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So the Cowboys are bringing in George Selvie (referenced in this post earlier today) and Landon Cohen for workouts. Now, depending on who you believe, they are working them both out to see what they bring, or they are signing Selvie and looking at Cohen. The National Football Post and the Dallas Morning News both say the plan is to sign Selvie. Other outlets are only mentioning workouts for the two players. Guess we'll see soon enough. Here's a little on Cohen:
Cohen’s bounced around the league since getting drafted out of Ohio in the seventh round in 2008. He played in Detroit in 2008-09, suiting up for 20 games during that time. He spent time with Jacksonville, New England, Seattle, Arizona and Philadelphia since then, suiting up for two games with the Jaguars and three with the Patriots.
So, Doug Free is receiving some praise. Rabble singled him out in his recent practice report, and now Bryan Broaddus is giving him some love.
Another player who is off to a nice start in camp is Doug Free. In the first day of pads, I thought he did a nice job of showing up and handling the position with some nice technique. In just watching him play, you can see that his confidence level is much better as well. With each rep, he has been on point with how his hands and feet have to work together. His sets have put him in positions where he looks stable and solid. I have yet to see the problems he has struggled with when a defender goes from speed to power on him.
He is playing stronger at the point and when he has to sit down on a rusher, he has been able to do so without giving much ground. In the running game, he has shown the ability to adjust in this zone scheme with the front side reach and backside cut off. When the ball has been run to his side, he is not late or struggling with his technique. He has played with good quickness and has been able to finish his blocks or tie up his man. Still plenty of practices to go for Free, but so far he is heading in the right direction.
Jason Garrett's speech has been widely analyzed, our own Tom Ryle did some of that earlier today. But the question is: Did the player's internalize it? Based on some anecdotal evidence, it looks like they have.
Rabble mentioned in one of his practice reports that DeMarcus Ware was stepping up as a vocal leader and trying to teach the youngsters proper technique. More evidence comes from ESPN Dallas:
--- Church offered Bryant a hand after the hit to help him off the ground.
--- Tanner got up and completed his sprint.
Those two points were definitely in Garrett's speech. Compete hard but offer a hand to help a teammate up, we are in this together. Also, sprint every play until the end. Tanner got up after being tackled and sprinted.
And that part about the coaches coaching and not accepting less than the team's best? Check.
--- It was not a good day for rookie CB B.W. Webb. He was hearing it all day from secondary coach Jerome Henderson. After pulling up while covering WR Eric Rogers on a slant, Henderson told Webb to get off the field. After he allowed a catch to WR Terrance Williams in the slot, he got yelled at by Henderson for not rallying to make the tackle.
--- It was a rough start to practice for the offense in the afternoon walkthrough. They had to run the first scripted play three times before they got it right and had to re-huddle three snaps later. For the defense, their first two full-team snaps resulted in offsides penalties to Ben Bass and Ware. The first-team was yanked both times in favor of the second team for a play.
Guess coach was serious.
Kyle Wilber was filling in for Anthony Spencer initially, but yesterday Ben Bass was given a shot.
The former Texas A&M defensive lineman was moved from defensive tackle to defensive end for at least one day. He has spent most of his brief NFL career at tackle, and in fact, took only four snaps at end Monday.
By most accounts, he acquitted himself well after moving out to end. We'll see if he gets more time out there.
Bass vs. Wilber: Ben Bass took over as the first-team defensive end at Tuesday's practice over Kyle Wilber. Will that continue today? I assume so, but at times the Cowboys are mixing and matching players at different spots to see what they can do. Bass is a defensive tackle and Cowboys defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin moved him to end. The Cowboys always want their linemen -- on the offensive and defensive sides -- to have position flexibility. This is the case with Bass. Can he maintain the spot? We'll see today.