Cowboys Corner

Terrance Williams isn't worried about press coverage, which he "destroyed in college," because he'll learn to beat it in NFL

Terrance Williams has so much speed, he got used to being played “soft” in college. Nobody wanted to get burned, after all.

But in the NFL, he’s expecting to come into contact with more aggressive, physical defenders.

He was asked about it Friday night in a conference call with reporters after the Cowboys drafted him in the third round. Even over the phone, his confidence came through.

“Seeing the press is really not my biggest fear,” he said. “From the time that I saw it during college, I destroyed it. So I’m really not going to worry about the press as much, because I’m going to learn how to beat it. And I’m sure they’re going to teach me how to beat it more.”

At 6-foot-2 and 208 pounds, Williams has a chance to be physical right back. He knows who to watch – 6-2, 220 Dez Bryant and 6-2, 217 Miles Austin.

“I’m just trying to learn how to get better and work out and learn from Dez Bryant and Miles Austin,” he said. “That would mean the world to me and get me ready for press coverage.”

-- Carlos Mendez

Twitter @calexmendez

Stephen Jones says it wasn't 'unwarranted' for Cowboys to think offense in this draft

Executive vice president Stephen Jones said the makeup of the roster made the Cowboys lean to offense in the draft.

The Cowboys did not draft a defensive tackle or defensive end. (They didn’t sign one, either, after the draft).

“The way I look at this, you look at where our resources are,” Jones said. “We’ve got two very high-paid pass rushers, we’ve got one great defensive tackle in Ratliff that’s been to the Pro Bowl that obviously is in his second contract. So you’ve got three guys like that in your defensive line.”

Additionally, Jones said the Cowboys have “put great resources” into linebackers Bruce Carter and Sean Lee (both second-round picks), traded very high for cornerback Morris Claiborne and put “a whole lot of money” into cornerback Brandon Carr.

He said it was time for the offense to get attention.

“We haven’t put those kinds of resources over there,” he said. “We got one tackle. Obviously, we’ve got a quarterback. And we’ve got Dez. We’ve got Miles in the back end of a contract. It starts to get into a little question mark or two from there.

“So if you really look at the balance of our team, I don’t think it was really unwarranted that we look at the offensive side of the ball.”

But Jones acknowledged that the Cowboys can’t rest on their defensive line.

“We are getting a little long in the tooth there at some of the spots, maybe,” he said. “Would you have liked the right 3-technique if he would have been there? Would we maybe have used that pick on one, if one was there? But he wasn’t there. The 3-technique wasn’t there at 18.”

-- Carlos Mendez

Twitter @calexmendez

Jerry Jones, self-described 'very optimistic,' lays out a road for the Cowboys to get over .500

Jerry Jones can picture in his mind how the Cowboys can get over .500 next year.

Go step-by-step with him.

“Standing here right now,” he said, talking to reporters Saturday at Valley Ranch, “if you let me add a game if we had not got hurt on defense, if you let me add a game that we got Tony another half a second, if you let me add a game that the way we are schemed defensively gives us a chance to improve, I am very optimistic that we are better than 8-8.

“Very.”

Told that adds up to an 11-5 record, the Cowboys owner didn’t bite.

“I’m not going there with you,” he said. “You can go there.”

He added, “If you told me after our last game that we would get to stand here with the results of this draft, that we would get to stand here with what we have been able to put together with our coaching staff, with what we are doing with Tony – Tony is more involved in the finished product; he is more involved, unequivocally – I’m counting that in. That ought to produce some success.”

So Jones is optimistic. Very optimistic.

“When I look at the reasons why we weren’t 10-6 last year, when I look back at where we lost our games last year and what might have been, they are not excuses,” he said. “They are legitimate. But between scheme for our personnel and what we are doing offensively, we have made some significant changes. We are making real offensive changes.”

-- Carlos Mendez

Twitter @calexmendez

A list of undrafted free agents who have reportedly agreed to terms with the Cowboys

Here is a list 15 undrafted free agents and tryout candidate who are expected to join the seven draft picks at the Cowboys rookie minicamp next weekend.

Jeff Heath, DB, Saginaw Valley State

Brandon Magee, LB, Arizona State

Taylor Reed, LB, SMU

Dalton Williams, QB, Akron
Jakar Hamilton, SAF, South Carolina State
Paul Freedman, FB, Virginia
Brent Leonard, WR, Louisiana Monroe (Tryout)
Kendial Lawrence, RB, Missouri
Jeff Heath, DB, Saginaw Valley

Xavier Brewer, CB, Clemson

Spencer Benton, K, Clemson
Eric Rogers, WR, Cal Lutheran
Greg Herd, WR, Eastern Washington
Devin Smith, CB, Wisconsin
Dustin Harris, CB, Texas A&M

Cam Lawrence, OLB, Mississippi State

 

Clarence Hill

Callahan, Frederick able to focus on a name for future reference -- Nick Mangold

When Cowboys offensive line coach Bill Callahan and Wisconsin center Travis Frederick got together for a pre-draft interview, one particular name came up.

Nick Mangold.

Good thinking. The New York Jets center is a two-time All-Pro and four-time Pro Bowl player selected in the first round in 2006. Callahan joined the Jets two years later, in 2008, Mangold’s first Pro Bowl year.

“He did talk about Mangold and how he coached him and some of the things that he did with him that made him into a really good player,” Frederick said last week after the Cowboys made him their first-round pick. “I’m really excited to hopefully take that coaching and really move forward.”

Mangold came into the league as the 29th pick in the first round. Frederick was the 31st pick.

Mangold also came into the league with a slow 40 time, and he was undersized at 290 pounds. He plays now at 6-4, 307.

Frederick is listed at 6-3, 312.

Both players come from big-time programs. Mangold made 21 consecutive starts for Ohio State before being drafted. Frederick started 28 consecutive games at Wisconsin before being drafted.

Both were the first centers taken.

“I’m very excited to not only be here in Dallas, but be the only center taken and be taken in the first round,” Frederick said. “It’s really a dream come true.”

Callahan and Frederick shouldn’t lack for anything to talk about. Frederick grew up in Sharon, Wis., about 90 miles outside of Chicago. Callahan is a Chicago native who coached at Illinois in the ’80s and Wisconsin in the ’90s.

-- Carlos Mendez

Twitter @calexmendez

Jerry Jones says to rely totally on DeMarco Murray gives him visions of 8-8

Owner Jerry Jones doesn't want to rely on DeMarco Murray to run the ball 100 percent of the time. It makes the Cowboys too dependent, he figures.

“To totally count on that would give you visions of 8-8, because the last two years, we’ve had games that we didn’t have Murray, and we didn’t run the ball as well,” Jones said. "We didn’t have as good an offense within it. So if we have somebody that could possibly step up there and give you the respite that you need when you don’t have Murray, that’s a big deal for us."

Murray has led the Cowboys in rushing since they drafted him two years ago out of Oklahoma, but he has missed nine games.

The Cowboys drafted a running back in the fifth round Saturday, Joseph Randle of Oklahoma State, as insurance for Murray injury.

Jones said he would consider Randle a starter.

“We really could envision him coming in and having that many plays a game,” Jones said. “One of the advantages, one of the reasons, we wanted him was because he really mirrors a lot of what Murray is, relative to a complete three-down back.”

Head coach Jason Garrett said because Murray and Randle are similar, the Cowboys see Lance Dunbar their change-of-pace back.

-- Carlos Mendez

Twitter @calexmendez

Jerry Jones: the draft and Peyton Manning-like commitment from Tony Romo makes Cowboys better

By Clarence E. Hill Jr.

chill@star-telegram.com

IRVING _ On Thursday, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was criticized nationally for
seemingly getting hoodwinked in a first-round trade with San Francisco to move
13 spots down to take a player they could have gotten in second and possibly
the third round.

When the 2013 NFL Draft ended Sunday, Jones was defiant and confident as ever.

According to Jones the Cowboys are no longer the 8-8 team that finished out of
the playoffs the past two years and should be more successful in 2013.

Jones bases his beliefs notonly on what the Cowboys did in the draft, including
the controversial pick of Wisconsin
center Travis Frederick in the first round but also the overhauling of the
coaching staff since the end of last season.

And _ drum roll please _　a Peyton Manning-like commitment from quarterback Tony Romo to spend more time at the
team's facilities and so he can more involved in all aspects of the offense
than he has been in the past.

That, according to Jones, is the flip side to the six-year, $108 million
contract extension, including $55 million in guaranteed money, that the Cowboys
gave Romo last month.

"If Tony, for instance, would be here Monday through Saturday … from seven
in the morning to six o’clock at night all over this place then that’s better
than the way it’s been," Jones said. "We’ll have more success, and
Jason believes that..


"Tony is going to have more time, more presence, not only in the offseason
but when the season starts, beginning Monday, assuming we played Sundays. He’s
going to have more time on the job. A part of what we agreed with was extra
time on the job, beyond the norm. That doesn’t mean that he didn’t have a lot
of time on the job, but extra time on the job, Peyton Manning-type time on the
job."


Considering that Cowboys have won just one playoff game since Romo took over as
starter in 2006 and the infamous trip to Cabo in 2007 playoffs on his resume
and considering that critics have long questioned Romo's off season commitment
because of frequency on the golf course, was Jones also saying that Romo didn't
do enough in the past?


"No. It’s a bonus," Jones said. "Anybody will tell you that Peyton Manning’s involvement in
what they do is a bonus as opposed to what the general commitment is of top
quarterbacks in the NFL. That’s a bonus. Again, because I haven’t been in
meetings with Peyton for a long time, but we’re committed and [Romo's]
committed to that type of in-season and off-season approach for these years
under his contract."

Well, however, you spin it. let Jones tell it, it is already paying off for the
Cowboys.


Jones acknowledged that Romo also put demands on the Cowboys during the lengthy
contract negotiations. He wanted to make sure they were committed to upgrading
the offensive line as well as the offense before he signed the contract. The
Cowboys had the worst running game last season. And Romo was sacked a
career-high 32 in each of the past two seasons.

Not surprisingly Jones defended his decision to seemingly take less value to
get Frederick
because of the importance of upgrading the offensive line with walking starter
and anchor at center to give Romo more time.　

The Cowboys brought Romo to team's headquarters on Friday to get his opinion on
San Diego State tight end Gavin Escobar and Baylor
receiver Terrence Williams before taking them in the second and third round,
respectively. The Cowboys added Oklahoma
 State running back Joseph
Randle in the sixth round on Saturday, meaning the four of the team's seven
picks were strategic decisions to give Romo more help on offense.


"[Romo] was inordinately interested in what we were going to be doing in
the offensive line. It meant something to him to make the commitments that he
was making, that we commit fair. It meant something and to me that he commit to
what I’m talking about, doing more time and that he commits to doing more time.
It’s part of his job description."


So when he talks about the Cowboys being better in 2013 he said Romo's added
involvement and commitment is just as important as what they did in the draft.

"He is more involved. He is more involved unequivocally," Jones said.
"I'm counting that in. That ought to produce some success."
 

Brent has been at Valley Ranch, but Cowboys careful about saying whether he is working out

Nose tackle Josh Brent, arrested on suspicion of drunk driving in the December accident that killed teammate Jerry Brown, has been at Valley Ranch, owner Jerry Jones said.

But Jones intimated that Brent has not been working out because the Cowboys want to avoid giving the impression they believe he will play this fall.

“I am sensitive about him looking like, for whatever the reason, he is anticipating a result. OK?” Jones said. “He doesn’t feel that way, and so if you are out here getting ready to play, you might look like you are thinking you are going to play."

Asked if he is not counting on Brent to play in the fall, Jones said, "I can't answer that. I just don't want to answer that. I don't want to be a part of anything that would influence anything, out of fairness, to what he has ahead of him."

-- Carlos Mendez

Twitter @calexmendez

 

Vickers has back surgery and should be OK, but Cowboys' draft may have put his position in jeopardy

Fullback Lawrence Vickers underwent back surgery on Friday and should be ready for training camp, owner Jerry Jones said.

But the Cowboys’ draft signaled a possible move away from the fullback position. The Cowboys might have to decide if Vickers’ $1.2 million salary in 2013 is worth it.

“That is what you look at,” Jones said. “We like him. He has done an outstanding job. As we sit here today, I would say, ‘Yes.’ ”

Jones said the Cowboys will think a lot about the positions of fullback and tight end during the OTAs.

"We want to see to some degree how we are doing things in here with one back," Jones said. "I don't know we are ready to say some of these guys can do some of the things that John Phillips does -- that Phillips did for us last year -- relative to the movement and blocking inside. We don't know that. But we would like to see it. We would like to get a feel for it in OTAs."

-- Carlos Mendez

Twitter @calexmendez

 

Cowboys fifth-round pick Joseph Randle might be slowed by thumb injury in rookie minicamp

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said fifth-round pick Joseph Randle has a thumb problem that might limit him in rookie minicamp, mainly catching the ball.

Jones said Randle will wear a “club” to protect the thumb, but that it shouldn't slow him down in anything except pass-catching.

Randle described himself as versatile and considered his pass-catching a strength.

“I do everything well: running, blocking. I take pride in my blocking. I take pride in being able to catch, and I take pride in being able to make tough yards and make people miss one-on-one,” he said. “That’s just my game in a nutshell right there."

-- Carlos Mendez

Twitter @calexmendez