After the draft when the lists of UDFA’s were coming out, there was a name on there, Andrew Brecher, an offensive lineman from Harvard. Not that he stood out or anything, he was just another guy on a list of guys that I expected to be a body. He wasn’t on the level of UDFA’s like Danny Amendola, Darrell Robertson or even Marcus Dixon who has an unreal backstory. But when rookie mini-camp opened I kept hearing we have only one offensive lineman in camp, Brandon Hale from Sam Houston State. I kept wondering what happened to the kid from Harvard. Well, I finally found out. Dallas got in touch with him 10 minutes after the draft and he agreed to become a Cowboy and flew in for the camp and even had a nice conversation with Felix Jones while there. But all these guys had to take a physical and the Cowboys saw something in his X-rays related to a previous back injury he had and decided against signing him at that time. He since has been contacted by the Jets, and the Cowboys have not ruled him out totally if his back situation improves. Anyway, not a big deal, but I just wanted to clear that up in case anybody else was as obsessive compulsive as I am. One disappointing note, he could have been a contender for our all-quote team with Deon Anderson and Martellus Bennett.

"The Cowboys seemed like a good fit," said Brecher, who mentioned the presence of 26-year offensive line coaching veteran Hudson Houck as something that made America’s Team that much more appealing.

"And who wouldn’t want to hang with Pacman Jones?" he joked, referring to the troubled cornerback who was just traded to Dallas from the Tennessee Titans.

Ha! May the Pacman jokes never cease. At least he didn’t talk about Jessica.

Mickey Spags gives his review of the rookie mini-camp. 

The love for Danny Amendola at Valley Ranch. 

"I just can't wait to see him go against the veteran guys and just watch him work," Cowboys wide receivers coach Ray Sherman said after just the first day of practice.

In case you missed it, Matt Mosley has a long article on Felix Jones.

With the recent revelation that the Cowboys will be featured on HBO’s "Hard Knocks," a FOX Sports article from a few days ago came to mind. It talks about the pressing needs for teams after the draft. Here’s the Dallas blurb:

Pressing need: Preparing for the onslaught of media that will swarm Cowboys training camp if recently acquired cornerback Pacman Jones is reinstated by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. Players and coaches will be asked ad nauseum about Jones in the upcoming months. But Cowboys owner Jerry Jones believes that distraction is a small price to pay for a player of Jones' talent.

Possible solution: Jones doesn't say or do anything stupid if reinstated and fades into the background a la Tank Johnson. Of course, history indicates that probably won't be the case.

With HBO on board, the media swarm for camp just became much bigger and the spotlight will shine much brighter. Should make for good TV viewing but may not be the best thing for the Cowboys as a football team.

A short article on rookie camp darling Orlando Scandrick. 

"I made some plays," he said. "I tried to have fun and get better every day and I think I did that."

"What will dictate how much I play is how I adapt to the speed of the game," Scandrick said. "The quarterbacks are a lot better. All these receivers are good. It's going to take an extreme amount of film study and discipline."

Even though we didn’t get to see it happen, I can assure you that actual Dallas Cowboys players were participating in organized practices at Valley Ranch over the past couple of days. I know this because the Dallas media told me so. It’s one step closer to where we want to be, the 2008 season, and the opportunity to get over the first-round playoff loss – yes Wade Phillips, the first-round loss. It’s not quite training camp, but at least it’s something more than just signing free agents and drafting the college kiddies.

Here are some things I learned, or had re-confirmed, from the past two days of rookie mini-camp, as told to me by the Dallas media with my own free thinking thrown into the mix.

Felix Jones is smooth. That word came up over and over about our new running back and I think it’s a good description. Watching him play for Arkansas and the highlights collected later on YouTube showed a kid who has a natural feel for the game. Wade Phillips chalks it up to athletic ability and vision. Ah, vision, that nebulous definer for running backs. We’re not talking about 20/20 vision; we’re talking about the ability to see the hole, to see defensive players making their attack, the angles they are taking and the wherewithal to get out of the way. Vision was something I thought Julius Jones lacked, for all his quickness and agility, he never seemed to use it correctly on the field. We haven’t seen Felix in pads yet, taking slobber-knocker hits from pro level defenders, but I can’t wait for that time to come.

Mike Jenkins has to learn a new style of coverage. A bump-and-run guy in college, he was at a disadvantage in this camp because he had to play a new style of coverage and the lack of pads limited his ability to get physical with a receiver. It might take time for him to round into form so the preseason games and training camp practices will be huge for him.

Martellus Bennett could join Tony Romo and T.O. in the starting lineup of a Dallas Cowboys basketball team. He also earned praise for his ability to catch the ball and use his body to shield defenders at rookie camp. He’s another player who will face a big test when the pads go on so we can see what kind of blocker he is and how he handles the rough-and-tumble world of getting knocked around by linebackers.

Orlando Scandrick is fast. He’s also adept at playing off receivers which gives him a nice head-start fitting in with the Cowboys coverage schemes. Can he do it when the pads come on and the physical nature of the game increases 100-fold? That’s what training camp is all about but from what we heard he has the technique and speed to be an effective cornerback. He might just be a steal in the 5^th-round.

Danny Amendola will be compared to Wes Welker forever, or so it appears. That’s not a bad thing as long as he can hold up his end of the bargain. Slot receivers need to be quick and they need to be good route runners who can get open quickly, they need to be able to put the defense in a bind on who to cover. It’s easy to get excited about an UDFA who comes in to rookie camp and shines – and by all accounts Amendola shined – but I go back to a constant theme, can they do it when the pads come on?

Tearrius George is a guy no one was talking about. The OLB was signed from the CFL at the beginning of the offseason and the only mention I’ve made of him prior to rookie camp was this short blurb in my post-playoff loss roster reviews done in February of this year.

The Cowboys recently signed George from the CFL. He played his college ball at Kansas State and was with the Jets briefly before heading north to the CFL. Here’s a mini-scouting report on him before the draft last year and here’s his bio with the Calgary Stampeders.

We haven’t talked about it much but OLB is actually a position that could use an upgrade at the back-end of the roster. We never really discuss it because DeMarcus Ware, Greg Ellis and Anthony Spencer represent a real strength on the roster. But behind them we have Justin Rogers who looks to be nothing more than a special teams guy. Tearrius George will be battling it out with Rogers, 6^th-round pick Erik Walden (unless they move him inside) and UDFA Darrell Robertson for that spot. (Yes, Robertson is a pet cat of mine since he’s from Georgia Tech).  The reason I bring all this up is because George got some rave reviews from the media and Wade Phillips specifically mentioned him in the press conference. Keep an eye on the kid.

Wade Phillips likes the current WR crew even though they admit they wanted a veteran upgrade. The odds of a trade for a frontline caliber WR seem slim now so it looks like we’ll go to battle with the guys we got. Terry Glenn is a question mark, even Wade Phillips admitted as much, although WR’s coach Ray Sherman says he expects Glenn to fully participate in the first camp with veterans in June. Isaiah Stanback is another mystery man at the position that could influence the makeup of the roster and Danny Amendola is making his play to shake up the receiving corps. The spots behind Terrell Owens and Patrick Crayton (and Glenn if healthy) should be one of the best camp battles we have.

Bobby Carpenter is going to be given another opportunity to claim a role that actually gets him on the field on defense, this time backing up “Mo” linebacker Zach Thomas. The former first-round pick has moved around among all the linebacker positions on the roster and this could be his final chance to make his mark as a Cowboys. The hope is that he can utilize his ability to run and chase down the ball to better effect playing the "Mo".

Dave Campo might not have been a favorite as a Cowboys head coach but he is receiving solid reviews for his work with the secondary so far. His upbeat, hands-on teaching style is going over well and might just be part of the remedy for a secondary that has picked on frequently over the last couple of years. Of course, adding talent like Pacman Jones, Mike Jenkins and Orlando Scandrick doesn’t hurt, but let’s hope that Campo can “coach ‘em up” as the saying goes.

Richard Bartel could be the guy who turns into the long-term backup for Tony Romo. There was plenty of chatter about drafting a QB in the late rounds or signing a vet that has been cut from another team but the Cowboys staff seems to be satisfied with the progress Bartel has made. My lasting impression of Bartel comes from training camp last year where the strong-armed QB was determined to show off that arm by chucking up deep balls on regular basis. Maybe a year in meetings and watching Romo and Brad Johnson have showed the kid there’s more to being a QB than hitting the deep bomb. He’s also dropped a lot of weight and gotten himself in NFL-shape, perhaps the Cowboys already have their future backup QB on the roster.

Sure it was only a few practices with rookies and first-year players who haven’t played a lot, and there were no pads or hitting which can change everything in terms of performance, but we finally got a look at some of the potential 2008 Cowboys roster in real practices. It feels good, just one more step towards the 2008 season and a hoped-for run at the Super Bowl.

Your impressions from the last couple of days?

The DMN blog calls it for Felix Jones, Orlando Scandrick and Danny Amendola as the three stars of the rookie mini-camp.

Emmitt Smith sets a high-bar for Pacman Jones' rehabilitation. 

"As long as you're not killing anybody, getting anybody shot at and going to jail, then I don't have any issues," said Smith, NFL career rushing leader. The former star running back for Dallas was visiting Cowboys rookie minicamp Saturday.

 Ha! All you have to do is not commit any felonies and you’re A-OK with Emmitt. No word on misdemeanors, though.

The Wade Watch is already on for Don Banks at SI.com. 

I could be wrong about this, but Cowboys offensive coordinator and heir apparent head coach Jason Garrett seemed to be the only Dallas assistant who occupied a seat full-time in the team's war room during the draft. The rest of the Cowboys' assistant staff rotated in and out of the room throughout the weekend.

Just another indication that Dallas head coach Wade Phillips is probably what amounts to a well-paid seat warmer in '08.

I went with El Gato as a nickname for Felix Jones. Hey, it’s got to be better than what Jerry Jones said about him.

He talked about his decision to choose Arkansas running back Felix Jones over Illinois' Rashard Mendenhall, saying he "didn't blink" when it came time to make the pick. In an awkward moment, Jerry began describing Jones' posterior, saying he had a nice "bubble butt."

No, Bubble Butt just won’t do.

A news roundup of the first day of rookie mini-camp.

The Breerman gives you five more quick impressions. Short version: Mark Bradford made the play of the day on a long bomb, Orlando Scandrick looked like the best CB on the field, Mike Jenkins recovered nicely in his second practice of the day, Danny Amendola actually dropped some passes in the second session and Richard Bartel looked like a real QB.

Mike Jenkins has a little Prime Time in his past as his uncle, Tracy Sanders, was a CB with Prime at FSU. Deion has been mentoring the kid who is now our second CB from the University of South Florida, the alma mater of Anthony Henry.

Danny Amendola is attracting a lot of attention in camp, especially from Jerry.

"He's certainly showed he's refined," Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said after the first rookie practice Friday. "He will be able to separate. He's going to be able to get away from people. I'm glad we got him."

He may be refined on the field but certainly needs some work on his interviews. Not exactly smooth in the post-practice gab-fest.

But speaking of who is smooth, that seems to be the operative word for Felix "El Gato" Jones. 

"He's smooth," Jerry Jones said. "You can see that he can run when he gets that ball. The most important thing that I saw out here today was just how smooth he looks when he's running and cutting."

Don’t forget about Isaiah Stanback either.

"He's doing a great job, and I'm really pleased with the way he's running routes and catching the ball," [Ray] Sherman said. "He's in shape, and I'm very impressed with the way he runs his routes. He's a contender at that position.... I like our group."

Meanwhile, in veteran news, it apperas that the Tuna did want his former first round pick Bobby Carpenter but the Cowboys said no dice.

According to an NFL source, the Dolphins wanted Bobby Carpenter, but the Cowboys weren't willing to part with the 2006 first-round draft pick. So Dallas included Ayodele in the deal.

As noted by many, including Brandon in his post, Captain Caveman is on the move again.

He's currently backing up veteran Zach Thomas. Carpenter said he's been studying game film with Thomas and already has picked up quite a bit in the short time the veteran free-agent acquisition has been with the Cowboys.

Hat tip to Deke for posting the Bobby Carpenter non-trade article.

The second day of the 2008 NFL Draft for the Dallas Cowboys was a strange one indeed. Coming into the second day the Cowboys’ first pick was supposed to be #92 but Jerry Jones returned to form with a vengeance by trading back not once, not twice, not thrice, but four times until they finally used a pick at #122. All in all, I thought Jerry did a good job here as the Cowboys eventually walked out with an extra third and fourth round pick in the 2009 draft. You can check the DMN blog here for the details.

As for the actual picks:

#122 – Tashard Choice: This one is tricky for me. Everybody knows I’m a Georgia Tech guy and Tashard Choice was the heart and soul of the Yellow Jackets for the past two years. I love the guy. But, I thought it was strange for the Cowboys to choose another running back this early after picking up Felix Jones in the first round yesterday. The Cowboys could have waited until a later round or even dipped into the UDFA market since MB3 and Felix are going to be their two top backs. There’s nothing wrong with the value in choosing Choice. I watched every game he played at GT and he is a solid player. He has great vision and sees the hole well and hits it hard. He’s not afraid of contact and can run between the tackles. In the open field he’s good at making cuts and picking the correct angles to attack the defense and he can also break a tackle or two and almost always falls forward when being tackled. He doesn’t possess top-end speed that will allow him to hit the home run but is a workhorse that you can give the ball to over and over without losing steam. He had some injury problems that kept him out of games on occasion and this could be a concern at the NFL level. The kid is has great character and work ethic and will be a positive locker room guy. Still, I’m not sure why the Cowboys felt the need to draft another running back at this point of the draft. This is nothing against Choice who will probably be a good special teams guy but other needs were left unfulfilled.

#143 – Orlando Scandrick: After trading back in the early part of the second day, the Cowboys actually traded back up to get the Boise State CB. The most obvious thing about Scandrick is his speed, clocking a 4.33 in the 40. He has a lot of starts under his belt and was very good on special teams blocking kicks. He’s a little raw in technique but with his speed and good size could develop into a quality corner at the NFL level. Getting him at this point of the draft was good value for the Cowboys and adds another special teams talent. With the addition of Pacman Jones and Mike Jenkins, the Cowboys have added three cornerbacks to their roster. With Anthony Henry getting up in age and being injury-prone, the Cowboys could be preparing to move him - at least part-time - to safety. When this subject was broached yesterday at the press conference Wade Phillips didn’t knock it down, saying only that a decision like that is “down the road”. The Cowboys could also be preparing themselves for the upcoming contract negotiations with Terence Newman who is a free agent after this year. Jerry has done a nice job of turning a Cowboys weakness into a strength and preparing for the future. It could also mean the guys currently on the roster like Alan Ball and Evan Oglesby will be fighting for a roster spot.

#167 – Erik Walden: The Cowboys dipped into the small school pool for an undersized defensive end who will have to transfer to OLB in the Cowboys 3-4 defensive scheme. In Walden’s junior year he put up 11.5 sacks and has the physical tools to rush the passer in a 3-4 scheme but will have to learn to play standing up. He’s more of a project for the future than an immediate contributor this year. 3-4 teams can never have enough linebackers, especially ones who can rush the passer, so Dallas is hoping to hit on a little-known gem. But by doing this, combined with some of the other picks on the second day, they ignored some of the other needs on the team.

The Cowboys are banking on the resurgence of Roy Williams and getting Ken Hamlin signed to a long-term deal or they could get caught woefully short at the safety position past this year. They also didn’t upgrade the WR corps and only have second-year player Deon Anderson for the FB position. The idea of moving Jay Ratliff back to DE also seems to be moot at this point because they did not spend a pick on NT.

In truth, the Cowboys didn’t have a lot of positions to fill in this draft except for CB and RB and they did that exceptionally well. But they passed on acquiring some depth at key positions that could be troublesome if injury hits them at those spots. They planned for the future in terms of contracts at some spots but left others open to speculation. In the end, though, they accomplished their main goals in the draft and added a lot of speed to their team, something that was missing.

You can read my first day recap, here.

With the 143rd pick in the 2008 NFL Draft the Dallas Cowboys select….Boise State CB Orlando Scandrick.

 Talk it up!