New, But Old Offense Looking Good

There have been some changes and development on offense as well and I am going to try everyone through those.

Quarterback:
Passing on Brady Quinn tells everyone the Tony Romo is man who is going to be running this offense. Romo has spent tons of time working with new offensive coordinator Jason Garrett and expect him to ready and to play well. Brad Johnson will be behind him and his experience gives us someone to lean on. There is a bit of a contest going on for the third spot though. Matt Baker spent last year on the practice squad and is the early favorite. Matt Moore, the rookie free agent will be giving him a run for his money. There was talk of bringing in Jason Garrett favorite Brock Berlin, but that does not seem too likely now.

Running Back:
Julius Jones is the only on the whole team that has opted not to work out at the Cowboys facility in Dallas. Instead he has been in Arizona and Wade Phillips said that for now that is fine. Jones likes the new offensive leadership and said he felt like a robot trying to hit holes that were not there when Parcells was the man in charge. Marion Barber, the NFC touchdown leader, will be back backing him up. Tyson Thomson is not far behind either. He is coming off an ankle injury and I would look for him to make a push at Barber and maybe even Jones too.

Fullback:
This is going to be an interesting position. There is not a clear starter here. Anthony Fassano will be an H-back style player and will see a lot of action catching passes out of the backfield. Fassano will also be playing tight end as well. So, rookie Deon Anderson will be the man doing most of the blocking. Oliver Hoyte rounds out the fullback position and he still has a chance to win a starting job.

Tight End:
Jason Witten might just be this team’s most valuable weapon in the passing game. He is a huge part of this team. As previously mention Fassano will play on the opposite side in dual tight end sets. Rounding out the depth chart here will be Tony Curtis.

Wide Receiver:
Well we all know the number one is Terrell Owens and the number two is Terry Glenn. Both are going to paid their roster bonuses and they will be back. Patrick Crayton is the leading candidate for the slot receiver in three receiver sets. However, he will feel the pressure from up and comer, Miles Austin. Isaiah Stanback figures to be a factor here as well. I can’t really elaborate on when his role will be until he actually recovers from his foot injury. Rounding out the receivers are Sam Hurd, Jamel Richardson, and Jamaica Rector.

Offensive Line:
Flozell Adams will be back at left tackle. However, there have been many indications that our pro bowl tackle might be leaving after this season. Doug Free, one of this year’s draft picks will therefore be backing him up. They wanted to get younger and that what Free gives them.
Left Guard is an interesting position. Kyle Koiser is the incumbent starter, but he is clearly the weakest link on this line. Pat McQuistan, who was the lead backup tackle last season is going to be moving to backup left guard. I would not be surprised for this to develop into a decent position battle.
Andre Gurode was locked up over the off-season and he will be returning as the center. Cory Proctor has been working as the second team center, even though he is best suited as a guard. If McQuistan’s transition to guard is quick, Proctor will most likely be moving to center and McQuistan will backup both guards.
Right Guard is going to be the prized off-season sign, Leonard Davis. Davis is a big man and is going to be a huge upgrade from Marco Rivera. For now we will say that Proctor will be his backup, but there is a possibility that Rivera will come back from his back surgery.
After a long contract battle Marc Colombo is coming back as the starting right tackle. He is injury prone, but I expect him to have a big year. Just in case, third round pick, James Martin will be backing him up. Martin usually played on the left side, but he said he will move to the right side. So, two BC alum will round out the offensive line.

Depth Chart:
QB: Tony Romo, Brad Johnson, Matt Baker, Matt Moore
RB: Julius Jones, Marion Barber, Tyson Thomson
FB: Anthony Fassano, Deon Anderson, Oliver Hoyte
TE: Jason Witten, Anthony Fassano, Tony Curtis
WR: Terrell Owens, Patrick Crayton, Isaiah Stanback
WR: Terry Glenn, Miles Austin, Sam Hurd
LT: Flozell Adams, Doug Free
LG: Kyle Koiser, Pat McQuistan
C: Andre Gurode, Cory Proctor
RG: Leonard Davis, Cory Proctor
RT: Marc Colombo, James Martin

Mini-Camp Defense Developments

I think it is important for everyone to see how the positions are going to be breaking and what the depth chart is going to look like before training camp begins. So, I am going to break down each position, starting with the defense. I will have the offense at a later date.

Secondary:
Anthony Henry will not be moving to safety, he will be staying as the second corner. Terrance Newman will again be playing the lead role taking on the other team’s elite receivers. The nickel corner is most likely going to be Aaron Glenn. Glenn is aging and was a Parcells favorite, so I would expect there to be a possibility of him getting beaten out. Some up and comers that round out the cornerback position are Jacques Reeves, Nathan Jones, and Courtney Brown.
Roy Williams is going to back at strong safety like usual. Backing him up will most likely be Keith Davis. It seems like Ken Hamlin will be playing with the first team as the free safety and Pat Watkins will be backing him up. However, in the nickel formation Hamlin will be sliding to the strong side and Watkins will play free safety. Roy Williams role in the nickel will be elaborated on below.

Linebackers:
Greg Ellis is going to be back for training camp and he has been proclaimed as the current starter. Spencer will have to beat him out if he wants the spot. Ellis and Spencer will be playing on the strong side. That means they will have the challenge of running through and covering the tight end. DeMarcus Ware will on the weak side, this will allow him to put more pressure on he quarterback. Technically Junior Glymph will be backing him up, but if Ware were to have an issue I would expect it to be Spencer, Carpenter, or Burnett.
As far as the inside goes, Bradie James and Akin Ayodele will be back as the starters. James has even trimmed off over 10 pounds in an effort to better prepare himself for the new system. Backing them up will be Bobby Carpenter and Kevin Burnett. Burnett has recently voiced his displeasure with his current situation with the Cowboys and I am going to bet the Carpenter is not going to be far behind. These are two guys with a lot of talent that are moving inside this year because of the excess of outside guys. They are both at a level where they can start in this league and hopefully they will have opportunities to make an impact.
In the nickel package the Cowboys will be going with four down lineman and two linebackers. Burnett will be one of those linebackers because of his amazing speed. The other is going to be Roy Williams. Yes, you read that correctly. Wade Phillips wants to get Roy away from coverage in third and long situations. This situation will allow Williams to make plays without needing to worry about someone beating him down the field.

Defensive Line:
Marcus Spears is delighted with Phillips’ new system because he claims he will be able to get better pressure. So, he will be staying at defensive end, however in the nickel he will play tackle. Backing him up will be Jeremiah Ratliff. On the other end, Chris Canty is going to start with the first team. Jason Hatcher will be behind him. Canty has had some struggles and I would look for a good training camp battle between him and Hatcher. In the nickel Ware and Spencer will most likely be playing as the defensive ends.
On the inside Jason Ferguson will remain as nose tackle. No one is really sure who is going to be behind him, but as for now it looks like it is going to Montavious Stanley.

Starting 3 – 4 Scheme:
RE: Chris Canty
DT: Jason Ferguson
LE: Marcus Spears
ROLB: DeMarcus Ware
ILB: Bradie James
ILB: Akin Ayodele
LOLB: Greg Ellis
CB: Terrance Newman
CB: Anthony Henry
FS: Ken Hamlin
SS: Roy Williams

Nickel (passing downs) Scheme:
RE: DeMarcus Ware
DT: Jason Ferguson
DT: Marcus Spears
LE: Anthony Spencer
ILB: Kevin Burnett
ILB: Roy Williams
CB: Terrance Newman
CB: Anthony Henry
CB: Aaron Glenn
FS: Patrick Watkins
SS: Ken Hamlin

1st Mini-Camp

The first mini-camp is underway at Valley Ranch and TO has already stolen the show. Jerry Jones went on record saying that Terrell Owens would be in attendance, but not participating in the camp. However, Owens trotted out on to the field and caught passes. My first reaction was that it was media ploy by Jones and Owens to try and get more attention. However, after reading Wade Phillips reaction to the media frenzy after the first day of the three-day event, I don’t think they were trying to give the media something to talk about. Jerry Jones, unlike TO did address the media and said that Terrell sacrificed his football future to stay on the field last season and he could not even imagine not having a player with is dedication on the field next season.

Usually the first mini-camp of the offseason is used to evaluate rookies and find out who has stayed in shape and who is going to be in the dog house. I would like to hear more about that stuff. I could care less if TO is on the field or not because we all know that he is going to show up when it counts anyway. I have a million questions that I would rather hear something about:

I want to hear about where Greg Ellis is with his rehab; will he be ready for training camp?

How quick is Anthony Spencer’s switch to linebacker going to happen and is he going to beat out Ellis?

Is Pat McQuistan really moving to guard, and is he going to push Kyle Koiser for the starting left guard spot?

Does Nick Folk have a chance at beating out Martin Gramatica?

Is Anthony Henry going to be staying at corner, and who is going to replace him if he moves to safety?

Is Bobby Carpenter going to be a middle or outside linebacker?

Does Tyson Thomson have a chance at coming back and taking on a bigger role in the rushing game?

When is Isaiah Stanback going to be ready to play?

Who is going to backup Jason Ferguson at nose tackle; is there any chance that Marcus Spears is going to move to the inside?

There are just so many more important things then TO catching passes. He is the number one receiver and there is no chance of that changing. There never was. So, really his situation is uninteresting to me. Hopefully I get some answers to my other questions.