The Cowboys had their first two padded practices Sunday and Monday, finally some real action…this will be the closest thing to real football until the Cowboys take on the Rams with their joint practice on 8/5 and a few days later the first preseason game.
Since last Thursday, we have had plenty of news so lets cover some of that before we jump into my story lines from the first padded practices.
Contracts:
- Jake Ferguson was extended, 4 year deal $52 million
- Stephen Jones was seen talking to Joe Panos, Tyler Smith’s agent – rumor being reported that they could come to an extension with Smith.
- DaRon Bland returned Monday to Oxnard, he mentioned that there are active contract talks happening for his extension
- Though no report if anyone with the last name Jones has yet spoken to Micah’s agent…
Injuries:
- Terrance Steele with an ankle sprain, limited work on Sunday but back to practice on Monday
- Brevyn Spann-Ford will be out a couple weeks with an ankle injury, he was off to a solid start to camp
- Robert Jones who was making great strides in camp and even ran with the starters at RG over Tyler Booker on Saturday, after an MRI he has a broken bone in his neck that will be a 2+ month recovery
- A big scare on Monday, Tyler Guyton went down with an injury. Reported by Ian Rapoport a torn ACL. Though sources close to the team indicated that it was too early to report that. After the MRI, Guyton suffered a bone fracture and will need a 4-6 week recovery time
The Huddle and Motions
One thing I noticed was how the Cowboys are putting an emphasis on how they break the huddle and get set on the line. As the Cowboys plan to employ pre-snap motion in their offense, and by the looks of camp, there is someone in motion a large majority of plays.
“There’s all types of penalties, right?” Schottenheimer said. “There’s pre-snap, self-inflicted wounds where you jump off sides, false start, illegal motion, those are unacceptable because we control those. There’s going to be combative penalties. I do believe that being the most penalized team in the league is not a good thing. I don’t condone that. We’ll have more discipline than that and that’s going to be coached.
The Cowboys have been one of the most penalized teams over the past few years and have struggled cleaning those up. Schottenheimer understands some penalties are apart of the game, but the penalties that are caused by guys not lining up right…unacceptable.
The team worked on breaking the huddle and doing a lot of checks at the line. These are common in game when the defense is showing an unexpected coverage, and the original play call may need to change. This quick change is the number one cause of someone lining up incorrectly or a false start.
When it comes to motion, two players have been getting the most usage. Kavontae Turpin and Hunter Luepke, both have moved around every formation. It is becoming apparent that they will be important parts of this offense.
The most interesting part of the Sunday padded practice, Asim Richards the backup offensive tackle lined up as a tight end in a jumbo package at times. Schotty even sent Richards in motion.
The Run Scheme
As we see pulling guards, trap blocks and other run concepts integrated into the offense. The offensive line has won against the defensive line when it comes to creating running lanes.
The backs have been getting to the second level quickly. As Williams and Sanders continue to get a majority of first team reps, Jaydon Blue has looked great since pads came on.
Checking In On Some Battles
The 1-tech defensive tackle, generally a team wants a big 320 pound guy to line up here, right at the center and anchor a defense. The Cowboys have lacked that. Mazi Smith is not that guy, and has had a quiet camp. The two standouts at that position have been Solomon Thomas, who would be undersized but as a big strong dude, he has been an monster on the inside. As well as, Perrion Winfrey, a UFL player that has been swatting down passes and been disruptive so far.
Johnathan Mingo has been far more consistent early on than Jalen Tolbert as they battle for that WR3 job. These receivers will be fighting for targets, especially with Dallas getting so many running backs and tight ends involved in the receiving game.
Kaiir Elam has forced multiple turnovers and has become a clear favorite to win the starting CB job in place for an injured Trevon Diggs. As the Cowboys have missed Diggs — along with Shavon Revel, the 3rd round draft pick who is still rehabbing. But a surprising absence from DaRon Bland who just returned for Monday’s practice as his wife just gave birth. Kemon Hall has stepped up as a nickel CB during this time and has made great plays.
There is plenty of training camp left to go and these battles will continue, and we will watch out for new battles…like this new one at left tackle to find Guyton’s short term replacement.
I’ll leave you with a bonus funny camp moment-
Brett's Cowboys Corner 
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