Football analyst Bryan Broaddus breaks down a few topics heading into the weekend, including Doug Free's restructured contract and how it affects his perception. He also talks about Terrance Williams' progress and his biggest question mark heading into the OTA practices next week.
1. What position seems to have the most question marks at this point?
Broaddus: I am very interested to see who is going to play right tackle, center and both safety spots but keep an eye on what happens inside at defensive tackle. The front office passed on the opportunity to add a player or two in those spots which tell me that these defensive coaches feel like they have the right mix of players to man the positions. Any time I ask someone in the know about a player that plays on the line, the answer is always the same, "He will get a look at both positions." I see the names of Ratliff, Hatcher and Lissemore but does Crawford get a sniff inside or how about newly signed Anthony Hargrove? These coaches know the scheme better than I ever will but how they line these players up inside will go a long way in determining how effective this defense really is.
2. What were your thoughts on Terrance Williams after watching him on tape from the minicamp?
Broaddus: In these types of practices receiver is the one position that everyone seems to know the most about because it's pretty simple, you catch the ball or you don't. I thought that Jared Green was the best receiver during the camp but that's not to say that Williams didn't have his share of quality moments but there were times where he appeared to fight the ball even when he ran himself open on a route. He didn't look as natural or comfortable catching the ball as he did at Baylor. Both Jason Garrett and Derek Dooley were on him in a positive way when it came to running his routes and finishing plays thus he was able to get better but it really was a 50-50 camp in my book and something he can surly grow from.
3. Now that Doug Free's contract is about half the price, should we evaluate him differently?
Broaddus:I don't believe so. Whether he makes three million or seven million, his job is to protect the quarterback and carry out his assignments in the running game. If he can somehow gather himself and play like he did two seasons ago, no matter how much money he makes, everyone would be happy with that but if we continue to see problems with his technique, then it would be time to get someone in there that can complete the job that I spoke of. I was [embedded_ad] taught a long time ago by my old boss with the Packers, Ron Wolf that if you see a player do his job correctly, he should be able to repeat it at the same level. My hope is that Free will bounce back and do things correctly but money has nothing to do with that. This front office and coaching staff are prepared to make this a competition at this right tackle spot and that is the right way to approach this.
