With Focus On Romo, Bledsoe Taking Back Seat
Nick Eatman
DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer
August 17, 2006 4:49 PM
OXNARD, Calif. - The Cowboys are just a few days from wrapping up yet another training camp.
Some players haven't been able to hide from the attention, and don't exactly want to, either.
Yet others, despite how important their roles might be to the Cowboys this season, have taken a back seat to the limelight over the last three weeks.
Tight end Jason Witten and outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware both come to mind.
And let's throw in quarterback Drew Bledsoe into that group as well.
Really? The starting quarterback hasn't received much attention in training camp?
Now that doesn't mean the position overall hasn't been a hot topic. But while Bledsoe returns for his second season as the Cowboys' starting quarterback, something that hasn't occurred in Dallas since Troy Aikman began two straight camps as the starter in 1999 and 2000, most of the focus this year has been on backup Tony Romo.
Cowboys head coach Bill Parcells has been adamant about wanting to evaluate Romo, who played the entire preseason opener in Seattle last Saturday. And while Romo was rather effective, completing 19-of-25 passes for 235 yards and one score, Parcells has made it clear that the starting job is not up for grabs.
There is no quarterback controversy in Dallas.
But Bledsoe didn't need to hear that from Parcells.
"I know what's going on and I know that he wants to see Tony," Bledsoe said. "(Parcells) has told me that. I have an understanding of what we're trying to do here. And I'm for it. I like Tony, and I want him to do well. He needs the work. And he did a very good job the other night."
While Bledsoe admitted not playing last Saturday probably won't have a big effect on his season, he doesn't want it to be a regular occurrence. Bledsoe said he's hoping to make his preseason debut Monday night when the Cowboys travel to Shreveport, La., to play the Saints.
"I really don't know, but I'm expecting to play," he said after Thursday's morning practice. "We really haven't talked about it.
"Last week, it was all well and good thinking about watching a preseason game until the offense started warming up. Once we started warming up, the crowd's going, juices started flowing a little bit. I wanted to get out on the field."
And it appears he will get that opportunity at some point against the Saints.
Parcells said Thursday that Bledsoe will play, but he hasn't decided how the quarterbacks, or any other position, will be handled in the upcoming preseason game.
While it might seem uncommon for Bledsoe to play but not start Monday night, Parcells has said during this camp not to rule anything out. To fully evaluate Romo, Parcells probably needs to see him face the best competition possible, which means he might start him against the Saints' first-team defense.
For Bledsoe, it's more about staying fresh for his preseason debut.
But at some point, and that point is approaching rather quickly, Bledsoe and the entire first-team offense needs to begin working together on a consistent basis.
"I think we're getting closer - the timing offensively is getting a lot better," Bledsoe said. "We've been doing a better job in the running game. The thing that we have to do is we have got to get a cohesive unit in our offensive line and get those guys going so that we can be consistent in our pass protection, consistent in our run game with those games.''
At least Bledsoe has his starting receivers back on the practice field again. For the first time in two weeks, Terrell Owens and Terry Glenn practiced together Thursday morning. Each receiver has missed considerable time, especially Owens, who sat out 14 consecutive practices with a sore left hamstring.
While Bledsoe doesn't need much prep work with Glenn - the two played six seasons together in New England (1996-2001) - his chemistry with Owens is a different story.
"Yeah, because I haven't thrown a lot of balls to him over the year," Bledsoe said. "It's important to have him out there and it's important for us to try and do as much as we can together over the next few weeks.
"But he's doing some good things. The thing that I like, he seems to during the time that he was down, he obviously was paying a lot of attention in the meetings and he comes out and he knows what's going on."
Bledsoe says Owens possesses a rare combination of size and speed, and he's excited to have Owens back at practice so he can figure out just how fast his new receiver is on the field.
"While he's got very good hands, the thing that's different about him is his down-the-field speed, and that's the one thing that I'm going to have to get used to," Bledsoe said. "Throwing the ball down the field to him, you've really got to throw it out there so he can go run it down."
While Bledsoe and Owens can work on that in practice, they might both get a chance to do that Monday against the Saints. "I hope so," Bledsoe said. "We really need to get out there. When you're a competitor, you always want to play. I'm ready to get out there and start making some plays." Once that happens, it won't be long before everybody's talking about the starting quarterback once again.
DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer
August 17, 2006 4:49 PM
OXNARD, Calif. - The Cowboys are just a few days from wrapping up yet another training camp.
Some players haven't been able to hide from the attention, and don't exactly want to, either.
Yet others, despite how important their roles might be to the Cowboys this season, have taken a back seat to the limelight over the last three weeks.
Tight end Jason Witten and outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware both come to mind.
And let's throw in quarterback Drew Bledsoe into that group as well.
Really? The starting quarterback hasn't received much attention in training camp?
Now that doesn't mean the position overall hasn't been a hot topic. But while Bledsoe returns for his second season as the Cowboys' starting quarterback, something that hasn't occurred in Dallas since Troy Aikman began two straight camps as the starter in 1999 and 2000, most of the focus this year has been on backup Tony Romo.
Cowboys head coach Bill Parcells has been adamant about wanting to evaluate Romo, who played the entire preseason opener in Seattle last Saturday. And while Romo was rather effective, completing 19-of-25 passes for 235 yards and one score, Parcells has made it clear that the starting job is not up for grabs.
There is no quarterback controversy in Dallas.
But Bledsoe didn't need to hear that from Parcells.
"I know what's going on and I know that he wants to see Tony," Bledsoe said. "(Parcells) has told me that. I have an understanding of what we're trying to do here. And I'm for it. I like Tony, and I want him to do well. He needs the work. And he did a very good job the other night."
While Bledsoe admitted not playing last Saturday probably won't have a big effect on his season, he doesn't want it to be a regular occurrence. Bledsoe said he's hoping to make his preseason debut Monday night when the Cowboys travel to Shreveport, La., to play the Saints.
"I really don't know, but I'm expecting to play," he said after Thursday's morning practice. "We really haven't talked about it.
"Last week, it was all well and good thinking about watching a preseason game until the offense started warming up. Once we started warming up, the crowd's going, juices started flowing a little bit. I wanted to get out on the field."
And it appears he will get that opportunity at some point against the Saints.
Parcells said Thursday that Bledsoe will play, but he hasn't decided how the quarterbacks, or any other position, will be handled in the upcoming preseason game.
While it might seem uncommon for Bledsoe to play but not start Monday night, Parcells has said during this camp not to rule anything out. To fully evaluate Romo, Parcells probably needs to see him face the best competition possible, which means he might start him against the Saints' first-team defense.
For Bledsoe, it's more about staying fresh for his preseason debut.
But at some point, and that point is approaching rather quickly, Bledsoe and the entire first-team offense needs to begin working together on a consistent basis.
"I think we're getting closer - the timing offensively is getting a lot better," Bledsoe said. "We've been doing a better job in the running game. The thing that we have to do is we have got to get a cohesive unit in our offensive line and get those guys going so that we can be consistent in our pass protection, consistent in our run game with those games.''
At least Bledsoe has his starting receivers back on the practice field again. For the first time in two weeks, Terrell Owens and Terry Glenn practiced together Thursday morning. Each receiver has missed considerable time, especially Owens, who sat out 14 consecutive practices with a sore left hamstring.
While Bledsoe doesn't need much prep work with Glenn - the two played six seasons together in New England (1996-2001) - his chemistry with Owens is a different story.
"Yeah, because I haven't thrown a lot of balls to him over the year," Bledsoe said. "It's important to have him out there and it's important for us to try and do as much as we can together over the next few weeks.
"But he's doing some good things. The thing that I like, he seems to during the time that he was down, he obviously was paying a lot of attention in the meetings and he comes out and he knows what's going on."
Bledsoe says Owens possesses a rare combination of size and speed, and he's excited to have Owens back at practice so he can figure out just how fast his new receiver is on the field.
"While he's got very good hands, the thing that's different about him is his down-the-field speed, and that's the one thing that I'm going to have to get used to," Bledsoe said. "Throwing the ball down the field to him, you've really got to throw it out there so he can go run it down."
While Bledsoe and Owens can work on that in practice, they might both get a chance to do that Monday against the Saints. "I hope so," Bledsoe said. "We really need to get out there. When you're a competitor, you always want to play. I'm ready to get out there and start making some plays." Once that happens, it won't be long before everybody's talking about the starting quarterback once again.
posted by The Gryphon at 7:38 AM
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