Cowboys Injury Report
CB Terence Newman (groin)
CB Mike Jenkins (ankle)
FB Deon Anderson (knee)
LB Steve Octavien (groin)
LB Stephen Hodge (knee)
CB Michael Hawkins (knee)
RB Alonzo Coleman (quad)
LB Brandon Williams (shoulder)
Injured Cowboys Coach Bounces Back
"It's outstanding!" said DeCamillis. "That thing was really a brace and it felt bad the whole time, hope it stays off!"
For the first part of camp, Joe even wore the neck brace to bed, having to sleep sitting in a chair, but now he'll get to go horizontal, but he may have a long night ahead, because going without the support for practice made that neck pretty sore.
"You caught me at a real stiff moment" DeCamillis said after the second practice of the day. "It's definitely stiff today and sore, but hopefully it gets better as the days go on, we'll see."
Another test will come on Thursday when the Cowboys play their first pre-season game of the year in Oakland, and Joe will be coaching from the sideline, which could be dangerous. We've seen coaches get run over by players down there before but he says he's taken precautions and he's prepared.
"I talked with Mike Westhoff with the Jets who had a broken leg for three years, where he used a cane on the sideline" DeCamillis said. "We talked about where to position myself and where to put myself out of harms way and still be able to do my job at an effective pace."
With how he's overcome so far, there's little doubt he'll be able to pull it off. It will be just one more way for him to inspire his players.
"I didn't move off the sofa for six weeks and it was a little foot deal" Punter Mat McBriar recalled after suffering a broken foot in the game against the Cardinals. "He tore up his back and was back at work in couple of weeks. He's a brave soldier and his coaching has been fantastic and he will get the best out of his players"
Be sure to tune in to The 33 News for the very latest from Dallas Cowboys Training Camp
Reason For Concern
So off the field distractions may not be a concern, but injuries sure are. Today, Running back Felix Jones and Tight End Martellus Bennett, two guys who the offense will be counting on heavily, suffered what the team is calling minor injuries. Felix missed some practice time this morning after banging up the same toe that shorten his rookie season. He did dress out for the afternoon session. Meanwhile Martellus, did not dress out for The Cowboys second practice of the day after twisting his knee this morning.
Saturday, cornerbacks Terence Newman (groin) and Mike Jenkins (ankle) suffered injuries. The Cowboys play their first preseason game of the year this Thursday against The Oakland Raiders. The Cowboys have yet to announce if the injured players will suit up for the game.
Cowboys "Commissioner" Williams fines teammates for errors
We're talking about fines, that always seems to speak the loudest. The Cowboys had 33 turnovers last year, the most since 2004 when the Bill Parcells led team went 6-10. So in an effort to nip that in the bud...the receivers are leading the way by laying down the law and taking in the cash.
During a routine passing route at training camp, while nearly everybody in the stands is watching the play, the coaches behind the line of scrimmage are looking for something else, any sign of the football.
"You get in trouble if they can see the ball from the back" said receiver Sam Hurd. "Instead of going to the meetings and getting yelled at over and over, you try to do it right. Everybody is doing it right and everybody is holding it across their chest so we're working on a lot of ball security" Hurd said.
Part of their financial security also depends on it. Miles Austin knows all too well.
"Receivers have fines for mental errors, missed assignments, failing to convert on a route
if you block the wrong guy. It all adds up" Austin said. But there is a way to cancel out some of the fines. ""Get a touchdown, the more you get the more you can mess up."
Of course, that defeats the purpose. Who is keeping track of all these errors anyway? It's none other than Roy Williams who instituted the system and named himself "Commissioner." Roy adds up the errors as he sees them, writes them on his hand or on receiver coach Ray Sherman's play sheet.
Maybe that's why Roy Williams keeps changing his jersey from 4 to 11 and back to 4, in an attempt to stay anonymous but instead, he's become, notorious.
"He's worse then Goodell" said receiver Patrick Crayton. "He tries to rule with an iron fist, and it's been bad, very biased, it's been ridiculous so far" Crayton said with a smirk on his face.
Shaking his head, Crayton said, "he writes it down on Coach Sherman's play sheet to keep track but he never writes things about himself. It's always something else when it comes to him. We don't worry we've got it on film, we make sure to mark it down but he's corrupt!"
Roy's response: "They think I'm a little biased toward myself but when you're commissioner you can do that."
When I told him that Crayton said he was corrupt, Roy promised retaliation.
"Well you know he's the Vice President so he thinks he's second in command" Williams said. "I'm going to fire him because he's given leeway to too many guys."
Williams continued the light hearted barbs claiming that he has fined himself $110 so far. In the twelve days of training camp the receiving corps has racked up $960 dollars in fines and they're only halfway through camp. The receivers who make the team all plan to spend the proceeds dining out in Dallas when camp breaks.
The receivers have set a little trend with their kangaroo court, now the kickers are getting into the act, but they're focusing on making it more of a hazing for rookie kickoff specialist David Buehler. He hasn't done anything wrong in the kicking department but his fellow specalists have had to find a way to shrink his ego
"We're doing fines" said punter Mat McBriar. "He's a rockstar, this rookie from USC, Mr. Hollywood, he's over there yelling to the crowd. We see him doing stupid things so we fine him for that" said McBriar in his thick Australian accent.
Buehler has taken it all in stride. "I mean hey, you gotta become a fan favorite quick" Buehler said. "So you gotta make a good first impression quick get the fans on your side, I'm doing all I can!"
Having fun at camp is a must or the or the repetition of the routine will drive you crazy. The Cowboys will go hard here again on Monday with the last two a day of the week. There is one practice Tuesday, a walk through on Wednesday and then it's game on with the kickoff of the first pre-season game on Thursday night in Oakland against the Raiders.
Be sure to tune in to Inside Sports tonight at 9:30pm for more Cowboys coverage.
Bittersweet day for Cowboys Draft Pick Robert Brewster
Brewster tore a pectoral muscle in the weight room after mini-camp in June and had to have surgery to repair it which will take the entire season to heal. Right after the Cowboys signed him today, they put him on the physically unable to perform list. He was the last of the 12 draft picks to come to terms with the team.
Brewster never missed a game at Ball State where he won MAC Conference honors for his work on the offensive line. He spent the off season backing up Marc Columbo at right tackle.
Sam Hurd... Odd Man Out?
Meanwhile receiver, Sam Hurd continues to impress by making a number of eye brow raising catches. Many have already penciled Miles Austin in at that number 3 receiver spot, but Hurd says he's never felt like the odd man out.
"I don't feel that way. I feel like we're all out here having fun. My coaches are telling me to keep up the good work. I got God blessing me. I don't feel like I'm forgotten. What everyone else thinks, I can't worry about that. I just got to focus on what I'm doing on the field," says Hurd.
Be sure to catch our feature story on Linebacker Anthony Spencer tonight. With Greg Ellis gone, it's now Spencer's turn to shine. Catch that story on The 33 News @ Nine!
Survial of the Fittest
It's survival of the fittest out at Cowboys Training in San Antonio, but after three straight days of two-a-day practices, The Cowboys showed today that they still have plenty of pep left in their step. You've all heard of "The Lambeau Leap," right? During the morning session today, Jason Witten introduced fans to "The Alamodome Dive," taking out one of the smaller spectators in the process... Orlando Scandrick must have been taking notes because on the very next series, Scandrick knocked the helmet off of Roy Williams... No worries though... Jason, the kid and Roy all lived to tell the tale.
"I was just trying to make a play on the ball so, just another day at camp. I just hope the little boy was alright. He looked a little upset. I checked with him afterwards but he was looking for his mother. He wasn't looking for me," Witten said jokingly.
As for Roy Williams... "I never keep my helmet buckled because I never expect to get hit during practice. He just hit me and my helmet came off. If it were buckled it wouldn't have came off. It looked bad but it was a good play by him. I'm going to have to get him back."
Jerry Jones wants a party atmosphere at the new Cowboys Stadium
"Picture the experience of the Pavilion at the Nelson, or the infield at the Kentucky Derby, open completely to the event" said the Cowboys Owner/GM. "We want fans to enjoy a party atmosphere, collegiate, very loose and we want for them to enjoy the participation of the game."
To accomplish that vision, the Cowboys have created a Party Pass ticket for $29 which will allow the fans to stand on the tall ramps in the end zone of the stadium. "We sold 10-thousand of them for event with our soccer, Gold Cup" said Jones. "Those people came through with the Party Pass, migrated down to club areas, stood at some of our rail areas where you can hold your drinks. Several people deep watched the game, or stepped back and watched on the video board. It's a big part of what we want our stadium to be" Jones said.
Right now, the Party Pass will be available for the inaugural regular season game against the New York Giants on September 20th.
Jones said it's not just about having a ticket to the first ever game at the stadium, but to help create an atmosphere that fans haven't experienced around here before. "We want to make this stadium one of the real amazing venues of sports" Jones said. "To have that kind of electricity in the end zone, people at other parts of the stadium will gain energy. We hope to have a loud stadium when the Cowboys are at home."
Defense Claims Bragging Rights
Bum Phillips, who attended today's practice, had to be proud of his son Wade, because the head coach/ defensive coordinator had his defense ready. The Dallas "D" came up with 3 big interceptions today... So while the defense is off to an early start, they know it's just a matter of time before their offense catches up.
Cowboys Linebacker, Bradie James said "The Defense had a good day. We know in the morning, the offense will bounce back so when you're on that roller coaster, you got to be ready for that dip because the offense will be ready, tomorrow morning."
Tight End Jason Witten said, "We didn't have as a good of a day as we did yesterday. The Defense probably got a little more today but that's what competition is all about."
The Cowboys will have another two-a-day session Saturday beginning at 8:50 AM.
Life After T.O.
"I would not prefer to get the respect. If you go into a fight, I'd rather have someone think I couldn't fight, if I got into one, rather than someone be prepared for me. We like the challenge and we're gonna continue to get better everyday," says receiver Miles Austin.
Receiver Roy Williams agrees. "We're gonna fly under the radar. We don't have the big high profile guys that everybody else has but we're gonna do what we're supposed to do and catch the ball."
The Cowboys say they don't have one receiver to replace T.O. They have 3... Dallas is banking on Roy Williams, Patrick Crayton and Miles Austin as a group to get the job done.
Tony Romo says "They've worked their butts off this off season. I think we're a lot deeper than what people think. If we stay healthy, I really like what we got at that position.
Offensive Coordinator, Jason Garrett says, "I don't know if they're going to be fearful or not, but we like are receivers... These guys have all worked hard. We're gonna worry about ourselves... Come that first week of September, hopefully they'll be ready to go, I think they will."
In that case, The trio of Williams, Crayton, and Austin better make the most of their time at training camp. Even when you combine their total touchdowns, Owens still outscored them by one.
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Wade maintains that "Touch Football" is best for his Cowboys
"My Dad ( Bum Phillips ) practiced with shorts and shoulder pads every practice. It was still live" Phillips said, maintaining that his men are still required to go full speed and get to the spot of the tackle.
"Well, we work tacking drills, we work at getting to the position to be able to hit somebody, and we work on wrapping up and doing those things in other drills." said Phillips. "Some of it is just you've got to run into somebody and wrap them up. You don't need them tackling people to the ground all of the time, but you need to get them into the position to be able to make the tackle, and that's what they are doing."
Even though the defensive players lick their chops to get able to do some hitting, they have to wait until the pre-season games and that seems just fine to DeMarcus Ware. "You gotta get that edge thing back; seeing all of the balls, and getting off. Learning the guy you are going against even though you just go against him in practice, they know you just as well so it's a little bit harder. So I'm just trying to get to where I need to be" Ware said.
Phillips does not believe that the lack of tackling will hurt this team resulting in missed tackles during the season.
"They do bang them, and they do bump them with their shoulders and so forth; they grab and knock the ball and pull the ball out, and you work on those things" Phillips said. "You don't necessarily have to take them to the ground to be able to get in position to be able to tackle. If a guys not a good tackler then we'll work extra on some of the specifics. A lot of is getting into the position to tackle and not the hitting itself."
More touch football continues at the Alamodome tomorrow with one practice at 2:15pm. The 33 Sports will be at every practice of Training Camp and make sure to check back with us often for the very latest on the Dallas Cowboys
Welcome to the NFL...rookies
Then the veterans arrived for the OTA's and Mini Camp and their taste of the NFL got a little saltier. Now that they've put on the pads for the first two-a-day workout of training camp, Bradie James had to chuckle a bit about what those rooks are going through.
"Oh some of the rookies, they're learning." James said. "It's not a game that you play in shorts and jerseys. This was the first day with pads, the guys were getting a little roughed up, but I think the rookies look decent. You have to be consistent. You can't celebrate one play and have a down play; you can't take a play off, you have to be right every play."
Just a few of the lessons Bradie is trying to teach some of the youngsters who have five more
practices before the new week arrives. DeMarcus Ware still vividly remembers his rookie season in 2005 coming to the Cowboys from Troy State. He's now doing his best to mentor another player from a small school, Jason Williams from Western Illinois.
"The thing is right now he's listening, he's listening and he's learning as much as he can" Ware said about the first player the Cowboys drafted this year with the 69th overall pick. " He's an athlete just in general and he had a great first day today in half pads on. A lot of the guys who are rookies, they were learning and just moving forward."
You're looking for leaders on the Cowboys? Looks like you just found two of them in James and Ware.
Much more from Day 2 of Cowboys Training Camp coverage including Desmond Purnell's report on Tony Romo's first chat with the media...tonight on The 33 News at 9:00pm