Dallas City News

Trey Lance discusses Dak Prescott mentorship and preseason approach – Ali Jawad, Sports Illustrated

Trey Lance recently appeared on the Doomsday podcast and spoke very highly of his relationship with Dak Prescott.

“I truly believe everything happens for a reason,” Lance said. “Whether it’s my injury or being traded here I think I’m here for a reason I might not know what it is exactly right now but I know all I can do is control of my attitudes my effort every single day and and try to help the guys around me be better and try to help the team win so that’s truly my mindset.”

The quarterback spoke highly of his relationship with Dak Prescott, acknowledging the valuable lessons he has learned from the veteran.

“I’ve been very fortunate to be in a great quarterback room with great people,” Lance said. “Me being able to learn as much as I can from him specifically. I think you know the situation with Coop, Dak, and me all being able to collaborate and chat. I’m trying to learn as much as I can from Dak, who has played at a high level for a long time. It’s a great opportunity for me to continue learning. I think the way our team sees Dak is just as much about the person he is off the field as it is about him as a football player.”

When asked about his biggest change since joining the Cowboys, Lance highlighted his increased comfort and confidence in the system. While acknowledging he still makes mistakes, he emphasized his commitment to learning and improving.

“My thing is if I don’t make the same mistakes twice I am getting better,” Lance remarked. “So for me it’s just continuing to learn and just trust in the journey and that process.”

First Preseason Depth Chart Released – Kyle Youmans, DallasCowboys.com

The first unofficial depth chart has been released. Here is a closer look at some of the takeaways.

3. Tyler Guyton is the backup at left tackle

As camp continues, Guyton will have every opportunity to overtake Chuma Edoga at the left tackle spot. But the amount of practice time missed by both players has made it tough to get a true look at the position battle. In limited reps, Guyton has looked better than Edoga, but Edoga has been more available than the first-round pick. That’s probably a big reason he remains as the first team left tackle at the moment.

2. Micah Parsons listed as defensive end

For years, Micah Parsons has been listed as a linebacker despite playing most of his defensive snaps as a defensive end. This season, it’s anticipated that he’ll play more off-ball linebacker under Mike Zimmer’s new scheme, yet Parsons is finally listed as a defensive end. Is this a true indication of how he’s used on defense? Not really. Parsons could be anywhere on the field at any time. But the timing of the “position switch” is fun to speculate about.

1. Marist Liufau tabbed as first-team linebacker

The only rookie to crack the first team in the debut depth chart is Marist Liufau. He has earned plenty of buzz over the last few weeks in Oxnard, with coaches and peers praising his football IQ and quickness. The third-round rookie has rotated in that starting rotation with Eric Kendricks and Damone Clark over the last few practices. If he can continue to impress the coaching staff and make plays like he has in Oxnard, he could be a massive addition to Mike Zimmer’s defensive unit.

Cowboys rookie defensive end praised for incredible work ethic – Tyler Reed, Sports Illustrated

Greg Ellis had high praise for rookie Marshawn Kneeland and his character.

The former Western Michigan star has received nothing but praise from those around the organization, including assistant defensive line coach Greg Ellis:

“On our off day, Marshawn calls me and asks to meet to look at some film, I was talking to my wife, and I told her I had to get off to meet with one of the guys to look at some film. When you have a guy that’s as talented as he is, but understands that it takes more than what you did in college to be able to be successful – I was glad to see that.”

– Greg Ellis, assistant D line coach

There’s no question that Kneeland is a high-character player. He told reporters earlier this summer that he will keep his mother’s memory alive every time he touches the field by having her with him with the chain that he wears.

Dallas Cowboys training camp: How to interpret the loads of camp information – Saad Yousuf, The Athletic

Saad Yousuf breaks down different aspects of the Cowboys’ training camp so far, including the quarterback play.

Quarterback efficiency

By all accounts, Dak Prescott is having a great training camp. Prescott has made some great throws, hasn’t taken many careless would-be sacks or thrown many interceptions. But these sort of practices, limited in physicality in general but completely restricted as it pertains to the quarterback, are structured to make the passer look good, and Prescott is an eight-year vet and MVP runner-up. It is impressive that Prescott is as efficient and fluid as he is without his top receiver but, for the most part, he’s measured up to where he should be.

Trey Lance, on the other hand, has been more interesting to evaluate. Lance has had some great moments but also some questionable ones. If the question is if Lance has done anything to appear as something more than a third-string quarterback on the roster, the answer would be, no. But Lance carries the heavy draft pedigree and cost of acquisition, so the spotlight will shine brighter than it did on, for example, Will Grier last year.

Prescott will not play in the preseason. The Cowboys already know what they have in Cooper Rush, and they know he can win games in a pinch, so his preseason game reps will be limited. It’s going to be the Trey Lance Show for the next three weekends, and those three days will speak 10 times louder about his place on the team than anything he’s done, or hasn’t done, in practice.

How running routes in Dak Prescott’s backyard helped Cowboys WR Jalen Tolbert level up – SportsDay Staff, Dallas Morning News

Jalen Tolbert is having a great start to training camp and recently spoke about how his offseason work with Dak Prescott has helped him continue to improve.

He said it was hard work reloading for the next season, but building chemistry with the wide receiver room — with an assist from QB Dak Prescott — helped him get over the hump.

“Having a whole offseason to just work with Dak, and Brandin Cooks came in. So having him as a mentor was big for me, and working with [Michael Gallup] and CeeDee [Lamb] as well,” Tolbert said. “Having an off season with those guys, where we can just wake up and it’s like, ‘Hey, let’s go run routes at Dak’s house,’ and then we go in Dak’s backyard, and we’re working on whatever, a certain route a day, and just perfecting and going over and over, building that confidence and that trust, in, not only the routes, but also with the quarterback.”

Now, he says, it’s all about mindset, something he wants to take into Year 3, when he figures to have an even bigger role in the offense. He improved his rookie receptions mark by a factor of 11 last season, totaling 268 yards for two touchdowns.

“Just coming out here and taking it day by day, working, reminding myself that I do belong here, and I can be a threat, a big threat at this level. And I’m meant to be in this level,” he said. “I’m looking forward to the opportunities.”

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New-look Cowboys defense sets physical tone, passes early eye test in Rams scrimmage – Calvin Watkins, DMN

DeMarcus Lawrence, Caelen Carson and Eric Kendricks were among the defensive standouts from Thursday’s joint practice, Watkins explains

Defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence came off the edge to get a “sack” as quarterback Matthew Stafford dropped back.

Outside of Lawrence’s sack, rookie corner Caelen Carson, the fifth-round pick from Wake Forest, intercepted a Jimmy Garoppolo pass, linebacker Eric Kendricks recovered a fumble and during pass rush drills second-year defensive tackle Mazi Smith and newly signed defensive tackle Albert Huggins showed out.

The Carson interception confirms what the Cowboys are seeing in this training camp: a player who makes plays on the ball. Now he must do this when the preseason starts Sunday against the Rams, but he’s off to a strong start.

Smith’s progression has been slow, but over the last few days he’s come alive by playing physical in the middle of the defense. He isn’t getting pushed around as much in the last week and that’s because he’s taking to the coaching and producing when necessary.

10 Observations from Rams’ joint practice with Cowboys: Pass rush, DB Kam Kinchens stand out – Stu Jackson, TheRams.com

The Rams mothership offers with some comments about the Cowboys.

Pass rush gets after it: The Rams were able to consistently apply pressure on Prescott throughout the afternoon. On some plays, that resulted in incompletions on all three levels of the field; on others, Prescott would be flushed out of the pocket but still manage to complete the pass out of structure. In the latter situations, Prescott connected most often with wide receiver Brandin Cooks.

Offensive line gets another good test: The Rams again were without Alaric Jackson (ankle), Jonah Jackson (shoulder) and Rob Havenstein (ankle), so Joe Noteboom, Zach Thomas and Warren McClendon Jr. were once again tested by a pair of experienced pass-rushers in the Cowboys’ Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence.

Parsons in particular was used all over the Cowboys’ formation by defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer.

“We were saying, ‘wherever he (Parsons) is, you find him and you slide to him,’” Rams head coach Sean McVay said post-practice. “I mean, we didn’t game plan. I thought they did a really good job of having him in a variety of spots, but it’s a good test, you know. And I think DeMarcus Lawrence is an excellent player, and they’ve got some good players on the interior. They got excellent players on the second and third level.”

Rams’ battered offensive line shows improvement in joint practice with Micah Parsons and Cowboys – Dan Greenspan, Associated Press

Micah Parsons was a specific point of focus for the Rams.

“We were saying wherever he is, you find him and you slide to him,” McVay said. “I thought they did a really good job of having him in a variety of spots, but it’s a good test.”

The Rams couldn’t come up with a perfect response. During a team period, Parsons slashed through right guard Kevin Dotson, one of the two available starters, and right tackle Warren McClendon Jr. to ruin a drop back by Stafford without actually touching the quarterback.

Stafford was able to keep going through other plays that would have been sacks in a real game, even catching his own bobbled throw on a play at the goal line and stumble into the end zone.

“You could see the respect that they had for him, they kind of all just let up, and he was enjoying that,” McVay said. “So that was a fun play, but I was thinking stop.”

Parsons almost certainly would have taken down Stafford in the backfield had the quarterback been live on that memorable sequence.

Stafford paid Parsons his respects by comparing him to his former Rams teammate Aaron Donald and his knack for ruining a practice.

“I mean, he’s one of the guys in this league where you got to be accountable to where he is on every single play,” Stafford said of Parsons, who has 40 1/2 career sacks through his three seasons. “I had a lot of practice for a couple years with a guy named No. 99 that I practiced against all the time, so kind of understand that.”

Rams look better in joint practice with Cowboys, but offensive line gets sacked again – Gary Klein, Los Angeles Times

The Times weighs in on the back-and-forth between the two teams.

Against the Cowboys, the [Rams O-line] struggled early in attempt to contain edge rushers Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence, who broke through for what would have been multiple sacks.

A spirited Rams defense, led by an aggressive front, tested Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott.

Prescott and veteran receiver Brandin Cooks combined for multiple completions, but lineman Kobie Turner, linebacker Troy Reeder and rookie safety Kamren Kinchens made plays that energized the defense.

Practice Points: Observations against the Rams – Patrik Walker & Nick Harris, DallasCowboys.com

Some more takeaways from the Cowboys mothership.

Ezekiel Elliott and Rico Dowdle have both gotten their share of first-team reps in training camp and, in the joint scrimmage against the Rams, Dowdle looked very good with his opportunities. That said, it might’ve been the best day of camp thus far for Elliott, who also benefited from cavernous run lanes, a nod to the improvement of the offensive line, but Elliott was decisive in his cuts and his burst was on display as well to hit those lanes and quickly make it to the second and, at times, to the third level of the defense.- (Patrik Walker)

If you blink during a Cowboys’ practice, you’ll miss a big play or breakup from rookie fifth-round pick Caelen Carson. His biggest test in training camp thus far arrived when the Rams visited Oxnard for a joint practice, taking reps against a different team for the first time in the NFL, and he passed with flying colors. After nearly grabbing an interception but narrowly missing, he reloaded and picked off Jimmy G on the next set of downs — showing more and more why even Dak Prescott himself calls him “Seat Belt Carson”. – (Patrik Walker)

Eric Kendricks began camp playing like his hair was on fire, missed a couple of practices due to tightness in his back and returned to practice with even more fire in his hair. The Rams were reminded time and again that there is plenty of fuel left in the former First-Team All-Pro’s tank, evidenced early when Kendricks sniffed out a run to the right edge by Kyren Williams and scraped/knifed through traffic to blow up the play and, had it been an actual game, Williams would’ve been picking his teeth out of the grass. – (Patrik Walker)