— Gregory and 2nd year end Demarcus Lawrence got a lot of hands-on tutorials today from Leon Lett and Rod Marinelli. They worked on recognizing when to use a spin inside when each beats a tackle with an initial up-field rush. Much of the time the rookie Gregory thinks he has an opponent beaten with his initial charge, but he really doesn’t. The coaches want him to recognize when he hasn’t beaten his man and when to work his counter inside.

The lessons remind of the game Dwight Freeney played in his heyday with the Colts. He would either jet past you outside or spin inside if you took his jet move away.


Lawrence also received schooling in this technique but Gregory was the coaches’ prime target.

— Gregory is clearly making a 2nd and 3rd week push.

http://cowboyszone.com/2015/08/tko-tuesday-cowboyscamp-2015.html
 

reddyuta

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wilson might really be starting if he keeps this up,it would be amazing if we found another starter in the 4th RD.
 

Bluefin

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— If you’re looking for a fighter, or find yourself facing a fight, get close to Damien Wilson. Wilson dropped three Rams in the initial free melee. Wilson also distinguished himself in the drills. He was the most active Cowboys linebacker in space today. He’s running 1st team on the strong side right now. He could give Kyle Wilber a strong run for the starting job there. If he has a strong first quarter of the season, Wilson could hold off Anthony HItchens when Roland McClain returns.

Some of the guys on dallascowboys.com were talking, I forget which show, and wondered if Damien Wilson will end up taking Anthony Hitchens' Nickel job beside Sean Lee.

Right now, HItchens' instincts allow him to diagnose things quicker and get where he's needed while Wilson has to see it for a second before reacting. They felt Wilson will continue improving in this area with NFL reps and is simply more athletic.
 

Maxmadden

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— If you’re looking for a fighter, or find yourself facing a fight, get close to Damien Wilson. Wilson dropped three Rams in the initial free melee. Wilson also distinguished himself in the drills.
 

AsthmaField

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Is hardy our 3tech next year?

No, Crawford will be the main 3 next year IMO. A player like Hardy is almost priceless for a defensive coaching staff... particularly this one that values motor so highly. He can literally play any one of the 4 DL spots and be damn good at it.

Marinelli loves match-ups and he will be able to either find an OL that is too weak to handle Hardy's substantial power... or he will find one that can't deal with his quickness, his rare first step, and his deceptively quick hands.

I'm not sure that everyone actually realizes just how good a player Hardy is and how vital his kind of versatility will be in the Dallas defense. If he stays healthy, he is going to be a difference maker of the highest order, IMO.

Hardy will play the 3 in the nickle or when Crawford needs a breather, but he will stay at end primarily and Crawford will stay at the 3.
 

ufcrules1

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Cool.. love reading this stuff. Wish Hardy wasn't out for the first 4 games.. he is going to kill it when he gets on the field.
 

JoeyBoy718

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No, Crawford will be the main 3 next year IMO. A player like Hardy is almost priceless for a defensive coaching staff... particularly this one that values motor so highly. He can literally play any one of the 4 DL spots and be damn good at it.

Marinelli loves match-ups and he will be able to either find an OL that is too weak to handle Hardy's substantial power... or he will find one that can't deal with his quickness, his rare first step, and his deceptively quick hands.

I'm not sure that everyone actually realizes just how good a player Hardy is and how vital his kind of versatility will be in the Dallas defense. If he stays healthy, he is going to be a difference maker of the highest order, IMO.

Hardy will play the 3 in the nickle or when Crawford needs a breather, but he will stay at end primarily and Crawford will stay at the 3.

Yep. Hardy was the best 4-3 DE in the league at 24 years old. We can only hope that Lawrence will be at that level next year. Hardy is a beast. And he's young. We better do all we can to keep him even if Lawrence and Gregory blow up.
 

JohnsKey19

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Hardy is a beast. Teams that aren't rock solid at LT will have serious issues dealing with him. Too bad he has to miss the NYG game and their OL.

Love hearing about Wilson. It's still early but hitting on these mid rounders is what builds quality depth.

Never had a doubt about Gregory physically. He may be light but he plays with power. Everything else is textbook as far as what you look for in a young pass rusher.
 

Ken

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Yep. Hardy was the best 4-3 DE in the league at 24 years old. We can only hope that Lawrence will be at that level next year. Hardy is a beast. And he's young. We better do all we can to keep him even if Lawrence and Gregory blow up.

See that is my question, if those two blow up, will they give big bucks to Hardy? Assuming Hardy behaves of course...

I would but i am not sure that they would...
 

ThreeandOut

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It's good that Gregory's coming on. He's going to be needed if Hardy's out 4 games.
 

casmith07

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Is hardy our 3tech next year?

No. The Under Tackle is a 1T, but it's more of a gap shooting speed rush package.

I posted on another site that I would like to see a combo package with Lawrence, Crawford, Hardy, and Gregory all on the field at once and was shouted down as me not knowing what I was talking about.

lol.
 

ThreeandOut

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No. The Under Tackle is a 1T, but it's more of a gap shooting speed rush package.

I posted on another site that I would like to see a combo package with Lawrence, Crawford, Hardy, and Gregory all on the field at once and was shouted down as me not knowing what I was talking about.

lol.

Probably by people still upset that they didn't draft a DT.
 

JoeyBoy718

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See that is my question, if those two blow up, will they give big bucks to Hardy? Assuming Hardy behaves of course...

I would but i am not sure that they would...

I hope they would but I could see them not. Although Hardy is extremely versatile, he's essentially still a DE and that's what he'll be in the base defense. Let's say Gregory and Lawrence have excellent seasons and it looks like they'll be stars in this league - I don't know if they'd pay 3 of them big money so that one of them can come off the bench. Fortunately, we won't have to worry about giving Gregory or Lawrence big money for a few years, but if we sign Hardy to a long-term deal, there could be a period where you have 3 of the best DEs in the league and one of them coming off the bench. Personally, I wouldn't mind that. I think it's worth it. Especially since you can have all 3 of them on the field at the same time in the nickel.
 
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BAT

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Sounds like Damien Wilson could be an important mid round addition. Love what he said about Hardy, taking a while to shake off the rust but he is rounding into form.

Or Cowboys OL is much better than Rams' OL. Iron sharpens iron.
 

BAT

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No. The Under Tackle is a 1T, but it's more of a gap shooting speed rush package.

I posted on another site that I would like to see a combo package with Lawrence, Crawford, Hardy, and Gregory all on the field at once and was shouted down as me not knowing what I was talking about.

lol.

Under tackle is the 3 tech. Nose tackle is the 1 tech. Or 0 tech.

The Under Tackle (UT) is an undersized DT who gets by on speed, quickness and technique. Sheer girth is not very important for this position, atypical for an interior line position. A lot of UTs are former DE's who have shifted inside.

http://www.uwdawgpound.com/2013/9/13/4727200/the-4-3-under-defining-the-defense
 
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