CowboysBlog.Net

The Cowboys will get a good test tonight against the Broncos, and its expected that the Cowboys starters will play about a quarter, the offensive line starters may see action upto the half. The Cowboys want to see how Brad Johnson fares with the offensive line starters. The Broncos will challenge the Cowboys run defense since they utilize an effective zone blocking scheme, something the Cowboys don’t go up against much. In a sense this game against the Broncos will simultaneously help prepare the Cowboys for next weeks opponent in the Houston Texans. The Texans use the same schemes as the Broncos, and that will be our dress rehersal game.

Let’s take a look at a few players we should be watching tonight:

Bobby Carpenter - if Carpenter wanted a chance to breakthrough from the shadows of a backup then tonight is the night, it starts now. Carpenter won’t get an easy pass tonight. The Broncos are one of the better run blocking teams in all of the NFL, their effective zone blocking will be a big challenge for Carpenter. Will he make the proper reads and adjustments? We will see. This really is a make or break season for Carpenter, with the health issues around Burnett and Thomas’ concussion concerns, Carpenter needs to make a statement. If he gets the job done and looks the part of his 1st round pick status he could be a huge piece in 2009, if not, look for us to draft LB early, that’s just the plain and simple truth of the matter. I’m hoping for some big games from Carp the rest of the way.

Adam Jones - Jones did not have a good outing last time around and that can be attributed to “rust,” but he needs to be able to show he can become that player we had hoped him to be - a shutdown corner. There’s no doubt in my mind that Jones will be a factor this season, but I would be more confident once we see him return to his old ways on the field.

Mike Jenkins - Jenkins had a relatively good showing last weekend, but there’s always room for improvement, you can bet the Broncos will zero in on the rookie and test him early and frequently. I want to see how he progresses in this second game.

Brad Johnson - Johnson should be getting some snaps with the first team offensive line, and if he looks like crap again, it would be safe to say we’d be looking at adding another QB, if not I would be surprised. The Cowboys are obviously scouting players and leaving their options open, so another poor performance could lead to change. We’ll see how it goes.

Martellus Bennett - he didn’t have a good game last week. We’re all seeing the same thing, so there’s not much else that needs to be said. This subject is getting old; however, Bennett needs to show he can play in this league, he hasn’t shown much yet. He’ll be given some slack due to his draft status, but that won’t last long. Let’s see how he makes adjustments to his game, will he block better, will he catch the ball in traffic? I already know Tony Curtis can do all this, can Bennett over take him for the #2 spot, not yet, not even close, tonight he’ll get another chance to.

Danny Amendola - its crunch time for Amendola, he needs to do some solid things on special teams, in coverage, and in the return game. He cannot afford to have any errors whatsoever, otherwise we can scratch him off the starting 53. As much as we all like him, he has too play exceptionally well in tonight’s game to stay in the hunt. Right now Amedola is on the bubble, he has to distance himself from the other bubble players, and special teams may be the only way he gets on the field. I do expect Amendola to get some looks tonight in the passing game though. He didn’t get any passes last preseason game, but we should see him in action tonight.

Felix Jones/Tashard Choice - so far so good with these two guys. I can’t wait to see how they perform again. I want to see that same authoratative running again tonight. I’d like to see Jones out there in a two back set with Choice and go after people with them. I know we’re going to see some two back sets with Barber and Jones, but we could also see the same thing with Jones and Choice when Barber gets a breather. The Cowboys have really set themselves up with alot of options with these guys. Let’s see how they do tonight.

Austin vs. Hurd - That’s the battle we’re going to see tonight, this is clearly a two player battle for the #3 WR. Stanback is not even in this competition, I think we’ve come to the fact that Stanback won’t be a factor this season and still in a development mode…wasted pick. For now it’ll be time for Austin to replicate his performance from last week. My biggest knock on Austin has been his consistency and his hands. Can he keep catching the ball and can he get open and make plays. I’m not completely sold on Austin’s ressurgence from last week, we’ll see. Hurd didn’t do much at all last week, and that was surprising that he did not step up. Hurd needs to make a statement, catch everything that comes your way and get open. I’d like to see both these guys do well, but we need at least one of them to seperate themselves from the rest going into the season.

Special Teams - we have the players to be decent, and the Cowboys special teams units have been horrid, the same story from last season. If we do into the season with the same crap play it WILL come back to bite us in the butt. If we’re in a close game and we let the opposing team start near field goal range due to bad tackling on a punt or kickoff then forget it. Phillips has been touted as a coach who is good at making adjustments from half to half and from game to game. Surely, if the special teams woes continue we’ll see a change at the coaching position. Read better have these guys playing, or he needs to be let go.

NFL Gamecenter

Kevin Burnett is in Dallas getting his knee scoped out and will be shelved for a few weeks with the hopes of returning by the season opener against the Cleveland Browns. According to Eatman at DC.com, Burnett said retirement crossed his mind after this latest setback.

Since Burnett joined the Cowboys in 2005 as a second-round pick, he has undergone six surgeries, with Friday’s procedure to be his seventh. And that’s not counting reconstructive surgery he had on his left knee during his collegiate career at Tennessee.

But Burnett said he’s long past being upset about the injuries, which mostly have occurred in the off-season, considering he’s missed just three games in his three seasons.

“I can’t change it. There’s no reason to get mad or frustrated anymore,” Burnett said. “I’ve had my days of being mad and frustrated. You can’t get mad. (Surgery) still has to be done either way, whether you’re playing football or you’re not.

“Right now, I’m care-free because it could’ve been worse. I could’ve been done.”

And by “done,” Burnett said retirement has at least crossed his mind. Not because he doesn’t feel he can contribute, but with the surgeries starting to add up, the linebacker said it has crossed his mind.(DC.com)

Burnett is in a contract year, and you can bet the Cowboys won’t be re-signing Burnett, he’s been a good back up, but he’s never been 100%, and the knee surgeries are a concern on several fronts. Start watching LBs for next year’s draft, you can never have enough LBs in the 3-4. I think we’re set with Ware and Spencer for years to come. Bradie James signed an extension in 2006 which ends in 2011, so he’ll be there. Zach Thomas has a 1yr deal, but he’s playing on borrowed time, his concussions are a concern, so one more could seal the deal on retirement. I do see him doing some really good things for us this year, so anything is possible. Other than that, we have former 1st rounder in Carpenter. Can he fill the void this year or next year? These are questions that will be addressed during this season and into the 2009 draft. I expect more LBs to be added via the draft next year, it just makes sense.

We’ve been through this before, another camp and another season with a hobbled Kevin Burnett. Of course, injuries are a part of the game, but once you have them over and over again, there’s obviously a degenerative issue going on. Burnett has bad knees, came in as a rookie injured, and its the same story. So, before you’re ready to dump Carpenter, be glad he’s solid and geared up for more playing time, looks like he’ll be called upon to help fill the void now and probably through the season. Hopefully Burnett’s injury is not too severe, but we’ll have to see.

The Cowboys must conduct further tests to determine the severity of the injury. Owner Jerry Jones said it’s too early to say if Burnett will miss Saturday’s preseason game against the Broncos. However, other players were held out last week against the Chargers as a precaution.

As for the MRI, Jones said: “We got a little encouragement there. We’ll take a look at it in a couple of days.” (DMN)

If Burnett misses amount of time the defensive schemes will probably need to be tweaked a little to compensate in differences in play between Burnett and Carpenter. Carpenter has value because of his flexibility at LB.

You can say what you want, but our 2nd round pick Martellus Bennett looks like a wash, a bust, whatever you want to call it. I don’t buy the whole give him time deal at this point. At this point its about work ethic and the will to play for one of the NFL’s best teams, the Dallas Cowboys. How can a player not want to play in Dallas, a team with a rich tradition, and worldwide acclaim.

His camp reports have been poor, his work ethic matches his onfield body language, drops passes, half ass blocking in preseason; moreover, he’s missed a practice due to a “personal matter” Something doesn’t seem to jive considering today’s events.

4:35 — Second-round TE Martellus Bennett isn’t out there. At this point, we’re not sure whether his absence is related to the personal issue that kept him out of Thursday afternoon’s practice. We’ll let you know what we know when we know something.

5:15 — Martellus Bennett made his way to the practice field about 10 minutes ago. We’re still not sure what’s up with him, but we’ll find out after practice.

5:22 — OK, time to hit some questions. … Pressure as Martellus Bennett’s kryptonite? I don’t know about that. The vague info I got about his “personal issue” from last week has nothing to do with pressure or his commitment to football. We don’t know why he was late today yet. (DMNBlog)

TE Martellus Bennett confirmed that he miss the first 40 minutes or so of today’s practice because he was tending to a personal matter. Yes, it was the same personal matter that caused Bennett to miss Thursday afternoon’s practice.

Bennett said the issue has been resolved, and that it doesn’t have anything to do with the NFL. Jerry Jones said he believes the issue was in the past and that Bennett was involved in an “observer-type role.” (DMNBlog)

Here’s the deal…we traded former 2nd round pick Anthony Fasano, and replaced him with this rookie? I think people are saying “uh oh” right about now. You’re a 2nd round pick, the spotlight is going to be on you, and you’re not practicing. If you’re not practicing, you’re not playing for me, and that means another 2nd round bust! I’m stealing this from NFL Network’s Mike Mayock, but right now, Bennett has “Predictive Behavior” that would lead me to believe this is not going to get better. I’m hoping for the best, but I’m not holding my breath.

Bennett is just another player in a string of recent 2nd round “bust type” players. Let’s look here, and say the 2nd round has been a jinx to us in recent years:

2008: TE Martellus Bennett, pending, but its not looking good.
2006: TE Anthony Fasano, too high of a pick after the fact, not a complete bust, but didn’t do much.

2005: LB Kevin Burnett, a late bloomer, just now playing decent, injury prone

2004: OT Jacob Rogers, biggest bust in years, complete utter bust

2003: C Al Johnson, couldn’t beat out Andre Gurode, and was injury prone alot

2002: WR Antonio Bryant, complete bust

2001: QB Quincy Carter, complete bust

The 2nd round hasn’t been so nice to us in recent years.

Tony Curtis is #2 TE bar none. Bennett is barely a step above Rodney Hannah at this point, they could be battling for a practice squad position. I’m kidding, Bennett probably makes the team just because of his high draft status, but who knows.

If you thought the Cowboys backups looked horrible you weren’t alone, apparently the Cowboys think the same as well. On Saturday night Chris Simms had a strong outing going 8 of 10 for 60yards, and a TD ending his night with an impressive 91.7 passer rating. Guess who was on site watching…The Cowboys. The Cowboys are actively scouting Simms:

For Simms, the results are probably incidental. If he continues to play well, maybe another team is willing to give up a fifth-round draft pick in a trade. (Among the teams with scouts in the press box Saturday night were the Bears and Cowboys, both of whom seem to have interest in Simms.) (St.PetersburgTimes)

Very interesting little nugget of news. I’m happy the Cowboys are doing their due diligence, because its clear we don’t have a viable option at backup right now, seriously. Simms has been throttled down in Tampa and needs a fresh start in Dallas. He has the Texas ties, something Phillips likes as well. If the Bucs want a 5th rounder, that’s not even a second guess for me, make the deal happen and get Simms up to speed. Can you imagine how much better Simms would do under Garrett?

Jerry, make the move.

Ok, the Cowboys just got trounced by the Chargers. The Cowboys first teamers, and first series dominated the Chargers, so in the long run, I’m not concerned. What I am concerned about is the horrid special teams play. I didn’t like our special teams play last year, and it looks like we picked up from last year.

I’m sorry, we have good players, so what’s the deal? I would have to say Coach Bruce Read is NOT getting it done. Out of all the crappy play from tonight, the despicable play on special teams highlights the game’s major shortcomings. Second to special teams would be the penalties and lack of concentration, just bad stuff all game.

Now to the individuals, the first teamers are all the real deal and looked sharp. Let’s look at some player highlights that stood out good and bad:

RB Felix Jones - man did this guy look good, I mean, can you imagine what Jones is going to do for us in the regular season. Felix is a definite upgrade over Julius Jones from last season. Most notable is his pass catching ability, its solid. He’s shifty, and can crank up that speed on a dime, very impressed by his play tonight.

RB Tashard Choice - another steal in the 4th round, Choice looks pretty good, he’ll be the #3 RB, and I expect him to contribute. He runs with authority, he runs like a Barber/Emmitt hybrid. He had a solid game.

WR Miles Austin - I got to give hims some props, he made himself noticed and made catches when the ball was in his area. 5 catches for 64 yards, not too bad at all. Now, can he be consistent going the rest of the way. Austin outplayed the rest of the receivers tonight.

TE Tony Curtis - he’s the #2 TE right now, and its not even close in my book. He has good hands, snatched the ball out of the air and makes plays when the ball came his way.

CB Mike Jenkins - Jenkins looked good in my opinion, he had some solid coverage and made some open field tackles. Jenkins will be a contributing factor this year. I liked what I saw in this first game, going against this type of offensive scheme Jenkins did some good things.

TE Martellus Bennett - this guy isn’t ready to be a starter. I want him to play well, but his half ass block on Shaun Phillips was pathetic, and another dropped pass that was very catchable. He needs to pick it up or we’re going to need to consider some contingencies down the line. Right now, he’s probably just a step above Rodney Hannah from the practice squad, seriously. Its still early, so I can’t be too rough, but he’s a 2nd rounder, so he’ll get some time to produce.

Quarterbacks - guess what? I hope Jerry is on the phone dialing up Jon Gruden, Brad Johnson’s arm is dead, he’s playing like Testaverde if not worse. We’re in serious trouble if Romo is ever out for whatever reason. Richard Bartel is not any better. We dropped the ball on Matt Moore, and now we’re here in this situation. Don’t try to sugar coat it,…we need another QB in here, like…this week.

WR Danny Amendola - it was a rough night for Amendola, he fumbled a punt which lead to a Chargers touchdown, after that he disappeared and didn’t get the opportunity to catch any passes even in the forth quarter.

WR Isaiah Stanback - this is a wasted pick man, its an expierement and he’s not ready, not even close to Hurd or Austin’s level. He, like Amendola didn’t look good in the return game either. He’ll make the team, but I just don’t see it.

These are the things that stood out the most tonight. For sure Special Teams needs a change, its the same crap coverage from last year. Jerry call up Joe Avezzano, for real.

The Cowboys are in San Diego for their first preseason game of the year. By this time of the year, players are ready to bang heads against opposing teams rather than fellow teammates they’ve been seeing all training camp. It is a preseason game, so I wouldn’t expect much action from the starters, maybe a few series at the most. This is already being called a preview to the SuperBowl, and while this is a premature assumption it could very well happen. We’ll see how the unpredictable season goes.

For now, let’s look at a few players we should be looking at during this game:

CB Mike Jenkins - Jenkins is part of the secondary upgrades the Cowboys were in desperate need of upgrading this offseason, so looking at Jenkins against a Norv Turner offense will be a great test for the rookie. He’s slated to start in this game, so he’ll see action against the Chargers 1st teamers. I’ll be watching how he matches up and makes his reads.

RB Felix Jones - besides Jenkins, Jones is the second guy I can’t wait to see in action. He’ll get his reps against a pretty solid Chargers defense. I want to see how he does in pass blocking, and it’ll be interesting how the Cowboys utilize him. Camp reports have him in some two back combos with Barber, so this will be nice to see. Jones already has better hands in the passing game than Julius Jones, so we could see some more dump offs of some dreaded screens. Historically, the Cowboys have been a horrible screen team, but maybe Garrett has some new schemes to test out with Jones.

TE Martellus Bennett - let’s face it, the camp reports have been consistenly negative on Bennett, so I want to see how he does in live action. Is his issue with practice the same as it is in live action, if so, we blew a pick here; however, if he comes out and plays good then, he’ll get a reprieve from Cowboys Nation. Bennett is in a battle for the #TE with Tony Curtis, so we’ll see who steps it up.

WR Danny Amendola - he gained attention with his plays in minicamps, and has continued to shine in training camp. I want to see how they utilize Amendola. You cannot deny a passing threat, so if Amendola keeps doing what he’s been doing, this undrafted rookie could leap frog several receivers. Practice is one thing, this live action will be significant to me, I’m pulling for him and hope the good news continues tonight. If he does well, you can start to pencil him on the 53 man roster. I don’t see the Cowboys dropping the ball on this find like they did with Matt Moore last year.

SS Roy Williams - no one is scruntized more on the team than Williams, and tonight will either have the doubters back entrenched more than ever, or maybe they will be surprised with his play. What I want to see is how they use Roy Williams, are they going to leave him on the field on passing downs, or will they sit him down, or move him around in nickle/dime packages. We will see.

DE Marcus Spears - this is a break or make year for Spears, yes he has been good on run defense, but the Phillps 34 is an attacking defense. Spears has not been that player under Parcells or Phillips. Reports have him swapping spots with defensive monster Jay Ratliff. Like I said before, when they start moving you around there’s an underlying issue. For Spears, they are trying to find him a spot to use him best, he’s not good at DE, and I don’t see how he’ll do any better up the middle at NT where Ratliff has been reaking havoc.

Wide Receivers - with Glenn gone, we’ll want to see who steps up in the passing game. So watch them closely too, Stanback, Hurd and Austin, pretty much all of them. Personally, I like Hurd the most from those three. Austin needs to be consistent in catching the ball, if I see more dropped passes from him that’ll be all she wrote in my eyes. Stanback is still in training mode, we’ll see how much he’s progressed.

Cowboys @ Chargers, NFL Network 9pm CST

NFL Gamecenter

With two solid years under his belt, Tony Romo has leap frogged the rest of his 2003 draft class, QBs like: Palmer, Leftwhich, Boller, Grossman, Ragone, Simms, Wallace, Bollinger, and Drew Henson. I would say its safe to say that Romo is the head of the 2003 class. Most of these QBs are marginal backups or out of the league completely. Carson Palmer has done alright, but Romo has surpassed him.

Expectations certainly have changed with Romo, one of 13 Pro Bowl players back on a team that tied a franchise record by winning 13 games in his first full season as the starter. That was before the Cowboys’ playoff loss in January to the New York Giants, after which Terrell Owens tearfully defended the quarterback.

Dallas is now a legitimate Super Bowl contender, going into 2008 as a favourite in the NFC - with the quarterback who was backing up Drew Bledsoe in 2006 when the Cowboys broke from their last California camp. Romo is the 10th starter in Dallas since Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman played his last game in 2000. (AP)

Expectations for Romo & Co. are probably higher than ever; however, I do expect the Cowboys to come out exploding teams from start to finish this year. The defense will be into the 2nd year of the aggressive styled Phillips 34, and the offense will be in its 2nd year under Jason Garrett. Its going to be a good year.

The Hall of Fame game officially kicks off the 2008 football season, and looking ahead to the next batch of Hall of Famers, our very own Darren Woodson becomes eligible as a 1st year ballot. Other players eligible are, Shannon Sharpe, Rod Woodson, John Randle, and Bruce Smith to name a few.

DR. Z gives his take on Darren Woodson:

“I have no trouble with either defensive back, though. Rod Woodson certainly deserves it. Darren? Played a unique position for the Cowboys. Did everything a safetyman had to do, strongside or weak. Hell of a special teamer, too. Yes, a terrific player, a Hall of Famer.” (SI)

Darren Woodson should be a Hall of Famer for sure, he was the heart of the Cowboys defenses until her retired, when he was out of the lineup, the defense was not the same. Woodson is the perfect example of a Hall of Famer, his work on and off the field have been well documented, he’s a great guy, the type of player the NFL wants.
Some other interesting reads:

Dat Nguyen and Zach Thomas are on the same page

Five Views of Pat McQuistan

This is a story I’ll be watching this camp. Marcus Spears is pretty close to being a certified bust. First question will be whether or not he can actually finish a camp healthy, and whether or not someone can finally bounce him from the starting role. I look for Jason Hatcher to get the nod here, he’s shown more explosion during games, and has been a menace in the backfield harrassing the QB. Jay Ratliff could also see some time at DE, that’s the word so far. I would have to say that a Ratliff/Hatcher combo would be one of the best rotations on defense if this were the case.

DMN Blog has a small comment on Spears by saying:

The threat of more time on the sideline would seem like a great motivator for a guy with two seasons left on his rookie contract. Spears certainly looked like he had a fire lit beneath him this morning.

This is the same thing we saw from Spears each of the last camps, he looks the part in camp, but completely disappears during the season, please, let’s move on to some real defense like Hatcher. I’m done with Spears, he can gets raves during camp all he wants, but its the same story each year. I’m not even sure this is a make or break year for Spears, its more like he’ll need to play well to get some snaps for a new contract for another team, we’re not re-signing him.

Ken Hamlin is expected to sign a six-year, $39 million deal with $15 million guaranteed. Jerry has just capped off a very-very impressive offseason. Onward to Oxnard!