Joe Juraszek has been a constant with the Cowboys for 11 years now. The strength and conditioning coach has adjusted his routine to quite a few different coaches. Now, he's doing it again with Wade Phillips. But Juraszek says it hasn't been that big of an adjustment, and that Phillips is just as serious about weight-room work as Parcells was.
Mickey Spags takes a look, again, at the new aggressive Phillips 34 defense. (I can't let an article about the Phillips 34 go by without the logo.)
And he'll attack to the point of at times telling his defensive linemen "to play the pass first and the run second. We try to be aggressive."
Now that will be music to the ears of guys such as Marcus Spears and Chris Canty, who were constantly charged with playing run first and pass second, no matter what.
As we've noted before, the two-gap responsibility is gone for the defensive line. Their job is to get up field and disrupt the play in the backfield. Now, what that means is the linebackers, particularly the inside linebackers, have a lot of responsibility in fighting off blocks and containing the run. Let's hope Bradie James and Akin Ayodele are up to the task.
ESPN has a Cowboys "On the Clock" article up, but it doesn't contain any new insights. Here's their pick:
Todd McShay: Instead of reaching for OT Joe Staley here, the Cowboys could get a much better value at CB or WR. Revis' outstanding workout at Pitt's recent pro day solidified his spot in Round 1.