Pacman Gets First-Team Reps; Henry Frustrated
Nick Eatman
DallasCowboys.com
IRVING, Texas - Official depth charts are never released until sometime in training camp.
Not only is it too early to hand over starting roles, but it's also a chance for the coaches to experiment with moving players around without calling it an official change.
And just maybe that's what the Cowboys did on Wednesday in the second day of mini-camp here at Valley Ranch.
In more than one drill, both individual and team, the Cowboys worked cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones in at first-team right cornerback, replacing veteran Anthony Henry at times.
Now Cowboys secondary coach Dave Campo said not to read into it.
"We're not really going in any depth chart right now," Campo said. "You guys know the guys who are going to be here, but we're mixing and matching."
However, Henry doesn't seem too excited about it.
"I've been playing in this league for eight years. I'm not blind to it," Henry said of Jones replacing him at practice. "I knew what time it was when the transaction happened at the draft. I already knew what time it was. It's just a matter of when. And maybe when is now."
Henry is obviously referring to the Cowboys acquiring Jones in a draft-day trade with Tennessee.
There has been some talk about Henry possibly moving to safety, but it doesn't appear it will happen this season. The Cowboys are working on some dime packages that include Henry playing a position that other safeties, including Roy Williams and recently-departed Keith Davis have filled.
But as for moving to safety on a full-time basis, it doesn't appear to be in the cards for this season. Henry has said he would like to move at some point in his career, like other cornerbacks have done to prolong their careers. But he also said he would prefer that kind of move to occur early in the off-season, when he could have plenty of time to learn the position.
On Tuesday, head coach Wade Phillips said he doesn't expect Henry to move much from cornerback.
"We haven't really moved him around. We moved him inside on our sub package," Phillips said of Henry. "He's been playing right corner the whole time in everything else that we do and some on our sub. We moved him inside to be able to basically to cover tight ends man-to-man in third-down situations and passing situations. He's done exceptionally well there."
Phillips said he could see Henry eventually moving to safety, but doesn't want to try that now. "He's certainly big enough. He's 210 pounds and he's athletic enough. He just plays corner so well," Phillips said. "He was leading the league [in interceptions] when he got hurt last year. He's tremendous. He's played really well at corner, so we're going to keep him at corner as long as we can. Later on, we'll look and see. I think he could go back there, but then you've got Ken Hamlin who can play free safety pretty well. He was in the Pro Bowl." So it sounds as if the Cowboys have no interest in moving Henry from cornerback. But even Henry doesn't sound so sure that his starting spot will be intact.
DallasCowboys.com
IRVING, Texas - Official depth charts are never released until sometime in training camp.
Not only is it too early to hand over starting roles, but it's also a chance for the coaches to experiment with moving players around without calling it an official change.
And just maybe that's what the Cowboys did on Wednesday in the second day of mini-camp here at Valley Ranch.
In more than one drill, both individual and team, the Cowboys worked cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones in at first-team right cornerback, replacing veteran Anthony Henry at times.
Now Cowboys secondary coach Dave Campo said not to read into it.
"We're not really going in any depth chart right now," Campo said. "You guys know the guys who are going to be here, but we're mixing and matching."
However, Henry doesn't seem too excited about it.
"I've been playing in this league for eight years. I'm not blind to it," Henry said of Jones replacing him at practice. "I knew what time it was when the transaction happened at the draft. I already knew what time it was. It's just a matter of when. And maybe when is now."
Henry is obviously referring to the Cowboys acquiring Jones in a draft-day trade with Tennessee.
There has been some talk about Henry possibly moving to safety, but it doesn't appear it will happen this season. The Cowboys are working on some dime packages that include Henry playing a position that other safeties, including Roy Williams and recently-departed Keith Davis have filled.
But as for moving to safety on a full-time basis, it doesn't appear to be in the cards for this season. Henry has said he would like to move at some point in his career, like other cornerbacks have done to prolong their careers. But he also said he would prefer that kind of move to occur early in the off-season, when he could have plenty of time to learn the position.
On Tuesday, head coach Wade Phillips said he doesn't expect Henry to move much from cornerback.
"We haven't really moved him around. We moved him inside on our sub package," Phillips said of Henry. "He's been playing right corner the whole time in everything else that we do and some on our sub. We moved him inside to be able to basically to cover tight ends man-to-man in third-down situations and passing situations. He's done exceptionally well there."
Phillips said he could see Henry eventually moving to safety, but doesn't want to try that now. "He's certainly big enough. He's 210 pounds and he's athletic enough. He just plays corner so well," Phillips said. "He was leading the league [in interceptions] when he got hurt last year. He's tremendous. He's played really well at corner, so we're going to keep him at corner as long as we can. Later on, we'll look and see. I think he could go back there, but then you've got Ken Hamlin who can play free safety pretty well. He was in the Pro Bowl." So it sounds as if the Cowboys have no interest in moving Henry from cornerback. But even Henry doesn't sound so sure that his starting spot will be intact.
posted by The Gryphon at 8:49 PM
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