With the injury news coming down this that Sean Lee was lost for the season to a toe injury, the front office was forced to make a move to replace his spot on the roster. The pro scouts have been tracking players since camps around the league opened in July just for situations like this.
There is no time for feeling sorry for yourself and no one really cares about your problems. You can put your head in the sand or you just have to find a way to replace the injured player and move on. Let's not kid ourselves, replacing Lee will not be easy, he is just so vital of what the Cowboys do leadership and scheme wise.
The direction that the team went in was to add veteran Ernie Sims who played last season with the Indianapolis Colts and the previous year with the Philadelphia Eagles.
When you watch Sims on tape, the first thing you notice is that he is a short player but very active. He usually lines up as the weak side outside linebacker in a 4 – 3 scheme. He showed quick reactions with the ability to avoid blocks. When he did get hooked up on blocks, he really fought hard to get off them.
- Tries to keep himself free on the move. Showed the ability to attack the line of scrimmage, slip blocks and get in on tackle.
- Did a nice job of chasing the ball when it went wide. Only saw him take a bad angle when trying to run down Chris Johnson of the Titans.
- Played well in coverage running with crossing routes and staying in position but also against tight ends. Showed good awareness playing routes.
- Reacts in zones. Didn't look that good as a blitzer, got bounced around some. Would not be surprised to see him get some work this week and be able to play against the Giants because he does some good things finding the ball and playing in coverage.
- Could help in some nickel packages.
It was a shame last week that Matt Johnson was getting himself ready to play against the Panthers last week but once again had a set back with another hamstring injury. The safety position is now a little light so the front office made the move of adding veteran Charlie Peprah to the mix who owns a Super Bowl ring with the Green Bay Packers.
What Peprah brings is a productive player that has a feel for the game. Has a good understanding of zones and route progressions. Played in a similar system in Green Bay and had some production of playing the ball.
Watched him play against the Giants last season and probably not his best game.
- Gave up a touchdown out of the slot to the tight end on a vertical route and didn't play with much catch up speed.
- Got turned in a coverage down the field against Victor Cruz. Did a better job of reacting to the out. Was able to tackle Bradshaw in space.
- Looks like he can see the play develop but did labor some to get to the ball.
- Against Chicago, did a much better job of coming forward and attacking the ball. Will be called on to provide some depth and fill in on some packages.
Of the two players, see Sims as being more help right now but with the way that injuries have hit this team, don't be surprised if both play soon.
