Initial thoughts on the first week of Dallas Cowboys camp

The first week of Dallas Cowboys training camp can only be described as a whirlwind of information coming straight at us. I think most of us have been trying to figure out what the Dallas Cowboys are doing from grainy cell phone videos or excited posts from Cowboys beat writers.

It almost feels like we have all been fasting this offseason and we are binge eating any type of information we can get our hands on. My initial reaction was to try and calm everyone down as all of these practices have been unpadded and we need to keep the hysteria down to a minimum. On the other hand, these Dallas Cowboys look to be a bit different than we are accustomed to and we simply cannot help ourselves.

I’m going to start off with the structure of these practices the coaching staff has developed. Two and three-a-days are a thing of the past. Coaches no longer need to whip their team into shape as most athletes training year-round.

Even with limited practices, this team didn’t want the highly contagious injury bug to bite so getting these athletes to get used to organized football before smashing into each other is a great way to get acclimated. I cannot wait for pads to come on in order to weed out the pretenders but starting off camp with multiple non-padded practices was a smart move.

Speaking of smart moves, the anticipated signing of free safety Malik Hooker is something to really get excited about. Hooker is extremely talented yet injury-prone. I hope a change of scenery and daily rhythms can change his on-field misfortune. Hooker the player has Pro Bowl talent.

I was a bit underwhelmed when the Dallas Cowboys drafted an off-the-ball linebacker and even though I do not value the position as much as others, Micah Parsons looks to be more of a weapon on defense rather than your traditional linebacker. His explosiveness off the edge is going to cause a lot of problems around the league.

The team has collectively worked with this young man on how to not only play linebacker but he has also been seen off to the side getting one-on-one coaching from not only the coaching staff but offensive players as well. I might not value the position but Parsons will be anything but just a linebacker.

The secondary has been impressive so far in camp. I think we were a bit premature in making Nahshon Wright the next Richard Sherman yet he has shown so far that he was not a reach in the draft. With that being said, I think Kelvin Joseph has better footwork and should jump Wright once the pads come on.

When the pads do come on we can finally get our footing, unlike the Oxnard practice fields, on what to make of both lines. Defensive end Randy Gregory has made an immediate impact and looks to be unblockable. The same thing was said about pass rusher Aldon Smith last year so I will reserve judgment until after a full week of padded practice has concluded.

Third-round rookie defensive lineman Osa Odighizuwa has been impressive with his quick get-off and could crack the regular rotation if that shows up when the pads come on.