Dallas Cowboys have backup plan for cornerbacks
Source: The Dallas Morning News
Oct. 10--IRVING -- Part of coaching is dealing with contingencies.
The Cowboys have contingency plans in place at cornerback should Terence Newman miss more than the next few games because of an abdominal strain or Adam Jones find himself in trouble with the NFL following an incident at The Joule hotel.
While Newman is officially out of Sunday's game at Arizona, the Cowboys expect Jones to be able to play as the league investigates the altercation between Jones and his bodyguard.
"You work with the people who are here, and if somebody's not here, whether it's Pacman or anyone else, you've just got to plug the next guy in," defensive coordinator Brian Stewart said.
In April, the Cowboys covered themselves in case Jones got into further trouble by drafting Mike Jenkins in the first round and Orlando Scandrick in the fifth round. But the plan was to ease both in slowly behind Newman, Anthony Henry and Jones.
Newman is scheduled to meet with Dr. William Meyers in Philadelphia today. The Cowboys have forwarded their test results to Dr. Meyers. If Newman has surgery, he would miss at least six weeks.
"The idea is, that if it were going to be a chronic thing, a limp-along thing, then the wise thing to do would be to get it fixed," owner and general manager Jerry Jones said.
Scandrick will continue to fill in for Newman in the slot in the nickel package, while Jenkins would start if Jones ends up missing any time. Jenkins will continue to work in the dime defense if Jones is not sanctioned.
Newman's absence for almost all of training camp allowed Jenkins and Scandrick more work in practice. Jenkins started three of the four preseason games, and Scandrick started once.
"Game experience is a lot different than practice," Jenkins said. "The games are much faster."
Even without Anquan Boldin, the Cardinals pose a dangerous threat to the Cowboys' pass defense. In two games at University of Phoenix Stadium, quarterback Kurt Warner has completed 52 of 66 passes for 711 yards with five touchdowns and no interceptions. Arizona has scored 72 points in two home games, and last week, Warner completed passes to nine receivers.
"They have four deep threats," Jenkins said.
Newman's injury troubles have been part of the reason the Cowboys have not played more man-to-man coverage this season. If Jones is disciplined, then those plans would be scuttled even more.
"We're playing some awful good receivers, especially last week and then this week," Wade Phillips said. "The real good receiver can beat you in man to man better than the average receiver. It's tough to play man to man on those people all the time. But we would like to have Newman at full speed and have a better chance."
Oct. 10--IRVING -- Part of coaching is dealing with contingencies.
The Cowboys have contingency plans in place at cornerback should Terence Newman miss more than the next few games because of an abdominal strain or Adam Jones find himself in trouble with the NFL following an incident at The Joule hotel.
While Newman is officially out of Sunday's game at Arizona, the Cowboys expect Jones to be able to play as the league investigates the altercation between Jones and his bodyguard.
"You work with the people who are here, and if somebody's not here, whether it's Pacman or anyone else, you've just got to plug the next guy in," defensive coordinator Brian Stewart said.
In April, the Cowboys covered themselves in case Jones got into further trouble by drafting Mike Jenkins in the first round and Orlando Scandrick in the fifth round. But the plan was to ease both in slowly behind Newman, Anthony Henry and Jones.
Newman is scheduled to meet with Dr. William Meyers in Philadelphia today. The Cowboys have forwarded their test results to Dr. Meyers. If Newman has surgery, he would miss at least six weeks.
"The idea is, that if it were going to be a chronic thing, a limp-along thing, then the wise thing to do would be to get it fixed," owner and general manager Jerry Jones said.
Scandrick will continue to fill in for Newman in the slot in the nickel package, while Jenkins would start if Jones ends up missing any time. Jenkins will continue to work in the dime defense if Jones is not sanctioned.
Newman's absence for almost all of training camp allowed Jenkins and Scandrick more work in practice. Jenkins started three of the four preseason games, and Scandrick started once.
"Game experience is a lot different than practice," Jenkins said. "The games are much faster."
Even without Anquan Boldin, the Cardinals pose a dangerous threat to the Cowboys' pass defense. In two games at University of Phoenix Stadium, quarterback Kurt Warner has completed 52 of 66 passes for 711 yards with five touchdowns and no interceptions. Arizona has scored 72 points in two home games, and last week, Warner completed passes to nine receivers.
"They have four deep threats," Jenkins said.
Newman's injury troubles have been part of the reason the Cowboys have not played more man-to-man coverage this season. If Jones is disciplined, then those plans would be scuttled even more.
"We're playing some awful good receivers, especially last week and then this week," Wade Phillips said. "The real good receiver can beat you in man to man better than the average receiver. It's tough to play man to man on those people all the time. But we would like to have Newman at full speed and have a better chance."
posted by The Gryphon at 11:19 AM
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