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Jason Garrett: On if he is disappointing with Anthony Spencer, Tony Romo's normalness
By SportsDayDFW sports
websports@dallasnews.com | Bio
3:06 PM on Tue., Aug. 16, 2011
Transcript of Dallas Cowboys coach Jason Garrett's press conference on Tuesday:
On how he would size up the way things have gone so far this year:
"I think things have gone well. One of the things we talk to our players a lot about is being resourceful, being flexible and being adaptable. I think this year is a great opportunity for our team to show that. Obviously in the offseason we didn't have the OTA's and the minicamp. We were all excited as coaches to see how our players were going to come back. I think they came back in fairly good shape, fairly good football shape. We've gotten off to a good start. You guys have heard me talk about this before a lot, we live in today. We've gotten off to a good start, but the most important thing for us is to do right now is focus on this afternoon's practice. We feel good about where we've been but we're more concerned about where we're going right now."
On whether he expects John Kitna to practice this afternoon:
"We'll see. He didn't practice yesterday. He hurt his back a little bit, so we're just kind of monitoring it day-to-day. We don't think it's a serious thing. Again, like with some of the injuries that we've had with some of our other guys, it's a good opportunity for the younger players to get some more snaps; Stephen (McGee), Tom Brandstater got some more. We'll see how he feels today and we'll evaluate here in a couple of hours."
On whether the first groups that played on the offensive and defensive line yesterday will carry over into the game on Sunday and the regular season:
"I don't think it's safe to say that. We're continuing to look at different combinations up front on both the offensive and defensive lines and we'll continue to do that today."
On whether there had been some disappointment with Anthony Spencer not being able to help back up DeMarcus Ware and whether Coach Garrett is comfortable that Spencer is ready to break out:
"(Anthony Spencer) Spence has been a strong contributor opposite DeMarcus Ware. I think that if you ask teams around the league, I know if you ask coaches around the league, they have an issue every week with our outside linebackers. It's a pretty simple thing in the NFL to say there's a great rusher over here, we're going to turn the whole line over there; we're going to put a tight end over there. But when you have two guys who can make it difficult for either offensive tackles, or tight ends, or (running)backs to block them, it really becomes a problem. At different times Spence has been more productive than at other times. Some of that probably has to do with the attention that he's gotten opposite DeMarcus. You guys know the issues when you have two elite rushers outside and you have number 90 (Jay Ratliff) playing nose tackle for you they can't turn and double and do all of that stuff to all of them. We feel like the combination of those three guys is good. We feel like each of those guys can get better individually and hopefully help us get better collectively."
On Victor Butler:
"Victor butler's had a very good start to training camp; had a very good game the other night. He's a guy who's showing up on a more consistent basis. Again, we're looking for guys to do that, and we're looking for guys who do that and somehow find opportunities for them."
On whether he thinks Anthony Spencer is an elite pass rusher:
"Not really for me to decide about elite pass rushers. We need to live in the world of Spence needs to get better today in practice. He's certainly a guy that teams know can be a very good pass rusher, has been that in the past, has been a guy when he's not making sacks is pushing the pocket and pressuring quarterbacks. He, like our whole football team, needs to do that on a more consistent basis."
On the young guys and the position battles and how much separation could be seen especially with the practices against the San Diego Chargers:
"I think the practices with the Chargers are like any other day in training camp. We'll evaluate them, we'll look at them, we'll look at them play-by-play, see how guys handle the different situations they're in, see if they're ready to take the next step get the next opportunity and that's really throughout our football team. We have a lot of young guys who are going about it the right way trying to compete for spots on this roster and we like that. We think the San Diego practice will be good for us to continue to evaluate them for a couple more days prior to playing that San Diego game. It's a day-by-day thing. I think they're going about it the right way; coming out and understanding that it's an opportunity each day for them to show us as coaches what they can do."
On how he will structure those practices and whether there is any more he can do with special teams:
"The structure of those practices will be very similar to what we did in the first part of our blue-white scrimmage. Thursday's practice at Valley Ranch will more like a regular football practice. Friday's practice will look more like the situation work we had when we worked against each other a couple of weeks ago. We're not going to be tackling to the ground. It's not a scrimmage; it's practice. Both organizations feel like it's a good opportunity to just work against another team - see some different looks, see some different players and just see how our players and our team responds to it. The practices will feel the same; they'll be in different jerseys; we'll be outside the first day; it will be more situational the next day, but the feel and tempo should be similar to what we've been doing."
On whether Tony Romo has shown more leadership through his organization of the team's player-only practices and if he's seen any difference in that in this training camp:
"One of the things that we as a staff have tried to emphasize to all of the veteran players on our team, the more established players, is to be leaders. Tony's certainly part of that group. Certainly the position he plays invites that opportunity to be a leader on the team. A lot of that stuff that our players did in the offseason I think was good for our team; it was good for our leaders; it was good for Tony. I think you're seeing all of our guys grab more of a leadership role and that's something we want as coaches. Tony's evolution as a player and as a leader to me has been day-by-day since I've been around him since the 2007 season. He wants to be a great player; he wants to be his best every day. If you keep going about it that way and you have the ability he has he'll keep growing and getting better. I think we've seen that on a daily basis for the last four and a half years."
On whether he is back to seeing Tony Romo the way that he saw him at the beginning of last year:
"I think he looks as normal as can be. He's moving around well; he's clearly in very good shape. It doesn't look like the injury has affected him in any way in terms of his movement, in terms of his ability to throw the football. He seemed comfortable in the game the other night. I don't think there's any issue kind of getting acclimated playing in games any more this year than there are in a typical year. He looks like the same guy to me."
On how Kenyon Coleman is looking:
"Kenyon has done a nice job. He's a guy that we liked a lot as a free agent. We feel fortunate to get him. He's been a very good run defender in this league for a long time playing in this scheme. Rob's been around him, he's been in our organization before. People knew him; people like him as a guy, like him as a player. He's a strong guy. He's a strong two-gap defensive end. He does a nice job kind of creating piles in there that makes it hard for opposing offenses to run the football. He can push the pocket as a pass rusher. He's getting more and more acclimated to what we're doing, the little nuances we have this year, but he's been an excellent addition for us."
On whether they need to get the elevators checked at the team hotel:
"Apparently we do. Check those weight limits."
By SportsDayDFW sports
websports@dallasnews.com | Bio
3:06 PM on Tue., Aug. 16, 2011
Transcript of Dallas Cowboys coach Jason Garrett's press conference on Tuesday:
On how he would size up the way things have gone so far this year:
"I think things have gone well. One of the things we talk to our players a lot about is being resourceful, being flexible and being adaptable. I think this year is a great opportunity for our team to show that. Obviously in the offseason we didn't have the OTA's and the minicamp. We were all excited as coaches to see how our players were going to come back. I think they came back in fairly good shape, fairly good football shape. We've gotten off to a good start. You guys have heard me talk about this before a lot, we live in today. We've gotten off to a good start, but the most important thing for us is to do right now is focus on this afternoon's practice. We feel good about where we've been but we're more concerned about where we're going right now."
On whether he expects John Kitna to practice this afternoon:
"We'll see. He didn't practice yesterday. He hurt his back a little bit, so we're just kind of monitoring it day-to-day. We don't think it's a serious thing. Again, like with some of the injuries that we've had with some of our other guys, it's a good opportunity for the younger players to get some more snaps; Stephen (McGee), Tom Brandstater got some more. We'll see how he feels today and we'll evaluate here in a couple of hours."
On whether the first groups that played on the offensive and defensive line yesterday will carry over into the game on Sunday and the regular season:
"I don't think it's safe to say that. We're continuing to look at different combinations up front on both the offensive and defensive lines and we'll continue to do that today."
On whether there had been some disappointment with Anthony Spencer not being able to help back up DeMarcus Ware and whether Coach Garrett is comfortable that Spencer is ready to break out:
"(Anthony Spencer) Spence has been a strong contributor opposite DeMarcus Ware. I think that if you ask teams around the league, I know if you ask coaches around the league, they have an issue every week with our outside linebackers. It's a pretty simple thing in the NFL to say there's a great rusher over here, we're going to turn the whole line over there; we're going to put a tight end over there. But when you have two guys who can make it difficult for either offensive tackles, or tight ends, or (running)backs to block them, it really becomes a problem. At different times Spence has been more productive than at other times. Some of that probably has to do with the attention that he's gotten opposite DeMarcus. You guys know the issues when you have two elite rushers outside and you have number 90 (Jay Ratliff) playing nose tackle for you they can't turn and double and do all of that stuff to all of them. We feel like the combination of those three guys is good. We feel like each of those guys can get better individually and hopefully help us get better collectively."
On Victor Butler:
"Victor butler's had a very good start to training camp; had a very good game the other night. He's a guy who's showing up on a more consistent basis. Again, we're looking for guys to do that, and we're looking for guys who do that and somehow find opportunities for them."
On whether he thinks Anthony Spencer is an elite pass rusher:
"Not really for me to decide about elite pass rushers. We need to live in the world of Spence needs to get better today in practice. He's certainly a guy that teams know can be a very good pass rusher, has been that in the past, has been a guy when he's not making sacks is pushing the pocket and pressuring quarterbacks. He, like our whole football team, needs to do that on a more consistent basis."
On the young guys and the position battles and how much separation could be seen especially with the practices against the San Diego Chargers:
"I think the practices with the Chargers are like any other day in training camp. We'll evaluate them, we'll look at them, we'll look at them play-by-play, see how guys handle the different situations they're in, see if they're ready to take the next step get the next opportunity and that's really throughout our football team. We have a lot of young guys who are going about it the right way trying to compete for spots on this roster and we like that. We think the San Diego practice will be good for us to continue to evaluate them for a couple more days prior to playing that San Diego game. It's a day-by-day thing. I think they're going about it the right way; coming out and understanding that it's an opportunity each day for them to show us as coaches what they can do."
On how he will structure those practices and whether there is any more he can do with special teams:
"The structure of those practices will be very similar to what we did in the first part of our blue-white scrimmage. Thursday's practice at Valley Ranch will more like a regular football practice. Friday's practice will look more like the situation work we had when we worked against each other a couple of weeks ago. We're not going to be tackling to the ground. It's not a scrimmage; it's practice. Both organizations feel like it's a good opportunity to just work against another team - see some different looks, see some different players and just see how our players and our team responds to it. The practices will feel the same; they'll be in different jerseys; we'll be outside the first day; it will be more situational the next day, but the feel and tempo should be similar to what we've been doing."
On whether Tony Romo has shown more leadership through his organization of the team's player-only practices and if he's seen any difference in that in this training camp:
"One of the things that we as a staff have tried to emphasize to all of the veteran players on our team, the more established players, is to be leaders. Tony's certainly part of that group. Certainly the position he plays invites that opportunity to be a leader on the team. A lot of that stuff that our players did in the offseason I think was good for our team; it was good for our leaders; it was good for Tony. I think you're seeing all of our guys grab more of a leadership role and that's something we want as coaches. Tony's evolution as a player and as a leader to me has been day-by-day since I've been around him since the 2007 season. He wants to be a great player; he wants to be his best every day. If you keep going about it that way and you have the ability he has he'll keep growing and getting better. I think we've seen that on a daily basis for the last four and a half years."
On whether he is back to seeing Tony Romo the way that he saw him at the beginning of last year:
"I think he looks as normal as can be. He's moving around well; he's clearly in very good shape. It doesn't look like the injury has affected him in any way in terms of his movement, in terms of his ability to throw the football. He seemed comfortable in the game the other night. I don't think there's any issue kind of getting acclimated playing in games any more this year than there are in a typical year. He looks like the same guy to me."
On how Kenyon Coleman is looking:
"Kenyon has done a nice job. He's a guy that we liked a lot as a free agent. We feel fortunate to get him. He's been a very good run defender in this league for a long time playing in this scheme. Rob's been around him, he's been in our organization before. People knew him; people like him as a guy, like him as a player. He's a strong guy. He's a strong two-gap defensive end. He does a nice job kind of creating piles in there that makes it hard for opposing offenses to run the football. He can push the pocket as a pass rusher. He's getting more and more acclimated to what we're doing, the little nuances we have this year, but he's been an excellent addition for us."
On whether they need to get the elevators checked at the team hotel:
"Apparently we do. Check those weight limits."