Practice Report -- Monday, August 15

by Rafael Vela on Aug 15, 2005 4:41 PM CDT in Dallas Cowboys News

I finally arrived in Oxnard. Camp is nestled next to the River Ridge Golf Course, and the links provide a peculiar backdrop to the action; you have practice fields in the foreground and golfers who are oblivious to the team's existence on the low hills behind you.

Admission is free. Parking is not. What's worse, the weekend rains have turned the dirt lot into a giant mudflat. The novelty of camp appears to have worn off after two weeks, as the crowd was sparse.

But I'm digressing. A practice occurred.

The Cowboys got to work early this morning, hitting the field before the 8:50 advertised start. The team went through stretching before meeting on the far field. There are two practice fields at Oxnard. One is close to some low bleachers set up for "VIPs." The second field is farther away and does not allow fans sideline access. Parcells took the team to the far field immediately after stretching for some 11-on-11 action at half speed. There was no hitting, with the focus appearing to be on recognition and reaction to different sets. Both the offensive and defensive units were liberally rotated, with the first offensive unit getting two to three plays before being replaced by the second, who was replaced by the third after a few plays, and back to the top...

A major story of the day was emerging to the left of the field where the trainers were running Jacob Rogers and Marco Rivera through stretching and agility exercises. They then joined an extensive lineup of players on exercise bikes for the remainder of the practice.

After fifteen minutes of going through mostly passing plays, the entire team gathered on the far sideline of the field nearest us and ran a couple of sprints towards the crowd and back. The team gathered for some brief words with Parcells before breaking up in to unit work.

Some units broke up into even more discrete units. The defense came to the near field with the offense moving to the far field.

The linebackers were in the middle of the field right in front of the fans. They split into an OLB group and an ILB group. Gary Gibbs spent his time with the OLBs, who drilled on redirecting TEs to the flats, getting drops at the proper depth and cutting into passing lanes. All the LBs were smooth in their work, though some were smoother than others; Kevin Burnett looked natural in his movements. Demarcus Ware, on the other hand, looked like he had spent most of his time going forward. He's got plenty of speed and range, but got some extra attention from Gibbs on the proper positioning and order to his drops.

At the same time the ILBs engaged in a series of drills covering recognition of running plays. They then worked on getting proper drops and filling passing lanes in zone coverage. They ended the individual sets practicing standing up runners and stripping the ball.

In the corner of the field, line coach Kacey Rogers drilled his linemen on turning the offensive linemen back into plays run at them. After a few minutes of this, all the linemen drilled on dropping, turning and beating double team blocks. If you have any doubt that the Cowboys will run the 3-4 extensively, this drill should disabuse you of that thought. The ends lined up against a tackle and an tight end and worked on holding the edge. The nose tackles lined up opposite a center and two guards and had to recognize and react to double teams that were not broadcast.

Rogers would signal to his "offensive" players which way he wanted them to block. There were some minor surprises to the drill. First, the ends worked on both sides of the scheme, with first teamers Greg Ellis and Kenyon Coleman drilling at both the LE and RE positions. Coleman looked much more certain, with Ellis needing some extra work on dropping a knee and letting the blockers cut past him.

On the far field coach Tony Sparano led his charges in a series of pass blocking recognition drills. The o-linemen also split up into sub-units, with Sparano working with the guards and centers and an assistant working out the tackles. The inside linemen first worked on stunt recognition and redirection. They then moved on to practicing proper hand placement, getting their hands inside the d-lineman's shoulders and keeping proper footwork as they rode the opponent sideways.

On the opposite end of the far field the QBs, backs and receivers ran 6 on zero drills, where they practiced running routes and combinations properly. The QB would select the primary and throw him the ball. The drill kept all the receivers on their toes; when Bledsoe was throwing, Tony Romo and Drew Henson would stand several yards to each side of him. As soon as Bledsoe let fly to the primary, the other two would throw passes to secondary and tertiary receivers. It looked a little like a skeet shooting drill, with three balls going airborne in rapid succession. No receiver could give up on a play for fear of having a ball drop at his inattentive feet.

When the position drills concluded, the offensive and defensive players met with their opposing units. For instance, the outside linebackers would meet with the tight ends and challenge each other in passing drills. The offensive and defensive linemen met to work out run blocking. Sparano gave his younger linemen the third degree, with Ben Noll and Stephen Peterman getting scolded for not finishing off their blocks.

On the near field, the running backs squared off against the inside linebackers in pass coverage drills. There were three things of note: Ryan Fowler shows strong recognition skills, almost intercepting a pass to Anthony Thompson. Bradie James looked erratic; he was strong on one rep and then was turned inside out by Julius Jones, who ran an out and up down the seam for a deep reception. The speed of Tyson Thompson is also apparent. LBs could match him in the initial few yards but he consistently exploded away from them on his cuts.

Parcells mixed situational special teams work in between the pass and run drills. After the passing drills were over the team practiced field goals. A few minutes later the kicking unit worked on quick kicks with a snap going directly to Billy Cundiff who would try to pooch punt the ball inside the ten. The drill provided some levity. On the first units first attempt Parcells yelled at Al Johnson, who was lined up as a tight end, for downing the ball at the seven. "Let it keep rolling," he told Johnson. Parcells then turned to second unit TE Matt Tarullo and asked him why Johnson should have let it roll. "So we could down it inside the five," Tarullo answered. "Okay, you do it then," Parcells told him. Tarullo then promptly downed the next punt at the twelve.

The team then went to a sequence of 11 on 11 scrimmages. The first set involved running plays, with the offense getting the better of the defense. Jones, Anthony Thomas and Tyson Thompson all ran off big runs. The loudest man was Gary Gibbs, who was unhappy with the technique of his backers. Parcells singled out Bradie James for some double special scolding, pointing out to him that he was making the same mistakes in plugging holes that he had in the Arizona game. James knelt with his head down for a minute, not appreciating getting the business in front of his teammates.

Another special teams drill was held, this time for kickoff returns. Coach Bruce DeHaven disoriented the fans, with a special boombox that he wears on his back. The speakers are wired to a headset, which allows him to broadcast across the field without yelling. DeHaven schooled his return men on properly running away from the direction of the called return for a couple of steps so that the blockers could gain angles on their men. The return men would then run to the proper side of the field.

The second 11 on 11 drill worked on passing. Roy Williamsopened the drill by intercepting Bledsoe, who was looking into the face of a Al Singleton blitz. Bledsoe redeemed himself by standing in the pocket and hitting Terry Glenn on a deep ball on the following play. Glenn schooled Terrence Newman with a neat hesitation move.

Other notes
-- TE Brett Pierce is getting a lot of work and a lot of balls. He might be adequate for the third TE spot should Sean Ryan's rehab linger.

-- Tyson Thompson is too good to be hidden. He got touches in nearly every drill. He's working on passing sets, as a kick returner, you name it. It's clear the staff wants to see him handle the ball as much as possible.

-- There is no panic at RT. Rob Petitti is being force fed the position. His head is spinning, but he's not backing down. He's getting extra attention from Sparano on every aspect of his game and stayed a few minutes after practice with both line coaches to work on the footwork in his drops.

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Comments

Cool, Nice Work Rafael……….keep it coming.

Tell Bill and the boys Howdy from all of us. LOL.

by Jon on Aug 15, 2005 5:29 PM CDT reply actions

Thumbs up, Rafael!

Way much much much more information than what we can get somewhere else.

Seems that they went trough a lot of work, that’s good. But I would think that hiring a retired referee as asistant would be wise, as far as I’ve heard, the Cowboys don’t have one, and Penalties is a problem in need of solving, and the assistant might see thing that the coaching staff doesn’t.

by Chandus on Aug 15, 2005 5:30 PM CDT reply actions

real nice rafeal good work keep it up. can we expect this much everyday? if so damn man awesome.
also how do you feel petitte is looking i think he could be the starter by regular season, bp seems pretty upset with rogers right now. and tucker how was he doing?

by mike on Aug 15, 2005 5:53 PM CDT reply actions

3rd and 50 I did not think that was possible.

Penalties is a big NO NO it is just a break down in discipline and unacceptable. TUCKER has to go.

A ref on the coaching staff? Not sure but certainly a ref in practice blowing his whistle is probably easier on a player than Coach Parcells yelling at em every time they move offsides.

by Jon on Aug 15, 2005 5:55 PM CDT reply actions

Thanks rafael.

I have to imagine that the OL will have some shake-downs this week. Perhaps Walter ahead of Noll and Peterman is already the beginning of the shake-down. I’d definitley like to read more about how the 2nd and 3rd stringers are really performing on the line.

Also, I’m wondering if the ’boys would consider moving Tucker to guard — where he first joined the team?

He was rated (pre-draft) as a top RG (I believe right, but a guard none-the-less). He went undrafted. No real explanation why so I assume it was just based on talent. Then he signed with the boys. Immediately, he was moved to tackle because he supposedly had good enough feet.

Looks like the tackle project has failed. So, why not make a permanent move of Tucker to guard where he may push Peterman or Noll or Walter for the first reserve guard position? If he succeeds, then we keep him. If he’s not 3rd guard material we drop him.

by Carioca on Aug 15, 2005 6:38 PM CDT reply actions

Carioca:

I don’t think so, Tucker kind of mistakes doesn’t have to do with his ability or lack of, has more to do with 2 things: how he takes on his assignations (his angles against the pressure) and penalties. And both of those are mistakes you can also make at Guard, for that we already have Gurode on the team.

by Chandus on Aug 15, 2005 7:34 PM CDT reply actions

Rafael called about a half hour ago as the afternoon practice was starting. He said that he’ll have something late tonight (around 1AM ET, Midnight CT, etc.).

I asked him how he wanted to post – one big post at the end of the day or one after each practice session. He was reading my mind, because he answered that his plan is to post after each practice.

So expect reports on that schedule.

by Raul Villaronga on Aug 15, 2005 7:35 PM CDT reply actions

Thanks Rafael…the info drought ends!

What is bps mood re: the game…saw what he wanted to?…pissed?…

Thanks

by kellya on Aug 15, 2005 7:37 PM CDT reply actions

the only thing that tucker would replace. is ware. thats right ware! as bp new waterboy. unless of course he trips and spills the cup on bp. that makes me laugh just thinking about it. i think we release a couple of guys that doesn’t have a chance, and sign a vet rt so he can get some reps with the 1st teamers. i can look at the roster and see at least 4 guys for certain that doesn’t have a chance. bledsoe has to have time to pass. there was a couple of times that he had 1.3, and 1.8 seconds before someone was smelling his breath. that is not holding the ball to long. that is not getting protection.

by Darrell M on Aug 15, 2005 8:29 PM CDT reply actions

kellya
by the sound of the press conference today he was joking around. didnt seemed pissed at all

by mike on Aug 15, 2005 9:16 PM CDT reply actions

Thanks for the report, is it possible for you to continue with the reports? I think you might have discovered your calling.

by dionlo on Aug 15, 2005 9:16 PM CDT reply actions

sweet ill stay awake for the last practice post
thanx again rafeal

by mike on Aug 15, 2005 9:17 PM CDT reply actions

cowboys have contacted gragg to see where hes at, but not gpnna bring him in yet. now that the fs went down (cant think of his name) we have a roster spot open so im sure someone will be coming in.

by mike on Aug 15, 2005 9:29 PM CDT reply actions

Mike,

Where did you hear they contacted Gragg?

Rafael,

We have the DMN out there for what? – Relly nice job, and way to take them to school. They should all read your post. This is the reporting Cowboy fans want – not Dale Hanson’s ’freakin opinions.

by Big Jim on Aug 15, 2005 10:38 PM CDT reply actions

on cowboys daily spaggs said they have contacted him and his agent.

by mike on Aug 15, 2005 10:53 PM CDT reply actions

we have a roster spot now unless they have a plan for it, use the damn spot

by mike on Aug 15, 2005 10:53 PM CDT reply actions

See that, between Mike and Rafael, we don’t need anyone!

by Big Jim on Aug 15, 2005 11:21 PM CDT reply actions

lol yah right

by mike on Aug 15, 2005 11:25 PM CDT reply actions

I would really prefer Gragg than Verba, for starters, Gragg is a career RT while Verba hasn’t even played there before. And then you kind of figure that Gragg will be paid a near the minimum for veterans, while Verba might demand more than that. And one of them would probably be bringed here just to give veteran experience to the position, not to start, because there’s the chance that Rogers recovers, and god almighty, proves that he’s not made out of porcelain. Or Vollers proves to be the best among the competition. Or Petitti suddenly starts coming along.

So Gragg would be enough for me.

by Chandus on Aug 15, 2005 11:46 PM CDT reply actions

Rafael,

Thanks for the great report!

About that early 11-on-11 drill. Parcells talked about that in his press conference. He said they were working on defensive ‘recognition’. He said that during the Cardinals game, the outside linebackers (especially) were slow in their transition to their pass rush. The way I understand that is, in the 3-4, when the defensive play is called, certain players are designated as pass rushers IF it is a pass. But, when a pass play came up, they were reading ‘run’ too strongly and were way too late in going after the QB. So, that’s what they were working on today — recognizing the offensive play, and reacting into their assignments.

That would explain why I saw so many 3-man rushes out of the 3-4, and why, when they did rush the linebackers, they were so late getting there.

by Mr. Bill on Aug 15, 2005 11:52 PM CDT reply actions

who is gragg?

by ericp on Aug 15, 2005 11:57 PM CDT reply actions

Rafael,

Didn’t the Cowboys do some of the practice in the 4-3? It was brought up as a question in the press conference, and Parcells said he was trying to figure out what percentage of 3-4 vs 4-3 to run, with the object of getting the best players in the game. Spagnola speculated that this was about keeping Glover on the field more. Glover, evidently, played very well at NT, and they might want to have him AND Ferguson in the game at the same time, for at least some percentage of the plays. Parcells said that he was figuring the nickel for between 33% and 40, and was trying to figure out what the breakdown of the remaining 60 should be. As I understood him, his parameters were between 10/50, 4-3 vs 3-4, up to as much as 30/30, between the two. He then went on to say that it would still be a ‘base 3-4’ defense.

by Mr. Bill on Aug 16, 2005 12:01 AM CDT reply actions

I know that maybe at some point we might have to go outside the organization for a right tackle if things dont work out if Rogers who cant seem to stay healthy, but I am really happy that petitti has been thrown into the fire to allow him to get his feet wet at right tackle. Bill stated in the press conference today that petitti played alright Saturday night.This experience is going to bode well in the long run with Petitti. I thought he played pretty well for a guy who has had very little time playing right tackle and is nursing a foot injury himself, certainly better than that pilon, flozell did at left tackle.

by Derrick on Aug 16, 2005 12:02 AM CDT reply actions

ericp:

Scott Gragg had been the RT of the 49ers for a long time, he was released this year because his cap number was too high for a player that can be benched, but that can still play. Last year he started the 16 games.

by Chandus on Aug 16, 2005 12:40 AM CDT reply actions

He is 6’8" 315 33 year old veteran from the 49ers. Fox Sports says Scott Gragg is a natural right tackle with a lot of experience, but is nearing the end of his career.

by Tommy on Aug 16, 2005 1:43 AM CDT reply actions

you can run into problems if you sign Gragg. It would be a great short term move but what do you do with your line roster? Who do you keep? You could suddenly be tackle heavy by keeping Gragg, Adams, vollers, Rogers and Pettiti. We could try and put Pettiti on the practice squad but with his “progress”(and from what i have read he is making some) what are the odds of him staying there. Gragg is at the end of his career even though he is only 33. You would have thought someone would have picked him up if he only requires the vet minimum. Before you get Gragg, you’d need to be able to put Rogers on PUP or IR.

by J-MAN on Aug 16, 2005 7:10 AM CDT reply actions

Mr. Bill,

From the two practices I’ve seen, they’re working almost exclusively 3-4. You only see four man lines during passing drills, and usually nickel fronts.

by Rafael Vela on Aug 16, 2005 10:57 AM CDT reply actions

Mr. Bill,

From the two practices I’ve seen, they’re working almost exclusively 3-4. You only see four man lines during passing drills, and usually nickel fronts.

by Rafael Vela on Aug 16, 2005 10:58 AM CDT reply actions

Realistically, BP might have to carry more tackles then he wants- unless he cuts Rogers as well. Flo, Vollers, Pettiti are the keepers right now. Tucker is toast; Rogers is about there if he does not have a miraculous healing. But giving up on a second rd choice early is not usual. So if we get Gragg, we will have to carry 5.