Changes Imminent in Dallas

A youth movement is taking place at Valley Ranch for the Dallas Cowboys, and it has forced some sweeping changes in personnel.

Safety Roy Williams and Anthony Henry are already gone. Greg Ellis is on his way out. Oh, and there are the minor subtractions of Adam Jones, Tank Johnson and the incomparable Terrell Owens.

The exodus might not be over yet. With serious competition in the secondary, at the running back and receiver positions, along the offensive line and at the nickel linebacker spot, Cowboys fans might see a few more veterans hit the road.

Secondary

Entering his third season in Dallas, Wade Phillips is finally molding the personnel Bill Parcells built into his own. Phillips is making the most change in the secondary.

The recent addition of draft picks DeAngelo Smith, Michael Hamlin and Mike Mickens adds new blood to the Dallas secondary. Those three teamed with last season’s rookies Mike Jenkins and Orlando Scandrick and free agent acquisition Gerald Sensabaugh makes six defensive backs with just a season or less in Dallas.

The most noticeable trait in the defensive backs Phillips and owner Jerry Jones have added is versatility. These players excel in both zone coverage and man-to-man. Many of them can log time at safety or corner.

That flexibility allows Phillips, now serving as the defensive coordinator as well as head coach, to better disguise coverages. That’s a luxury he didn’t have with Williams at safety last season. 

Williams’ shortcomings in coverage forced the Cowboys to try and hide him instead of confusing opposing quarterbacks. In Phillips’ system, it will be no surprise to see many of the secondary seeing playing time at different spots to continually confuse opposing QBs.

The surprise will be if special teams stalwart Pat Watkins makes it through training camp. The oft-injured safety doesn’t quite fit into the versatile roles Phillips has planned for his secondary and may get beat out in training camp by Hamlin and Smith. Courtney Brown and Alan Ball will also be fighting for their Cowboy careers against Mickens at the cornerback position.

Runningbacks

The most interesting battle could come at the running back position. Everyone has heard about the trio, and they will all make the roster. The interesting part will be how offensive coordinator Jason Garrett chooses to split carries among Marion Barber, Felix Jones and Tashard Choice.

The three backs combined for 1,623 yards last season even though both Jones and Barber missed time due to injuries. Choice filled in admirably and proved to everyone he deserves carries.

Choice's best performances came against the league's stingiest defenses. Choice rushed for 88 yards or more against Pittsburgh, the New York Giants and Baltimore consecutively with averages of 3.8, 10.1 and 5.3 respectively.

Last year Garrett's toughest challenge was to please Owens. This season it will be finding a way to utilize this formidable stable of running backs.
Receivers

Another intriguing training camp battle will come at the second receiver spot. Patrick Crayton is taking most of the first team repetitions in OTAs, but Jones listed Miles Austin as the chief reason he was comfortable releasing Owens. Austin’s speed and size has everyone raving about his potential, but he has yet to put it all on the field for a full season.

Lower on the totem pole is third-year receiver Isaiah Stanback. He will also be battling, but odds are it will be for a roster spot. He will be challenged by seventh round pick Manuel Johnson and undrafted free agent Kevin Ogletree. The player that might be the biggest challenge could be Travis Wilson.

Wilson, a third round pick out of Oklahoma in 2006 for the Cleveland Browns, has had a rough time in his first three seasons because of injuries, but the offensive coaching staff are high on him and what he has done in OTAs.

Wilson has great pedigree and could step up to take Stanback’s spot in the receiving corps if Stanback hasn’t bounced back from arthroscopic knee surgery by training camp.

Offensive Line

The next most intriguing competition in training camp will most likely come at the left guard position. Incumbent Kyle Kosier is returning from foot surgery that limited him to just three games last season. The Cowboys first leaned on Cory Procter to replace Kosier, but Montrae Holland had taken over the spot by the end of the season.

Holland and Kosier will make for a fun competition to watch throughout training camp. Kosier has built a strong chemistry with left tackle Flozell Adams, but Holland is built more like the type of linemen Hudson Houck, offensive line coach, is used to using.

The Cowboys have also started giving Holland reps at center. If Dallas is comfortable with what Holland shows them, Procter could lose his back up spot at the center and guard positions.

Dallas will be looking to lose someone because the team added Robert Brewster with a third round pick. The team will try to give him some time to mature this season. With him, Leonard Davis, Kosier and Holland, Procter’s exit may come soon.

Nickel Linebacker

The nickel linebacker role will also be fun to watch as Bobby Carpenter tries to beat out draft picks Jason Williams and Stephen Hodge.

Williams was the Cowboys’ first pick in the draft and boasts outstanding athleticism. Hodge, meanwhile, has shown great skills in coverage during OTAs. That should come as no surprise since he is making the switch from college safety to 3-4 inside linebacker. If new addition Keith Brooking has anything to say about it, he will throw his hat in the ring too.

This will be Carpenter’s last chance to prove he belongs in Dallas. If he loses the spot to a rookie, his time as a Cowboy, and in the 3-4 defense, will be over. Phillips has informed Carpenter that he enters this competition with a clean slate, and Carpenter is confident he can win the spot.

While Williams may be the most athletic linebacker Dallas has, including Demarcus Ware, he is still raw and has much to learn. The same goes for Hodge who has to deal with a position switch as a rookie. It’s lined up for Carpenter to win this battle, but we’ll see what Phillips says in August.

Those are just a few of the training camp battles Dallas coaches will have to choose between this training camp. Some are for starting spots while some are just for roster spots.

As always in Dallas, it will be interesting.