Training camp is in full swing after day three, and first day of camp with pads on. When the pads come on, that's when things really start to get interesting. You see the intensity rise and players being more aggressive.
With that said, here are some players that have stood out so far.
Defense |
Offense |
| J.J. Wilcox | Tony Romo |
| Henry Melton | Dez Bryant |
| Bruce Carter | Cole Beasley |
| Morris Claiborne | Zack Martin |
| Tyrone Crawford | Travis Frederick |
| DeVonte Holloman | Devin Street |
| Orlando Scandrick | Dwayne Harris |
| Nick Hayden |
The one person I think is standing out more than anyone else in Oxnard is Mo Claiborne. Which is fine by me; I wrote about the possibility for 2014 to be Mo's break out year and, so far, he's making me look good. Head Coach Jason Garrett used Claiborne as an example when speaking in a meeting with players on how each person should prepare mentally and physically.
We've heard about it, so now everyone wants to see it. And Claiborne has most certainly shown he is a different player from years past.
Physically, he has bulked up, and his confidence is out the roof. The man is coming into this training camp with a boulder-sized chip on his shoulder. You can see the confidence and the new-found dog in him when he was covering Terrance Williams. [su_lightbox src=”http://www.dallascowboys.com/multimedia/videos/First-Padded-Practice-Leads-To-First-Camp-Scuffle-/536a11cb-664e-4b79-9ecf-40efe547aaf8″]In the video[/su_lightbox], you can see Mo just man handle Williams, and at one point, he waved Williams off to cover Dez Bryant in the drill.
Hard to tell just by watching it on video, but not only did Mo handle Williams physically, he got in his head as well. The situation reached a point where the two had to be separated and sat down for the remainder of the drill.
I don't know about you guys, but this team hasn't had that edge, nastiness, bad attitude, or dog – any word you choose – on this defense in a very long time. I welcome the dog side of Mo Claiborne. It's something this team could desperately use this season.
