Head Coach Brian Daboll
August 30, 2023
Q: When your guys take a three-day weekend, what’s the goals for those guys? Just to get away from football?
A: We’ve had the training staff, sports science, our team psychologist, trainers, we’ve had them talk to them about what their plans should be to help them be best when they get back. Get away a little bit, but certainly stay active and be ready to go on Monday.
Q: (Inside linebacker) Darrian Beavers was a guy that started the summer alternating in with the 1s. Obviously, he was coming back from injury. How much did that factor into things?
A: Again, when you’re deciding who’s on the roster, you go through a lot of things. Beavers will be back on the practice squad, so glad to have him.
Q: Have you completed the practice squad?
A: No. I can give you the guys that I know are coming back that will be out here today. (Tackle) Tyre Phillips, (defensive tackle) Ryder (Anderson), (safety Alex) Cook, Ox (outside linebacker Oshane Ximines), (outside linebacker Tomon) Fox, (wide receiver Cole) Beasley, (inside linebacker) Dyontae Johnson, (tight end) Ryan Jones, Beavers, A.O. (cornerback Amani Oruwariye), (cornerback) Gemon Green and (quarterback Tommy) DeVito.
Q: You mentioned sports science a ton this offseason. I don’t know if it was more than last year. Just as a coach, committing to that, you have to listen to people who aren’t coaches and stuff like that. I’m just curious about how you go about that.
A: They’re very smart at what they do. We used them heavily last year, too. They have a lot of expertise in a variety of things. Practice schedules, how much load’s on the player, when to back off, when to push them, when to condition, how to condition, so I lean on them heavily. They work closely with (Head Athletic Trainer) Ronnie (Barnes) and (Physical Therapist) Leigh (Weiss) and then (Director of Strength & Conditioning Craig) Fitz(gerald) and (Assistant Strength & Conditioning Coach) Drew (Wilson) in the weight room. So, it’s a good group to lean on, really, in a lot of different areas.
Q: Does each guy have his own regimen with all those people, or is it more of a general thing with the guys?
A: I’d say we try to be as specific as possible. When you’re talking to a group, though, it’s for the general purpose. Whether it’s out here on the practice field or in the training room, you treat everybody the way they need to be treated in terms of what they need. You might need a little bit something different than Dan. I’d say they do a really good job of putting things together and then structuring it to each individual player while also understanding there’s a big picture with the entire group.
Q: What will you do with the long weekend?
A: Work and maybe hang out with my wife and family a little bit. You don’t really get away. This time of year, there’s not much time to get away. You’re kind of in the thick of it right now.
Q: How much are you already into the Cowboys? Are you completely focusing on them at this point?
A: Well, right now, for us, we’re really focusing on things we need to see. I told you guys yesterday. So, different looks maybe that the defense hasn’t seen very much, or different looks the offense hasn’t seen. It’s really about our team right now and the coaches, obviously, we’ve done a lot of work in the offseason. I’m sure most teams do, but for the players I think let’s get better on certain little things that we can get better at.
Q: (Outside linebacker Boogie) Basham came down last night? This morning?
A: Yeah, he’s here. He’ll be out here today. Yep.
Q: What do you like in his game? Where does he fit now that he’s here?
A: Again, we’ve got to get him out here and see what he can do. He ran a different system, a 4-3 system at Buffalo with his hand in the ground, defensive end. But he’s 275 pounds. He’s a thick body. We’ll ask him to do the same stuff that all of our outside backers do.
Q: With (safety Jason) Pinnock, did you see last year starting potential for him? Obviously, he was brought in here.
A: Yeah, explosive athlete. He had to pick up our system again. It's a little bit different than the system he came from. Explosive, athletic, can run. So, I think Rome (defensive backs coach Jerome Henderson) and (safeties coach Michael) Trier have really done a good job with him, and give credit to the young man. He's done a good job of picking our stuff up and playing fast and he's an explosive athlete.
Q: Is the 53 still fluid?
A: Yeah. It’ll probably be fluid all year.
Q: Do you anticipate moves coming later today?
A: I don’t know. They could.
Q: Do you envision any of your injured guys going to the injured reserve to start?
A: I don’t know. I’m not sure yet.
Q: With (quarterback) Tyrod (Taylor), where do you see his value in his role?
A: He’s played a lot of football, been a starter, been a backup. Knows our system. Good leader, good player to have.
Q: Are any of the injured guys from yesterday going to practice?
A: No, I think they’re status quo here. Might see Ryder do some individuals, (cornerback Nick) McCloud will do individuals. A couple guys (will do) individuals, some install. (Safety) Bobby (McCain) will be limited, but he’ll do some stuff. So, a couple guys back.
Q: Any injuries from yesterday?
A: No. Nope, status quo.
Q: How do you explain to the guys, especially the rookies, how things are going to change next week? They’re going to be away for a few days and then come back and it’s game week.
A: Just tell them what the schedule is. Again, I think our people in our building, other members of different departments that I asked to speak to them, do a really good job telling them what the expectations are, and then they go out and be a pro and do it. Their first year, obviously, doing it, first time doing it, but we've been doing the same schedule for the last week here. So, let's come in ready to work.
Q: Do you prepare yourself? You’ve been doing this for 30 years now. Do you have to change a switch?
A: No. No, I think if you're in this business, you always have to have your switch on.
Q: How close is Cole Beasley to being healthy, and how much impact did that have on roster decisions?
A: He’s getting better. He’s getting better.
Q: Last year, you had the examples of your veterans on the practice squad who essentially earned their way to the 53 – a handful of them, really, playing in the playoff game. When you look to veterans now – Cole is one I know you have a relationship with – is it easier to convince a veteran to come onto the practice squad now?
A: I really think it's probably case-by-case. But again, the practice squad has evolved to where it is now with 16 players and there are some players that you know are on a practice squad that are going to be ready to go right away that have played in football games, that know the system, that you can put in right away, and there's other players that maybe aren't ready quite yet to play in a regular-season game, but you think there's something to develop. So, there's a couple of different categories of players that are on our practice squad, all of which we think can help contribute, just probably in different roles right now.
Q: That rule wasn’t always that way. Do you like that you have more flexibility with your roster?
A: I think it’s good. The more guys you can have out here, and again, there's injuries, there's a bunch of stuff that happens, so to me, it's just really an extension of the roster.
Q: Does the new quarterback rule change your approach on anything?
A: Nope. No.
Q: Do you guys know what’s wrong with (tight end) Tommy (Sweeney) yet or why he ended up going on NFI? Any more clarity on that situation?
A: No. I’ve talked to our trainers, I’ve talked to some of the doctors. I’m going to kind of keep that in-house.
