Rookie kicker could be risky move for Cowboys
STEPHEN HAWKINS
ASSOCIATED PRESS
IRVING - While having a rookie kicker isn't a novel concept for coach Wade Phillips, that seems like a risky move for the Dallas Cowboys - a team with big expectations and a spotlight game right away.
Consider that Nick Folk's first NFL kick is likely to come Sunday night against the NFC East rival New York Giants in a nationally televised game.
And what if the final outcome comes down to a kick by Folk? Say the Cowboys in their more aggressive 3-4 defense make a big stop, then Tony Romo throws a pass to Terrell Owens to set up a game-winning field goal attempt.
Phillips insists having a rookie kicker won't change how he approaches things.
"We have confidence in him," Phillips said. "Strategy wise, he's our kicker, he has this range and this is how you'll utilize him - like you would any other kicker, whether he was a rookie or not."
• In Or Out?
A day after going through his first full practice since arthroscopic surgery Aug. 1 on his right knee, receiver Terry Glenn didn't practice Thursday.
Coach Wade Phillips said Glenn, the 33-year-old receiver going into his 12th season, was held out because he had some swelling in his knee. The coach said he was "not less or more optimistic" about Glenn playing in the opener.
Starting cornerback Terence Newman (partial tissue tear in base of his foot) also missed practice again Thursday, but hasn't been ruled out of playing against the Giants.
"If he can go, he can play," said Phillips, who just wants to see Newman go full speed at some point, and not necessarily at practice. "There's an hour-and-a-half pregame."
Backup linebacker Kevin Burnett practiced for the first time since having bone chips removed from his foot. He has said it's 50-50 that he'll play Sunday.
Starting linebacker Greg Ellis still hasn't practice while recovering from a torn Achilles' tendon he sustained last season. Still, Phillips refuses to say Ellis won't play.
• Julius In The Red?
Julius Jones doesn't know if he'll get more carries near the goal line this season, or if Marion Barber will get a lot of short-yardage runs again like he did last season when he had an NFC-high 16 touchdowns.
"I guess we'll see," Jones said Thursday. "I just want to win. If I've got to take it from 80, then so be it. I'm used to it."
Jones scored only one TD in the final nine games last season, a 77-yard run on the second offensive snap against New Orleans.
Going into his fourth season, and the last year of his contract, Jones is ready to get started.
"I've got a lot to prove," he said. "There's always talk about me and if I'm the right guy for the job here. We'll see. That's all I'm going to say."
• Quick Shots
A few random comments heard at Valley Ranch this week:
- "Nah, I expect his number to be No. 10, and his last name to be Manning." - DE Chris Canty, when asked if he expected to see a difference in New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning, now going into his fourth season.
- "It is a very high profile team and it is in Texas, my home and my family is all here. Of course, I have to buy a lot of tickets for each game. But anyway the owner likes that." - Part of Wade Phillips' response when asked if there was something special about being the Cowboys coach.
- "I didn't do nothing else but go to church and just relax. I did not think about football." - safety Roy Williams, when asked what he did last weekend before the season started.
- "You're going from a running back that was about 200 pounds to a running back that's about 260 pounds. Would you feel relieved?" - Canty, responding to comment about facing Giants starting running back Brandon Jacobs instead of Tiki Barber, who retired.
- "We are Marshall, right?" - Phillips commenting on a reporter's green striped shirt.
---
TRIVIA TIME:
Q: In honor of Nick Folk being the first kicker drafted since Jerry Jones bought the team in 1989, who was the last kicker the Cowboys drafted?
A: Jeff Ward from Texas in 1987. Ward, picked in the 11th round and 291st overall, didn't make the team and never kicked in the NFL.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
IRVING - While having a rookie kicker isn't a novel concept for coach Wade Phillips, that seems like a risky move for the Dallas Cowboys - a team with big expectations and a spotlight game right away.
Consider that Nick Folk's first NFL kick is likely to come Sunday night against the NFC East rival New York Giants in a nationally televised game.
And what if the final outcome comes down to a kick by Folk? Say the Cowboys in their more aggressive 3-4 defense make a big stop, then Tony Romo throws a pass to Terrell Owens to set up a game-winning field goal attempt.
Phillips insists having a rookie kicker won't change how he approaches things.
"We have confidence in him," Phillips said. "Strategy wise, he's our kicker, he has this range and this is how you'll utilize him - like you would any other kicker, whether he was a rookie or not."
• In Or Out?
A day after going through his first full practice since arthroscopic surgery Aug. 1 on his right knee, receiver Terry Glenn didn't practice Thursday.
Coach Wade Phillips said Glenn, the 33-year-old receiver going into his 12th season, was held out because he had some swelling in his knee. The coach said he was "not less or more optimistic" about Glenn playing in the opener.
Starting cornerback Terence Newman (partial tissue tear in base of his foot) also missed practice again Thursday, but hasn't been ruled out of playing against the Giants.
"If he can go, he can play," said Phillips, who just wants to see Newman go full speed at some point, and not necessarily at practice. "There's an hour-and-a-half pregame."
Backup linebacker Kevin Burnett practiced for the first time since having bone chips removed from his foot. He has said it's 50-50 that he'll play Sunday.
Starting linebacker Greg Ellis still hasn't practice while recovering from a torn Achilles' tendon he sustained last season. Still, Phillips refuses to say Ellis won't play.
• Julius In The Red?
Julius Jones doesn't know if he'll get more carries near the goal line this season, or if Marion Barber will get a lot of short-yardage runs again like he did last season when he had an NFC-high 16 touchdowns.
"I guess we'll see," Jones said Thursday. "I just want to win. If I've got to take it from 80, then so be it. I'm used to it."
Jones scored only one TD in the final nine games last season, a 77-yard run on the second offensive snap against New Orleans.
Going into his fourth season, and the last year of his contract, Jones is ready to get started.
"I've got a lot to prove," he said. "There's always talk about me and if I'm the right guy for the job here. We'll see. That's all I'm going to say."
• Quick Shots
A few random comments heard at Valley Ranch this week:
- "Nah, I expect his number to be No. 10, and his last name to be Manning." - DE Chris Canty, when asked if he expected to see a difference in New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning, now going into his fourth season.
- "It is a very high profile team and it is in Texas, my home and my family is all here. Of course, I have to buy a lot of tickets for each game. But anyway the owner likes that." - Part of Wade Phillips' response when asked if there was something special about being the Cowboys coach.
- "I didn't do nothing else but go to church and just relax. I did not think about football." - safety Roy Williams, when asked what he did last weekend before the season started.
- "You're going from a running back that was about 200 pounds to a running back that's about 260 pounds. Would you feel relieved?" - Canty, responding to comment about facing Giants starting running back Brandon Jacobs instead of Tiki Barber, who retired.
- "We are Marshall, right?" - Phillips commenting on a reporter's green striped shirt.
---
TRIVIA TIME:
Q: In honor of Nick Folk being the first kicker drafted since Jerry Jones bought the team in 1989, who was the last kicker the Cowboys drafted?
A: Jeff Ward from Texas in 1987. Ward, picked in the 11th round and 291st overall, didn't make the team and never kicked in the NFL.
posted by The Gryphon at 10:11 AM
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