Scout’s Eye: New Wrinkles From Kellen Moore?
It's hard to evaluate an unpadded practice, but Bryan Broaddus was intrigued by some of Kellen Moore's tendencies in calling Sunday's practice.
Jason Witten is one of the most respected players on the field, but someone forgot to tell Leighton Vander Esch. Witten was attempting to capture the edge and Vander Esch wanted nothing to do with it. Witten came off the ball to position block him, but Vander Esch attacked him with a two-handed shot to Witten's chest, stopping him in his tracks. Vander Esch finished the play by tagging off Tony Pollard for a minimal gain.
Sean Lee took a veteran's day from practice, but he worked with both the first and second units during walkthrough. Lee was paired with Joe Thomas for several snaps. He physically appears to be bigger, but he hasn't lost his signature lateral quickness. The extra weight hasn't slowed him down at all. I also noticed today that Lee was working on special teams as the personal protector on the punt team, working in with Jeff Heath and Jameill Showers.
Kellen Moore continues to do things with his personnel by way of motions and shifts. One little wrinkle during practice was to move his tight ends in and out of the formation. Moore also went back to a formation he showed us in OTAs and minicamp, which was the tight bunch formations that Sean McVay likes to use with the Los Angeles Rams. There has been far more pre-snap movement than what we observed from Scott Linehan.
Something else I have also noticed from Kellen Moore's plan of attack has to do with the spacing of the receivers. The route combinations they're using along with putting the running backs in routes creates space within the defense. There are clear windows to throw the ball in. By doing this he's making it easier for Dak Prescott to make his reads and identify his best option.
Xavier Woods was back in the lineup on Sunday after the birth of his daughter. If you want my breakout player for the upcoming season – this is my guy. Going into his second season with Kris Richard, I really believe he has that "buy in" that we saw from Byron Jones last season. Jones trusted Richard and under his guidance he not only switched positions but made a Pro Bowl. I have a strong feeling you're going to see a similar type of path for Woods in the next couple of seasons.
I felt bad for Darius Jackson this morning on a blitz pickup where he knocked the ball out of Dak Prescott's hand when he stepped up to block. Prescott tried to quickly get the ball in the flat to Jason Witten before Jeff Heath could react. With the short drop, Jackson attempted to come underneath to pick up Leighton Vander Esch. In theory, Jackson saw the right thing, but with the ball coming out so quickly he should have just let the blitz happen.
Speaking of blitz pickups. Nice job by Tony Pollard of picking up Jaylon Smith when he and Anthony Brown came off the same side. Pollard adjusted back to the inside to pick up Smith while letting Dak Prescott handle Brown as the wider guy. Prescott saw it all the way, as did Tavon Austin, for the reception on the "hot" read.
I like the wrinkle from Kellen Moore of using receivers on the waggles and boots instead of the tight ends. Guys like Randall Cobb and Tavon Austin have a better feel for how to get quickly across the formation and get into space. When guys like Cobb have a chance to catch the ball on the move and turn up the field, the potential for a big play is generally the result because the defender is out of position.
