DMN Blog: Live from Oxnard XI: T.O.'s talking trash to Pacman
by Tim MacMahon
Weather: 69 degrees with precious few clouds in the sky.
Per Wade Phillips, this practice will be heavy on the red-zone work with some late two-minute drill action. It's helmets and shoulder pads, so we'll have some contact.
Follow the jump and refresh as you see fit to read all about what should be a much more entertaining practice than this morning's ...
5:17 -- DeMarcus Ware (head) will practice, but Anthony Spencer will still get first-team reps with Greg Ellis (back) watching. Phillips gushed about Spencer this afternoon. "Anthony Spencer has done extremely well. He looks better than he did last year, and I thought he did a lot of good things last year."
5:22 -- Well, apparently Greg Ellis didn't get the memo that he's not practicing. He just walked out onto the field wearing his shoulder pads. You don't think he's paranoid about losing reps, do you?
5:30 -- Still doing warmup position drills. ... By the way, Wade Phillips said he expects CB Alan Ball to miss a total of a week or so with his sprained ankle.
5:33 -- Somebody please explain the concept of sarcasm regarding Greg Ellis and reps. ... Mike D, don't see Spencer being used as an inside pass rusher. Justin Tuck is about 15-20 pounds heavier than Spencer. But the Cowboys have a package where Greg Ellis is a DE in a 3-man front with Spencer and DeMarcus Ware as the OLBs. We saw that some last season, and I'd expect to see a lot more of it this season.
5:37 -- Stretching just started. Hard Knocks folks seem to be focusing on Sam Hurd, who wore an "iBlock" T-shirt this morning. As Adam Archuleta can attest, that T-shirt is truthful. ... Haven't forgotten about my major Hard Knocks breaking news. More on that this evening. I want to make sure anticipation is properly built up.
5:41 -- Stretching over. ... Offense running plays vs. air. Defense doing position drill. ... Added a link above regarding the package that puts Spencer, Ware and Ellis on the field together for folks interested in that sort of thing.
5:43 -- Offense is running mock two-minute drill. They're in a 3-WR set with Sam Hurd and T.O. out wide and Patrick Crayton in the slot. Marion Barber is the lone back with Jason Witten at TE.
5:45 -- OLB Tearrius George, who missed several practices with a bone bruise on his knee, is back out there. Don't see Tyson Smith, who got his bell rung by Marion "The Barbarian" Barber's oooooh-inducing blitz pick-up.
5:48 -- WRs with second-team two-minute drill were Isaiah Stanback, Mike Jefferson and Miles Austin (slot). I would have guessed that Austin would have been outside with Danny Amendola in the slot. It'll be interesting to monitor those reps during live action late in practice.
5:51 -- Another exciting Greg Ellis update: It doesn't look like he's actually going through drills. He pretty much a spectator in shoulder pads at this point. I'll let you know if he gets reps during competitive stuff later.
5:53 -- Per request, a Rowdy update: Haven't seen him this afternoon, but he's a fixture out here with his tricked-out four-wheeler. ... Cowboys are doing position drills.
5:55 -- Big groan from the crowd when Isaiah Stanback dropped a pass by the sideline in front of the fence,. Danny Amendola dropped one, too. They're running corner routes, and ex-UTEP QB Wes Phillips is intentionally throwing tough balls to catch.
5:59 -- Still doing position drills, so I'll answer a question: This has been a rather friendly camp. I've seen a couple shoves exchanged (Marc Colombo/Jay Ratliff and Bradie James/Deon "Cricket" Anderson), but nothing close to a scuffle. ... Hunter, I've learned not to worry about letting down readers [sarcasm font].
6:01 -- Terence Newman just walked onto the field, still wearing an "iPractice" T-shirt. Looked like there was some sweat on it, so it's a safe bet that he's been working out while his teammates were on the field.
6:09 -- Special teams coach Bruce Read is chatting up the officials. ... That's about the most newsworthy thing happening right now. Should get some action soon.
6:11 -- Yes, kicking coverage was more comprehensive last season because of the competition. Nick Folk looks fine. .... Action about to start. Headed to the field. Be back in a bit.
6:26 -- Some WR/DB 1-on-1 highlights: T.O. got the best of the headline duel with Adam "Pacman" Jones. The Original 81 toasted Pacman on a stop and go despite being held after coming out of his break. And T.O. caught an out on Pacman by the sideline. Pacman kicked the padded wall after that one, while T.O. woofed, "I like that work! I like that work!" ... Anthony Henry jumped an out to Sam Hurd for a pick, but he got beat badly on a crossing route by Todd Lowber and a slant and go by Mark Bradford. ... Miles Austin made a beautiful adjustment to catch a pass well behind him on a go route, turning his hips on the run to make the grab. ... Isaiah Stanback left Orlando Scandrick flat-footed with a stop-and-go move. Stanback caught the long pass, but Scandrick closed a few yards after being fooled. ... Lowber made Mike Jenkins look bad on a similar route. ... Evan Oglesby picked off a deep ball to Mike Jefferson. WR coach Ray Sherman hollered at Jefferson after the play.
6:31 -- Some red-zone inside run notes: Jay Ratliff played DE. Marcus Spears played NT. Starting to wonder if Wade Phillips fibbed about those moves not being permanent. ... Anthony Spencer got the first-team reps at LOLB with Greg Ellis sitting out. Spencer had a TFL. ... Andre Gurode was flagged for holding Spears. ... Justin Rogers is getting reps at strong ILB and ROLB. ... They ran a cute play to try to get Felix Jones outside. Jones lined up as a WR to the right and motioned into the backfield behind Marion Barber. They faked a dive right to Barber and flipped the ball left to Jones. It might work against some teams, but DeMarcus Ware met Jones several yards behind the line of scrimmage.
6:36 -- Getting some punt coverage work done. Mat McBriar is working on pinning the opponent inside the 10. He's punting 'em high and letting his guys down them instead of aiming for the corner.
6:39 -- More action. Be back in a bit.
Weather: 69 degrees with precious few clouds in the sky.
Per Wade Phillips, this practice will be heavy on the red-zone work with some late two-minute drill action. It's helmets and shoulder pads, so we'll have some contact.
Follow the jump and refresh as you see fit to read all about what should be a much more entertaining practice than this morning's ...
5:17 -- DeMarcus Ware (head) will practice, but Anthony Spencer will still get first-team reps with Greg Ellis (back) watching. Phillips gushed about Spencer this afternoon. "Anthony Spencer has done extremely well. He looks better than he did last year, and I thought he did a lot of good things last year."
5:22 -- Well, apparently Greg Ellis didn't get the memo that he's not practicing. He just walked out onto the field wearing his shoulder pads. You don't think he's paranoid about losing reps, do you?
5:30 -- Still doing warmup position drills. ... By the way, Wade Phillips said he expects CB Alan Ball to miss a total of a week or so with his sprained ankle.
5:33 -- Somebody please explain the concept of sarcasm regarding Greg Ellis and reps. ... Mike D, don't see Spencer being used as an inside pass rusher. Justin Tuck is about 15-20 pounds heavier than Spencer. But the Cowboys have a package where Greg Ellis is a DE in a 3-man front with Spencer and DeMarcus Ware as the OLBs. We saw that some last season, and I'd expect to see a lot more of it this season.
5:37 -- Stretching just started. Hard Knocks folks seem to be focusing on Sam Hurd, who wore an "iBlock" T-shirt this morning. As Adam Archuleta can attest, that T-shirt is truthful. ... Haven't forgotten about my major Hard Knocks breaking news. More on that this evening. I want to make sure anticipation is properly built up.
5:41 -- Stretching over. ... Offense running plays vs. air. Defense doing position drill. ... Added a link above regarding the package that puts Spencer, Ware and Ellis on the field together for folks interested in that sort of thing.
5:43 -- Offense is running mock two-minute drill. They're in a 3-WR set with Sam Hurd and T.O. out wide and Patrick Crayton in the slot. Marion Barber is the lone back with Jason Witten at TE.
5:45 -- OLB Tearrius George, who missed several practices with a bone bruise on his knee, is back out there. Don't see Tyson Smith, who got his bell rung by Marion "The Barbarian" Barber's oooooh-inducing blitz pick-up.
5:48 -- WRs with second-team two-minute drill were Isaiah Stanback, Mike Jefferson and Miles Austin (slot). I would have guessed that Austin would have been outside with Danny Amendola in the slot. It'll be interesting to monitor those reps during live action late in practice.
5:51 -- Another exciting Greg Ellis update: It doesn't look like he's actually going through drills. He pretty much a spectator in shoulder pads at this point. I'll let you know if he gets reps during competitive stuff later.
5:53 -- Per request, a Rowdy update: Haven't seen him this afternoon, but he's a fixture out here with his tricked-out four-wheeler. ... Cowboys are doing position drills.
5:55 -- Big groan from the crowd when Isaiah Stanback dropped a pass by the sideline in front of the fence,. Danny Amendola dropped one, too. They're running corner routes, and ex-UTEP QB Wes Phillips is intentionally throwing tough balls to catch.
5:59 -- Still doing position drills, so I'll answer a question: This has been a rather friendly camp. I've seen a couple shoves exchanged (Marc Colombo/Jay Ratliff and Bradie James/Deon "Cricket" Anderson), but nothing close to a scuffle. ... Hunter, I've learned not to worry about letting down readers [sarcasm font].
6:01 -- Terence Newman just walked onto the field, still wearing an "iPractice" T-shirt. Looked like there was some sweat on it, so it's a safe bet that he's been working out while his teammates were on the field.
6:09 -- Special teams coach Bruce Read is chatting up the officials. ... That's about the most newsworthy thing happening right now. Should get some action soon.
6:11 -- Yes, kicking coverage was more comprehensive last season because of the competition. Nick Folk looks fine. .... Action about to start. Headed to the field. Be back in a bit.
6:26 -- Some WR/DB 1-on-1 highlights: T.O. got the best of the headline duel with Adam "Pacman" Jones. The Original 81 toasted Pacman on a stop and go despite being held after coming out of his break. And T.O. caught an out on Pacman by the sideline. Pacman kicked the padded wall after that one, while T.O. woofed, "I like that work! I like that work!" ... Anthony Henry jumped an out to Sam Hurd for a pick, but he got beat badly on a crossing route by Todd Lowber and a slant and go by Mark Bradford. ... Miles Austin made a beautiful adjustment to catch a pass well behind him on a go route, turning his hips on the run to make the grab. ... Isaiah Stanback left Orlando Scandrick flat-footed with a stop-and-go move. Stanback caught the long pass, but Scandrick closed a few yards after being fooled. ... Lowber made Mike Jenkins look bad on a similar route. ... Evan Oglesby picked off a deep ball to Mike Jefferson. WR coach Ray Sherman hollered at Jefferson after the play.
6:31 -- Some red-zone inside run notes: Jay Ratliff played DE. Marcus Spears played NT. Starting to wonder if Wade Phillips fibbed about those moves not being permanent. ... Anthony Spencer got the first-team reps at LOLB with Greg Ellis sitting out. Spencer had a TFL. ... Andre Gurode was flagged for holding Spears. ... Justin Rogers is getting reps at strong ILB and ROLB. ... They ran a cute play to try to get Felix Jones outside. Jones lined up as a WR to the right and motioned into the backfield behind Marion Barber. They faked a dive right to Barber and flipped the ball left to Jones. It might work against some teams, but DeMarcus Ware met Jones several yards behind the line of scrimmage.
6:36 -- Getting some punt coverage work done. Mat McBriar is working on pinning the opponent inside the 10. He's punting 'em high and letting his guys down them instead of aiming for the corner.
6:39 -- More action. Be back in a bit.
posted by The Gryphon at 7:44 PM
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