DandyDon1722
It's been a good 'un, ain't it?
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Hey Everyone,
For the past three years I've written some updates on my camp visits so this is what I saw from today.
1. Make no mistake about it - there's a new rock star on the Dallas Cowboys and his name is Dez Bryant. He dominated the day in every way possible, on the field, with the media and was the clear favorite with the crowd.
On the field he was simply awesome. I've seen a lot of camp days but nobody ever dominated a practice like he did today. There were one on one drills with him and Mo and Mo simply could not defend him. He was being as physical as possible to the point of probably several interference penalties but he could not stop Dez from catching the ball. Then in the 11-11 (full pads by the way) he made some spectacular catches in traffic that literally took the breath away from the crowd. It wasn't so much as everybody cheered as they just laughed and shook their heads saying to each other, "can you believe that?"
There was one play where JJ Wilcox lit him up pretty good with a high hit over the middle and he just bounced up. Wilcox even checked on him to make sure he was okay and Dez shook him off.
After practice he hung out talking with the coaches at midfield and a swarm of media blew by every single other player coming off the field to wait for him. He then held court for about 20 minutes which I thought was good because he seems to be more comfortable with interviews.
After the interview the fans went crazy as he headed towards the gates where all the autograph seekers were. If he stays out of trouble I believe Dez is going to be the face of the franchise for the next ten years and if he's available in your fantasy draft DO NOT hesitate.
2. Tony Romo was very sharp today. I didn't notice the weight difference, but his throws in the one on one drills were right on the money and in 11-11 he found receivers all over the field. No picks and only a couple times he would've been sacked with one bad snap. Orton was solid, checking down quite a but but I think that's going to be his job if he gets in anyhow. After that we're in deep deep trouble - trust me.
3. It's very evident we've picked up the pace at the line of scrimmage. Romo refers to his wristband a lot, we huddle closer to the line and there's not the constant pre snap moving around. It's "180...hut" and the play is off. Romo did draw two consecutive offsides with hard counts (both on Ware I believe) who jumped on the 180 snap count when the ball wasn't snapped. BTW - Frederick really gets the ball back fast...no lollipops in his snaps.
4. No way to sugar coat this one - Miles looked really bad. He had a hard time getting separation in the one on one drills and he seemed to bobble every throw. Rarely did he make a clean snatch of the ball. He just didn't look explosive, at least not today. Maybe he has to get his legs under him a bit but this is troubling because nobody is going to risk going one on one with Dez so there will be opportunities on the other side.
5. Two guys really surprised me in person with their size. Gavin Escobar is huge. You have to see him in person to really get it. He's going to be a great target for Tony. The other guy who really is bigger that I thought is Kyle Wilber. I know he's a little undersized for his position but he ain't small. I read where Ware is teaching him to use his quickness. Let's hope he figures it out.
6. Honest to god I thought the offensive line was decent today and remember, they were hitting in pads. There were some holes in the running game and neither Romo or Orton never really scrambled. Free, Arkin, Frederick, Kowalski and Smith were the starters and they held their own for the most part.
7. The most interesting part of the day was I overheard a conversation with a cameraman and a guy in a suit standing right in front of me on the fence and the suit told him that Garrett has really taken to coaching the team and not just the offense. He is enjoying running from station to station and thinks it's going to prove to be be a good move as a head coach in the long run.
8. If I was a receiver in practice I'm pretty sure before camp ended I would be in a fight with Sean Lee. He is constantly pushing the envelope hitting people. He's chippy -- even after the whistle and he's nasty about it too.
9. Terrance Williams had a good practice today. I heard he's been struggling but he looked pretty good.
10. Scanderick made an unbelievable pick in one on one drills where he caught the ball in one hand, palmed it and ran with it never using the other hand.
11. Demarco Murray is going to catch a lot of balls out of the backfield. They ran a middle screen that would've busted for a long gain before he was even touched.
12. Kickers were awesome today. Bailey I think went 5-6 from 45 and Chris Jones was bombing punts.
Guess that's it. It's still camp and this is the eye test of a fan but I used to coach college basketball and from that perspective I liked the tempo and enthusiasm of practice. Everybody is constantly engaged. Nobody is on a knee with their helmet off. Best of all is seeing Monty Kiffen jogging from drill to drill, clapping his hands and yelling. May we all find a career with the same amount of passion.
I probably won't be able to respond to questions until tomorrow night but hope this holds you over until tomorrow's practice.
For the past three years I've written some updates on my camp visits so this is what I saw from today.
1. Make no mistake about it - there's a new rock star on the Dallas Cowboys and his name is Dez Bryant. He dominated the day in every way possible, on the field, with the media and was the clear favorite with the crowd.
On the field he was simply awesome. I've seen a lot of camp days but nobody ever dominated a practice like he did today. There were one on one drills with him and Mo and Mo simply could not defend him. He was being as physical as possible to the point of probably several interference penalties but he could not stop Dez from catching the ball. Then in the 11-11 (full pads by the way) he made some spectacular catches in traffic that literally took the breath away from the crowd. It wasn't so much as everybody cheered as they just laughed and shook their heads saying to each other, "can you believe that?"
There was one play where JJ Wilcox lit him up pretty good with a high hit over the middle and he just bounced up. Wilcox even checked on him to make sure he was okay and Dez shook him off.
After practice he hung out talking with the coaches at midfield and a swarm of media blew by every single other player coming off the field to wait for him. He then held court for about 20 minutes which I thought was good because he seems to be more comfortable with interviews.
After the interview the fans went crazy as he headed towards the gates where all the autograph seekers were. If he stays out of trouble I believe Dez is going to be the face of the franchise for the next ten years and if he's available in your fantasy draft DO NOT hesitate.
2. Tony Romo was very sharp today. I didn't notice the weight difference, but his throws in the one on one drills were right on the money and in 11-11 he found receivers all over the field. No picks and only a couple times he would've been sacked with one bad snap. Orton was solid, checking down quite a but but I think that's going to be his job if he gets in anyhow. After that we're in deep deep trouble - trust me.
3. It's very evident we've picked up the pace at the line of scrimmage. Romo refers to his wristband a lot, we huddle closer to the line and there's not the constant pre snap moving around. It's "180...hut" and the play is off. Romo did draw two consecutive offsides with hard counts (both on Ware I believe) who jumped on the 180 snap count when the ball wasn't snapped. BTW - Frederick really gets the ball back fast...no lollipops in his snaps.
4. No way to sugar coat this one - Miles looked really bad. He had a hard time getting separation in the one on one drills and he seemed to bobble every throw. Rarely did he make a clean snatch of the ball. He just didn't look explosive, at least not today. Maybe he has to get his legs under him a bit but this is troubling because nobody is going to risk going one on one with Dez so there will be opportunities on the other side.
5. Two guys really surprised me in person with their size. Gavin Escobar is huge. You have to see him in person to really get it. He's going to be a great target for Tony. The other guy who really is bigger that I thought is Kyle Wilber. I know he's a little undersized for his position but he ain't small. I read where Ware is teaching him to use his quickness. Let's hope he figures it out.
6. Honest to god I thought the offensive line was decent today and remember, they were hitting in pads. There were some holes in the running game and neither Romo or Orton never really scrambled. Free, Arkin, Frederick, Kowalski and Smith were the starters and they held their own for the most part.
7. The most interesting part of the day was I overheard a conversation with a cameraman and a guy in a suit standing right in front of me on the fence and the suit told him that Garrett has really taken to coaching the team and not just the offense. He is enjoying running from station to station and thinks it's going to prove to be be a good move as a head coach in the long run.
8. If I was a receiver in practice I'm pretty sure before camp ended I would be in a fight with Sean Lee. He is constantly pushing the envelope hitting people. He's chippy -- even after the whistle and he's nasty about it too.
9. Terrance Williams had a good practice today. I heard he's been struggling but he looked pretty good.
10. Scanderick made an unbelievable pick in one on one drills where he caught the ball in one hand, palmed it and ran with it never using the other hand.
11. Demarco Murray is going to catch a lot of balls out of the backfield. They ran a middle screen that would've busted for a long gain before he was even touched.
12. Kickers were awesome today. Bailey I think went 5-6 from 45 and Chris Jones was bombing punts.
Guess that's it. It's still camp and this is the eye test of a fan but I used to coach college basketball and from that perspective I liked the tempo and enthusiasm of practice. Everybody is constantly engaged. Nobody is on a knee with their helmet off. Best of all is seeing Monty Kiffen jogging from drill to drill, clapping his hands and yelling. May we all find a career with the same amount of passion.
I probably won't be able to respond to questions until tomorrow night but hope this holds you over until tomorrow's practice.
