Pacman Jones speaks after practice

Pacman Jones, or Pac as Wade Phillips likes to call him, spoke to the Dallas press after the OTA today. You can watch his interview and Wade Phllips’ interview over at DC.com.

Pacman recap:

Pacman said it felt good to be back on the field and that he was just trying to learn the defense. He’s been waiting a year for this day and it was a relief. There were some questions about his past and what he’s learned but Pac didn’t really want to get into that. He did say that he’s learn to pick and choose his friends and places to go, he has no doubts that he will do everything right and not get into trouble, and after that it’s all in the commissioner’s hands. He was asked about his skills getting rusty and he said he’s got room to improve but that he’s been working out and that sometimes even at home he finds himself at home working on his breaks.

He’s been working out with Prime Time for the last month and has been practicing his route trees, his back pedal and being patient in his breaks. He also said that he’s been doing something called "the snake" in a sand pit at Deion’s place but didn’t tell us exactly what that was but said none of the reporter’s could do it. Asked about which teammates have talked to him about being a Cowboy and doing the right thing, he mentioned Jason (I assume Witten) and then said a lot of the vets have talked to him and that he’s taking it as constructive and not as criticism. When asked directly the best piece of advice he got, he singled out Jerry Jones (smart kid, always go with the guy who signs the checks) and said he told him you’re in a great situation now and to just do what’s expected on the field and implied to stay out of trouble with the other junk.

Wade Phillips recap:

Wade said Pac is in good shape and the he’s had an INT everyday he’s been at practice. (Granted, that’s only two days). Wade’s been working him on kickoff returns, punt returns and on defense. He seemed very impressed with Pacman’s natural instincts and talent, also noting that he sees the ball very well even when he’s locked up in a man-to-man coverage. Wade complimented Pac’s work ethic and passion. In a more specific question, Wade said that Pacman has been taking reps in the nickel defense, especially when they are playing man-to-man. He then noted again that Pacman has a knack for INT’s.

On the Greg Ellis front (he was back at practice today), Wade thought the most important thing for Greg was to be out there practicing with his teammates. More than the reps in practice, he thinks being with the guys was very important. He said they worked things out in a brief meeting.

This was interesting over at the DMN blog about Anthony Henry. 

[Henry] has spent the last few days working inside in the dime package, defending Jason Witten.

With NFC East rivals New York (Jeremy Shockey), Washington (Chris Cooley) and Philadelphia (L.J. Smith) having productive tight ends, the Cowboys want to bolster their coverage.

"They said what they want me to do is when we play like Washington or the Giants to go against their Pro Bowl tight ends," Henry said "I can do a better job covering those guys. It's like a package."

Henry said he would be OK with a move to safety, but hopes a decision can be made sooner rather than later so he can spend time learning the spot before getting to Oxnard, Calif., for training camp.

Keep an eye on that as Pacman gets more acclimated to the defense. I know there’s been a lot of discussion about Pacman’s talent level and his ability to shake the rust off after a year, but I am very optimistic on that front. He’s a better CB than Anthony Henry and if everything goes according to plan, sometime during the season if not at the beginning, he could be the starter. If he’s not, he will be the nickel corner, not Mike Jenkins, and will definitely contribute on special teams. He’s one of the better CB’s in this league on talent and should have no problem reclaiming his former level of play.

And finally, a request of Roy Williams - please quit hitting our own players.

**Roy Williams put a nice lick - inadvertently - on running back Felix Jones tht had the rookie wondering what happened.