OXNARD, Calif. — Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer said he’s kept notebooks over the years that helped formulate the head coach he would eventually become. If he liked something a coach did, he would write it down. If he heard something he wanted to say one day, he’d write it down.
Some components of being a head coach are simple. He’d take what he wrote down and apply them. Other parts required more self discussion.
Take joint practices, for example, like the one the Cowboys will have in Oxnard against the visiting Los Angeles Rams on Tuesday.
“Quite honestly, I almost didn’t have a joint practice,” Schottenheimer said on Monday. “Just because, ‘Hey, if we practice the right way, why do I need to go practice against anybody else?’”
Cowboys
Schottenheimer sees the value in it now. The Rams and defensive coordinator Chris Shula have a 3-4 base defense, while the Cowboys and new defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus start with more of a 4-3 base approach.
Related:Matt Eberflus has a point: There is an optimistic way to look at the Cowboys’ CB issues
The difference will help. But the fact that Schottenheimer also didn’t deem it necessary is telling about the work the Cowboys have put in to challenge themselves so far in camp. They’ve had their own internal chess match. Playing against an opponent should only show how well it’s worked.
“It’s going to be fun for us boys,” Cowboys defensive end Marshawn Kneeland said. “Obviously being able to not have to go up against our guys and just really let it all loose, it’s going to be nice. We’re going to learn a lot.”
Consider how much of an opportunity Tuesday and Saturday’s preseason game against the Rams will be for a guy like Nate Thomas.
Thomas hasn’t played an opponent in 841 days. He missed all of last season due to injury. He said he didn’t play in the preseason and he didn’t play in last year’s joint practices against the Rams. Now, Thomas is earning all the first-team snaps at left tackle as former first-round pick Tyler Guyton recovers from a knee injury.
Thomas said that he’s been looking forward to the chance to play against an opponent for quite some time. He said it’s a chance to show others that it’s his time to shine. Tuesday will also be a good chance for he and the rest of the offensive line to learn against a Rams defensive line that is projected as the ninth-best unit in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus’ rankings.
The skill of the Rams’ defensive line should be a good litmus test for the Cowboys’ offensive line. From a challenge standpoint, however, the Cowboys believe they’ve already seen a lot — especially when it comes to Eberflus’ blitzes and other attacks.
“The d-line is moving, the linebackers are shooting, but I think it’s something that is very great for us, because I felt like last year, we encountered a lot of teams that had a similar philosophy in terms of moving guys around and stunting and doing all these different things,” left guard Tyler Smith said. “I think it’s helping us in the offense to improve and adapt to those things that we see in practice.”
It’s also helping beyond the trenches.
Being the head coach has certain privileges for Schottenheimer. One of those is the ability to know what his entire team is doing. That includes what Eberflus may have scripted out for the numerous team drills the Cowboys have done on a daily basis at training camp.
That doesn’t mean Schottenheimer has to take advantage of every privilege.
“I could look if I wanted to,” Schottenheimer said.
Related:10 early standouts from Cowboys training camp: CB Kaiir Elam, WR CeeDee Lamb and more
If he did, then he and the rest of the offense would miss out on the anticipation and quick response that’s required against any opponent. Schottenheimer said coverage disguises Eberflus has used in practice are making quarterbacks think critically and quickly. He pointed to a case recently in camp where fullback Hunter Luepke was forced, on the fly, to change his blocking assignment because his target disappeared. He did so successfully, clearing a path for Miles Sanders to have a big run.
“In terms of the chess match, I think right now their disguises are excellent, that’s making us work,” Schottenheimer said.
“In terms of that give and take, of course you want to win, but it’s not about winning and losing. It’s more about, hey are we getting good work?”
The Cowboys believe they have been getting in productive work. They’ve believed they’ve learned a lot about themselves from themselves, especially when it comes to disguises and blitzes.
“You’re doing algebra in a fist fight,” rookie Tyler Booker said about handling Eberflus’ stunts and blitzes. “You have to know who’s going where and where they’re coming from, this, that, and a third.”
Schottenheimer liked that analogy so much he even wrote it down. Maybe he’ll use it one day to describe his ambitions for the work his team does against itself.
Photos: Camping with Uncle Dak! Cowboys QB gets visit from nephew at Dallas’ Monday training camp practice
View Gallery
Find more Cowboys coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.