USAToday: Training camp preview: NFC East
With NFL training camps rapidly approaching, USA TODAY offers a look at the priorities of each team as the pads come back on for two-a-days. Click on each team's name for an expanded team report:
DALLAS COWBOYS
1. Continue the development of quarterback Tony Romo
The Cowboys are banking on Tony Romo being their future at quarterback. They said as much when they passed on Brady Quinn in this year's draft. Now it's up to them to make sure he realizes his potential.
Romo, who didn't throw a pass in his first three years in the league, caught lightning in a bottle in 2006, going 5-1 in his first six starts.
FIND MORE STORIES IN: NFL | National Football League | Pro Bowl | Roy Williams | NFC West
It was enough for Romo to make the Pro Bowl. But Romo's season didn't end as promisingly as it started. The Cowboys were 1-4 in their last five games. Romo's numbers were ugly with seven touchdowns, six interceptions and five lost fumbles. Still, it wasn't all Romo when the Cowboys were winning and it wasn't all Romo when they were losing.
Although the Cowboys believe in him, his undrafted free-agent pedigree suggests that their patience won't last beyond this year if he struggles.
That's why the primary focus in training camp will be to continue his development. He has good teachers in offensive coordinator Jason Garrett, quarterbacks coach Wade Wilson and backup quarterback Brad Johnson.
2. Get the defense acclimated to the new scheme
The Cowboys are excited about the change in coaches from Bill Parcells to Wade Phillips because of the change in atmosphere as well as the change in defensive scheme. Phillips is laid back compared to the demanding Parcells. But he also is more aggressive in his defensive approach, which is welcomed by many of the Cowboys' defensive players. Phillips' focus will be to put his playmakers, like safety Roy Williams and linebacker DeMarcus Ware, in position to make plays on every down. His philosophy of going after the quarterback first and foremost should result in more big plays by the defense. The Cowboys even believe they have more talent on defense than Phillips' San Diego unit of a year ago. The Cowboys' unit includes seven first-round draft picks. So they believe the potential is there to be a dominant unit. Training camp will be their proving ground.
3. Settle the free safety position
The Cowboys have had a revolving door at free safety since the retirement of Darren Woodson following the 2004 season. Now that Ken Hamlin has entered the mix, the Cowboys hope things will settle down.
Hamlin will compete with Keith Davis and Pat Watkins for the starting job. Davis and Watkins failed at the position last season, though the team still has hopes for Watkins, who was a rookie in 2006. The bottom line is the Cowboys are trying to win now. Hamlin has the best mix of skills to be the player they want at the position. He has the experience to make all the calls in the secondary and skills to cover the deep middle, allowing strong safety Roy Williams to play closer to the line of scrimmage. At least that's the plan if Hamlin can prove himself in training camp.
• Camp calendar: The Cowboys report to training camp in San Antonio at 8 a.m. July 25. They have their first practice at 2:30 pm that afternoon.
NEW YORK GIANTS
1. Find an acceptable offensive left tackle
It is no secret now that the Giants passed on a few veteran tackles, whether the reason was money or a lack of confidence. Now they are "stuck" with their original thought, which is to move starting left guard David Diehl to the position they created by the surprising release of veteran Luke Petitgout. Can Diehl do it? Some say yes, many more say no. He doesn't have quick feet, and that all-important position could turn into a swinging gate for the quick defensive ends. Behind him is second-year Guy Whimper, a fourth-round draft pick in '06, who thus far has had no impact at all.
2. Replace retired superstar running back Tiki Barber
The consensus is that the entire running game will change because hulking-yet-fast Brandon Jacobs, 6-4 and 260, is going to become the starter. He will be starting his fourth season and has flashed indications that he could be special. Good size, good hands, better than good speed — all wrapped up in a powerful body. To enhance the power aspect of their new running game, the Giants traded for veteran Reuben Droughns from Cleveland (5-11, 230). It won't be as flashy or as electrifying as the Tiki-style game, but Jacobs, if he's successful, is going to wear down the best of run-stop defenses.
3. Clean up the secondary, especially on the corners
The results from the secondary last season were paltry, the successes few and far between. Despite an active attempt to find veterans — which resulted in the signing of cornerbacks Sam Madison and R.W. McQuarters— and the hope that 2005 second round pick Corey Webster would wake up, improvement was measured in inches, not miles. New defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo is willing to give the 6-0, 202-pound Webster a major chance, albeit his last, and the team's first-round pick, Aaron Ross (6-0, 197, Texas) seems destined to get a starting role, if not when the season opens but shortly thereafter.
• Camp calendar: The Giants' training camp on the campus of the University of Albany in upstate New York opens July 27, with the first practices scheduled for the next day. Camp will close Aug. 23, two days before their third (of four) preseason games.
There are no scheduled inter-squad scrimmages. There will be eight evening practices as the second of two-a-day sessions. Those late practices will start at 6:10 p.m. and conclude at 8:10 p.m.
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES
1. Get Donovan McNabb ready for Week 1
The five-time Pro Bowl quarterback is recovering from a torn ACL. His rehabilitation from the November '06 injury appears to be going well. He participated in the team's final four June OTA workouts and expects to be ready for the start of training camp later this month.
But the Eagles likely will treat him with kid gloves during camp and the preseason to make sure he's ready for the Sept. 9 opener against Green Bay. McNabb has indicated that he'll let his knee dictate how much he does during training camp and the preseason.
"We have to stick to reality," he said. "We never know what may happen. You're trying to eliminate as many setbacks as possible. You just want to continue to be smart with it. If that means me coming into training camp and the leg is not where I want it to be, then that means I may not practice. Or (if) the exhibition games come around and I'm not ready, I will not play."
2. Settle their linebacker issues
The Eagles upgraded their linebacking corps in the offseason with the addition of Takeo Spikes. They hope to play him at WILL, but that will depend on what happens at the other two linebacker positions during camp.
Will untested second-year man Chris Gocong be able to make the transition from a college defensive end to an NFL strongside linebacker? Does a lighter Jeremiah Trotter have enough gas left in his tank and cartilage left in his knees to give them a productive season in the middle? Or will Spikes, who can play all three LB spots, have to be moved to SAM or MIKE?
Defensive coordinator Jim Johnson was very pleased with Gocong's progress during spring minicamps and OTAs. But that was in shorts. Now, he's got to prove he can handle the job in pads.
3. Assimilate wide receiver Kevin Curtis into the offense
The Eagles signed the ex-Ram in the offseason to replace departed Donte' Stallworth.
Curtis was very productive as a slot receiver in St. Louis behind Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt. But he's going to be primarily lining up on the outside for the Eagles and facing a better quality cornerback.
The Eagles' complex West Coast offense is a tough-learn for a new receiver, particularly for a guy coming from an offense like the Rams, which is nothing like the one the Eagles run. But Curtis is a smart guy.
A bigger hurdle for him might be the fact that he wasn't able to work with McNabb much in the offseason because the quarterback was recovering from his knee injury. He did spend a couple of weeks in late June out at McNabb's home in Phoenix working out with him, which should help them sharpen their timing before the start of camp.
• Camp calendar: Rookies and selected veterans will report to Lehigh University on July 27, with the remaining veterans scheduled to report on July 30. The first team's first full-squad workout will be on July 31. Eagles will only be at Lehigh for a couple of weeks, breaking camp on August 12, the day before their first preseason game against Baltimore. They'll resume training camp on August 15 at their practice facility in Philadelphia. Only the workouts at Lehigh will be open to the public.
WASHINGTON REDSKINS
1. Get the defense back to its top 10 form of 2004-05
The Redskins' biggest question is whether the defense can truly put its disastrous 2006 season in the past and regain the swagger and aggressiveness that made it one of the NFL's best in 2004-05.
Assistant head coach Gregg Williams' defense overachieved in 2004, ranking third in the NFL with just one Pro Bowl player, strong side linebacker Marcus Washington. The following season, Williams' unit was critical in ending the Redskins' five-year playoff drought as it forced 20 turnovers in the final six games alone.
However, the defense produced just 12 turnovers all last season, the fewest ever in a 16-game season, as pretty much whatever could go wrong did just that.
Top cornerback Shawn Springs went down with a sports hernia after the first preseason game. Two weeks later, hotshot free agent safety Adam Archuleta and the defense were toasted 41-0 at New England. Pierson Prioleau, who was going to start the opener ahead of Archuleta, suffered a season-ending knee injury before playing a snap on defense.
By Week 6, tackles Cornelius Griffin and Joe Salave'a— who would be replaced for good by rookie Kedric Golston— had joined Springs on the sidelines. Washington would finish the year on injured reserve as would Springs.
It took end Phillip Daniels, who had four sacks in a game in 2005, 11 weeks to record three in 2006. It took high-priced free agent running mate Andre Carter 12 weeks to do the same.
Highly-touted safety Sean Taylor spent much of the season chasing receivers way downfield while Archuleta was such a disaster that he was benched at midseason for 35-year-old street free agent Troy Vincent and then, for special teamer Vernon Fox. Corner Carlos Rogers slumped badly in his second season. And Springs couldn't stay healthy.
Williams and all of these players — except Archuleta, who was traded to Chicago — return in 2007. London Fletcher, who led the NFL in tackles while running Williams' defense in Buffalo, takes over for Lemar Marshall, who was out of position at middle linebacker and who'll likely play behind 2006 top pick Rocky McIntosh on the weak side. LaRon Landry, the sixth choice in the draft, should be Taylor's partner by the start of autumn, if not the start of the season.
The front four is unchanged, but like the rest of the defense has vowed to return to its better days despite many aging members. Those hopes need to begin to be fulfilled in August.
2. Establish chemistry between quarterback Jason Campbell and his receivers
Santana Moss, a 2005 Pro Bowl receiver, was a non-factor in Campbell's first two starts last year and missed most of the on-field work this spring. Brandon Lloyd, who had a miserable (23 catches, no touchdowns) Redskins debut, was a non-factor in Campbell's final two starts. And Antwaan Randle El didn't top two catches or 14 yards in five of Campbell's starts.
3. Figure out if Todd Wade can play guard
Wade started all but five games in five-plus seasons before tearing up a knee in November 2005 with Houston. The knee is fine now and he played well in his lone start in 2007, but Wade admitted that he still needs to master such nuances of playing inside as bending low to gain leverage, something that's not to easy when you're 6-foot-8.
• Camp calendar: Opens on Friday July 27; Scrimmage in Baltimore on Aug. 4; Closes to fans on Aug. 8.
Notes provided by the SportsXchange
DALLAS COWBOYS
1. Continue the development of quarterback Tony Romo
The Cowboys are banking on Tony Romo being their future at quarterback. They said as much when they passed on Brady Quinn in this year's draft. Now it's up to them to make sure he realizes his potential.
Romo, who didn't throw a pass in his first three years in the league, caught lightning in a bottle in 2006, going 5-1 in his first six starts.
FIND MORE STORIES IN: NFL | National Football League | Pro Bowl | Roy Williams | NFC West
It was enough for Romo to make the Pro Bowl. But Romo's season didn't end as promisingly as it started. The Cowboys were 1-4 in their last five games. Romo's numbers were ugly with seven touchdowns, six interceptions and five lost fumbles. Still, it wasn't all Romo when the Cowboys were winning and it wasn't all Romo when they were losing.
Although the Cowboys believe in him, his undrafted free-agent pedigree suggests that their patience won't last beyond this year if he struggles.
That's why the primary focus in training camp will be to continue his development. He has good teachers in offensive coordinator Jason Garrett, quarterbacks coach Wade Wilson and backup quarterback Brad Johnson.
2. Get the defense acclimated to the new scheme
The Cowboys are excited about the change in coaches from Bill Parcells to Wade Phillips because of the change in atmosphere as well as the change in defensive scheme. Phillips is laid back compared to the demanding Parcells. But he also is more aggressive in his defensive approach, which is welcomed by many of the Cowboys' defensive players. Phillips' focus will be to put his playmakers, like safety Roy Williams and linebacker DeMarcus Ware, in position to make plays on every down. His philosophy of going after the quarterback first and foremost should result in more big plays by the defense. The Cowboys even believe they have more talent on defense than Phillips' San Diego unit of a year ago. The Cowboys' unit includes seven first-round draft picks. So they believe the potential is there to be a dominant unit. Training camp will be their proving ground.
3. Settle the free safety position
The Cowboys have had a revolving door at free safety since the retirement of Darren Woodson following the 2004 season. Now that Ken Hamlin has entered the mix, the Cowboys hope things will settle down.
Hamlin will compete with Keith Davis and Pat Watkins for the starting job. Davis and Watkins failed at the position last season, though the team still has hopes for Watkins, who was a rookie in 2006. The bottom line is the Cowboys are trying to win now. Hamlin has the best mix of skills to be the player they want at the position. He has the experience to make all the calls in the secondary and skills to cover the deep middle, allowing strong safety Roy Williams to play closer to the line of scrimmage. At least that's the plan if Hamlin can prove himself in training camp.
• Camp calendar: The Cowboys report to training camp in San Antonio at 8 a.m. July 25. They have their first practice at 2:30 pm that afternoon.
NEW YORK GIANTS
1. Find an acceptable offensive left tackle
It is no secret now that the Giants passed on a few veteran tackles, whether the reason was money or a lack of confidence. Now they are "stuck" with their original thought, which is to move starting left guard David Diehl to the position they created by the surprising release of veteran Luke Petitgout. Can Diehl do it? Some say yes, many more say no. He doesn't have quick feet, and that all-important position could turn into a swinging gate for the quick defensive ends. Behind him is second-year Guy Whimper, a fourth-round draft pick in '06, who thus far has had no impact at all.
2. Replace retired superstar running back Tiki Barber
The consensus is that the entire running game will change because hulking-yet-fast Brandon Jacobs, 6-4 and 260, is going to become the starter. He will be starting his fourth season and has flashed indications that he could be special. Good size, good hands, better than good speed — all wrapped up in a powerful body. To enhance the power aspect of their new running game, the Giants traded for veteran Reuben Droughns from Cleveland (5-11, 230). It won't be as flashy or as electrifying as the Tiki-style game, but Jacobs, if he's successful, is going to wear down the best of run-stop defenses.
3. Clean up the secondary, especially on the corners
The results from the secondary last season were paltry, the successes few and far between. Despite an active attempt to find veterans — which resulted in the signing of cornerbacks Sam Madison and R.W. McQuarters— and the hope that 2005 second round pick Corey Webster would wake up, improvement was measured in inches, not miles. New defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo is willing to give the 6-0, 202-pound Webster a major chance, albeit his last, and the team's first-round pick, Aaron Ross (6-0, 197, Texas) seems destined to get a starting role, if not when the season opens but shortly thereafter.
• Camp calendar: The Giants' training camp on the campus of the University of Albany in upstate New York opens July 27, with the first practices scheduled for the next day. Camp will close Aug. 23, two days before their third (of four) preseason games.
There are no scheduled inter-squad scrimmages. There will be eight evening practices as the second of two-a-day sessions. Those late practices will start at 6:10 p.m. and conclude at 8:10 p.m.
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES
1. Get Donovan McNabb ready for Week 1
The five-time Pro Bowl quarterback is recovering from a torn ACL. His rehabilitation from the November '06 injury appears to be going well. He participated in the team's final four June OTA workouts and expects to be ready for the start of training camp later this month.
But the Eagles likely will treat him with kid gloves during camp and the preseason to make sure he's ready for the Sept. 9 opener against Green Bay. McNabb has indicated that he'll let his knee dictate how much he does during training camp and the preseason.
"We have to stick to reality," he said. "We never know what may happen. You're trying to eliminate as many setbacks as possible. You just want to continue to be smart with it. If that means me coming into training camp and the leg is not where I want it to be, then that means I may not practice. Or (if) the exhibition games come around and I'm not ready, I will not play."
2. Settle their linebacker issues
The Eagles upgraded their linebacking corps in the offseason with the addition of Takeo Spikes. They hope to play him at WILL, but that will depend on what happens at the other two linebacker positions during camp.
Will untested second-year man Chris Gocong be able to make the transition from a college defensive end to an NFL strongside linebacker? Does a lighter Jeremiah Trotter have enough gas left in his tank and cartilage left in his knees to give them a productive season in the middle? Or will Spikes, who can play all three LB spots, have to be moved to SAM or MIKE?
Defensive coordinator Jim Johnson was very pleased with Gocong's progress during spring minicamps and OTAs. But that was in shorts. Now, he's got to prove he can handle the job in pads.
3. Assimilate wide receiver Kevin Curtis into the offense
The Eagles signed the ex-Ram in the offseason to replace departed Donte' Stallworth.
Curtis was very productive as a slot receiver in St. Louis behind Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt. But he's going to be primarily lining up on the outside for the Eagles and facing a better quality cornerback.
The Eagles' complex West Coast offense is a tough-learn for a new receiver, particularly for a guy coming from an offense like the Rams, which is nothing like the one the Eagles run. But Curtis is a smart guy.
A bigger hurdle for him might be the fact that he wasn't able to work with McNabb much in the offseason because the quarterback was recovering from his knee injury. He did spend a couple of weeks in late June out at McNabb's home in Phoenix working out with him, which should help them sharpen their timing before the start of camp.
• Camp calendar: Rookies and selected veterans will report to Lehigh University on July 27, with the remaining veterans scheduled to report on July 30. The first team's first full-squad workout will be on July 31. Eagles will only be at Lehigh for a couple of weeks, breaking camp on August 12, the day before their first preseason game against Baltimore. They'll resume training camp on August 15 at their practice facility in Philadelphia. Only the workouts at Lehigh will be open to the public.
WASHINGTON REDSKINS
1. Get the defense back to its top 10 form of 2004-05
The Redskins' biggest question is whether the defense can truly put its disastrous 2006 season in the past and regain the swagger and aggressiveness that made it one of the NFL's best in 2004-05.
Assistant head coach Gregg Williams' defense overachieved in 2004, ranking third in the NFL with just one Pro Bowl player, strong side linebacker Marcus Washington. The following season, Williams' unit was critical in ending the Redskins' five-year playoff drought as it forced 20 turnovers in the final six games alone.
However, the defense produced just 12 turnovers all last season, the fewest ever in a 16-game season, as pretty much whatever could go wrong did just that.
Top cornerback Shawn Springs went down with a sports hernia after the first preseason game. Two weeks later, hotshot free agent safety Adam Archuleta and the defense were toasted 41-0 at New England. Pierson Prioleau, who was going to start the opener ahead of Archuleta, suffered a season-ending knee injury before playing a snap on defense.
By Week 6, tackles Cornelius Griffin and Joe Salave'a— who would be replaced for good by rookie Kedric Golston— had joined Springs on the sidelines. Washington would finish the year on injured reserve as would Springs.
It took end Phillip Daniels, who had four sacks in a game in 2005, 11 weeks to record three in 2006. It took high-priced free agent running mate Andre Carter 12 weeks to do the same.
Highly-touted safety Sean Taylor spent much of the season chasing receivers way downfield while Archuleta was such a disaster that he was benched at midseason for 35-year-old street free agent Troy Vincent and then, for special teamer Vernon Fox. Corner Carlos Rogers slumped badly in his second season. And Springs couldn't stay healthy.
Williams and all of these players — except Archuleta, who was traded to Chicago — return in 2007. London Fletcher, who led the NFL in tackles while running Williams' defense in Buffalo, takes over for Lemar Marshall, who was out of position at middle linebacker and who'll likely play behind 2006 top pick Rocky McIntosh on the weak side. LaRon Landry, the sixth choice in the draft, should be Taylor's partner by the start of autumn, if not the start of the season.
The front four is unchanged, but like the rest of the defense has vowed to return to its better days despite many aging members. Those hopes need to begin to be fulfilled in August.
2. Establish chemistry between quarterback Jason Campbell and his receivers
Santana Moss, a 2005 Pro Bowl receiver, was a non-factor in Campbell's first two starts last year and missed most of the on-field work this spring. Brandon Lloyd, who had a miserable (23 catches, no touchdowns) Redskins debut, was a non-factor in Campbell's final two starts. And Antwaan Randle El didn't top two catches or 14 yards in five of Campbell's starts.
3. Figure out if Todd Wade can play guard
Wade started all but five games in five-plus seasons before tearing up a knee in November 2005 with Houston. The knee is fine now and he played well in his lone start in 2007, but Wade admitted that he still needs to master such nuances of playing inside as bending low to gain leverage, something that's not to easy when you're 6-foot-8.
• Camp calendar: Opens on Friday July 27; Scrimmage in Baltimore on Aug. 4; Closes to fans on Aug. 8.
Notes provided by the SportsXchange
posted by The Gryphon at 6:06 PM
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