News and Notes from Wednesday's OTA's

An article by Rob V.    Comments Off

I’m amazed how many things are coming out of the OTA’s.  From encouraging news to funny news to who cares news. It’s the who cares news I can do without. Our team will always be under the microscope I suppose, so I guess we just read the news and move on. Here are some things I’ve read about from Wednesday’s OTA’s.

Romo v.s Garrett?

It was reported that Jason Garrett told Tony Romo that he needed to get into better shape. But Romo denied that yesterday saying that he has a “phenomenal” relationship with Garrett and they continue to work on his performance as well as the offensive performance.

“If there’s anything those guys tell me, it’s to throttle back sometimes just because I do a lot of running playing soccer and basketball and stuff to stay in shape, plus the stuff we do,” said Romo, who added no such meeting occurred.

“If you need to be coached to be good or great, then you’re probably not going to be that good or great,” he said. “I’ve had coaches in the past … one of the best lines ever was, ‘If I have to stay on you 24/7 then you’re probably not going to last very long.’ So you need to be self-motivated. You don’t get to this position if you’re not. I think the biggest misconception is that people need to treat you like you’re 17 years old. You’re either going to do it or you’re not. Either you want to be successful or you don’t. Either you want to be great or you don’t.”

A Different Wade?

Wade Phillips continues to enforce strict rules this off-season. The team is going to hand out heavy fines to players who come into training camp overweight.

“I expect them to be in the best shape they’ve been in. That’s part of being accountable,” Phillips said. “I want them to come in the best shape they can be in. We’ve put [targeted] weights on them. The league maximum [fine] is $453 a pound. We expect them to come in [to training camp] at their weights or under and we’ll have that done when we come to training camp.”

Ratliff’s Backup

So who will be backing up Jay Ratliff in 2009? Well, there is one player who is ready to take on that job. Junior Siavii is the Cowboys best shot at backing at Ratliff due to his 6 foot 5 frame and 320 pounds. Some say he is the ideal 3-4 defensive nose tackle.

Company Man

Is DeMarcus Ware the new Cowboys defensive captain now that his jersey has the letter “C” on it?  Well, he might very well be the defensive captain, but it’s not because of the letter “C”. That came compliments of Lenard “Bigg” Davis who had the letter “C” stitched to Ware’s jersey because it stands for Company Man.

“He thought it was more important than lunch to go put a C on my jersey”, Ware said.

Ware became a Company Man in the eyes of his teammates last week during the teams OTA’s when the team usually finishes their workouts with 200 yards of sprints.

“Let’s run 300!”, Ware hollered

Loving Ratliff

Jay Ratliff was seen blowing through the offensive line time after time on Wednesday almost like they weren’t even there.  This coming from a 2005 draft pick who many thought might not even make the team. And also the same year that DeMarcus Ware and Marcus Spears were drafted.

The Barbarian

One player standing out in better physical condition this off-season is Marion Barber. Looking more chiseled than ever in his arms and his chest. That can not be good news for opposing defenses.

Who is the best TE?

Jason Witten gave a few rookies a lesson during Wednesday’s practice. On one assignment Witten was asked to block rookie OLB Jason Williams.  Not only did Williams not get anywhere near the QB, but Witten almost  bent Williams in half on the block.  The next play Witten caught a pass and turned up-field where rookie OLB Brandon Williams was waiting. Witten froze Williams with a shoulder fake and then turned towards the sideline before heading up-field. Williams attempted to get his feet back under him and recover, but by that time Witten was long gone.

Pictures

Here is a link to some pictures taken from Wednesday’s OTA’s

http://www.dallasnews.com//sharedcontent/dws/pt/slideshows/2009/06/pho_061709_minicamp/