BACK IN THE SADDLE: Cowboys DT Sean Lissemore is practicing and eager to play
Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Sean Lissemore was quick with an answer when asked if he would play Saturday against the Bengals: “I’ll be playing this Saturday,” Lissemore said.
It was a long eight days for Lissemore after he injured his groin in practice Aug. 11. Lissemore had been getting plenty of reps with starter Jay Ratliff rehabbing hernia and hamstring injuries since the start of camp on July 20.
“It’s always frustrating to be injured, but you’ve got to kind of look at it and say, ‘Well, what can I do to get better?’” Lissemore said Tuesday. “So you just watch film; you watch the guys ahead of you; you watch practice. You just try to watch your position and get better every day.”
Lissemore returned to practice Tuesday. He did individual work, followed by metabolics “just to get my wind back.” He expects to work into team drills this week.
By design, Lissemore has lost some 12-14 pounds since camp started, down to 298. He hopes that helps him better fit into the Tampa 2 defense the Cowboys are using this season under Monte Kiffin.
“I think I can definitely play in this defense,” Lissemore said. “It’s just taken a little bit to transition. It’s a little bit different from last year, playing a 3-4 defense, kind of two-gapping. So it’s kind of forgetting everything I’ve learned for the past three years and kind of training myself to do something different.”
Two other defensive players injured the same day as Lissemore have yet to return.
Linebacker Ernie Sims, who was competing with Justin Durant for the starting strong side spot, said he was encouraged by his rehab work Tuesday on his pulled groin. He cut and changed directions without a problem.
Sims hopes to return to practice this week.
“I want to be back this week,” Sims said. “But we’re taking it day by day right now, just trying to keep strengthening it. I’m definitely making a big improvement, though, because I’m feeling a whole lot better. I’m moving a whole lot better. Running a whole lot better. Right now, I’m just in the strengthening, trying to build my strength back up.”
Defensive back Eric Frampton, one of the team’s core special teams players, has a calf injury and is expected to be the last of the three to return to the field. He is not yet running, though he is using the AlterG, a anti-gravity treadmill.
Frampton said there is no timetable for his return.
“The way I see it, I want to be able to just contribute on the field once the season starts and whatever it takes to get to that point is what’s important,” Frampton said.
DALLAS COWBOYS 2013 ROSTER: Team waives three players, including LB Alex Albright
The Dallas Cowboys waived three players, including linebacker Alex Albright. Albright will have season-ending surgery on his back this week. If he clears waivers, Dallas will put him on injured reserve.
Defensive linemen Travis Chappelear and Toby Jackson also were waived. Chappelear was wearing a walking boot Monday after being injured in pregame warm-ups. Jackson has a hamstring injury.
Albright, who had sports hernia surgery after last season and then hurt his back in May, was one of the team’s core special teams players. He had 17 tackles on special teams last season. He also had been expected to contend for playing time as the backup at the strong side and middle linebacker spots.
“He’s been a good player for us in that role, as a backup linebacker and a teams guy,” Dallas Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said. “An expression we’ve used a lot with him is ‘ugly production.’ Sometimes it doesn’t always look great. He seems to make a lot of tackles. He’s around the ball a lot, both on defense and the kicking game. Last year, he’s out there against Pittsburgh, and he’s covering a really fast running back [Chris Rainey] they have and as a coach, we say, ‘Boy, we don’t want to see that guy in space against him.’ Sure enough, he just covers him. He’s done that since he’s’ been here. He’s done that on defense. He’s done that on teams. Disappointed for him not to be able to show us that he can play again like he’s done all throughout his career. Certainly disappointed for us as well because of the role he’s played for us.”
QUARTERBACK SECURE: Cowboys remain confident in QB Kyle Orton
As much as Dallas Cowboys fans might want Alex Tanney as the backup to Tony Romo, that role again will go to Kyle Orton. The Cowboys signed the veteran quarterback to a three-year, $10.5 million deal, with $5 million to sign, last year.
Despite Orton’s struggles Saturday against the Cardinals, the Cowboys still have faith in him if something were to happen to Romo.
“He’s played a lot of good football for us — both in practice and preseason games and when he had a chance to play last year,” Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said, “and we have a lot of confidence in him.”
But Orton made a “couple of bad decisions” against the Cardinals. In three offensive drives, Orton was 4-for-8 for 36 yards with two interceptions and a 22.9 passer rating.
“Anytime you get to go out and play, you don’t want to turn the ball over, especially the way the game started,” Orton said Monday. “To go out and add to it and throw a couple of picks, it was just two poor decisions. Nothing that I haven’t seen. I just made two bad decisions. I’ll learn from it like everybody else and go out and play great next week.”
In three preseason games, Orton is 12-for-17 for 113 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. Tanney got Cowboys fans excited with his performance last week when he completed 14 of 19 passes for 136 yards with a touchdown and an interception for an 88.9 passer rating.
But Jason Garrett always has had a veteran quarterback behind Romo with Brad Johnson, then Jon Kitna and now Orton. Tanney isn’t likely to change the Cowboys’ minds about keeping a third quarterback on the 53-player roster either. They have too many injuries at other positions that will need addressing with roster spots.
“We value the quarterback position a lot,” Garrett said. “We would love to have a third quarterback, but roster spots are competitive in this league. You have to make a lot of decisions. You’ve got to figure out who is going to help your team, developing a player versus this guy can help our team right now. That is a good question we have.
“We feel good about our starting quarterback. We feel good about our backup quarterback. Now would like to bring a guy along, what capacity would you like to bring him along in? I don’t know that. Tanney did a good job the other night, though.”
QUARTERBACK FRIENDLY: Gavin Escobar could be immediate contributor
IRVING – The Dallas Cowboys finished with 29 passing touchdowns last season, sixth-most in the NFL. Through three preseason games, however, the Cowboys have only passed for two touchdowns.
One of them came Saturday in Arizona, a five-yard score from third-string quarterback Alex Tanney to second-round draft pick Gavin Escobar.
The sure-handed tight end hauled in all five passes thrown in his direction in the 12-7 loss to the Cardinals. Although four of those receptions came in the second half against reserves and players fighting for one of Arizona’s final roster spots, Escobar showed a glimpse of what he can do as a pass-catcher in the Cowboys’ offensive scheme.
“That’s what I did in college and that’s definitely my strength,” Escobar said. “I’m hoping to expect catches.”
Cowboys coach Jason Garrett called Escobar “quarterback friendly” because of his ability to run correct routes and create space between defenders with his 6-6, 249-pound frame.
But in order to get more targets, Escobar must add strength and improve as a blocker.
“My technique’s getting better but these are bigger d-ends that I’m blocking now, so definitely in the off-season that’s going to be a big key for me,” Escobar said of becoming stronger. “Blocking-wise there’s still things I need to clean up. Technique-wise, I have to work on staying lower on blocks.
“There’s a lot I still need to improve on.”
But with five catches for 32 yards, Escobar, who has caught six of the seven balls thrown to him during the preseason, demonstrated that he could be a factor in the passing game during his rookie season.
“I’m reliable catching the ball and I think I’m a threat in the red zone, just being a big target,” he said. “But in this offense, you got to be able to do it all to be on the field. That’s why I need to keep improving all around.”
2013 PRESEASON INJURY UPDATE: Dallas Cowboys Lance Dunbar out; Kowalski and Dominguez return
IRVING, Texas – None of the defensive players who were inactive for Saturday’s preseason game returned to practice Monday at Valley Ranch, while the offense received a mixed bag of news.
Guards Kevin Kowalski and Ray Dominguez returned from knee and shoulder injuries, respectively, but running back Lance Dunbar missed practice for the first time with a foot sprain.
Five offensive players were out Monday, including Dunbar, wide receiver Cole Beasley (foot) and offensive linemen Ryan Cook (back), Ron Leary (knee) and Nate Livings (knee). Leary and Livings are both on the mend from knee scopes.
Safety Matt Johnson (foot) thought he’d be able to return in some capacity Monday, but he wasn’t on the field during the early portion of practice available to the media. Morris Claiborne, whose day-to-day knee injury has now become week-to-week, was also out.
Some good news for the defense was the return of safety Will Allen, who left Saturday’s game after injuring his ribs. Head coach Jason Garrett said after the game the injury wasn’t serious and he could have returned.
The usual suspects were still out on defense, including Anthony Spencer (knee) and Jay Ratliff(hamstring), while Ernie Sims, Sean Lissemore and Eric Frampton are all still recovering from injuries suffered toward the end of camp.
J.J. Wilcox hasn’t returned yet for personal reasons, but has been given as much time as he needs following the death of his mother and is expected back around the middle of this week.
Travis Chappelear and Toby Jackson weren’t at practice for the beginning portion, either. Chappelear wore a boot as he left the field Saturday.
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