Training camp is in full swing after day three, and first day of camp with pads on. When the pads come on, that’s when things really start to get interesting. You see the intensity rise and players being more aggressive.
With that said, here are some players that have stood out so far.
Defense |
Offense |
| J.J. Wilcox | Tony Romo |
| Henry Melton | Dez Bryant |
| Bruce Carter | Cole Beasley |
| Morris Claiborne | Zack Martin |
| Tyrone Crawford | Travis Frederick |
| DeVonte Holloman | Devin Street |
| Orlando Scandrick | Dwayne Harris |
| Nick Hayden |
The one person I think is standing out more than anyone else in Oxnard is Mo Claiborne. Which is fine by me; I wrote about the possibility for 2014 to be Mo’s break out year and, so far, he’s making me look good. Head Coach Jason Garrett used Claiborne as an example when speaking in a meeting with players on how each person should prepare mentally and physically.
We’ve heard about it, so now everyone wants to see it. And Claiborne has most certainly shown he is a different player from years past.
Physically, he has bulked up, and his confidence is out the roof. The man is coming into this training camp with a boulder-sized chip on his shoulder. You can see the confidence and the new-found dog in him when he was covering Terrance Williams. [su_lightbox src=”http://www.dallascowboys.com/multimedia/videos/First-Padded-Practice-Leads-To-First-Camp-Scuffle-/536a11cb-664e-4b79-9ecf-40efe547aaf8″]In the video[/su_lightbox], you can see Mo just man handle Williams, and at one point, he waved Williams off to cover Dez Bryant in the drill.
Hard to tell just by watching it on video, but not only did Mo handle Williams physically, he got in his head as well. The situation reached a point where the two had to be separated and sat down for the remainder of the drill.
I don’t know about you guys, but this team hasn’t had that edge, nastiness, bad attitude, or dog – any word you choose – on this defense in a very long time. I welcome the dog side of Mo Claiborne. It’s something this team could desperately use this season.
Good thing for it too. That fire goes a long way when a game is on the line. Then again, lately, that fire equals penalties too. But glad to see Mo showing that confidence because I have a feeling this year is make or break for him in Dallas.
I agree with what Brian says about the need for nastiness on this team but I feel like the media and fans have blown this Mo thing way out of proportion. One day in pads and mouthing off doesn’t necessarily translate to a good season so let’s tap the breaks here. I like what Bryson had to say about the penalties. In looking at the video how many flags would’ve been thrown? Please don’t say they had refs there to throw flags. We know when the regular season comes those yellow hankies will be thrown all over the place. That being said I do hope that this new Mo continues to play with this chip on his shoulder. Until then, I am cautiously optimistic.
I think we’re all cautiously optimistic. I know I am. But for me it wasn’t about if a flag would have been thrown or not. That kind of attitude is contagious. If he keeps that fire through out camp I can almost promise you it will spread through out the team. As far as the penalties go I say be as physical as possible and make the refs throw it every time if need be. Look at Seattle. They beat the crap out WR’s and forced the refs to throw the flags. Same goes for the Patriots back in the day.
Paul, those are valid points and I agree with you. I just don’t want to get my hopes up from one practice session. Let’s see how this translates and hope that this attitude does spread. I think it will and can’t wait for the 49ers game. I would love to swallow that Niners offense and let Romo and crew score in bunches. You guys got me pumped.