Wondering why the Cowboys rookie offensive linemen haven't been running around with the the worst haircuts ever? Turns out that Jason Garrett is not a fan of rookie hazing and has outlawed the practice.
"The young guys are part of our team," Garrett said, "and they certainly need to get themselves acclimated in a lot of different ways, and our veteran players are in charge of welcoming them to the NFL in a very positive way.
"There's not going to be anything demeaning in any way that a rookie has to do. We don't believe in that."
We've said a lot of things about how Garrett is tying to change the culture for the Cowboys in terms of training camp, how practices are run and the work ethic at Valley Ranch. I guess this is just another example of Garrett taking charge and doing things his own way. I'm not sure I like it, I've always thought that some harmless hazing helps people become "part of the team", whether it's sports, a fraternity or other organizations. But, in the long run, I don't think it makes too much of a difference.
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Back to the football field, the Cowboys are giving Bill Nagy a shot at some reps with the first team.
The Cowboys’ search for a left guard continued Monday with seventh-round pick Bill Nagy running with the first-team offense. With Montrae Holland out with a back injury the last two weeks, rookie David Arkin moved into the starting lineup and Kyle Kosier moved to right guard.
"He’s done a real fine job and you kind of reward a guy if he had a good day so we’re going to move him up a little bit," running game coordinator Hudson Houck said. "That doesn’t mean by any means that he’s starting this game and it doesn’t mean anything that he’s starting the season. We just want to move guys and see combinations and see how they work."
And a couple of items about special teams:
Could the new kickoff rules, which resulted in a ton of touchbacks in the first preseason games, mean certain guys are no longer as valuable to the team? Think about a guy like Jesse Holley, who might not make many waves in the wider receiver rotation but had value as a special teams coverage guy. He could still do his part on punt coverage, but kickoff coverage may now be a moot point.
"Now you’re kicking through the uprights every time and there are touchbacks, what is the value of the cover guys?" Garrett said. "How many cover guys do we really need? Do you really want a true special teams player, a guy who is a special teams captain, a Bill Bates-type guy? Is that worthy of a roster spot?
"Well, kickoff is just one aspect of the kicking game so there are other opportunities for that guy to make an impact on the team. We’re still in the process of discussing that and seeing if we have the guys who fit those roles and how we want to play it out strategically."
And finally speaking of kickers, not much has been decided so far for Dallas.
"I don't think either of them [Buehler or Bailey] are leading it,'' head coach Jason Garrett said. "We're hoping they are improving. I think they are.
"They've had a couple of bad days here and there, each of them. But on the whole they've done a good job. We'll just see how it plays out here in the next few weeks.''