Good Camp Battles to Watch

While there's already some great intrigue created by this past mini camp session, the truth always finds a way to come to the surface - once the pads get on, its a different story. Let's look at a few key "camp battles" to watch at this year's training camp and preseason.

The top camp battle for me is going to be in the secondary, Watkins vs. Hamlin

Let's be real here, the Hamlin signing is a short-term insurance policy, that provides us with a good veteran and solid depth at FS. Its still likely that Hamlin will lineup opposite Roy Williams, but don't count out Patrick Watkins. Watkins was miffed when he fell to the 5th round last year, came to camp with a chip on his shoulder, and eventually cracked into the starting lineup. For a rookie he played well, sure he had a few mess ups, but that's to be expected from a rookie.

Either way you cut it though, Watkins will see significant playing time, and should Hamlin falter in training camp or the preseason, you can feel good about Watkins getting back in the lineup.

According to our readership 50% believe Hamlin will be the starter, 44% believe Watkins will be the starter, and 5% are not sure. Those numbers are close. We'll see how this one unfolds, its going to be a good one.

The San Antonio Express recently chimed in on the topic as well:

Dallas believes Pat Watkins can still emerge as a starter down the line.

The Cowboys may have settled for Ken Hamlin on a one-year deal because they're planning on Watkins as their starting free safety in 2008 and beyond. An athletic freak, the 6-5 Watkins should benefit from his season to learn.

Carpenter vs. James

If you look at how the starting LBs in the Phillips 34, its safe to assume the starters will be:
OLB Demarcus Ware
MLB Bradie James*
MLB Akin Ayodele
OLB Greg Ellis*

The (*) meaning those in jeopardy of losing their starting spot. In this discussion we're focusing on James. James is the incumbent, but there's evidence the Cowboys are preparing for a scenario that would have Carpenter overtaking James at MLB. Carpenter worked at MLB last offseason, and again this offseason.

James has had one solid season, and has been adequate, and last year did not help his cause with several busted plays directed right at him. Sean Payton knew the weakness in the LB core, and tore it up. Then came Detroit later, and they tore it up. James was horrible in coverage and got ate up regularly.

Is 2nd year player, Carpenter ready to man the spot. Carpenter ran the 2nd team defense and called the plays on defense during mini camp. According to Coach Phillips, he wants the best players on the field and wants to utilize their skills as best as possible. If there's a chink in the armor then its Bradie James, and it would be ludicrous not to want competition there. Carpenter was rated much higher at MLB than James coming out of college, and is way more athletic. You can bet Carpenter is going to be out there more and more.

Worst case scenario, you'd see Carpenter play extensively in nickel packages. Either way you cut it, you gotta have this explosive sideline-to-sideline player on the field somewhere and I think Phillips already recognizes this.

Ellis vs. Spencer

We've all read the same old news, and its a broken record...Ellis wants an extension, and he wants a commitment from the Cowboys. The stark reality is that the Cowboys are not going to redo the contract and Ellis needs to get over that. Sure he can ask for a trade, but the Cowboys are not inclined to make a trade. Ellis is a solid player, and performed pretty good in his new position at OLB in the 3-4, and this year should be no different, so just get out there and play Greg.

Ellis' latest tirades mostly stem from the Cowboys drafting Anthony Spencer, who right now looks to be the real deal and will indeed provide a dynamic one-two death blow punch as he lineups up opposite Ware.

Ellis is the starter according to Coach Phillips, but this is going to be a camp battle to watch. I expect Spencer to overcome Ellis this offseason, and at the latest sometime early in the season. Spencer was brought here to attack the QB, and its hard to envision the Cowboys holding him back.

Jones vs. Barber

The media wants to make this into something sensational, but the reality here is going to be that these two RBs will contribute similarly as they did last year; however, I honestly believe this will be Julius Jones' season. All his talk about 1600 yards and 20tds can come true in this new offense. Garrett likes how Jones runs and sees the same elusiveness that Emmitt had. Back when Jones was drafted his highlight reel looked like Emmitt Smith, and he looked like that player his rookie year, then came his "robotic" running style, overcoached or whatever you want to call it. Garrett is going to let Jones be that instinctive runner again, and watch out.

Jones thinks he won't be extended; so, not only does he want to play well this season, this is his time to show off his skills for potential teams for 2008. Its not something I personally want to see happen, but its very possible. Some rumors apparently already have Arkansas' RB Darren McFadden penciled in as our starter next season, far fetched? Maybe, maybe not. But let Jones get his run on and see what fans think then. I see the mood changing should Jones have an explosive season.

Barber will be used the same as last year, he too will get his chances to run instinctively, and this can only help Barber.

At the end of the day, there's not a camp battle here, just some interesting topics for fans to argue over.

FACT: Jones and Barber will share the load and BOTH will take this running attack to another level, the best duo in the league. Other teams are installing the two back system, but we have one if the better duos in the league.

Somehow its good to have these type of problems, its good to have this type of depth and competition in areas were it seems incumbents are locks, but not this year. The Cowboys are doing a great job in the scouting department and continue to inject quality players to an already full roster of pretty good players.

Who is the #1 QB in the Draft Now?

By Paul Donaghy
LIONBACKER

After his incredible Rose Bowl record 467 total yards (267 passing, 200 rushing) and three touchdown performance, including the game winner, in the Rose Bowl Vince Young has made a case for himself being the first quarterback taken in the 2006 draft. In what was labeled as the biggest college football game ever, it was Young outshining the flash of two USC Heisman trophy winners and putting his team on his back in one of the most memorable performances in NCAA football history.

The biggest play on the biggest stage came with 19 seconds left. Facing a 4th-and-5 from the 8, Young dropped back to pass and saw all his receivers covered. Young then scrambled untouched into the corner of the end zone and the Longhorns were #2 no more. For good measure, Young then ran up the middle for a two-point conversion putting Texas up by three with little time left. Texas shocked the #1 Trojans 41-38. “Do whatever it takes,” Young said. That is exactly what he did and then some ending USC’s 34-game winning streak and ending their dreams of an unprecedented third-straight National Championship.

Lionbacker's new NFL Draft Blog takes a look at Young's Rose Bowl performance, its impact on his draft status, and whether he should stay in college or turn pro.

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A Sneak Peak at the 2006 Free Agent Quarterbacks

By Paul Donaghy
LIONBACKER

After four years in Detroit, Joey Harrington has failed to prove he was worthy of the number three overall pick in the 2002 draft. After showing improvement in each of his first three seasons, Harrington has taken a major step backwards in 2005 after "finally having the supporting cast" to be a top tier quarterback in the NFL. After seeing his quarterback rating rise from 59.9 in 2002, to 63.9 in 2003, to 77.5 last season, Harrington's 2005 quarterback rating is at a career-low 55.6 with twice as many interceptions as touchdowns. His decision making, field vision, accuracy, and leadership abilities are all being questioned by fans, fellow players, and the head coach.

Lionbacker brings you the list of every 2006 Free Agent NFL quarterback. Anyone on there that can help your team?

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Without a Paddle?

By Bob Guina
LIONBACKER

I believe that it just occurred to Steve Mariucci that someone is paying him $5 Million a year to develop and coach a winning NFL football franchise; and that he's not getting the job done; and his retirement plan might be in jeopardy. I know that those three things occurred to him in one moment at his Monday press conference the day after the Lions were beaten like a rented mule by the Bears. I know those three things collided in his head all at the same time because of the look on his face. It was that look of shock, bewilderment and fear. It was the look of Macaulay Culkin on the 'Home Alone' movie poster.

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All-NFL Bad Boy Team

By Paul Donaghy
LIONBACKER

Bad Boy, Bad Boy, what you gonna do? Lionbacker's first NFL Bad Boy team is here. Through hours of research, we have compiled a list of felons and downright disgraces to the NFL. While some positions, like wide receiver, had plenty of candidates to choose from, others such as offensive linemen were much tougher. While we attempted to only use current NFL players, in some cases we had to go back in time to find a truly worthy bad boy. While no Lions made the list, wide receiver David Kircus and defensive end Kalimba Edwards received some consideration after their "off-the-field" efforts this summer.

Lionbacker brings you the worst of the NFL in the form of our Bad Boy team, see who made the list.

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Blocking key for Cooley, others

By Joe Crisp / Special to The Daily Progress

August 5, 2005

Ashburn- Last season, the Redskins struggled mightily to open up holes for star runningback Clinton Portis, so if you ask Redskins tight ends coach Rennie Simmons where his charges need to make the most improvement, his answer is a quick one:

"Right now, we need to improve on our run-blocking."

Simmons is looking for a few strong blockers from his group of players, which includes H-backs Chris Cooley, Mike Sellers and Manuel White, and tight ends Robert Royal, William Palmer, Billy Baber and Brian Kozlowski.

"When we're looking at a tight end, number one, they've got to have the strength," says Simmons. "Toughness and strength. [Cooley] shows a lot of strength, even though he's labeled as an 'H' back, and he's doing a really good job in the passing game, but he's as good a blocker. He's doing a real good job blocking. I think if he continues to improve on that, he's one of those guys that could stay in there on all packages."

Due to his prowess as a receiver, Cooley is often compared by the media and seasoned Redskins fans to one of Simmons' former proteges, Clint Didier, who led Redskins tight ends in receiving four straight years ('84-'87) during the Redskins' reign as one of the top offenses of the 1980s.

However, Didier was a lankier tight end not particularly well-known for his blocking ability-- at 6'5, 240 lbs he was built more like an overgrown wide receiver-- whereas Cooley (6'3, 250 lbs) brings a sturdier, more powerful build, better suited for battling in the trenches of the running game if the play design calls for it.

Asked whether Cooley's success last season has changed the way the coaching staff looks at the tight end position in their offense, Simmons says Cooley's emergence wasn't unexpected.

"It wasn't a big surprise for us," Simmons says. "We drafted him and we thought he was a heck of a player. We knew we needed some help there at the 'H' position. He comes in and works hard and we think he's improving. He makes good decisions in the passing game, he's got good strength in the running game. He can play a dual role: he can be a tight end, he can be an 'H'. If he continues to develop he may not come off the field."

Cooley is a bit of an exception in that respect. The other players on the roster are more defined in their roles.

"Robert basically can play 'Y' end," says Simmons. "But Billy's mostly just an 'H' back. His strength lies in the passing game, but he's really got to work on the running game.

"Robert does well in both areas. He's just got to get a little stronger. He fights the weight thing. He's pretty lean right now."

The Redskins drafted another player this year, Manuel White, Jr., out of UCLA, to play H-back in Gibbs's offense, but since he played as a fullback in college, he faces a somewhat difficult transition to his new role.

"If you're a fullback, you're not really used to being on the line of scrimmage, blocking someone right on your nose," says Simmons. "You get a running start at them, and you have to make adjustments from the backfield. That's what Manuel White's facing right now, because he's been a guy out of the backfield at UCLA-- and he's a good runningback also-- so his whole thing right now is learning how to line up in a three-point stance or two-point stance and blocking somebody at the line of scrimmage, and understanding the [pass] protections and all the line calls in the running game. That takes a lot of time."

Asked how the enhancement of the overall speed of the wide receiving corps with the additions of blazers Santana Moss and David Patten would affect the role of the tight end in Gibbs's re-vamped offense, Simmons said it could free up the tight ends to make more plays.

"Your tight end becomes very valuable, especially if you're one-dimensional-- if you've got one [good] receiver-- your tight end becomes a big factor," says Simmons. "If you've got two good receivers, most of the time your tight end gets singled-up or isolated on linebackers, so he becomes even more of a viable factor, or in our case, the 'H-back'.

"The theory that we go by is that the H-back is really our tight end down the field. If you've got three wide receivers going down the field [in a two-tight end set], our H-back is the tight end going down the field, and our 'Y' tight end is really the blocker or fullback. That's how we look at it in the passing game."

But that still leaves open the question of whether these tight ends are up to the task of helping Clinton Portis find more room to run this season.

"In the running game, hopefully we can get two guys out there that can block, and that just adds to our offense when we can go in either direction," says Simmons.

"When you can line up with a tight end on both sides, that makes it tough [to defend]. A conventional offense will line up with a tight end on one side and open on the other side, and there's only so many plays they can run over that side with a fullback, and defenses know that and [defend] it pretty well. So [the two-tight end set] gives us a lot of flexibility. We can line up with two backs in the backfield as well, so the tight ends have to be able to adjust to being both on and off the line of scrimmage."

Obviously, the success of the Redskins' offense this season relies heavily on how successful Simmons will be in coaching his players to make those adjustments.

Joe Crisp is a writer for TheWarpath.net

Chalkboard: Detroit's Three-Headed Monster

By Tom Boogaart
LIONBACKER

The selection of Mike Williams all but guarantees that the Lions' offense will feature the three wide receiver set. Mariucci's notorious conservatism and public statements about remaining faithful to West Coast principles notwithstanding, the Lions figure to line up three wide receivers early and often. This is because historically offensive execution depends less upon fitting players into systems than grafting your system to fit the talent of your players. For better or worse, the talent of the Detroit Lions' squad is unusually concentrated at the wide receiver position. Whether this investment was wise remains an open question, but it would be foolish not to put your best players on the field.

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