SB Nation - Rudy Carpenter

Dallas Cowboys 2009 Training Camp: Practice #8

Dave Halprin — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 16:27:11 -0000

Roy and T-New battle for the ball.

The Cowboys were in full pads this morning. The injury list is the same; Isaiah Stanback, Alonzo Coleman, Tim Anderson, Stephen Hodge and Michael Hawkins. Dallas made a change in personnel by releasing Michael Turkovich and adding Andre Douglas at tackle.

They started with special teams drills and then rolled into kickoffs. Felix Jones and Willie Reid were the return men again. David Buehler's kicks went to the goal line, the 5-yard line and the goal line while Nick Folk hit the 14-yard line, the 8 and then the 4 yard line.

They followed with warm-up drills, stretching and then a short session of drills by position.

They immediately went to 11-on-11. Romo started with a pass that was intended for MB3 but was deflected by Spencer, but the play was really dead because Ratliff blew past Gurode for a sack. They tried a pitch to Felix but Igor forced the play wide and eventually to the sideline. Carpenter had good coverage on Witten on the next play forcing Romo to throw it too high. Carpenter then stuffed a run by MB3 before Romo got some good yards on a designed QB draw. Kitna tried a pass but Derreck Robinson had pushed Holland back and deflected the pass in the backfield. Kitna threw a pass to high for Bennett because Hamlin2 had tight coverage. Jason Williams knifed through on a draw to stop Choice, and then Kitna hit Crayton for around 10 yards. They tried a FB run to Crosslin but Ware led a gang of defenders to the tackle for no gain, on the next play Keon Lattimore gained around 8 yards on a draw. McGee found Kevin Ogletree wide open in a big hole in the middle of the zone coverage, then Lattimore tried a run but Travis Bright got pushed back off the line and fell down creating too much traffic to get any yards. Willie Reid then caught a pass in front of Mike Mickens.

They moved on to 11-on-11 but starting in the redzone. Romo got a bad shotgun snap so he scooped it up and ran with it, on the next play he threw a precision pass to Bennett for a TD even though Bradie was draped all over Bennett in coverage. Romo was going to pass again but the coverage was too good so he basically threw it away. MB3 tried a run but Spencer stuffed it followed by Witten catching a short one in front of Watkins. Romo then made a huge mistake by throwing an INT right to Alan Ball in the endzone. Felix closed out Romo's session with a run for about 3 yards and a TD.

Kitna found a wide open Bennett on the sidelines at the 1-yd line, Felix ran a short one, then Kitna threw a swing pass to Choice but DeAngelo Williams and Mike Mickens were there for the stop. Phillips caught a low pass for a TD followed by a pass to Austin in the endzone but Scandrick had tight coverage and it was incomplete. Hurd then got wide open over the middle for a TD. Rudy Carpenter threw a TD to Ogletree who ran a nice route and made a great catch with Jenkins in coverage. Carpenter then threw one out of the back of the endzone followed by a QB draw for a TD but he paid the price as Watkins (I think it was Watkins) popped him hard at the goal line.

They backed up for another 11-on-11 session from the 40-yard line. Romo tried to hit MB3 but Brookings had great coverage. Romo forced one into double-coverage to Witten in the endzone but it was incomplete with Bradie and Sensabaugh having tight coverage. Romo looked like he completed one to Bennett on the next play but Brooking was able to strip it out of his hands for the incompletion. Then came the best play of the day; Roy ran a slant at the endzone and right as the ball arrived Scandrick laid a vicious lick on Roy knocking his helmet off, the ball popped up in the air and Ball managed to pick it off. After a false start by Bigg, Hamlin2 came untouched on a blitz for the sack.

Kitna gave it to Felix for a medium gain, Phillips caught a short pass over the middle, and then the defense blitzed heavily but Choice was able to break a run to the outside following a block by Phillips. Choice tried a sweep but Bradie had excellent pursuit and ran him out-of-bounds. Choice got another run and made a nice cut to the outside for good yards, but on the next play Choice ran again with Ware busting through to stuff it.

They ran another round of 11-on-11 but I had to leave practice early. This is my last practice report and I have to check out of the hotel to fly home. It's been fun watching the Cowboys and reporting it all back to you guys. Also, I want to say thanks to everybody who contributed to the training camp fundraiser, the half of the money I took paid for my flight and hotel, leaving me to pick up only my meals, drinks, etc. You guys are the best for contributing.

BTB's coverage of training camp doesn't end though with my departure, Raf will be in town on Tuesday or Wednesday and you know he'll kick butt on his reports. Expect to see a lot more about scheme, formations and strategy with the ever insightful Raf posting.

Thanks for reading BTB, the season is only just getting started and we have a long way to go. I hope you'll be reading and commenting everyday.

See ya on the flip side.

Dallas Cowboys 2009 Training Camp: Practice #4

Dave Halprin — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 22:37:19 -0000

Full pads for today's affair. Stephen Hodge, Tim Anderson still rehabbing. One thing I like, DeAngelo Smith was out on the field 30 minutes before practice catching punts from the machine. Nice to see a rookie dedicated like that.

Started out with special teams drills again, and then went into some punts. Mat McBriar was crushing the punts today, high and far. Catching punts: Felix Jones, Terence Newman, Patrick Crayton, and Willie Reid. After team stretching they went into some FGs with both Nick Folk and David Buehler.

The defense then broke off and did drills that were all about fumbles. They did stations were the defensive groups rotated - they worked on falling on fumbles and properly wrapping it up, stripping the ball from the QB from behind, trying to punch the ball out of the ball-carrier's hands from behind and keeping a fumble in-bounds so another player could fall on it. Nice, we need turnovers this year.

While all that was going on, Buehler was practicing on-sides kicks. The guy was pounding them into the turf and having them pop up, they were going almost exactly 10 yards and right into the hands of Folk. His accuracy at getting the distance and keeping it in-bounds w\as uncanny, Folk rarely had to move to catch it.

Make the jump.

The broke off into 9-on-9 on one side and WR vs. DB on the other. I followed the WRs/DBs. Jenkins had great coverage on Crayton for an incompletion, Austin caught a slant in front of Courtney Brown, then Scandrick had great coverage on Kevin Ogletree for an incompletion. Stanback made a very nice catch on Alan Ball, Jesse Holley cooked Mike Mickens on a bomb, Mickens had to commit pass interference to stop it. Mike Jefferson blew right by Newman for a bomb, Crayton made a great in and out move to lose Scandrick, and Willie Reid beat Ball for a tough catch.

Mickens had nice coverage on Hurd for an incompletion, T-New looked good against Austin, then Roy almost made a spectacular over-the-shoulder catch on a bomb with tight coverage from Jenkins, but just couldn't hold on to it. Stanback beat Scandrick short, Scandrick gave him way too much room, then Jefferson cooked Mickens on a stop and go pattern deep. Julian Hawkins made a nice grab against T-New but ended up out-of-bounds. Austin caught a short one on Jenkins and Crayton abused Courtney Brown on a deep pass. Roy and Scandrick had a real physical battle on a short pattern to the sidelines with Roy winning the battle and making the catch. Manuel Johnson had and easy time with DeAngelo Smith, Reid caught a short one on Mickens and Hurd ran an excellent route to shake Brown.

D. Smith came back with nice coverage on a deep pass, then Scandrick got inside Reid on a dig route to break it up and Jefferson spun Brown around to make a short catch. Hawkins ran a good route to shake Mickens, then D. Smith was all over Austin on a deep pass. Crayton ran a route to the sidelines and got his hands on the ball up high but Jenkins recovered to knock it out of his hands before he could complete the catch. T-New had no problem covering Reid, Roy beat Scandrick on a short pass to the sidelines and Holley was able to shake C. Brown for a catch.

After that, they did 7-on-7 while the OL battled the DL. I followed the 7-on-7. Romo overthrew Witten on an out pattern, Bennett caught a short pass then Romo tried to hit Witten deep but Bradie James had excellent coverage. Hurd made a nice catch while simultaneously being hit from behind by Jenkins, Scandrick broke up a pass for Bennett and Roy caught one over the middle in front of C. Brown. Kitna threw a short pass to Scott Chandler, had a terrible throw to John Phillips, hit Ogletree in front of D. Smith and finished with and overthrow of and open Reid on the sidelines. McGee hit Hawkins in the hands but he dropped it and then connected with Philips on a short one.

Romo came back on and threw short to Witten, hit Austin in the flats, then just missed Austin on an out pattern. He tried to hit Bennett on a deep pass but Bennett's feet got tangled up with T-New and the ball was incomplete. He finished with a pass that had beautiful touch and floated softly into Jefferson's hands and then threw a swing pass to Felix. Kitna threw short to Bennett, then tried a pass over the middle but Mike Hamlin tipped the ball in the air then dove to make the INT. Kitna finished with short passes to Bennett and Hurd. Rudy Carpenter threw short to Keon Lattimore and then got picked-off by Scandrick.

Practice closed with a long session of 11-on-11. Wade was turning the defense loose as they blitzed often and they used nickel/dime coverages where they were putting two safeties near the line and only one linebacker. The defense got the better of the offense most of the day. Romo started by hitting Witten over the middle between Brooking and Sensabaugh, then Ratliff stuffed an MB3 run. Roy caught one on the sidelines in front of Scandrick, Felix caught a swing pass but Carpenter had good pursuit, then Felix tried a sweep but Brandon Williams fought the block and turned it into traffic. Kyle Kosier had a false start and was replaced and Romo hit Hurd on a deep pass that Hurd leaped high to get. Kitna rolled-out under pressure from Ocatvien and hit Phillips on a short pass. He tried to go deep to Reid but C. Brown and D. Smith had bracketed coverage. Choice caught a short pass but Jason Williams was right there for the stop. Anthony Spencer timed a rush to get good pressure forcing a dump-off, and Bennett caught a short pass but Brooking was all over him. McGee handed to Choice up the middle but Carpenter stuffed it. Lattimore caught a swing pass but Jerome Carter came up and accidentally decked him. Lattimore tried a run but had no room and then Brandon Williams got good pressure causing a throw-away.

Romo was back and immediately felt pressure from Octavien, he threw it to Crayton who dropped it. After a dump-off to MB3, he threw to Roy but Mickens was there, they both caught the ball and Mickens ended up with it. Witten got loose down the seam and Romo hit him in stride, they tried a pitch to Felix but Brooking and Bradie ate it up. They tried a reverse to Felix but he was forced to cut it back inside where Bradie was waiting. Kitna started out by overthrowing Reid on the sideline, next threw an incompletion after B. Williams applied pressure, and then threw the ball right to Ball who dropped the INT. Choice took and inside handoff and cut back outside for a long run followed by an Alonzo Coleman draw play that went for big yards. Rudy Carpenter threw a dump-off to Manuel Johnson, then pitched it to Coleman but Spencer disrupted the blocking and Bradie made the tackle. They tried a screen that had no chance as the blitz was on him before it could develop and finished by having Jenkins break up a pass.

That was that.

Dallas Cowboys 2009 Training Camp: Practice #3

Dave Halprin — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 23:03:13 -0000

More photos » by Eric Gay - AP

Tashard uses the resistance-band to try and make Felix fumble.

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The second practice of the day had the players in shells only. Stephen Hodge and Tim Anderson were still on the sidelines rehabbing. Watch for Charley Casserly on the NFL Network soon, he was at practice and spent forever talking with Jerry Jones on the sidelines.

It looks like the standard pattern this year is that special teams will be the first thing they work on. They ran some special team drills then did some punting. Felix Jones, Terence Newman, Patrick Crayton, Willie Reid and DeAngelo Smith were catching the punts. The gunners were Orlando Scandrick, Kevin Ogletree, Michael Hawkins, Alonzo Coleman and Courtney Brown.

The went through the positional warm-ups and team stretching, then went back for a very long session of positional drills. I didn't notice this before but the WRs and RBs had the resistance-bands hooked to the football, one guy would jog and the other guy would tug on the band trying to make them fumble. I liked that, but the best part of this session was the secondary working on covering the bunch formation (three receivers bunched on one side). This formation has killed the Cowboys over the past few years, good to see they were taking a lot of time working on the coverages. The rest of the groups were doing things like the DL working on stunts, the WR/QB working the passing tree, etc.

More below.

They broke up into 7-on-7 and OL/DL blocking drills. I watched the OL/DL; they did every match-up twice in a row. Colombo held up pretty well against Brandon Williams both times and Bigg looked OK against Spears but gave up a little too much ground once. Rat made a quick move on Gurode and got by and the other time was pretty much a draw. Kosier handled Igor twice, Ware got a good bull-rush on Flo once, but Flo pushed Ware wide on the second try. Victor Butler went right around McQ twice, it wasn't pretty for McQ. Ryan Gibbons was OK once on Hatch, but couldn't sustain his block the second time. Procter did OK with Junior, but gave up a little too much ground on one attempt. Holland stuffed Bowen the first time, but he lunged the second time and Bowen beat him. Free gave up ground to Steve Octavien the first time but came back on the second attempt and put Octavien on the ground. Spencer went too wide on McQ but had better luck the second time, although McQ was much better than before. Marcus Dixon bull-rushed Travis Bright into the QB, the next time Bright got a good initial pop but couldn't sustain it. Procter fought Jonas Seawright to a draw, but the second time Seawright did a nice spin move to get around him.

Derrick Robinson (who?) cooked Greg Isdaner once and then got a nice bull-rush the second time. Michael Turkovich (who, again?) did well twice against Butler. The coach called in Bigg to take a rotation at LT, Bigg was pretty good against Ocatvien both times. Justin Rogers beat Colombo once, but Colombo was good the second time. Bigg faced off with Rat and gave him a nice initial pop but Rat recovered well, the second time Rat was able to beat him. Bigg then took a turn with Hatcher and did well. Spears took a rotation at NT and was pretty good against Gurode, but the second time Gurode stuffed him. Kosier finished up with two nice efforts on Igor.

They came back together for a long session of 11-on-11. Romo was in first but Crayton immediately had a false start and was replaced. MB3 took a hand-off and found a big crease up the middle. They tried a screen to MB3 next but Sensabaugh shot through the blocking to stop it. MB3 had to bounce one outside when the middle was clogged for a short gain. Felix tried a sweep but Carpenter was able to slash through to get him quickly. Felix was lined up outside for a pass, but he and Romo had a miscommunication. Romo threw what looked like an out or hook pass, Felix was running straight up field and it was incomplete. They had another false start, but I couldn't see on who, then they tried a bomb to Stanback but he couldn't make the catch.

Kitna started with a bubble screen to Ogletree but Mickens and Butler were there to stuff it. Ogletree then beat Hawkins on a short pass but turned it upfield for a big gain. Hurd caught a deep pass between the LB and the safety over the middle, Kitna then had to dump it to John Phillips because of pressure, and he finished with a draw to Coleman - Spears had great penetration but it was unclear if he could've made the tackle or not. McGee came in and threw in the flats to Coleman, then Lattimore tried a middle run that was stuffed, then he tried a pitch outside but Jerome Carter had good pursuit.

Romo was back in and threw a swing pass to MB3 but Jason Williams had good pursuit. Butler broke up a slant intended for Roy, then Hawkins broke up another pass intended for Roy. T-New made a tackle on a swing pass to MB3, Felix tried a run but Ware and Rat weren't having that, and Romo closed with a nice 20-yd or so completion to Hurd in front of T-New. Kitna was next and tried to hit Stanback deep but Courtney Brown had good defense, Stanback then caught one over the middle just beating the outstretched arm of Carpenter, then Choice had a nice gain running wide to the left side. Matt Stewart made a nice stop on Choice, then Butler put pressure on Kitna forcing basically a throw-away. Rudy Carpenter was on and handed to Coleman but that was stuffed by Butler after Derrick Robinson had excellent penetration. They tried a draw to Lattimore that went nowhere, Ratliff then broke through for a sack, and it ended with an attempted screen but Bradie and Brooking ate it up.

That was it. Overall though, the practice was kind of sloppy with too many mistakes and some dropped passes.

The Valley Ranch Review: Mini-camp Report Day 3

Dave Halprin — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 21:46:04 -0000

More photos » by Tony Gutierrez - AP

MB3! Click on the photo to go to a whole gallery of shots from the mini-camp.

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Click on the photo for more shots from mini-camp.

Some quick stuff about the three-day mini-camp.

Stephen Hodge surgery and other notes.

Rookie linebacker Stephen Hodge and wide receiver Travis Wilson each had arthroscopic left knee surgery Tuesday to remove loose cartilage. Both players are expected to be ready when training camp begins in late July.

Hodge, a sixth-round pick, is transitioning from college safety to inside linebacker in the Cowboys' 3-4 scheme and also is expected to contribute on special teams.

Injuries from DC.com plus practice notes.

Missing practice were Nick Folk (hip), Travis Wilson (knee), Sam Hurd (quad), Miles Austin (hamstring), Felix Jones (quad), Rodney Hannah (finger), Justin Rogers (leg), Stephen Hodge (knee), Kyle Kosier (foot), Kevin Ogletree, Isaiah Stanback (knee) and Igor Olshansky (back).

Willie Reid, the newly-signed WR, was also out sick. A lot of WR's not practicing...

To make up for the deficiency Roy Williams and Patrick Crayton were taking reps with the third-team offense, quarterbacked today by Rudy Carpenter.

Rudy Carpenter. Forgot all about that guy!

Spags on mini-camp.

Archer reports that Romo says: no slim down message from Garrett.

"There was no such meeting," Romo said. "We live in a world where it's sensationalized. When you see something or hear something, you write it. That's completely false. 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. So when you hear stuff like that, people don't know."

The Star-T gives Sensei some love. Sensabaugh discusses the suggestion that his run defense will be a drop-off from Roy Williams.

"No drop-off," [Gerald] Sensabaugh said. "I was a run-support guy in Jacksonville; in a 4-3 scheme you have a gap, and I took on lead blockers. I had surgery on two shoulders. We did a lot of hitting over there. [But] run-game wise, it’s a lot easier to play the run game here."

Marty B love.

The Valley Ranch Review: Two Former Cowboys Move On; Team Settles on New Practice Site

Aaron Novinger — Fri, 08 May 2009 03:40:54 -0000

Former Dallas DT Leon Lett will be graduating from UNLV on Saturday.

Lett came to Las Vegas last year to visit his former Cowboys position coach, Andre Patterson, who had recently joined the staff at UNLV. Lett needed three semesters to complete his course work, which included independent study.

Roy Williams finalized his deal with Cincinnati today. It sounds like former Cowboys defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer is excited to work again with the safety.

"Roy had his best years when we were together in Dallas and I think we can take advantage of all his strengths in our (4-3) scheme," Zimmer said. "Roy is a big hitter, a very tough player who lends a physical presence to a defense, and he makes plays. He has also been very durable, with just the one injury that cost him last year, and that was a broken bone that's healed now."

The resourceful Todd Archer found a Behm family blog with updates on the scouting assistant's recovery. Direct link to the blog: here.

The DMN's draft review series features OLB Victor Butler. Check out the highlights of him sacking rookie free agent QB Rudy Carpenter.

Cowboys assistant trainer Greg Gaither was released from the hospital on Wednesday. Gaither suffered a broken leg in last Saturday's facility collapse.

The Cowboys will now hold practice at Tommy Standridge Stadium in nearby Carrollton. Here's what the practice schedule looks like so far:

Regular Tuesday and Thursday throwing sessions for the skill positions are a part of the team's 10-week off-season program. The Cowboys also have three-day Organized Team Activities planned for four consecutive weeks in late May and early June, and a mini-camp for veterans and rookies June 16-18. Training camp will begin at the end of July inside San Antonio's Alamodome, but work on the Valley Ranch practice fields may not be finished when the team returns.

According to his agent, Brett Favre is retiring--again.

The Valley Ranch Review: More Quick Hits from Yesterday’s Mini-Camp

Aaron Novinger — Sat, 02 May 2009 19:28:07 -0000

More photos » by LM Otero - AP

Dallas Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips, left, shakes hands with team owner Jerry Jones during minicamp.

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The Ranch Report has a great re-cap of yesterday's practice. A few highlights from their good coverage.

During stretching, FB Asaph Schwapp looked to be one of camp's most flexible players and made an acrobatic catch from Stephen McGee.
K David Buehler was seen participating in tackling drills and actually got to QB Rudy Carpenter. Buehler warmed up with the DBs and said he may be covering punts for the team.
Mini-camp observer, Michael Irvin, offered some pointers to Ogletree before moving on to help out WRs Manuel Johnson and Julian Hawkins.
The near-500lb. combo of T Robert Brewster and OG Travis Bright were working as the two-man wedge on kick returns, and ended up drilling Manuel Johnson.
McGee had nifty footwork and throws well on the run but Rudy Carpenter looks to have the the bigger arm. His deep passes had more power behind them than McGee's.
OC Jason Garrett was getting on the rookies yelling at them to pick up the tempo and for McGee to be more accurate after a low pass.
LBs Jason Williams and Stephen Hodge showed their speed. Both guys looked great in coverage and Hodge stripped TE Rodney Hannah of the ball after a catch and took off with it, to the delight of the rest of the players.

Although OL Robert Brewster could play guard, he is now slotted to learn RT.

Of the four Clemson players drafted last weekend, FoxSports writes that Cowboys' S Michael Hamlin will have the biggest impact.

In Dallas, he immediately steps into the backup strong safety role behind fifth-year pro Gerald Sensabaugh coincidentally, cousin to Clemson backup corner Coty Sensabaugh. Gerald, it should be noted, was signed to only a one-year deal, and Jacksonville made no effort to try to re-sign him. Hamlins greatest competition initially for the backup spot will be another 5th-round pick, Cincinnatis DeAngelo Smith, who played corner in college.

A lot of folks thought Hamlin projected as a situational player in their scheme, but Dallas employs the same ?quarters secondary coverage that Clemson used under Vic Koenning, so there should be an instant comfort there. Plus, if he simply doesnt bite on half the play-action passes, hell be beloved in comparison to the positions predecessor, Roy Williams.

In one year, it could be an all-Hamlin secondary, with Michael playing alongside free safety Ken Hamlin (no relation).

Here is the schedule for today and tomorrow's practice times:

Saturday, May 2

10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Practice

12:15 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. Locker room open to media

2:45 p.m. to 3:45 p.m. Practice

3:50 p.m. Wade Phillips available

Sunday, May 3

10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Practice

12:00 p.m. to 12:45 p.m. Locker room open to media

Dallas Cowboys Undrafted Rookie FA Update

Aaron Novinger — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 18:51:05 -0000

More photos » by LM Otero - AP

Will he or won't he? There seems to be some confusion about where Texas Tech UDFA Graham Harrell will sign. Reports said with the Cowboys, but it appears it might actually be the Browns.

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First, the Graham Harrell rumors about his signing with the Cowboys were confusing. They were rumors, after all. Harrell's first rookie minicamp will be as a Brown.

Here's the 8 undrafted free agents the Cowboys have agreed to terms with so far. Expect this list to be continued as more players are confirmed.

We knew about these guys:

WR Julian Hawkins, Boise State

WR Kevin Ogletree, Virginia (He was ranked the #7 undrafted prospect by draftcountdown.com)

G Greg Isdaner, West Virginia (Russ Lande at The Sporting News ranked Isdaner the #18 prospect still available for Day 2 of the draft.)

Dallas has dipped into The Fighting Irish's player pool.

Notre Dame FB Asaph Schwapp will report to Dallas.

The Dallas Cowboys have come to terms with Notre Dame fullback Asaph Schwapp, TheRanchReport.com has learned.

Schwapp, considered the strongest player on the Fighting Irish team, only had 44 career rushers for 98 yards but is considered a devastating blocker at the point of attack.

OL Mike Turkovich, Notre Dame

According to DC.com, "Turkovich (6-5, 305) was a two-year starter with experience at guard and tackle."

Here's two more:

OG Travis Bright, BYU

From dmn's blog:

Bright (6-5, 316) also has medical issues, having had a rod inserted to stabilize his broken leg two years ago. He's a mauler who can bench press 540 pounds.

TE Jamar Hunt, UTEP

From dmn's blog:

Hunt (6-7, 260) caught 31 passes for 367 yards and two TDs as a senior. He turned 26 years old in December.

QB Rudy Carpenter, Arizona St.

From DC.com's Josh Ellis:

Carpenter threw for 81 touchdowns and 10,491 yards in college. He had long been thought of as a draftable prospect, but had arguably his worst season as a senior, passing for just 16 touchdowns to go with 2,493 yards. Carpenter is 6-3, 225, the same size as the Cowboys' fourth-round pick, Texas A&M quarterback Stephen McGee. The Cowboys typically carry four quarterbacks through training camp in order to keep everyone's arm fresh.

Building the Dam Skull Forks Sun Devils

CV3000 — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 01:12:38 -0000

Another week, another Pac-10 foe to dominate. We got together with C.W. of House of Sparky fame for his take on just how badly The Beavers are going to crush ASU this Saturday.

In an uncharacteristic display of mercy, CV3000 saves this Sun Devils fan from having to watch his team for the rest of the season. via farm1.static.flickr.com

1. Do you think the Devils have any chance of winning in Reser?

I would like to think the Sun Devils can go into Reser and pull out a hard-earned victory. Of course, they have a chance. We wouldn't even show up if we didn't, and we wouldn't be in the Pac-10 either. Heck, Wazzu can beat someone .... okay sorry, my mother told me not to lie.

ASU is playing very poorly, and has not been the same since the UNLV loss. With our Lou Groza-winning kicker Thomas Weber playing the worst we've ever seen, we have no leg to stand on in Reser(oh my god, that is horrible). Regardless, if Carpenter can get some time and go through the progressions, our wide receivers are fairly solid and can find the seams in the OSU defense.

But legitimately, do I think ASU will win? Probably not. But I will be cheering them on the whole way. Orange Hell, be damned.

Only, in Reser, it's way Oranger. via babypoobarellah.files.wordpress.com

Continue reading our condescending interview...

2. Did you know the last time that Erickson coached against the Beavers in Reser it was 38-0? You can change your answer to the first question if you want to.

Dennis Erickson is a mastermind. An old man, to be certain, but a creative genius who is capable of exacting his revenge on the Beavers.

Heh. No, this could be ugly.

3. Rudy Carpenter. That guy plays for you. Is he pretty good or what?

He is good, but he's been getting a lot of heat from the local media. They want him benched in favor of Danny Sullivan. I can't agree with this, especially after seeing Sullivan play in person, but Carpenter looks mediocre at best with his bum ankle.

I always supported Rudy, but his attitude is very, shall we say, controversial. Opponents hate him; our fans seem to feel the same way when he isn't performing up to his potential. His job is thankless, but he has done it well for 3 years. He shouldn't be punished now.

Given that, you all saw what happened in 2007 in Tempe, when the Beavers were up 19-0. That turned out well for the Devils.

4. When Erickson was at OSU an opposing coach said that his offense was "spread 'em out wide and then hand it off up the middle to Simonton." Is it pretty much the same thing now, just with Keegan Herring instead? That guy's pretty good, isn't he?

It would be that type of game plan, if the offensive line didn't leak like a sieve. It doesn't help that Herring's hamstring has been problematic for the entire season, and Dimitri Nance has been incapable of gaining any useful yards in the running game.

I really wish injuries had not derailed his season. He is a decent back with speed and a nose for the end zone. Had he been around all year, I think ASU's record would be 4-3 or 5-2, rather than 2-5.

5. Honestly, I can't name a single player from your defense. Should I know about someone, or am I better off not knowing?

Dexter Davis is a beast on the line, and he is capable of attacking Lyle Moevao all game long. Sophomore Omar Bolden, our #1 corner, has looked much better in recent weeks, shutting down Oregon's Jaison Williams last Saturday, and showing some more promise than he did against Georgia freshman A.J. Green.

6. We heard there's killer bees in Arizona. What are your thoughts? Can you promise to not bring them with you to Oregon? Thanks.

Killer bees are scary. I am putting them in the checked baggage of the Sun Devil charter. Feel free to do with them what you wish, whether you release them en masse on UO's campus, or whatever it is you Beavers do.

7. Who is your most impressive player on either side of the ball?

Easy... No wait, it isn't. Since we are just plain awful, this will take more effort.

Offensively, I want to say Kyle Williams. He is short for his position (WR), but that doesn't prevent him from being a great threat. He has oodles of speed and runs routes quite efficiently.

On the defensive side, safety Troy Nolan is a ballhawk who never gives up on any play. Even when we were down 28-0 against USC with only a few minutes left, he was still playing as hard as he can, which is a great sign for prospective employers at the next level.

8. When I look at the games that the Devils have played, the only conclusion that I can come up with is that the Sun Devils definitely are not a great team, but there's still a chance that they might not be that bad. They probably have one or two good games left in the tank. What do you think?

I won't disagree. Put the game plan together correctly, and this team is capable of scoring 40 points. Will that happen? I can't be sure. It seems more likely that we will score in the range of 13-27 points, but it wouldn't hurt me at all if the defense can shut down the Beavers, and Carpenter can put up some big numbers.

9. Who is your best young player that we might look forward to terrorizing us for many years in the future for writing this?

Interesting. No one has really stepped up this year, and we don't have any "explosive" players like Orange Jesus in the pipeline. I am excited for Ryan Bass and Gerell Robinson, though. RB and WR, respectively, they are both true freshmen playing real minutes for the Devils.

For our sake, they will step up by the time we go down to Tucson, and we can show the Wildcats what they have to look forward to for the next 3 years. Will they make a huge difference in Corvallis? Probably not... but a guy can dream.

10. The Beavers have no known weaknesses on offense, but if there is a weakness on the defense, Washington showed that they could throw it deep 9 times and have 4 long completions and also earn a couple pass interference calls to complement their pathetic offensive output. Do you anticipate that your offense will rely heavily upon drawing penalties to sustain drives like Washington was forced to do or are the personnel and coaches talented enough to gain yards through actual football skill?

Please don't compare us to that mess that is the Washington football team. We will try our best to beat you with the talent, not the refs. Besides, chances are that the Pac-10 officials wouldn't get the calls right anyway. We might air it out, but the offensive line might not be able to give adequate time for such an activity to even take place. In the end, I'm just like Dennis Erickson: I don't have the answer.

11. When your practice facility blew away in a storm earlier in the year, was that pretty much just a really obvious metaphor?

Yes. It is inflated now for insurance purposes... I wonder if the ASU team has that same policy? Can they be artificially inflated for a few weeks to save the season?

The search party seen above is on the lookout for signs of life in ASU's football season. via www.eastvalleytribune.com

-CV3000

Poll

Do you expect the Beavers to cover the 14.5 point spread this week against ASU as they muscle their way to the Rose Bowl?

Beavs cover the spread and DOMINATE

78 votes

Devils keep it close and/or win?

21 votes

99 votes | Poll has closed

Q&A With CV3000 of Building The Dam; "Welcome To Orange Hell"

Cory Williams — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 15:45:40 -0000

We sat down with CV3000 from Building The Dam, SB Nation's Oregon State blog. They asked us some questions too, which will be up by this evening. Enjoy.

1. So you beat USC, huh? How did that feel?

    It wasn't as exciting as the last time. Not to me, at least. It was over early.   You could just tell that there was no way USC could come back from 21-zip at the half.   Everyone in the stadium knew it.

2. Why does OSU always get off to such horrendous starts to the season? Is it the weird school schedule?

    No idea. We're the only other team besides USC to have a winning record in the conference in each of the past 3 seasons. And if the Beavers win on Saturday, they will be 2-1 or 3-0 in their most recent games versus every team in the conference (except for UCLA) but we just keep starting out 2-3 for some reason.

    Ok, that was just an excuse to brag about our incredible domination, here's three ideas:

    A) We usually start off with REALLY good teams on the road, typically far, far away. I don't think it would matter if we played them early or late in most cases. We played LSU the year after they were National Champs, Boise State when they were 13-0 and won the Fiesta Bowl, Louisville when they were a Top 10 team with Petrino, Penn State is ...uh...pretty good this year. Even Cincinnati won 10 games when we went there last year (and is likely to win their conference this year) and I personally think they were better than the Sun Devils team that was 2nd in the Pac-10. At least, they were on the day we played 'em.

It's not like we're losing at home or losing to horrendous teams, but we're also not getting the chance to play, for example, Michigan the week after they lost to a high school team.

B) I don't think the school schedule negatively affects anything, except there's no band at the home games before school starts. So that kind of sucks. This year, we just didn't tackle very well in the first 2 games--I attribute this to not having full-tackle practices during Fall Camp. We took 3 weeks to reliably tackle good football players who were fighting for yards--it's just that the 3 weeks happened in real games.

C) The recurring theme in our early season losses has been an incredibly high number of turnovers. At Stanford, for example, we outgained them by a million yards, but gave them the ball 4 times (same story with ASU, Cincinatti a year ago). A pick six and a safety from throwing the ball out the side of the endzone on a lateral pass (against no pass rush) gave the Cardinal 9 points; we lost by 8, fumbling the ball out the side of the endzone on our last possession. It was a really wild game. The most distressing thing was to watch the clock just keep ticking away in the 2nd half with the unfamiliar clock rules. I don't think the coaches realized how much that would hurt a team's ability to make a comeback.

The other recurring theme is a lack of team identity on offense. Last year, the Beavers tried to rely upon Sean Canfield chucking the ball all over the lot (it took him about 4-5 games before he stopped throwing picks) when they should have just been giving the ball to Yvenson Bernard and keeping the defense honest by running James Rodgers on the flysweep and mixing in some play action bombs.   This year, it took us a while to figure out that we just need to feed it to Quizz and mix in some intermediate passes in the first half, then run it outside and add some screen passes in the second half and just kill the clock. Pound the quarterback, stop the run with heavy pressure on defense, and that's pretty much the whole gameplan.

    3. Losing to Penn State so badly must have been a little humiliating. Are they a legitimate championship contender?

    I turned it off at halftime. Then I turned the TV back on and pretended like I wasn't watching. But, I was watching. And....it hurt my feelings. A lot.

They were on that day. I still feel like we had the wrong game plan for that game and that it could have been very different if we had just run the ball right at them. The running game worked very well, but they didn't even try any running plays until the game was essentially out of reach...uh, in the 2nd quarter. I still don't understand why we didn't do that from the beginning, when they had so many defensive linemen suspended that week. It didn't help that several All Pac-10 defenders were literally bouncing off of their ball carriers, and even their quarterback.

I would say that Penn State was definitely polished and they had a killer instinct that is the difference between a Top 15 and a Top 5 team. That's the best way to say it.

    4. Tell us more about Jacquizz Rodgers, that speedy son of a (lawyers!).

You mean, The Orange Jesus? Well, it's gonna get a little misty in here.

Here are the basics for curious Sun Devils fans: Quizz set the career TD record (136) for Texas high school football and was in the Top 25 for high school rushing yardage in the history of the US (over 8,000 yards). His uncle is a Pro Bowl safety for the 49ers; Quizz and his brother, James, would work out together with him in the summer when they were in high school. Quizz is not as fast as James--who ran a 10.33 100 meters in high school, making James one of the fastest players in Pac-10 history--but he is still very fast.

Quizz's speed is not his very best asset, rather it's his change of direction. One step -in any direction- and he's at full speed. Boom! Like that. He's 5'6", 193 pounds, calves literally as wide as your head, and he's just a head hunter killer ninja werewolf robot from the future--broke Brian Cushing's hand, made Kevin Ellison cough up blood, and sprained Rey Mauluga's knee all in the same game.

Quizz is a very smart, fundamentally sound football player. I still haven't noticed him make any mistakes on the field, and he has yet to fumble in nearly 200 touches. Right now, he's 10th in the nation in yards from scrimmage--ahead of Knowshon Moreno and Jahvid Best, just behind Noel Devine-- and I know that he definitely compares himself on a national level, not just the conference level.

If he keeps up his pace, he'll be the first freshman in Pac-10 history to lead the conference in rushing, but he still hasn't busted a big run or scored on a pass reception yet.   Scouts say that he's NFL ready, but he definitely has some room to improve. And he will. And I'm already going to miss him in a few years.

It could be worse, he could be at Arizona--they were the only other Pac-10 school to offer him.

    5. Enlighten us about the Quarterback situation in Corvallis. Where exactly is Sean Canfield? Isn't he a good player?

    He's finally healthy again and ready to fill in if Lyle goes down, but this is Lyle's team and he leads the conference in passing...so.

    6. Who is your biggest threat on D? Might as well ask.

As far as actual danger goes, Al Afalava has put a few people in the hospital. That probably counts. I believe that Rudy Carpenter called him the hardest hitting player he has played against at Pac-10 Media Day--and Rudy knows something about getting clobbered.

    But, the secret most important player is Stephen Paea. He's a sophomore tackle who has mythical strength--bench-presses over 525(!!) pounds. He's new to football, coming from Tonga and growing up playing rugby. I think the defense has improved this year in direct correlation to him improving and consistently winning his individual matchup on a down by down basis. Here's a great quote: "He didnt look like a JC guy coming in to play D-1 ball, he looked like an NFL guy coming back to play in college,'' said (Victor) Butler. "I told the coaches not only should this guy start, but put him on my side of the ball so he can draw some double-teams and free me up.''

    He is so strong that he tore a starting offensive lineman's pec muscle in his first pass rushing drill after he transferred. SCARY.

    7. What's the weather like these days? Is Reser a nightmare in November?

    Honestly, it's been simply gorgeous. The leaves are Orange, the air is perfectly crisp, and the rainy season hasn't started yet. BUT...it is supposed to be a light rain on Saturday and it will definitely be in the 40s by the 2nd half of the game. I don't think it will be an advantage for either team, since the Beavers haven't had any practices in the rain or cold, except for maybe 2 days last spring. If it's cold or wet enough, I could see it taking the crowd out of the game a little bit.

8. Is there any chance the Sun Devils win on Saturday?

Did you ever see Dumb & Dumber?

I think there's a chance. If anyone is hungry for a win, and wanting to prove something to their local media and their fans--who are definitely dogging on them--it is ASU. I look at the teams you lost to, and I think that a lot of good teams could lose to that group (except for oregon, that was slightly unforgivable). Anything can happen with Carpenter under center--we would know. The wildcard is, I'm sure that Erickson would like to do something memorable, since we spanked him the last time he was here, 38-0.

However, when I left the USC game, I really felt like the team is playing with a lot of pride--especially on defense-- and there was no way that they will let an opposing team win in Reser for the rest of the season. No offense, Pac-10.

9. Are there any injuries that will make a big impact that we are unaware of?

Well, you might want to keep a spleen on ice for Carpenter, just in case.

There's a few guys with their hands in a cast, but I believe that everyone on the team is healthy enough to play.

We are also getting Tavita Thompson back from a year long suspension. He is a nasty, NASTY offensive tackle. I think the team will rally around him and his return this week.

I also think that Sammie Stroughter is due for a big game and why not have it come against the team that bruised his kidney last year?

You're entering a world of pain, Devils. Welcome to Orange Hell.

-CV3000

"Bye Week" Stops By To Chat With C.W. About Sun Devil Football

Cory Williams — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 22:31:38 -0000

House Of Sparky is on an incredible roll. We just interviewed Johnny Coy, and now the elusive Bye Week has even stopped by to honor us with an interview. Unfortunately, he's not quite the man he's been made out to be in the press and in oral interviews, but I will try to respect him for what he is, and not what I want him to be. That's how all relationships survive, isn't it? I am in bold.

We’ve already seen you once this season, and some would say it led to disastrous results (losing to California, laying an egg against USC). What makes you think that seeing you again will help our team become a better squad?

Frankly, I can’t guarantee that it will. Bye weeks like myself are difficult to come by, and can offer a team the rare opportunity to rest its wounded, and give more reps to young guys in practice. However, look at the roster. Thomas Weber’s arm doesn’t have anything to do with his awful season, and no amount of time can make Danny Sullivan faster. Rudy cannot magically heal, no matter how much you want him to.

I never said I wanted him to heal. At this point, we’re 2-4 and should see what Samson Szakacsy can do under center before we run into the wood shredder that is 2009.

You want a red shirt freshman quarterback running the team? What is this, 2005?

Actually, it kind of is. Experienced QB goes down, freshman plays out of his mind, sending ASU fans on a euphoric binge of unrealistic expectations for 2006? I can see some similarities. Trade Sam Keller!

Listen, you’re an ass. Bye weeks are for assessing your team’s strengths and weaknesses, watching the other team live on Saturday, and bringing together your game plan to exploit the visiting Oregon Ducks on the 25th. Fantasizing about freshmen quarterbacks and throwing the depth chart out of order just for a chance at success is foolhardy.

Come on, bye week. Don’t you think you’re being a little harsh? We shouldn’t shake up a team that scored 0 points last week?

You won’t score any points this week either. Just throwing it out there.

That’s ridiculous to even say. Who said anything about scoring points on the bye week?

No one scores on bye week. Bye week is undefeated since we began play in 1916, when Harvard came into town and was decimated by our tactics.

What the hell are you talking about?

I like watching USC beat Washington State by 62.

Okay, I think we’re done here.

No wait. Honestly, I am a little lonely. There’s margaritas in the blender and Jimmy Buffett in the CD player, where do you think you’re going?

I am going to interview that space of time between the final regular season game and the bowl game. You know, Mr. Month Between Games.

Ah, he lives down the street. He makes a mean guacamole.

Okay, fine. I’ll ask you one more question. What’s the most likely scenario for an ASU bye week? Does this actually benefit us?

Yes, C.W. The truth is, Dennis Erickson right now is devising the most diabolical scheme for college football ever seen. No, it’s not the A-11 offense from Piedmont High in California, but you will see Ryan Bass actually gain ground in the running game next week. Expect great things from the Devils.

I will not take your word for it, but I do want some guacamole. Adios, muchacho.