Blogging The Boys
The latest news surrounding the Dallas Cowboys.
They always talk about it, but maybe they finally make KaVontae Turpin part of the offense.
Don’t look now, but there’s another entrant into the contest to determine what the depth chart ends up being for the Dallas Cowboys at the running back position, and it’s a wide receiver slash All-Pro kick returner — namely KaVontae Turpin.
Through the first two days of training camp practice, Turpin has taken several handoffs in both first- and second-team drills, and he’s made the most of each opportunity by making defenders miss (either actually or presumably, considering the pads aren’t on yet), not to mention the fact he’s also getting targets as a receiver.
And he hasn’t dropped one of those yet, by the way, as he morphs into a true do-it-all player.
“The way they get the ball in my hands, you know I’m gonna go out there and be a playmaker,” said Turpin. “That’s the goal. Everybody can make plays. We’ve got all these weapons, so it’s gonna be hard to get everybody the ball. So me going into the backfield, that’s the one way to get me the ball.”
As Brian Schottenheimer installs his version of the Cowboys’ offense that he plans to include an attacking principle rooted in multiple fronts and looks, with plenty of motions to go along with it, Turpin appears to factor in greatly to what’s in store.
“No. 1, there’s no fear,” said Schottenheimer of Turpin. “That’s the kick return mentality. There was an outside zone play we ran [on Tuesday] where he literally hit the hole and there was no fear. He was gone. So, no fear, plus speed, and he doesn’t need a lot of space. It’s really just getting him to understand the different tracks we have the [running] backs take. There’s some cross-training.
“He’s just dynamic. The guy’s a weapon. … He’s a guy we wanna move all over the field.”
Injuries are always a thing in football.
I understand this isn’t the 1990s anymore, but I’m concerned that a lot of the early season injuries we see come from the lack of physicality in training camp. The only way to get in hitting shape is to hit. Safety is one thing, but don’t we achieve the exact opposite by not having the players ready to be hit in Week 1? – Justin Vandiver/Lumberton, TX
Mickey: Couldn’t agree with you more. Much of practice these days is taking premeditated steps, not playing real football. If there was more physical contact in practice bodies would become more acclimated to the type of movements actually made in games. Now understand why such a conservative approach to practice has developed. With...
