DallasCowboys.com football analyst Bryan Broaddus takes a few leftover questions from the daily radio shows *Talkin' Cowboys *and *The Lunch Break. *
Daniel in North Carolina:What do you think Doug Free has regressed?
Broaddus: I think that Doug Free would be the first to tell you that he was technique poor in 2011. There were too many times where the feet and hands did not work well together. To be honest, I was shocked that he struggled so bad. Going off what I have seen in the pre-season and opening day, he has been better with his set and punch. He is not perfect by any means but it's not the total breakdowns that we observed last season. Point of attack run blocking has been better in that he has taken a more aggressive approach as well.
Irene in Washington:Do the Cowboys have enough film other than last week's game on the Seahawks QB that we can blitz him and get him to make mistakes?
Broaddus: Been told that Ryan and the defensive staff have an solid plan in place to handle Russell Wilson. What they have to be careful is in their approach is that Wilson is mobile and will take off when he feels the pressure. The Cardinals last week did a nice job of making him throw the ball from the pocket. I expect Seahawks offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell to try and move the pocket with Wilson this week which means the defense needs to be technique sound.
Brandon in Texas:Do you see any change in Mike Jenkins mentally coming into Week 2 against the Seahawks due to a lesser role and do you believe it hurts his performance?
Broaddus: I would not worry about Mike Jenkins going forward. I will say that he will play a key role not only in this Seahawks contest but games in the future. I know that Rob Ryan is happy to have him back in the mix. There are so many more things that you can do with a corner that can cover. He protects you in case Claiborne struggles but you can also play him in special packages where you want to cover receivers and tight ends across the board.
Lucy in California:I've noticed that our tackling has been much improved this year. Is that attributed solely to our upgraded secondary or is it the coaches teaching better techniques or different drills?
Broaddus: The tackling has improved. The coaches did work hard on it during training camp with drills to try and improve it. Tackling is also about desire and skill. You have to have the desire to get to the ball quickly but more importantly, you have to have the skill to bring ball carriers down. Sean Lee, Gerald Sensabaugh, Barry Church, Bruce Carter all good physical tacklers.
Cindi in Texas:Last night, on one of the sports channels they showed the infamous botched snap in Seattle over and over again. That was SIX years ago! Can we let that play go? Why do these sports channels show that play so many times?
Broaddus: I have to say that I agree with you Cindi. We in the media tend to try and take something that happened several years ago and make it like it's going to have a bearing on what happens in the game this week. If Romo was still holding for placements, I would understand better, but he is not. This week Romo spoke of learning and growing from your experiences. It's a different Tony Romo going to Seattle this week, he has moved on and so should we in the media.
