Sporting News Team Report
Cowboys Team Report
2/19/2006
By Jean-Jacques Taylor
Dallas Morning News
The Cowboys completed their coaching staff by hiring Freddie Kichens to coach tight ends and Vincent Brown, who played for Parcells, to coach inside linebackers. Paul Pasqualoni moved from tight ends to outside linebackers and defensive assistant Mike McIntyre will not coach the safeties. These moves allow Mike Zimmer to be a walk-around defensive coordinator with no position group responsibility. The move that should have the biggest impact on the defense is Pasqualoni to linebackers. In the 3-4 defense, the outside linebacker is the most important spot on the unit. Pasqualoni played at Penn State, when it was Linebacker U, and he is a linebacker specialist. His presence alone should make DeMarcus Ware a much better player. Ware had eight sacks last year and was a disruptive force at times. Now, he should be even more dangerous.
PERSONNEL ANALYSIS: The Cowboys will attempt to re-sign free agent ILB Scott Shanle, who started several games in 2005. Shanle is a solid player and would be a good addition to most teams. He's physical against the run, though he's still a little undersized in the 3-4 at 245 pounds. He's athletic, so he's pretty reliable in the nickel and other passing situations. The Cowboys would love for him to be a good special teams player who played about 20 snaps a game in passing situations. . . .
The Cowboys have also spent a lot of time talking to C Andre Gurode's representatives. The Cowboys liked his development last year and love his size at center. The problem is that Gurode will likely garner a significant amount of attention on the open market because a lot of teams need help on their offensive line. He's not guaranteed a starting job in Dallas, where Al Johnson is the starter at center and Marco Rivera and Larry Allen are locked-in starters.
YOUTH MOVEMENT: ILB Ryan Fowler is a hard-nosed, aggressive player who moved into the starting lineup late in the season, in part, because of injuries. He has a nose for the football and likes contact -- he was a fullback in high school and has played the position in training camp with Dallas. He's robotic in pass defense because he hasn't played a lot of it and doesn't understand all of the concepts behind zone defenses in addition to reading route combinations. But he's a physical player and does a good job taking on linebackers, shedding them and making plays, which is the key to the 3-4. He will have a chance to start in 2006, but a lot depends on how much he improves his pass coverage.
2/19/2006
By Jean-Jacques Taylor
Dallas Morning News
The Cowboys completed their coaching staff by hiring Freddie Kichens to coach tight ends and Vincent Brown, who played for Parcells, to coach inside linebackers. Paul Pasqualoni moved from tight ends to outside linebackers and defensive assistant Mike McIntyre will not coach the safeties. These moves allow Mike Zimmer to be a walk-around defensive coordinator with no position group responsibility. The move that should have the biggest impact on the defense is Pasqualoni to linebackers. In the 3-4 defense, the outside linebacker is the most important spot on the unit. Pasqualoni played at Penn State, when it was Linebacker U, and he is a linebacker specialist. His presence alone should make DeMarcus Ware a much better player. Ware had eight sacks last year and was a disruptive force at times. Now, he should be even more dangerous.
PERSONNEL ANALYSIS: The Cowboys will attempt to re-sign free agent ILB Scott Shanle, who started several games in 2005. Shanle is a solid player and would be a good addition to most teams. He's physical against the run, though he's still a little undersized in the 3-4 at 245 pounds. He's athletic, so he's pretty reliable in the nickel and other passing situations. The Cowboys would love for him to be a good special teams player who played about 20 snaps a game in passing situations. . . .
The Cowboys have also spent a lot of time talking to C Andre Gurode's representatives. The Cowboys liked his development last year and love his size at center. The problem is that Gurode will likely garner a significant amount of attention on the open market because a lot of teams need help on their offensive line. He's not guaranteed a starting job in Dallas, where Al Johnson is the starter at center and Marco Rivera and Larry Allen are locked-in starters.
YOUTH MOVEMENT: ILB Ryan Fowler is a hard-nosed, aggressive player who moved into the starting lineup late in the season, in part, because of injuries. He has a nose for the football and likes contact -- he was a fullback in high school and has played the position in training camp with Dallas. He's robotic in pass defense because he hasn't played a lot of it and doesn't understand all of the concepts behind zone defenses in addition to reading route combinations. But he's a physical player and does a good job taking on linebackers, shedding them and making plays, which is the key to the 3-4. He will have a chance to start in 2006, but a lot depends on how much he improves his pass coverage.
posted by The Gryphon at 6:53 PM
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