Dallas Cowboys' Bennett steps back to move forward
By TODD ARCHER
The Dallas Morning News
IRVING – The Gatorade is on Jason Witten's desk before every meeting. Martellus Bennett makes sure of that. And it has to be Frost. No other flavor will do.
It's part of the learning process for Bennett, a second-round pick, as he makes the transition from Texas A&M to the Cowboys.
So far, the tight end's progress has been very rookie-like – a tight catch in traffic on one play, a drop on the next; the right footwork on a pass block, a misstep while run blocking.
He is also going through another change.
For the first time in his athletic life, Bennett is not the focal point.
At Alief Taylor High School, Bennett was a first-team Class 5A all-state pick and thought so highly of his basketball skills that he put his name in for the NBA draft. At A&M, he caught a pass in a school-record 29 straight games and led the Aggies in 2007 with 49 catches for 587 yards and four touchdowns.
All of it made him good enough to be a second-round pick. Now he is fetching Gatorades and watching more than he ever has while Witten takes the first-team reps.
"I tell him, 'Make those times when you're behind the huddle productive by getting a mental rep,' " tight ends coach John Garrett said. "I constantly remind him because he's going to get this play in six plays, and he better know what he's doing. You've got to decide, 'Am I going to use every opportunity to improve myself, or am I going to fly by night and hopefully get it right?' "
Witten was in the same position as a rookie in 2003. He got Gatorade for Dan Campbell. He had his position coach then, Tony Sparano, demanding he know everything.
"Dan was good because he let me know we're competing, but at the same time he didn't want to give me too much and understand there's a lot of responsibility on myself," Witten said. "I saw how he worked, saw how he prepared and saw how he was as a team."
Now, Witten is among the NFL's best tight ends with four straight Pro Bowl appearances. The Cowboys hope Bennett learns the how-to by watching Witten not just in games but during camps.
"He's a technician," Bennett said. "A lot of the stuff, he tries to be perfect with everything he does. That's one thing I've noticed about how he practices and his approach to practice and the tempo he goes at every day. It's amazing. He's a hard worker. It's fun to work with a guy like that."
Except for the quarterback, a tight end in the Cowboys' offense has the most to learn.
They have to pass protect. They have to line up in the backfield. They have to block on the strong and weak sides. They line up on the line, in the slot or out wide. They have to go in motion.
"College football is a whole lot easier," Bennett said. "Less thinking, less knowledge of the game – you really just go out there and play every weekend. Now, you've got to go out there and read everything. Man, this is like college times 20."
Before the first minicamp in May, Garrett sent Bennett a practice script so he could be familiar with the offense. When he arrived, Bennett had taped the plays to a notebook with questions about his responsibilities. When he left the first camp he asked Garrett if he could take home one of the teaching tapes that had mostly Witten's catches and blocks, something Bennett said he looks at almost every day.
During the organized team activities, he handed Garrett eight pages of diagrammed plays, sort of like a homework assignment.
"The want-to is there," Garrett said. "He's smart. He's capable. He's strong. He's got a chance to be a good player."
The Dallas Morning News
IRVING – The Gatorade is on Jason Witten's desk before every meeting. Martellus Bennett makes sure of that. And it has to be Frost. No other flavor will do.
It's part of the learning process for Bennett, a second-round pick, as he makes the transition from Texas A&M to the Cowboys.
So far, the tight end's progress has been very rookie-like – a tight catch in traffic on one play, a drop on the next; the right footwork on a pass block, a misstep while run blocking.
He is also going through another change.
For the first time in his athletic life, Bennett is not the focal point.
At Alief Taylor High School, Bennett was a first-team Class 5A all-state pick and thought so highly of his basketball skills that he put his name in for the NBA draft. At A&M, he caught a pass in a school-record 29 straight games and led the Aggies in 2007 with 49 catches for 587 yards and four touchdowns.
All of it made him good enough to be a second-round pick. Now he is fetching Gatorades and watching more than he ever has while Witten takes the first-team reps.
"I tell him, 'Make those times when you're behind the huddle productive by getting a mental rep,' " tight ends coach John Garrett said. "I constantly remind him because he's going to get this play in six plays, and he better know what he's doing. You've got to decide, 'Am I going to use every opportunity to improve myself, or am I going to fly by night and hopefully get it right?' "
Witten was in the same position as a rookie in 2003. He got Gatorade for Dan Campbell. He had his position coach then, Tony Sparano, demanding he know everything.
"Dan was good because he let me know we're competing, but at the same time he didn't want to give me too much and understand there's a lot of responsibility on myself," Witten said. "I saw how he worked, saw how he prepared and saw how he was as a team."
Now, Witten is among the NFL's best tight ends with four straight Pro Bowl appearances. The Cowboys hope Bennett learns the how-to by watching Witten not just in games but during camps.
"He's a technician," Bennett said. "A lot of the stuff, he tries to be perfect with everything he does. That's one thing I've noticed about how he practices and his approach to practice and the tempo he goes at every day. It's amazing. He's a hard worker. It's fun to work with a guy like that."
Except for the quarterback, a tight end in the Cowboys' offense has the most to learn.
They have to pass protect. They have to line up in the backfield. They have to block on the strong and weak sides. They line up on the line, in the slot or out wide. They have to go in motion.
"College football is a whole lot easier," Bennett said. "Less thinking, less knowledge of the game – you really just go out there and play every weekend. Now, you've got to go out there and read everything. Man, this is like college times 20."
Before the first minicamp in May, Garrett sent Bennett a practice script so he could be familiar with the offense. When he arrived, Bennett had taped the plays to a notebook with questions about his responsibilities. When he left the first camp he asked Garrett if he could take home one of the teaching tapes that had mostly Witten's catches and blocks, something Bennett said he looks at almost every day.
During the organized team activities, he handed Garrett eight pages of diagrammed plays, sort of like a homework assignment.
"The want-to is there," Garrett said. "He's smart. He's capable. He's strong. He's got a chance to be a good player."
posted by The Gryphon at 6:57 AM
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