Practice Report -- Friday, August 19th

Great work Rafael,
I was wondering if you notice Mike Goolsby, he was my favorite player at Notre Dame last year. I would think that he would have a shot to sneek in as the 8th LB because of his leadership quality, and big play instincts.

rafeal
again good article nice to hear about canty being a stud

ty for the insight on dantzler, too bad hes got talent

I have been amazed by the detail of your reports Rafeal. You have done a great job. This is the greatest of all the sites I have visited in the past year. I am sending the tag line to my brothers who are also die hard Cowboy’s fans. Thanks again for the site and the training camp reports.

Great stuff!!!
THIS is what a real fan wants to hear- the nuts and bolts of how a team is being put together. Shame about Woody- but I am not suprised. Peterman still not looking good is not good- its not like we have an abundance of guards. Glad to hear that Bledsoe is putting it together- sounds like he and Key need to spend some time playing catch and get more in sync. Morgan made a great catch- his first one? Only those who really cannot face reality think Henson can do anything THIS year.
Personally, I thought he should never have been in a game LAST year- should have sent himto NFL Europe. THe OLB stuff may be the key to whether we spend more or less time in the 3-4.

Rafael,

Great work. Glad you were able to get out to Oxnard and give us some insight. Although I don’t think it takes much to do a better job than the mediots. You are gifted keep up the good work. Not only are you a good writer, but your knowledge of the postions, history of the game, and of our own Dallas Cowboys gives great insight. I know I have certainly enjoyed it and am glad the blog is and will remain a free place for the fans.

I live in Virginia, but pull for the other team hear Virginia Tech. In a bowl I always pull for ACC teams. However, Chris Canty was a beast to watch and anybody could see this kid was a stud before the knee injury. It is no surprise that he is making an impact in camp and will do so in the NFL as well. It is refreshing to have a DE with that kind of height and reach and size. Talking about nick names he is going to need one himself. Cannot wait to see our other first round DE get back on the field and see what the future of of our Defense looks like. You know we are pretty young all over the field now, with a nice mix of veterans. I think this team could really be something special for a few years to come.

Enjoy your flight back Rafael, thanks for the great coverage.

Raf,
Another great report.Thanx for reporting on my pal Nicky……
confirms my suspicions…..at least with his back to practice he could
report on any hot chicks…..speaking of chicks Troll and i need some
for a new video we are shooting so keep your eyes peeled!!
Any sign of ben noll?Haven’t heard much about him.
Have you had a chance to talk with any players?Or get near
any?I know B.P. runs a strict camp.Again thanks for all your
work it greatly appreciated

Rafael,
THANKS AGAIN! I will echo Jon and Burmafrd, you are a great writer and you tell us die-hards what we really want to know. I LMMFAO when I read what you wrote about Eatman! Like Becker said, if he’s that lazy and irresponsible, the LEAST he could do is scope some hot poon and give us a report about it! LOL! The after, (no typo) after-spin regurgitation of BP’s (oftentimes) double-speak press conferences by the mediots is really getting old. Again, double thanks!

Questions to ponder while we watch Monday’s game:
Henson is NOT the answer at QB, at least not this year.
Pettiti may be the answer at RT, but can we get by without bringing someone else in?
Ware is going to be a great one, but how much will his learning curve (particularly in coverage) cost us this year?

Word around is that the cowboys have been in touch with scott Gragg’s agent, and he might be brought in to play right tackle, but I think the cowboys will wait awhile to give the youngs guys a chance to win the starting job. If that doesn’t happen, then they’ll bring Bragg in but maybe not until after the first game so the contract isn’t guaranteed

Derrick,
Excellent point about that! If a player is on a teams opening day roster (according to the CBA), his full years salary is gauranteed for that season. The scenario Derrick suggests is plausible. We might see a veteran brought in AFTER Week 1 (depending on how things go). There will also be more vets to choose from at that time.

Have any of you guys read through the new rules. Some of these are pretty stupid. You are no longer allowed to call a timeout before a FG or PAT. What if you have too many people on the field, or not enough, or lined up wrong before the last play of the superbowl. I would sure as hell want a time out. Too many rules for the little guys (kickers). They only have to do one thing well, and they can’t take a little “freezing”. These rules are getting a bit out of hand.

I have enjoyed your writing, and I’m sorry it is ending here. I suspect that a lot of the “real work” of getting ready this preseason will start once the team returns to Valley Ranch and can keep practices closed from prying eyes (like yours, but apparently not Nick Eatman’s) more easily. I think most of what we have seen is Bill’s testing players to see who can make it, and who can’t. After the huge offseason, that is what interested me, anyway.

BTW: I would expect Babe to be watching—he will have to come with insights about the players all year. Most of the rest of the media just naysay, repeat whatever Bill tells them, put ink into the fishrap, and draw a paycheck. Once the Cowboys surprise them by winning, whatever year that is, they will try to take credit for being there “when”. They make me sick!

Josh,
Are you reading that right about the “no freezing” rule"? The way you write it, it sounds like no-one can call a TO. When I read it, it sounded like the DEFENSE cant “freeze” the kicker with a TO anymore. Correct me if I am wrong.

Hey Rafael, I’ve got an idea for a thread. How about we post NFL rules to be expected in the coming years. I’ll start:

1. Full pads will be replaced with a belt containing 2 flags. The flags also hold a tampon for emergencies on the field. Any player who touches the ball carrier while going for the flag will be disqualified from competition and is penalized 7 points.

2. Again, no player shall be tackled.
3. A player will be penalized 30 yards for verbally assualting any player on the opposing team (my also be fined if they say anything tougher than “heck”.
4. FG kickers will not be necessary, as all field goal attempts are automatically guaranteed for 3 pts. (the kickers just couldn’t take the pressure).
5. Team logos at the 50 yard line will be replaced with a Verizon logo and the words “Can you hear me know”.

God help us.

James,
 
You are correct. I meant that the defense may actually need a time out in an important situation. They are just losing the option of a time-out. It is ridiculous that the offense may call a TO but the defense can not.

lol @ josh i dig rule 1
and yes your not allowed to call back to back to when offense is attempting a fg.

Thanks Mike, I didn’t catch the back-to-back part. I thought the rule just said repeated TO to freeze the kicker. So, the D can call one TO, just not back-to-back. Regardless, I liked the freeze thing. Thanks for setting me straight.

Josh,
LOL! I hear ya. It is really amazing how many out there have unwittingly bought into the de-balling process. Let’s face facts, were our ancestors not tough enough to deal with the less than civilized conditions they encountered, we would not have advanced to our present lofty and relatively comfortable positions. Food for thought.

Football IS one of the last bastions of unfettered masulinity left to us MEN! It will be sad if we cannot pass it on to our sons because of apathy.

James,

there always strip bars

Josh,
Gotta be drunk in them, otherwise you won’t notice the coyote factor! LOL!

Now, Back To Football!

i drank way to mich tonight ughhh anyways go cowboys

lol@Mike

New nick name for Christ Canty is…………….

Too Tall Too

Canty’s new nickname is The Tower of terror.

Josh,

Does the no time our rule apply to the offense or to the defense? It helps explain a drill I didn’t report on from Wednesday where Parcells had the offensive units practice running in an getting set quickly. He also had the units on the field work on getting off the field in a hurry. Probably working on getting the kicking units in late in a game.

The rule as I initially read it stated that a TO could not be called to freeze the kicker. I understood this as that the defense can not call a TO on a FG or PAT. One of the blogs many informed readers stated this only referred to back-to back TO’s. I’m still not 100% clear and could not find the link to the original article. I read the rule as stating a TO could not be called to “freeze” the kicker. I’m not sure what the specifics are. That would explain the quick movement though. Anyone, please share anything you know. Thanks guys, and by the way, the camp reporting is awesom.

What? Rogers wants to not be a cripple when he’s 50 years old? How dare him disappoint Jones and Parcells – 2 of the just plain nastiest people in pro football. As a Cowboys from 1967 til today, I say to these two, shove it. I’m glad Rogers has the class to refuse to ruin his future. Jones is a cancer on the Cowboys who can’t bear to get a franchise quarterback because it might take away attention from himself. Parcells is a motivator by intimidation. This approach works in the short term but not in Year 2 situations as we found out. His proclivity for bringing in washed up buddies from his past is puzzling, and so far unfruitful. Finally, my two cents worth on the defensive set controversy. When your 4 best linemen are better than your 4 best linebackers, you go with a 4-3. Forget the 3-4, at least for this year.

Henson has been out of football too long to expect too much too soon but do you see improvement? Is he at least moving forward? He looked completely lost in the Bears game but is he starting to see the light? Even if it might be way way down the tunnel.

Derrick and James,

I would support holding off on bringing in a right tackle from outside IF we get decent play out of the position on Monday. But, if it looks anything like what we got during the Arizona game, I think a call needs to go out immediately.

We need to settle on our offensive line well before the San Diego game. We can’t afford to just give that one up to save a few bucks. Plus, while a veteran will be able to step in fairly quickly, there will be a learning curve, and it will take several weeks for the rest of his teammates to get accustomed to his play (and vice versa).

Besides, what do we really save by waiting until after the first game? Sure, the veteran’s salary is not vested; but does that really mean anything? Don’t we expect any guy we would bring in at that position to stay the year anyway?

I would much rather get someone in here as soon as possible, so we can start working on cohesion. The young guys have already had plenty of reps. They will get a whole lot more on Monday. If that’s not enough, most likely it won’t be by September, either.

A decision needs to be made by Tuesday. Either we are going with what we have or we are not. We then need to ACT accordingly. By the time we play Monday’s game, there will be less than three weeks until that San Diego game.

This is all assuming that we are talking about a starter. If we instead decide to bring in a veteran just for backup, then we could indeed wait until after the first game. I just don’t think that is what is intended.

I think we will give Petiti as much time as we can for the remainder of camp.

We will then use Vollers to start against SD, and sign someone like Gragg/ Verba for week two.

Petitti shows up trimmer. Makes weight that Parcells tells him too. Does not seem to mind backup at left or right or competing for RT. Does exactly what Parcells asks of him, and oh yeah stays healthy.

He might just find himself the starting RT for the Dallas Cowboys for a long time to come. This kid was pretty dominant at Pitt but had the weight issue. He seems to have that under control and seems to have signed on for Parcells program. That is exactly the kind of player Bill will give every opportunity to be successful. He even told Pettiti he will not see him fail. I personally think if we wait we will see some better RT available as a security plan if all else fails. LA to RT is still an option. Although the RT position seems tough, at least we seem to have some depth at C, G and LT. If we can find a RT in the 6th Round that has a year or two of learning the game, hey we can be patient. I would rather Pay Pettiti to play for the next 10 years than a guy like Verba for the next 2. Not sure either Gragg or Verba are the kind of guys Parcells wants in the locker room either.

Tough Luck for Rogers, but I still say you bring em back to camp next year and let him compete. Since it is his knee he can continue to work and strengthen his upper body and the repaired shoulder and then after surgery rehab the knee. Unfortunately some kids are just plain worn out after a lifetime of football on the gridiron even at age 25 or less.

greg
for a cancer he sure spent alot of money to try and rebuild this year dont you think, as far as not getting a franchise quarterback who else is there to get?

as far as parcells is concerned, theres alot of head coachs who are lil tolerant coaches. and if the intimidation only works for 1 year why does he have 2 super bowl rings? sholdnt he have 1 then?

The new rule changes are stupid starting with the the so called “Horse Collar”
tackle as if a player has the time to go thru the choices of where
to tackle someone, it is a split second reaction reach and grab.
I could tolerate the rule changes if the morons in strips could
call an consistent game or even a decent game.The dallas vs
giants last year was a joke that ref should not have a job this year.
Ever watch back to back games and try to figure out pass interference?
Good luck!!!The best is the play by play guys will not criticize bad
calls with the exception of Colllingsworth other than that nobody says
much.For me the college game is much better the refs seem to be
far more consistent.

Greg Alexander,
My God! I thought that I had my disagreements with the guy. No ambiguity in your post. Unfortuneately there is truth to what you said. However, if you are going to be truthful about any aspect of our ‘Boys, you must be prepared for war with this blog’s fluffers.

again another good read.

Oiler TRoll,
You out thereAn Oiler question weren’t Kenny King and Rob
 Carpenter back up running backs on the oilersBefore
they were traded to the raiders and giants??

Nice job. I had the chance to attend the Superbowl when the cowboys demoslished the Bills and i also noticed that a lot of the “experts” were too busy stuffing their faces or talking to each other to watch the game, and this was in the first quarter.

I have to laugh at the BP haters- what kind of coach is Bellicek? Show me a SB winning coach of the last 20 years that is a warm cuddly type. Maybe he might look that way at a press conference, but what is he like in TC and on the sidelines during the season? Jerrah is a trip sometimes, and sometimes he is a real pain (the whole Landry situation) but he loves the Cowboys and badly wants to win- and is willing to spend big money to do it. So I give him a pass mostly, especially since he seems to learn from his mistakes. Lombardi was a whole lot more nasty then any coach is today from all I ever heard. Landry was not exactly a warm guy; Jimmy was pretty tough.
Pleasant cheerfull types do not Pro Football coaches make.

Well it appears Ferguison won’t be playing in Seattle because he has tweaked his ankle again. With him and Rivera hurting, I’ll say this, you don’t give 30 something guys $10 million signing bonuses.

Cash,
If this was the season those two would be playing, but its not so BP is being cautious so they get better before the season, remember thats what counts.

Breaking News,
Antonio Gates will miss the season opener due to the fact that he did not sign his contract and will be suspended for the first three games after he signs his contract.

Matt,

Who cares about the season right now. It’s not as important with Rivera, but with Ferguison it is. We are trying to implement a new defense right now, which is kind of hard to do when according to Parcells the key to making it work isn’t able to get on the field. An ankle injury for a defensive lineman is no laughing matter. It can be nagging for the entire season.

ANkles and Hammys need rest. I have never really been able to figure out the logic of trying to force those guys back early- all it does is make sure the injury never heals and therefore you do not have a player that can go all out. I would rather give him2-3 weeks rest to heal right then push it. At this time of year you have the time that does not include games that count in the standings- so use it!!!

Matt, I think Parcells knows what Ferguson can do. Everyone wants to see what Glover does in the 3-4, probably including Glover.

cowboy bert,

That is what I was saying. I know that BP knows what Ferguson can do so he wants to let him rest.

I’m only echoin what BP is saying himself. He says its hard to implement the defense without Ferg on the field, so Matt and Bert please stop with the stupid uninformed mushy homer talk.

I don’t care for mushy homerism. You have the wrong guy. I also don’t care what happens in preseason games, as long as the team is ready for the regular season.

Hi Everybody

And yes – I am here, Becker. I’m here.

Not that the rest of you care…

Kenny King – the best thing I can say for him is that he managed to run a fake field goal in for a touchdown once…then he later tore up the Oilers as the Raiders stuffed Bum’s freakishly conservative offense as Stabler yelled over center ever down “Hey, we’re giving it to Earl again, ok?” 3rd year in a row for the Oilers to lose in the playoffs to the eventural champions. At least they did beat Pittsburg(h) in 3 of their 4 title years (with a Super Bowl X year game blown on a bad call in the end zone with Billy “White Shoes” Johnson fighting for the ball…a situation which seemed to happen to the Oilers against those sorry, sorry bastards…but I am not bitter).

Rob Carpenter – you have to love Rob Carpenter. If you saw the San Diego game of 1979 you saw two things:

1) We mere mortals will in fact sacrifice life and limb just to have a shot to play football in the playoffs – that guy truly should not have been walking much less running with the ball…but he did. It is a cliche`, but that was the gutsiest performance by a pro-football player I have ever watched.

2) Anybody could run behind a Joe Bugel line; for all his guts and determination, Carpenter was not a great RB and certainly was not Earl. Everybody (or those who bother to think about it) thought that game was such an upset against the mighty Dan Fouts but the Oilers had 3 things going for them:

a) Joe Bugel’s line, who would later orchestra the Redskins Hogs (I know, I know – not a popular figure around here, but he was good with the O Line).
b) The Oilers led the league with interceptions that year – 34. That’s a lot. That is actually a good defense that Bum ran, which was…the 3-4.
c) Fouts had a “tell” on running plays, which freed up FS Vernon Perry to play the ball. Perry came down with 4 ints that day and seemed to be everywhere. Oh well.

Now as to making dirty movies, well – June Pastorini is nowhere to be found.
Also, I understand that Jerry Jones is having a heck of a time with 2 special free agents. Penelope’s agent says she is game, but Salmita is holding out for more cash, and frankly, we need to have both under contract to make the movie worth a crap.

I still say those two will put butts in seats at Cowboys games, even if Demarcus Ware and Chris Canty had better camps.

Also, Becker, I enjoyed the exchange between you and Rafe about the D/FW sports writer who showed up to practice 45 minutes late holding a press sheet soiled by hotdog drippings – nicely done. I am surprised he did not have a sharpie for autographs, too.

Troll my man you deserve your own column on this site!!!!!!!!
THat was a work of art!!!!!!
I haven’t laughed that hard in awhile.
Raf how about it give Troll his own column????

The Troll probably should have a Thursday humor column. But he’ll have other football/woman related issues taking up his time (in a good way, of course) so that may not come to pass. It will be our loss.

“football/woman related issues” you mean his Mail order bride
is finally arriving!!!!lol
How about" Trolling the nfl " I know one thing it will be better
than everything written by Nick eatme this whole year.

Uh, no, it’s a much more noble undertaking.

It seems that the new girlie (let’s call her Trollette) is taking part in an all chick roto football league and has asked Mr. Troll to help her prep for the draft. So now, instead of sitting numbly on the couch following his team from noon to 10 pm every Sunday, he’ll be sharing that crack pipe with his squeeze.

May we all have such “horrible” problems.

Hi Everybody

Becker, man, I don’t know – I looked into the whole “mail order” bride thing and it did not seem like a good idea to me. A guy I used to work with ordered one of those deal from somewhere in Russia. He claimed she was very pretty, yet he basically disappeared and truly would never, ever let her meet his friends. We can only hope that he actually let her out to see the light of day every now and then. I am sure they are perfectly happy.

Oiler Trollette, who is not mail order…and to my knowledge did not come in a box which said “just add water” like she was a sea monkey or something…did ask me to counsel her for her ladies fantasy football league. I just about dropped to me knees, wept and thanked Allah.

After coming to my senses, I did start to plan and from this site and its stupendous reporting from the Good Football Professor, Dr. Rafael, I deduced that I do in fact want her to draft Terry Glenn as a WR. I do not know whether or not to push Bledsoe but I will say this about the man – he comes across as a true leader.

How did we initiate this rapport – somebody asked what a fluffer was or something? Was that what kicked things off? Yeiucht!

Also, Salma Hayek has still not reported to camp. For the love of God, Jerry Jones, do something about that – you are wasting a huge opportunity here.

I have no other boring stories from the Oilers glorious past to report at this time.

Thank you.

Troll:

The Oilers have a glorious past?!?!? :shock:

Troll,
You can’t let the Russian brides out once they find there is
anyone i mean anyone with more money than you they are
gone………not that i would know ..
As for our rapport how quickly you forget….that nite at the
leather bar when the midget show was in town????
Actually we conversed in several posts about the mainstream
media etc. and then i accused you of being the rodent under
Rafs new digs and bumping him offline by going to pornsites
..the rest is history.
AS for bledsoe he has the talent it will come down to how fast
the offense can jell.. with Rivera hurt and rt unsettled it is
a tough call.

Sick, sick, sick, sick, sick! I love it!

James,
we may not agree on b.p. but glad to see you appreciate a good
laugh.

Raf,
a really dumb computer question and no it does not involve
porn!!!When i leave this site to um….. do some" research"
if i close it and then come back say 15 mins later and open
it will that count as a new hit???The reason i am asking is
i leave the site open as i think most posters do but if it adds
hits i will close and reopen….just a thought.

Troll,
You should do a weekly column