There has been a lot of talk throughout Cowboys training camp about the progress of Randy Gregory. In a recent interview, Rod Marinelli was asked about Gregory’s progress.
He described him as tough. He added that he is working on becoming more consistent and continues to work on his pass rushing technique. He even went as far to say that he could play on 1st down if need be.
Marinelli likes to rotate players to keep them fresh and put them in the best possible situations to succeed. And, factoring in the four-game suspension to Greg Hardy to begin the season, Gregory will have plenty of opportunities to get after the quarterback.
Comparisons have already been made to Simeon Rice, regarding Gregory—those are some pretty high standards. As a rookie in 1996, Rice finished the year with 12.5 sacks.
Can Gregory do the same? Or can he eclipse that total and threaten Jevon Kearse’s rookie record of 14.5 set in 1999?
We’ve seen glimpses of what Gregory is capable of accomplishing so far in training camp and in the first preseason game against San Diego.
All the snaps in the training camps that I’ve seen, he has used his speed and has had success against the Cowboys tackles, even Tyron Smith on a few occasions—not an easy task against one of the best tackles in the NFL.
When Gregory recorded the first sack of his NFL career, in his first career game against the Chargers, he simply went with power and drove the offensive guard back into the quarterback’s lap.
The coaching staff and team reporters constantly rave about how well Gregory takes coaching and criticism and how his work ethic has allowed him to become better.
It is going to take a special player to threaten Kearse’s rookie sack record, but there is a chance that Mr. Gregory can be that guy.
Let me end by saying that in no way am I predicting that Randy Gregory is going to break the rookie sack record, or come close to the sack number put up by Simeon Rice. But, do I believe that he has the potential to come close? Yes, I think he does. But, only time will tell.
Tell me what you think. Can Randy Gregory become the next rookie Sack Master?
