Highs, lows of Cowboys training camp
By Calvin Watkins ESPN
OXNARD, Calif. — Now that the Cowboys are headed to Houston to prepare for their fourth preseason game of the summer, we look at the highs and lows of training camp.
THE HIGHS:
* The emergence of Dez Bryant. The Cowboys rookie wide receiver dazzled the coaches, scouts, teammates, fans and media with his catches, route running and body control in close to two weeks of training camp. Bryant did have some negative points like his refusal to carry Roy Williams‘ shoulder pads and for blaming the media for reporting it. Other than that, Bryant was fantastic when he was on the field and it gives the team hope he will have an impact in 2010.
* Doug Free can play left tackle. There were plenty of cheers when the Cowboys let Flozell Adams go this spring, but concerns arose when Free was given the starting job. Free performed well in camp and in the three preseason games. The Cowboys lost four offensive linemen, two starters and one backup, but Free proved to be pretty durable. He didn’t miss any practice or game time and he’s earned praise from the coach Wade Phillips and offensive line coach Hudson Houck.
* Undrafted rookies making an impact. Safeties Barry Church, Bryan McCray and center Phil Costa performed well in training camp and in the preseason. Church and McCray have done so well on special teams that it places special team standouts Pat Watkins and Sam Hurd on the roster bubble. At the start of camp, Travis Bright was the backup center to Andre Gurode, but he struggled and Houck decided to give Costa an opportunity and things worked well.
* David Buehler and the field-goal job. Plenty of questionmarks accompanied Buehler’s ability to take over the field-goal position, vacated when Nick Folk was let go toward the end of last season. All Buehler has done is kicked strongly into the end zone and make 6 of 7 field goal tries in the preseason. He left camp making 11 consecutive kicks and appears on his way to becoming the field-goal kicker full-time.
* Cletis Gordon wins the fourth corner job. The Cowboys need four cornerbacks and had an open competition between Bryan McCann, a rookie from SMU, Jamar Wall, another rookie from Texas Tech and Gordon. Gordon, who enters his fifth season, made more plays on the ball in practice and games. He’s shown an ability to stay with his receivers in man coverage and improved his work in zone. Secondary coach Dave Campo gave Gordon the lead as the Cowboys left San Antonio and he hasn’t lost it.
THE LOWS:
* Injuries to five starters. Injuries are just part of the deal. But Marcus Spears (knee), Marc Colombo (knee), Kyle Kosier (knee), Gerald Sensabaugh (shoulder) and Keith Brooking (shoulder) are starters and their injuries forced the Cowboys to go to backups in the preseason. Spears said he expects to return for the season opener at the Washington Redskins. Colombo told Jerry Jones he’s feeling much better. Brooking should be ready for the opener. But Kosier and Sensabaugh’s injuries leave their status for the season opener in doubt.
* Kevin Ogletree was inconsistent. Of all the receivers the Cowboys were looking for good things from Ogletree, who enters his second season out of Virginia. But Ogletree irked some members of the front office and the coaching staff with his inconsistent play. Ogletree did show signs of quality play but it wasn’t enough. He can catch and shows good speed, but there were times he didn’t fight for the ball enough and seemed to run sloppy routes.
* Lost John Phillips for the season. The backup tight end was looking forward to surpassing Martellus Bennett on the depth chart. But after a strong game in the preseason opener against Cincinnati, Phillips suffered a torn ACL and is out for the season.
* First-team offensive struggles. Despite the fact the offense is vanilla and defenses are blitzing more, the Cowboys first-team has scored only one touchdown this preseason. And the Houston game will be the last time the Cowboys first-team gets plenty of snaps before the regular season starts.
* Jason Williams continues to struggle. Last year, Williams was the Cowboys’ first draft pick in the third round. He battled a knee injury and limited playing time. Despite all this, Williams came into the 2010 season with hopes to play more than rookie Sean Lee as the inside linebacker. But Williams has struggled in pass coverage and doesn’t make enough plays near the ball. He’s the dime linebacker now and even that might be in question.
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