UPDATED: Cowboys Insider: A hobbled Newman could doom defense to another disappointing season
Tom Orsborn
San Antonio Express-News
It's difficult to imagine the Dallas Cowboys reaching the Super Bowl with Anthony Henry and Aaron Glenn as their starting cornerbacks.
Make no mistake. Henry and Glenn are solid players. But neither is in Terence Newman's class.
With Newman hobbled by plantar fasciitis in his right foot, the Cowboys are facing the prospect of beginning the season without a cornerback Pro Football Weekly rates second only to Denver's Champ Bailey.
"It is something he needs to stay off of, so that's what we're going to do," coach Wade Phillips said of Newman.
But what if Newman still needs to stay off it come September? Phillips says he thinks Newman will be ready for the opener against the New York Giants on Sept. 9, but Phillips is also the same guy who said this of defensive end Greg Ellis' bursitis the first day of training camp:
"We don't think it's serious. It was to be expected that he would have some pain (after rupturing his left Achilles' tendon in November). But I think (Ellis) will bounce back and do more tomorrow and the next day and the next day."
Of course, it appears more and more likely that Ellis won't play in the opener or any other game in the season's first half.
But because they drafted Anthony Spencer in the spring and Bobby Carpenter in 2006, the Cowboys can live without Ellis. The same, however, can't be said of Newman.
And, unlike outside linebacker, the Cowboys have depth problems at cornerback. The plan now is for the 35-year-old Glenn to fill in for Newman on the left side.
But what happens if Glenn goes down? Phillips painted a bleak picture when asked Thursday about the state of the team's corners not named Newman, Glenn or Henry, who opposing offensive coordinators like to pick on so much.
"I like some of the things they are doing certainly, but I don't have a great feeling that we've got four corners or five corners that can really play," Phillips said, making it clear he sees nothing special in Nate Jones, Jacques Reeves, Joey Thomas, Quincy Butler and rookies Alan Ball and Courtney Brown.
On the bright side, the Cowboys can compensate for Newman's injury with a strong pass rush. That's where Spencer comes in.
"We have to whip him into shape," linebacker Bradie James said. "He has to get out of that college mentality where you just go out and make two big plays and you are done.
"But I think he has the character to do it. He will be fine."
James said he and his defensive teammates haven't given up on Ellis returning.
"If he does return, watch out," James said. "The sky will be the limit for this defense. If he comes back, offenses not only have to worry about another rusher coming off the edge. They have to worry about Greg Ellis."
But if Ellis doesn't return, Spencer is just so-so and Newman is hobbled, the defense could be in for another disappointing season.
San Antonio Express-News
It's difficult to imagine the Dallas Cowboys reaching the Super Bowl with Anthony Henry and Aaron Glenn as their starting cornerbacks.
Make no mistake. Henry and Glenn are solid players. But neither is in Terence Newman's class.
With Newman hobbled by plantar fasciitis in his right foot, the Cowboys are facing the prospect of beginning the season without a cornerback Pro Football Weekly rates second only to Denver's Champ Bailey.
"It is something he needs to stay off of, so that's what we're going to do," coach Wade Phillips said of Newman.
But what if Newman still needs to stay off it come September? Phillips says he thinks Newman will be ready for the opener against the New York Giants on Sept. 9, but Phillips is also the same guy who said this of defensive end Greg Ellis' bursitis the first day of training camp:
"We don't think it's serious. It was to be expected that he would have some pain (after rupturing his left Achilles' tendon in November). But I think (Ellis) will bounce back and do more tomorrow and the next day and the next day."
Of course, it appears more and more likely that Ellis won't play in the opener or any other game in the season's first half.
But because they drafted Anthony Spencer in the spring and Bobby Carpenter in 2006, the Cowboys can live without Ellis. The same, however, can't be said of Newman.
And, unlike outside linebacker, the Cowboys have depth problems at cornerback. The plan now is for the 35-year-old Glenn to fill in for Newman on the left side.
But what happens if Glenn goes down? Phillips painted a bleak picture when asked Thursday about the state of the team's corners not named Newman, Glenn or Henry, who opposing offensive coordinators like to pick on so much.
"I like some of the things they are doing certainly, but I don't have a great feeling that we've got four corners or five corners that can really play," Phillips said, making it clear he sees nothing special in Nate Jones, Jacques Reeves, Joey Thomas, Quincy Butler and rookies Alan Ball and Courtney Brown.
On the bright side, the Cowboys can compensate for Newman's injury with a strong pass rush. That's where Spencer comes in.
"We have to whip him into shape," linebacker Bradie James said. "He has to get out of that college mentality where you just go out and make two big plays and you are done.
"But I think he has the character to do it. He will be fine."
James said he and his defensive teammates haven't given up on Ellis returning.
"If he does return, watch out," James said. "The sky will be the limit for this defense. If he comes back, offenses not only have to worry about another rusher coming off the edge. They have to worry about Greg Ellis."
But if Ellis doesn't return, Spencer is just so-so and Newman is hobbled, the defense could be in for another disappointing season.
posted by The Gryphon at 8:49 PM
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