OXNARD, Calif. – Our first day at training camp is winding to a close, and from here on out we'll have real Cowboys practices and games to talk about.
Until then, I have a handful of thoughts and notes from our early time in camp – musings from Wednesday's introductory press conference and from around the facility.
Here's to a full month of football:
No Joke
Stephen Jones has always had a great sense of humor and I have learned over the years of being around him to know that there is no joking around in this situation with Jeremy Mincey. What Mincey has failed to understand is that regardless of how well he played last season, this front office still went out and got an elite rusher in Greg Hardy and drafted Randy Gregory. As important as Mincey might believe he is to this squad, there are others that are just as talented -- or in some cases, even more talented -- ready to take his spot and that is no joke.
Just Wondering?
Jerry Jones said there were Mondays after games where as a staff they sat around and talked about not getting Lance Dunbar enough touches. Coming from a guy that studied the same tape each week as Jones, I could understand where he was coming from. There were certain down and distance situations where I would have tried to put the ball in his [embeddedad0]hands. As much as I want to believe Jones that Dunbar will get more opportunities, the reality is that his words appear to be just that -- words. For Lance Dunbar to get more of an opportunity in this offense it is going to take Jason Garrett and Scott Linehan to make that happen. With that being said, I hope they were listening.
Pet Cats
Today on our Talkin' Cowboys/Break radio show, I was asked who my Pet Cats were for the upcoming training camp. On offense, I went with receiver Deontay Greenberry. On defense, I chose linebacker Damien Wilson. What I liked about Greenberry is that I get that feeling he is fearless in the way that he approaches the game. There was that practice in the rookie minicamp when he showed no regard for his body by laying out for a ball before crashing violently into the
turf. What was outstanding about that play was that he still managed to catch the ball. From that point on, I was a Deontay Greenberry fan. What I like about Wilson -- and this goes back to his college days at Minnesota -- is that he would have made every single tackle had he not been held the majority of the time. This is a bold statement but Damien Wilson has a real chance to be this year's Anthony Hitchens -- mark it down.
Welcome Back Sean
I happened to be hanging out with Sean Lee last night before dinner and we were visiting about the offseason when Gary Brown and Darren McFadden walked by. Without stopping Brown told Lee to please take it easy on his running backs, especially in the one-on-one pass blocking drills. In typical Sean Lee fashion he fired back at Brown and McFadden: "Don't count on it." It's great to be back in Oxnard.
