- Thread starter dbair1967
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Huge addition. We have the best CB tandem in the league and probably the best top-3 CB in the league too.
And all 3 of them are guys that can go get the ball in the air.
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there's been a lot of sunshine pumping reports about cooks and gilmore already and training camp hasnt even started yet
its like DAL suddenly figured out that adding IMPACT free agents to their roster actually might make a difference
gotta thank guys like fowler, hankins, hooker, and kearse for showing them the light
bobby wagner feels like the one that got away... he should be a cowboy, and then we'd prob be hearing the same shit about a leap in development for cox and clark plus a rejuvenated LVE
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i stole this from another DAL message board. somebody there has a membership to the athletic and posts good paywall stuff:
Here are my 10 biggest takeaways from watching rookie minicamp, organized team activities and minicamp over the last month.
1. Dak Prescott looked like he had a strong understanding of what McCarthy is trying to accomplish with the team’s new offense. After all, the most important part is making sure Prescott is comfortable with the changes. Prescott called the new look the “Texas Coast Offense,” a combination of the West Coast offense and Dallas’ previous offense. New offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer said about 70 percent will be similar to what they ran last season.
“At the end of the day, the quarterback needs to own the offense,” McCarthy said. “I have no interest in being known as some guru coach or a smart coach. I want smart, Hall of Fame-type quarterbacks. The only way to get there is to make them own the offense.
“(Prescott) has done a really good job of taking ownership of that. He’s knocked it out of the park.”
2. With no pads or hitting in the trenches, it’s difficult to come away with a strong take on first-round pick Mazi Smith. The 6-foot-3, 325-pound defensive tackle certainly looks the part. But until the team starts practicing in Oxnard, Calif., we don’t know for sure what his immediate impact will be. The best news is that he appears to be in good shape and he’s healthy.
“It’s hard this time of year,” All-Pro right guard Zack Martin said. “We’re slowing it down a little bit this offseason. But you can tell on tape. For a big man, he bends extremely well and obviously very strong, everyone knows that. He’s going to be a great addition to our team. We should have some good battles in training camp.”
3. Despite some chatter about Micah Parsons focusing on playing only defensive end this season, he continued to be moved around during the offseason program. He said he is still preparing to play all of the positions in the front seven and maybe even more.
“My job is to help find matchups,” Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn said. “Micah and others, to put guys in spots where we can really allow them to rip and kick ass. That’s been my goal all along. We’ve got a lot of unique players. How we feature Donovan (Wilson), (Jayron Kearse), Micah, Dorance Armstrong and others, we like to move them around and put them into different spots.
“We’re not gonna ask somebody to do something that they’ve never done or haven’t been ready for. This is a good time to explore that.”
4. I still don’t completely understand why they haven’t signed another kicker. Tristan Vizcaino handled all of those duties during OTAs and minicamp. He’s had some good days, but it’s still likely that the team’s kicker for the season is not on the roster. Vizcaino was 7 of 9 on his field goal attempts Wednesday. He was 8 for 8 on Tuesday with his longest coming from 55 yards. Why are they still waiting? “We don’t see the guy that we want to trigger on yet,” Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said this week. “We’ll work through that.” Dallas plans to have at least two kickers when training camp starts.
5. All signs have pointed to the Cowboys getting more than just upgrades on the field with their trades for cornerback Stephon Gilmore and WR Brandin Cooks. Many have raved about how impactful those two veterans have been with the younger players on the team.
“When we (traded for Gilmore),” Quinn said, “I bet I got 10-12 calls or texts saying, ‘DQ, this is your kind of guy. You’re gonna love this guy.’ That told me a lot. And then in the first interaction, just knowing how hard he works at it and then seeing the connection with (Trevon Diggs) to start and then with some others, that was a big deal for me. (It says), ‘Not only do I have all this knowledge, but I’m willing to share that wisdom.’ That’s a really important thing for coaches to do, but also for veteran ballplayers to do if they have that ability to share.”
Schottenheimer specifically mentioned the impact Cooks has had on second-year WR Jalen Tolbert, who struggled during his rookie season.
“Jalen Tolbert has had an incredible camp,” Schottenheimer said. “If you talk to Jalen, what he’s gonna tell you is he has spent a ton of time with Brandin. Here’s a guy who has been there, done that, and he wants to encourage and invest in the younger guys. Those guys spend a lot of time together. What Brandin brings us is way more than just speed. It’s really fun to watch him run, but what I love is the competitor and the way he’s encouraging that entire room of receivers. It’s been awesome.
“Drew Brees and I are very close. When we made the move to get Brandin, the very first text I got was from Drew. He was like, ‘You are gonna love this guy.’ And Drew is a hard guy to give out a lot of positive reinforcement.”
6. I expect KaVontae Turpin to make the 53-man roster and continue being the Cowboys’ primary kick and punt returner. While there were some opportunities given to rookie running back Deuce Vaughn and RB Malik Davis, Turpin handled the majority of the return reps over the last month. Could the Cowboys save a roster spot by allowing Vaughn to handle those duties while also working as a backup RB? Sure. But Turpin brings more juice to the return game, and the plan is for him to get more opportunities at wide receiver. Turpin, Tolbert and Simi Fehoko got the most reps as the second-team wide receiver group.
“He’s a playmaker,” Prescott said of Turpin. “We’ve just got to get that guy the ball in space. You see how dynamic he is when he gets the ball, whether it be the return game or whatever it is. He’s somebody, we’ve just got to find ways to get him included more on offense, and that comes with more at-bats at the ball and being able to get more playmakers more opportunities at it.”
7. If the offensive line is at full health entering the season, my projected starters are Tyron Smith at left tackle, Tyler Smith at left guard, Tyler Biadasz at center, Martin at right guard and Terence Steele at right tackle. Of course, full health is asking a lot from a group that has struggled to achieve that over the last few years. Left guard remains the biggest question on offense. The coaches feel good about what they have at possible tackle options with Tyron Smith, Tyler Smith, Steele and Matt Waletzko. But someone needs to emerge to help out and potentially start at guard. The most likely candidates as of today are Chuma Edoga, Matt Farniok and Josh Ball. If none appear to be a great option by September, a veteran addition could be needed.
8. I still wonder if they’ll add another veteran running back. Tony Pollard is the clear starter. Davis, Ronald Jones, Vaughn and Rico Dowdle are next in line. Maybe that’s enough. If not, much like left guard, an addition could be needed in late August or September. McCarthy was asked Thursday about Pro Bowl running back Dalvin Cook, who was recently released by the Minnesota Vikings. Even if the Cowboys were interested, he’s likely out of their price range. The 27-year-old was averaging $12.6 million per season with the Vikings.
“From a personal perspective, I have great respect for his game,” McCarthy said. “Player acquisition goes on 365 days a year. I don’t really have any comment on anybody outside of our roster.”
9. It was a little concerning for rookie tight end Luke Schoonmaker to be limited with a foot issue. The second-round pick was in a walking boot last week. He was not this week, but he worked off to the side. The last thing the Cowboys want is for Schoonmaker to lose out on valuable field work, which proved to be an issue for Tolbert last year when he missed time with a hamstring injury.
“The missed time is obviously something that you don’t want, especially with a young guy,” Cowboys tight ends coach Lunda Wells said. “But we’ve done a nice job of maximizing the opportunities we do have in the meetings, doing the stuff that we can do here on the grass, ball drills and stuff like that. We’re gonna have to make some hay come training camp in terms of his work on the field, but that’s OK. He’s a guy that works hard, he’s smart, already has a lot of good tools that you like. We’ll get ahead of it.”
10. The best play from the media availability portions of the offseason program was Prescott’s deep ball to Cooks on Wednesday in seven-on-seven work. While it’s difficult to get a lot out of walk-through type practices, it’s very evident that Cooks’ speed is still a great weapon that the Cowboys will be adding to their offense.
Here are my 10 biggest takeaways from watching rookie minicamp, organized team activities and minicamp over the last month.
1. Dak Prescott looked like he had a strong understanding of what McCarthy is trying to accomplish with the team’s new offense. After all, the most important part is making sure Prescott is comfortable with the changes. Prescott called the new look the “Texas Coast Offense,” a combination of the West Coast offense and Dallas’ previous offense. New offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer said about 70 percent will be similar to what they ran last season.
“At the end of the day, the quarterback needs to own the offense,” McCarthy said. “I have no interest in being known as some guru coach or a smart coach. I want smart, Hall of Fame-type quarterbacks. The only way to get there is to make them own the offense.
“(Prescott) has done a really good job of taking ownership of that. He’s knocked it out of the park.”
2. With no pads or hitting in the trenches, it’s difficult to come away with a strong take on first-round pick Mazi Smith. The 6-foot-3, 325-pound defensive tackle certainly looks the part. But until the team starts practicing in Oxnard, Calif., we don’t know for sure what his immediate impact will be. The best news is that he appears to be in good shape and he’s healthy.
“It’s hard this time of year,” All-Pro right guard Zack Martin said. “We’re slowing it down a little bit this offseason. But you can tell on tape. For a big man, he bends extremely well and obviously very strong, everyone knows that. He’s going to be a great addition to our team. We should have some good battles in training camp.”
3. Despite some chatter about Micah Parsons focusing on playing only defensive end this season, he continued to be moved around during the offseason program. He said he is still preparing to play all of the positions in the front seven and maybe even more.
“My job is to help find matchups,” Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn said. “Micah and others, to put guys in spots where we can really allow them to rip and kick ass. That’s been my goal all along. We’ve got a lot of unique players. How we feature Donovan (Wilson), (Jayron Kearse), Micah, Dorance Armstrong and others, we like to move them around and put them into different spots.
“We’re not gonna ask somebody to do something that they’ve never done or haven’t been ready for. This is a good time to explore that.”
4. I still don’t completely understand why they haven’t signed another kicker. Tristan Vizcaino handled all of those duties during OTAs and minicamp. He’s had some good days, but it’s still likely that the team’s kicker for the season is not on the roster. Vizcaino was 7 of 9 on his field goal attempts Wednesday. He was 8 for 8 on Tuesday with his longest coming from 55 yards. Why are they still waiting? “We don’t see the guy that we want to trigger on yet,” Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said this week. “We’ll work through that.” Dallas plans to have at least two kickers when training camp starts.
5. All signs have pointed to the Cowboys getting more than just upgrades on the field with their trades for cornerback Stephon Gilmore and WR Brandin Cooks. Many have raved about how impactful those two veterans have been with the younger players on the team.
“When we (traded for Gilmore),” Quinn said, “I bet I got 10-12 calls or texts saying, ‘DQ, this is your kind of guy. You’re gonna love this guy.’ That told me a lot. And then in the first interaction, just knowing how hard he works at it and then seeing the connection with (Trevon Diggs) to start and then with some others, that was a big deal for me. (It says), ‘Not only do I have all this knowledge, but I’m willing to share that wisdom.’ That’s a really important thing for coaches to do, but also for veteran ballplayers to do if they have that ability to share.”
Schottenheimer specifically mentioned the impact Cooks has had on second-year WR Jalen Tolbert, who struggled during his rookie season.
“Jalen Tolbert has had an incredible camp,” Schottenheimer said. “If you talk to Jalen, what he’s gonna tell you is he has spent a ton of time with Brandin. Here’s a guy who has been there, done that, and he wants to encourage and invest in the younger guys. Those guys spend a lot of time together. What Brandin brings us is way more than just speed. It’s really fun to watch him run, but what I love is the competitor and the way he’s encouraging that entire room of receivers. It’s been awesome.
“Drew Brees and I are very close. When we made the move to get Brandin, the very first text I got was from Drew. He was like, ‘You are gonna love this guy.’ And Drew is a hard guy to give out a lot of positive reinforcement.”
6. I expect KaVontae Turpin to make the 53-man roster and continue being the Cowboys’ primary kick and punt returner. While there were some opportunities given to rookie running back Deuce Vaughn and RB Malik Davis, Turpin handled the majority of the return reps over the last month. Could the Cowboys save a roster spot by allowing Vaughn to handle those duties while also working as a backup RB? Sure. But Turpin brings more juice to the return game, and the plan is for him to get more opportunities at wide receiver. Turpin, Tolbert and Simi Fehoko got the most reps as the second-team wide receiver group.
“He’s a playmaker,” Prescott said of Turpin. “We’ve just got to get that guy the ball in space. You see how dynamic he is when he gets the ball, whether it be the return game or whatever it is. He’s somebody, we’ve just got to find ways to get him included more on offense, and that comes with more at-bats at the ball and being able to get more playmakers more opportunities at it.”
7. If the offensive line is at full health entering the season, my projected starters are Tyron Smith at left tackle, Tyler Smith at left guard, Tyler Biadasz at center, Martin at right guard and Terence Steele at right tackle. Of course, full health is asking a lot from a group that has struggled to achieve that over the last few years. Left guard remains the biggest question on offense. The coaches feel good about what they have at possible tackle options with Tyron Smith, Tyler Smith, Steele and Matt Waletzko. But someone needs to emerge to help out and potentially start at guard. The most likely candidates as of today are Chuma Edoga, Matt Farniok and Josh Ball. If none appear to be a great option by September, a veteran addition could be needed.
8. I still wonder if they’ll add another veteran running back. Tony Pollard is the clear starter. Davis, Ronald Jones, Vaughn and Rico Dowdle are next in line. Maybe that’s enough. If not, much like left guard, an addition could be needed in late August or September. McCarthy was asked Thursday about Pro Bowl running back Dalvin Cook, who was recently released by the Minnesota Vikings. Even if the Cowboys were interested, he’s likely out of their price range. The 27-year-old was averaging $12.6 million per season with the Vikings.
“From a personal perspective, I have great respect for his game,” McCarthy said. “Player acquisition goes on 365 days a year. I don’t really have any comment on anybody outside of our roster.”
9. It was a little concerning for rookie tight end Luke Schoonmaker to be limited with a foot issue. The second-round pick was in a walking boot last week. He was not this week, but he worked off to the side. The last thing the Cowboys want is for Schoonmaker to lose out on valuable field work, which proved to be an issue for Tolbert last year when he missed time with a hamstring injury.
“The missed time is obviously something that you don’t want, especially with a young guy,” Cowboys tight ends coach Lunda Wells said. “But we’ve done a nice job of maximizing the opportunities we do have in the meetings, doing the stuff that we can do here on the grass, ball drills and stuff like that. We’re gonna have to make some hay come training camp in terms of his work on the field, but that’s OK. He’s a guy that works hard, he’s smart, already has a lot of good tools that you like. We’ll get ahead of it.”
10. The best play from the media availability portions of the offseason program was Prescott’s deep ball to Cooks on Wednesday in seven-on-seven work. While it’s difficult to get a lot out of walk-through type practices, it’s very evident that Cooks’ speed is still a great weapon that the Cowboys will be adding to their offense.
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hankins on mazi smith and DAL's defense:
"I'm just excited to be back and to be able to make another run with these guys," said Hankins.
"It's nice to see a Michigan guy get drafted in the first round, even though I'm a Buckeye," said Hankins while wearing his signature ear-to-ear grin.
"Dude is probably one of the strongest guys on the team. I'm definitely honored to be able to mentor him, show him the way and try to help him develop."
"That D-line room is nasty," said Hankins, shaking his head in literal amazement.
"Every time I talk about it, I'm just so excited and not just to talk about it, but to be a part of it. We're working hard, getting each other better and we're some bad (MFers). That's just the way we do things, and that's what our motto is."
"Every guy in that room — it doesn't matter who gets the shine," said Hankins.
"We feed off of one another. It just feels good. It's nice to be around a team like this, that's orchestrated well and you don't get that many opportunities; especially for me, I'm in my 11th season and I've only been to the playoffs twice."
"This team, for years to come, is gonna be something. I see this defense getting even scarier for offensive guys."
"I'm just excited to be back and to be able to make another run with these guys," said Hankins.
"It's nice to see a Michigan guy get drafted in the first round, even though I'm a Buckeye," said Hankins while wearing his signature ear-to-ear grin.
"Dude is probably one of the strongest guys on the team. I'm definitely honored to be able to mentor him, show him the way and try to help him develop."
"That D-line room is nasty," said Hankins, shaking his head in literal amazement.
"Every time I talk about it, I'm just so excited and not just to talk about it, but to be a part of it. We're working hard, getting each other better and we're some bad (MFers). That's just the way we do things, and that's what our motto is."
"Every guy in that room — it doesn't matter who gets the shine," said Hankins.
"We feed off of one another. It just feels good. It's nice to be around a team like this, that's orchestrated well and you don't get that many opportunities; especially for me, I'm in my 11th season and I've only been to the playoffs twice."
"This team, for years to come, is gonna be something. I see this defense getting even scarier for offensive guys."
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Bobby Wagner cost too much, that's why he isnt here.
Gilmore and Cooks were quality players that they got for peanuts, thats the difference.
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But maybe you go over budget to bring in a guy like wagner. Makes too much sense
But no stevie doesnt think so
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Unless he could magically prevent our QB from untimely interceptions, I fail to see how much he would have really improved the team. The defense was really good most of the time last yr and definitely played good enough for us to beat SF in January.