|  |  |  | | | | | Blogging The Boys | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  No draft pick by the Dallas Cowboys in 2011 has created more debate than DeMarco Murray. The running back from Oklahoma was somewhat of a surprise pick in the third-round, although earlier on that Friday I had a feeling they were going running back earlier than we thought. This was based on the rumored attempt to trade back into the first-round to get Mark Ingram. That, combined with the fact they chose Murray in the third-round, leads one to believe the Cowboys are not entirely happy with the duo of Felix Jones and Tashard Choice. So that brings up one of the great debates about Murray, could he supplant both players and take over the lead back role, the so-called feature back? Or is he going to fill a specialized role in a running-back-by-committee approach? Initially, I thought he may be the third-down back, a guy who could get the short-yardage, get out in the passing game, and provide reasonable protection for Tony Romo. But as I read more about Murray, it's obvious he did a lot more than that in Oklahoma. After all, he broke a lot of Adrian Peterson's records at the school. So we're already seeing talk of Murray becoming more than a role-player. Much more below... Many scouts saw Murray as strictly a third-down back, but at 6-0, 213, he plans to get bigger and stronger -- something Jones tried to do last year -- to handle an expanded load. "I plan to gain a little weight and play with a lower pad level," Murray said. "I definitely want to be at least 220 by the start of the season." It's likely though, he will be the short-yardage guy. "I definitely feel that I can get the tough yardage when necessary," said Murray, whose presence gives Dallas officials the option of releasing Barber. The guy that should really be concerned is Tashard Choice. It's interesting that Choice has excelled when given the lead role in short durations, but apparently he hasn't satisfied the Cowboys coaching staff. His reluctance/failure to shine on special teams could also be part of the problem. Back to Murray, if he is slated for a large role in the Cowboys offense, it brings us back to the second hotly debated topic. Murray's injury history. I was blasted in an email by a reader for bringing the topic up, the implication being that I didn't know Murray or OU football. This is mostly true, so I plead guilty to that charge. But, everywhere I go, his injury history is brought up. So let's put it on the table. The issue with Murray, while at OU, has been the injury bug. Murray redshirted his first year at Oklahoma because of a toe injury. He tied Adrian Peterson's freshman record of 15 touchdowns in 2007, but suffered the dislocated kneecap while trying to recover an onside kick at Texas Tech. Surgery wiped out workouts the following spring. He was a 1,000-yard rusher as a third-year sophomore, then went down with the hamstring tear on the opening kickoff of the Big 12 championship game. Another spring, more surgery. He was a scratch the last time OU reached the National Championship game at the end of the 2008 season, suffering a torn hamstring tendon. I asked the guys over at Crimson And Cream Machine, SB Nation's OU blog, about his injury history. They had this to say: One of the "knocks" against Murray has been injury. He sat out a redshirt freshman year due to a toe injury and then also missed games over the next three years because of injury. Coming into his senior year Murray admitted to not being as committed to off season training and even pre-game stretching as much as he should have been. He took up yoga and even UFC style mixed martial arts training during the offseason prior to the 2011 season. The results were almost immediately noticeable as he carried the ball 282 times and caught 71 passes. Both of these were career highs for Murray for season marks but most notably it was all done without injury. So it appears that Murray was aware of some training deficiencies and set out to correct them. The other issue with Murray is he runs with a high pad level. This is one of the major no-no's for most backs (Eric Dickerson excepted) precisely because it can lead to injury. Murray seems to be aware of this, too, as the quote shows earlier in this article. "I plan to gain a little weight and play with a lower pad level," Murray said. So, what's the community's thoughts? Is Murray going to be in a bigger role than just specialty back? And is his supposed injury history a problem? 
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  Back in January of 2009, the Dallas Cowboys went searching for a coach who could improve their special teams. The Bruce Read coaching era was a disaster for the unit, and the Cowboys knew they had to get someone who was at the top of the game. They landed one of the acknowledged best in the league, Joe DeCamillis. Coach Joe D. is a fan-favorite among anybody who has ever attended one of the Cowboys training camp practices. Loud and in charge, DeCamillis lets it be known on every special teams run-through whether he's happy with the way the players executed the play. One things is for sure, he's never completely happy, so the guy keeps trying to learn more. To that end, he visits with the guru of special teams on the college level, Virginia Tech's Frank Beamer. Last month, DeCamillis took another visit to Blacksburg, Va., to meet with Beamer and his staff to discuss the ins and outs of the kicking game. Over the last 10 years, starting when DeCamillis was on Dan Reeves' staff in Atlanta, he said there have been at least four visits with Beamer's staff at Virginia Tech. The Cowboys special teams were a mixed-bag in 2010. There were parts of the unit that were outstanding, others were bad. DeCamillis has to get it fixed for the Cowboys to get where they want to go in 2011. To wit: Last year, the Cowboys ranked 28th in kick returns, with an average starting field position of the 24.7 yard line. More... 28th out of 32 teams is obviously not where it needs to be, and probably a stat that eats DeCamilis up inside. Dallas has been reluctant to use Felix Jones at the spot now that he is the presumed starting running back. Dez Bryant is also a guy they don't want to risk on such a high-collision play. Last year, it was primarily Akwasi Owusu-Ansah and Bryan McCann's job. While McCann certainly had his moments on punt returns, his kickoff returns were mostly average. Ditto AOA. Could new running back DeMarco Murray be in line to get a crack at the return position? For the rest of the units, they were average to very good. ... they did rank 11th in kickoff coverage, forcing teams to start at the 25.9 yard line on kickoffs. In the punting game, the Cowboys were one of the best units in the NFL. Pro Bowl punter Mat McBriar led the NFL in both average (47.9) and net average (41.7). On the flip side, the Cowboys ranked second in punt-return average with a 15.9 average, thanks largely to a pair of touchdowns by rookie Dez Bryant. In this draft, DeMarco Murray could be used in the return game. Perhaps Josh Thomas could make some noise on special teams. Bruce Carter was also a standout special teams guy at North Carolina. Carter will also be asked to play special teams. At UNC he blocked seven kicks, six punts and one field goal and returned four blocked punts for a 7.75 average. "I was able to get my hands on a couple of blocks and just help my team out any way I can," Carter said. "Just give a great effort and that is one of the things coach [Butch] Davis taught us just to go out and give everything you got, you never know what could happen." In addition to visiting Frank Beamer , DeCamillis is taking other trips to improve the unit While Virginia Tech might be the standard when it comes to the collegiate ranks, DeCamillis is spreading his knowledge - and hoping to add to it - by visiting a few more colleges this offseason. Along with VT, DeCamillis met with about six coaches at UTEP and is expected to meet with Baylor coaches next week. And later in the summer, DeCamillis said he is hopeful to get up to Boise State and Oregon. 
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Just a quick reminder that the BTB mailbag is open for business again after the draft is now over. I'm sure there are many readers that might have some questions to ask, or venting to do, following last weekends events. Between the mailbags I've done and the draft series conducted by rabblerousr and Drafttek.com's Long Ball, a lot of short- and long-range questions have been asked and answered, but that won't stop us from picking up the thread on new subjects. So whether you have questions about the draft, free agency, the lockout, Thanksgiving parades... pretty much anything, send them over and we'll tackle the challenge. You can either email your questions to me at KDP10FOR10@gmail.com, or you can send me a tweet @KDP10For10. 
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  Personally, I think I'm going to choose Swarovski over Strass. I tend to favor their intricate site lines over the simplistic nature of the glass... wait, not that kind of Crystal Ball? Oh, we're looking into the future! With the 2011 draft now history, the draftnik contingent of the sports world is already looking ahead to next year's crop of amateur entrants. These exercises are more than futile, especially without any of the free agents on the roster; we know that will eventually happen and holes will be filled. Forecasting Dallas' needs are pretty simple for these types of things. You look at what you thought Dallas needed heading into the 2011 draft, see what they missed, and then check the 2012 forecasts and plug them in. With our atrocious pass defense during the 2010 season and not drafting a secondary player until Buffalo's Josh Thomas in the fifth round, you can imagine where everyone thinks Dallas will go with the selection. Also included in these 2012 early mocks, are where people that specialize in draft knowledge, forecast where Dallas will end up after the 2011 season. In reality, we should just look at these exercises to start to get familiar with the rising juniors and sophomores that we should track over the next college football season. Draft prognostication has become it's own sport, really. The actual draft is the culminating event the 'masses' tune into. That's what I tweeted yesterday afternoon to budding draft superstar Shawn Zobel of Draftheadquarters.com, to which he wholeheartedly agreed. During Bill Parcells special on ESPN, he noted how scouts are already compiling data on the thousands of prospects that could be eligible for 2012. Follow the jump for the predictions on the Cowboys. Just because I can, I'm going to start with the picks made by people that have a positive outlook on Dallas' 2011 chances. Playoffs Baby! Msn.foxsports.com's Peter Schrager: Dallas rank 29th (lose NFC Championship game) 29. Dallas Cowboys — Andre Branch, DE, Clemson: Welcome back to the playoffs, Cowboys. With a healthy Tony Romo, Dallas makes it back to the postseason, beating the Saints in a divisional-round shootout, only to fall to the Packers up in Lambeau Field in the NFC championship game. With the defensive line needing a young talent up front, Jerry Jones and company grab Branch, the 6-5, 260-pound talent out of Clemson. 
Cbssports.com's Chad Reuter: Dallas ranks 26th 26. Dallas Cowboys *Robert Lester, FS, Alabama
Dallas might still be looking for a free safety next April, and Lester's height, speed and ability to find the ball in the air should strike owner Jerry Jones as a high-impact pick at a typically low-priority position in the first round.
Walterfootball.com: 22. Dallas Cowboys: Courtney Upshaw, DE/OLB, Alabama
The Cowboys ignored the rush linebacker position in the 2011 NFL Draft, so they're going to give Anthony Spencer another chance. If Spencer disappoints yet again, he'll need to be replaced. A projected rush linebacker at the next level, the 260-pound Courtney Upshaw notched 14.5 TFL and 7.5 sacks in 2010.
ESPN's Todd McShay: #21 Dallas Cowboys Cliff Harris*, CB, Oregon 2010 record: 6-10 | DE, S, CB, ILB, C Harris has a lot of work to do as a corner, but few individuals in college football show more explosiveness and big-play ability than he does. Harris is also one of the most dangerous return men in the nation.
SBNation.com's Brian Galilford: 20. Dallas Cowboys: Knile Davis, RB, Arkansas. Running back lacks clarity in Big D, and Davis looks like an ascending star from a school that Jerry Jones is very familiar with. (He also has San Fran picking Andrew Luck at number one, despite trading up to take Colin Kaepernick... I'm sure you can guess how I feel about this mock). 2011 Frustration SI.com's Andrew Perloff: 11. Dallas Cowboys: Cliff Harris, CB, Oregon
Harris is a bit undersized, but will fill a need here and can possibly be an explosive returner. He's similar to a young Terence Newman. (that's funny, as the Cowboys have never known a young Terence Newman)
So have at it BTB - what do you think of these prospects and projections? 
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  After all the hoopla and second guessing about if, when and why Dez Bryant missed the first players-only workout that the Cowboys conducted on Tuesday, the situation has deescalated somewhat. Calvin Watkins from ESPNDallas reported yesterday that Bryant and at least 40 other players worked out together yesterday. Tony Romo told Watkins that Bryant looked good, and that all the guys looked crisp during the workout: "He's running pretty well and he's pretty competitive. He's running half speed so sometimes we have to slow him down a bit." Romo also said that Bryant had excused himself from Tuesday's workout due to family matters and that as long as Bryant kept the lines of communication open, everything' was fine. Lost among all the public hyperventilating about Bryant are two far more important aspects of the player workouts: 1. With 40-45 players attending both practices so far, the Cowboys fielded the the equivalent of a 45-man game day roster for practices, while many other teams are busy watching soap operas. Of course, there are no reports to be found anywhere about the 25 plus other NFL teams that have not started any practices, but Bryant misses one day and it's the end of western civilization as we know it. 2. Tyron Smith, the Cowboys' No. 1 pick, indicated he'd join these workouts shortly. In a tweet to the Cowboys' Teddy Williams and Alex Daniels, Tyron Smith said, "Gotta hold down SC for a couple more days then I'll be back in the D!" Several Cowboys players, including Roy Williams, have already reached out to Tyron Smith via Twitter or text messages, another indication that the Cowboys are a close team that quickly embraces its rookies. A final little nugget that BTB-member CaliFanInTx pointed out about this whole situation: There were two stories out in parallel yesterday about players working out, one about the Saints and the 37 players who showed up for their practices, the other about the Cowboys and the 40+ players who showed up in Dallas. Both reports were by people who weren't within a thousand miles of either practice, yet were able to deduce that the Cowboys practice was a "somewhat organized team activity", while they were gushing like little schoolgirls at the Saints "surprisingly organized team activities". Take that for what it's worth. 
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