Dallas Cowboys News & Notes: Can Rod Marinelli Make Enough Of A Difference?

In case you missed all the action this weekend:

Three Lessons The Cowboys Can Learn From Cheesy Sports Movies - Blogging The Boys
Sports movies are horribly cheesy. But behind that cheese lurk real sports truths that can help the 2014 Cowboys says neithan20000, who proceeds to find some fundamental truths behind the cliches, bad acting, and cheesy plots.

2014 Dallas Cowboys 53-man Roster Projection (Pre-Training Camp) - Blogging The Boys
A look at six separate roster projections gives a better understanding of which roster spots promise the most interesting roster battles as the Cowboys head into camp.

Football 101: The No Huddle And The Hurry Up - Blogging The Boys
Gary Morris takes at look how the no huddle and hurry up can cause all kinds of issues for opposing defenses.

The Weekly BEast Report: The Philadelphia Eagles Offseason - Blogging The Boys
Dawn Macelli looks at what kind of offseason the team from Philadelphia had.

Dallas Cowboys: How Are The Players And Positions Trending? - Blogging The Boys
There are questions about virtually every player on the Dallas Cowboys 2014 roster, so Kegbearer pulled together what some BTB writers think about where the different position groups are trending.

Can Marinelli make enough of a difference? - Todd Archer, ESPN Dallas
We visited Archer's mailbag yesterday, but since the DFW media seems to have shut down over the weekend, we're revisting the mailbag. This time Archer answers a question about whether Rod Marinelli can make a difference on defense without better talent.

@toddarcher: It's a little bit like what Bum Phillips said about Don Shula: "He can take his'n and beat your'n and take your'n and beat his'n." So I think Marinelli will make a difference over what Monte Kiffin brought to the table. I saw where Brian Urlacher said the Cowboys will run more Cover 2 this season with Marinelli in charge. Actually, the feeling I get is they will run more Cover 3 and put pressure on the cornerbacks to perform. We will see more Barry Church in the box. We will see more pressures. Now "more" is a relative term. They won't become a gambling defense when Marinelli preaches "fundamentals," but I think you will see a more aggressive defense. I believe Marinelli has a better feel for what he doesn't have on defense and will coach accordingly.

Romo ready, has large task leading Cowboys in 2014 - The Washington Post
This Associated Press reports looks closely at Romo's situation heading into camp, and adds five more things to consider about the Cowboys.

Tony Romo probably won’t have to sneak into competitive situations when the Dallas Cowboys hold their first training camp practice Thursday.

The 34-year-old quarterback tried to get some unauthorized reps in a jersey swap with Caleb Hanie during minicamp in June, about six months after a herniated disk knocked him out of the season finale and resulted in back surgery.

Jason Garrett [...] sniffed out Romo’s trick last month and kicked him out of the huddle.

Cowboys training camp preview: The five biggest concerns as camp begins | Sabin & George, DMN
Rainer Sabin and Brandon George team up for a lengthy look at the five biggest concerns for the Cowboys heading into camp. While not necessarily a concern, training camp battles make the list, with one of the more interesting battles being between Orlando Scandrick and Morris Claiborne:

Both players will be on the field plenty because the Cowboys frequently rely on their nickel coverages. But it will be interesting to see whom the Cowboys use when they are in their base 4-3 alignment. Scandrick was the Cowboys’ best cornerback last season, but the seasoned veteran has struggled to make game-changing plays. Claiborne, meanwhile, lost his starting position to Scandrick and played only 10 games while fighting through knee, shoulder, hamstring and finger injuries. The sixth overall pick of the 2012 draft needs to show something this season after making only two career interceptions.

Does the NFL draft belong in New York, Chicago or Los Angeles? | SportsonEarth.com : Mike Tanier Article
The NFL announced last week that the 2015 draft would likely be in Chicago or Los Angeles, rather than its traditional home of New York City. Which of the three really is the best? Mike Tanier gives each of them a humorous comparison in his latest tale of the tape.

Is NFL planning to get tighter on defensive holding and illegal contact? | Seahawks Blog | Seattle Times
Mike Pereira says illegal contact, defensive holding will be points of emphasis in 2014. A "point of emphasis" is basically taking an existing rule and doing a better job of enforcing it to the letter of the law.

While there aren’t a lot of details here to know for sure what it means, it’s obviously hard not to read those and think of the Seahawks and the physical play of the Legion of Boom secondary.

Seattle led the league last year in defensive pass interference penalties with 15 (which I realize is not the same thing but which you’d think there might be an increase of if they are really emphasizing those other two penalties) and was tied for first in defensive holding with 11. Conversely, the Seahawks were not called once last season for illegal contact.

Former Cowboys assistant and A&M head coach Jim Myers dies at 92 | Kate Hairopoulos, DMN
Jim Myers, a longtime assistant for the Cowboys (1962-1986) died late last week at the age of 92. Myers was on the Cowboys’ coaching staff longer than anyone other than his boss Tom Landry.