What are you going to be evaluating during Training Camp?

RustyBourneHorse

RustyBourneHorse

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cristglo said:
Good to see you back Rusty :)
Im sure everyone will have their eyes on Lance Im sure its going to be fun to watch Cooper and Lance battle it out. Lance must show that he can be smart with his reads and move the chains. We know what we have in Cooper and he has been in my opinion a great bus driver for us when Dak has been out.
To make this board explode will be if Lance comes out and reads the field well and scores. Nothing like a QB competition.:)
I will be looking at the OL to see how they gel. Guyton will get a good look-see when Micha lines up in front of him Can Bebee hold his own and get lanes open for the RB.
Did Steele just have a bad last year?
Will Mazi be a part of this defense or is he just a flat out bust.
NO INJURIES PLEASE
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Thank you. I should be a lot more active now that the season is about to become underway. As for your point about Copper Rush vs Trey Lance, that should be an exciting battle. I think the other big thing is making sure we can get out of training camp and preseason without any injuries. Also, the oline should be fun to watch. We need Mazi to step it up this year. We need all the help at 1T/NT we can get.
 
DandyDon52

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acr731 said:
I was going to say 'nothing' based on the thread title, but after seeing you mention Lance I would say I'm interested in seeing him take some snaps in pre season. Unfortunately, barring injury to both Dak and Rush, he will probably go another full season riding the bench. If that happens it will be a big waste.
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I was going to say nothing too lol, but I too want to see lance, and if hohensee is still there him too.
But really I wont see the camp so will wait for PS games.
So back to nothing for camp.
 
Ranching

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RustyBourneHorse said:
Firstly, I know I haven't posted a lot of threads since the draft. It's mainly because I haven't had much to talk about until now. Plus, I've been very busy recently.

At any rate, the Cowboys will be beginning (https://www.dallascowboys.com/training-camp/) their 2024 Training Camp in two weeks from now. Exciting stuff!! So, it begs the question, what are some of the things that you'll be evaluating? Here are my top 3.

  • Firstly, I want to watch Trey Lance vs Rush for the backup job. We know what we have with Cooper Rush. However, Trey Lance has opportunity where he needs to prove what kind of QB he is. He has had most of last year and this offseason to learn the offense. I'm not necessarily expecting him to light up the scoreboard in training camp. What I am going to watch for from him are the following: his poise, his ability to manage his mobility vs his ability to throw from the pocket, his accuracy, and his decision making. By "his ability to manage his mobility vs his ability to throw from the pocket", I mean that I want to evaluate if he can keep his eyes down field and get the ball to an open receiver, as opposed to just tucking and running at the first sign of trouble. This does play into decision making, but I separate this because this is particularly distinctive to me for a mobile QB. This will be how I will determine what I think of him.
  • Our run defence: this has been an issue for a long time. However, especially considering that we play the teams this year (particularly the entire AFC North and San Francisco) that are good at running the football, this is an area that needs particular attention. If we can't fix our run defence, this will be a painful season for us.
  • Playing defence from behind: one of my complaints about DQ's system was that, it was great in situations where we had a lead or when we knew the opponents were going to throw the ball. What I want to see is us be more balanced in the sense that I want us to still keep the turnovers coming, but we need to be better in short yardage situations and playing from behind. I felt that DQ's system caused the defence to panic a bit trying to dig for turnovers (which they relied on) as opposed to playing technically sound football. This is largely due to the point above about our struggles against the run. Teams could sort of reduce Micah Parsons' impact by confusing this team whether they were going to run or pass. If they were forced to pass, that was when Parsons would tear them a new one. If we can shut down the run and play more technically sound, I think it'll help Micah Parsons stay fresh longer throughout the season, and it should keep the turnovers coming.
What are some things that you'll be looking for?
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It's nice to get excited and do things like this....evaluating camp, pre-season games etc. I used to do that. Now a days, I just take them one at a time and enjoy the game to pass the time. I still get excited or pissed off, but it doesn't last long. Enjoy it, my friend! Sometimes I wish I could get into it like I did back in the day.
 
John813

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Guyton. How does he look at LoT? Trial by fire this offseason with Parsons and D-Law for 1 v 1 battles.
Mazi Smith. Reports on his play/reaction on snaps.
Linebackers. Just in general. From starters to who may make the team as a backup.
Cooper Beebe. Who does he kill and let live?
Jeff Heath. always in my mind and heart.
Trey Lance. Any hope towards being a starter or is he Not For Long?
 
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Ranching said:
It's nice to get excited and do things like this....evaluating camp, pre-season games etc. I used to do that. Now a days, I just take them one at a time and enjoy the game to pass the time. I still get excited or pissed off, but it doesn't last long. Enjoy it, my friend! Sometimes I wish I could get into it like I did back in the day.
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Fur sure, and it's been a long offseason. My hypothesis is that evaluating how things look in training camp can give an idea of how the team will look. It's not the fully baked pie. But, it gives an idea of where the ingredients are and how sturdy they might be. If the depth pieces look awful, then it's probably going to be a rough season. If the depth pieces look good, then it means the team is better able to weather a bad storm. Especially with our injury history of late.
 
RustyBourneHorse

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John813 said:
Guyton. How does he look at LoT? Trial by fire this offseason with Parsons and D-Law for 1 v 1 battles.
Mazi Smith. Reports on his play/reaction on snaps.
Linebackers. Just in general. From starters to who may make the team as a backup.
Cooper Beebe. Who does he kill and let live?
Jeff Heath. always in my mind and heart.
Trey Lance. Any hope towards being a starter or is he Not For Long?
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I think, behind Lance, Mazi has the most to prove this preseason and training camp. Considering how badly we need quality NT play and where we drafted him, he MUST prove himself to be a quality player. I need to see him be able to take blocks and shut down run plays on a consistent basis. Considering who we are playing this season, we desperately need him to perform like a NT.
 
shabazz

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RustyBourneHorse said:
For me, in terms of the trenches, I want to see how they run block and how they run defend. We need to be better in the run game this year. Much better
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The problem is , as I see it, is that even TC may not give us a good idea of true talent in the trenches

When we had a dominant offensive line we could get a good idea of how good our defensive line was because we all knew how good our OL was

But now we have a makeshift inxperienced Oline going against a very weak Dline in terms of the defensive tackles for sure.

Bottom line is that on paper the trenches have not added talent on either side of the ball with the exception of 1 or 2 rookies with no NFL experience

BTW, I've been watching COPA and had no idea that the players were still flopping on the ground so much to get penalties.....DePaul of Argentina is actually funny to watch
 
John813

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RustyBourneHorse said:
I think, behind Lance, Mazi has the most to prove this preseason and training camp. Considering how badly we need quality NT play and where we drafted him, he MUST prove himself to be a quality player. I need to see him be able to take blocks and shut down run plays on a consistent basis. Considering who we are playing this season, we desperately need him to perform like a NT.
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It's definitely a all in move on Mazi by the front office.

I don't have any faith in Davis/7th round rookie being able to rotation in often and be a plus player if Mazi can't make noticeable improvements this year
 
RustyBourneHorse

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shabazz said:
The problem is , as I see it, is that even TC may not give us a good idea of true talent in the trenches

When we had a dominant offensive line we could get a good idea of how good our defensive line was because we all knew how good our OL was

But now we have a makeshift inxperienced Oline going against a very weak Dline in terms of the defensive tackles for sure.

Bottom line is that on paper the trenches have not added talent on either side of the ball with the exception of 1 or 2 rookies with no NFL experience

BTW, I've been watching COPA and had no idea that the players were still flopping on the ground so much to get penalties.....DePaul of Argentina is actually funny to watch
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The diving is also a way to get rest haha. But it is kinda funny to see it. Also, that's fair when it comes to our oline vs our defence. I think the practices with other teams and the preseason games will be our best place to see how well our run defence is developing.
 
RustyBourneHorse

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John813 said:
It's definitely a all in move on Mazi by the front office.

I don't have any faith in Davis/7th round rookie being able to rotation in often and be a plus player if Mazi can't make noticeable improvements this year
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I think so think that Justin Rodgers will be a solid NT, but Mazi must step up.
 
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RustyBourneHorse said:
Fur sure, and it's been a long offseason. My hypothesis is that evaluating how things look in training camp can give an idea of how the team will look. It's not the fully baked pie. But, it gives an idea of where the ingredients are and how sturdy they might be. If the depth pieces look awful, then it's probably going to be a rough season. If the depth pieces look good, then it means the team is better able to weather a bad storm. Especially with our injury history of late.
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I know what it means, wasn't my point .
 
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Since training camp is Cowboys vs Cowboys I will wait to see how Cowboys do in preseason games - especially against 1st team players. Watching Mazi against Beebe, for example, doesn't really tell me much, although I suppose if Mazi dominated Beebe we should be concerned about Beebe, and if its the other way around, we should be concerned about Mazi. But in training camp usually the player that wins these battles is overhyped.
 
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