<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Dave Campo followed Mike Jenkins, the cornerback taken with the Cowboys' second first-round pick, all over the field. John Garrett was in second-round TE Martellus Bennett's ear all morning. But nobody got more 1-on-1 attention than undrafted offensive lineman Brandon Hale, a Sam Houston State/Grand Prairie product who is a long shot to make the roster. That's because he's the only offensive lineman here this weekend. Hale appreciated the opportunity to get so much attention from legendary OL coach Hudson Houck, who broke down Hale's technique step by step for two hours. But it was strange for Hale not to be surrounded by a bunch of fellow big fellas. "I spent the whole practice doing like this," Hale said, looking to his left and right. "I'm used to having somebody around me." Garrett worked with Bennett on his technique getting out of breaks. Campo worked with Jenkins on his footwork. Jenkins said he has to learn how to play off the receiver after being primarily a press guy at South Florida. Campo wants to be careful throwing too much, too fast at the corner. "There's a fine line between coaching a guy and overcoaching a guy," Campo said.</div> <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>1) Bennett's a beast: Second-round Martellus Bennett is a load and flashed some athleticism in the passing skeleton and one-on-ones. Seems to do a good job, in most cases, of catching the ball away from his body and looks like he could develop into a matchup nightmare. 2) Jenkins rough around the edges: No one got more individual attention than first-rounder Mike Jenkins, and part of it was that he was getting beat on a fairly regular basis. You can see the athleticism, the ability to turn and run, the ability to sink his hips and explode ... but it needs to be more consistently. He'd look great one play, and very, very average the next. He had real trouble catching the ball. 3) Amendola shines: I know Timmy already addressed this, but there was a whole lot to like about Danny Amendola (and not just because I wrote about him this morning). He runs sharp, precise routes, gets in and out of his breaks quickly, and knows how to set up a DB. Plus, he didn't drop a ball. It's worth noting that Jenkins couldn't stop him once in one-on-ones, at least in the three instances I say the two match up. 4) Jones' wheels: Jerry called Felix Jones' style "smooth" and there might not be a better way to describe it. He almost looks like he's gliding, and not running out there, and you can see his change-of-direction skills. Felix looked fairly natural catching the ball for the most part, save for a couple drops. Tashard Choice had a couple early drops, but rebounded late and showed the skills in the passing game he flashed as a collegian. 5) Garrett's involvement: One thing's pretty clear here -- Jason Garrett is not simply the overseer of the offense. He has his hands in everything. And it seems like he can coach every position, which is something that I remember being impressive about Bill Belichick when I covered the Patriots. Garrett sets a pace for practice -- a quick one -- and his guys seem to respond.</div> <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>You can only tell so much from watching rookies run around in shorts and helmets, but Jerry liked what he saw this morning. He singled out four guys who impressed him: the Cowboys' first three picks and undrafted free agent WR Danny Amendola, aka "that boy from Texas Tech." Jerry gushed about how "smooth" RB Felix Jones looked, especially catching the ball. He was pleased with CB Mike Jenkins' quickness, and he liked TE Martellus Bennett's hands. Of course, it's no surprise that the owner/GM likes guys who he picked high and will pay big money. It is noteworthy that Jerry would single out an undrafted guy like Amendola, who beat Jenkins one-on-one at least three times and caught everything thrown his way. "He's real refined," Jerry said of the Wes Welker wannabe. "He really runs routes well, and he's got that quickness. He does and will separate. He will be able to separate in the NFL." It's way too early to declare that Amendola will make the team, but Miles Austin better be ready to fight for his job.</div> Dallas Morning News
I was just about to post the exact same thing. Thanks! I think Garrett was the main reason we dumped Fasano. Fasano apparently made a lot of continually dumb mistakes and doesn't fit into Garrett's offense. Bennett is a much better fit (can go vertical, excellent size/athleticism). Jenkins struggling is somewhat surprising; somewhat expected. 1 on 1 drills ALWAYS favor the offense. And he is a rookie CB. Not much to worry about, really.
The knock on Jenkins was that he was inconsistent in college, but I don't think you cant take too much out of your first rookie mini camp. I'm glad Amendola has lived up to the "hype" so far, but I won't really be excited until I hear how the rookies do against the team.
Five more ... 4:20 PM Fri, May 02, 2008 | Permalink | Yahoo! Buzz Albert Breer E-mail News tips Here are a couple things from the afternoon session ... 1) Bradford makes play: Stanford product Mark Bradford, the hero of the Cardinal's shocker over USC last week, got Orlando Scandrick crossed up on a double move and hauled in a ball 60 yards downfield on a skinny post. That passed for the play of the day in a short practice. 2) Scandrick looks solid: To me, the Boise State CB was the best defensive back on the field today, when you put both the sessions together. He sticks with receivers, and has the athleticism and explosiveness to drive on the ball. Outside the Bradford catch -- which came with Scandrick right there with him, even after he got beat -- the former Bronco had a big day. 3) Jenkins bounces back: After a rough start this morning, first-round pick Mike Jenkins was solid this afternoon. It's not likely he was suddenly Champ Bailey out there and, a lot of the time, he was playing 8-10 yards off the receiver, which made it tough to defend the slants and shorter out-cuts. But he was close on everything. He still is a step late quite a bit, though. 4) Amendola slides back: By the time Danny Amendola finally dropped a ball, it was actually surprising to see. He shouted, "Son of a gun!" (And that's not even cleaned up) into the air, and that set off a little bit of a bad streak for the Tech-ex. He dropped a couple more, and fell down on a route after that, so this afternoon wasn't quite as strong as this morning. 5) Bartel's big day: OK, I wasn't watching him that closely -- I tend to discount what QBs do with no pass rush in their face -- but from what I did see, and what people around, like Archer, were saying, Richard Bartel played well today. Granted it is only one day's minicamp....but maybe Scandrick is more ready to contribute than I thought...
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (GMJigga @ May 2 2008, 04:51 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>The knock on Jenkins was that he was inconsistent in college, but I don't think you cant take too much out of your first rookie mini camp. I'm glad Amendola has lived up to the "hype" so far, but I won't really be excited until I hear how the rookies do against the team.</div> Yeah. These are 1v1 drills (which favor the offense) without any pass rush.... Not too much you can draw on it from that. Good to see Scandrick looked good; but again, one day of minicamp means nothing (especially when these are limited drills)
<a href="http://www.dallascowboys.com/photo_gallery.cfm?id=B0C34A55-B531-E6F9-DE9E65D53BCCF9DE" target="_blank">These pictures and more can be found in 1024 wallpaper sizes here </a> Bennett, Choice, Jones, Jenkins, Scandrick, Walden Jones Bennett Jenkins Scandrick Choice Amendola Walden Dixon I completely forgot we signed Justin Phinisee
