{"id":119837,"date":"2025-08-05T03:26:10","date_gmt":"2025-08-05T03:26:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/119837\/"},"modified":"2025-08-05T03:26:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-05T03:26:10","slug":"after-cowboys-internal-chess-match-in-camp-dallas-welcomes-key-litmus-test-from-rams-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/119837\/","title":{"rendered":"After Cowboys\u2019 internal chess match in camp, Dallas welcomes key litmus test from Rams"},"content":{"rendered":"

OXNARD, Calif. — Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer<\/a> said he\u2019s 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\u2019d write it down. <\/p>\n

Some components of being a head coach are simple. He\u2019d take what he wrote down and apply them. Other parts required more self discussion. <\/p>\n

Take joint practices, for example, like the one the Cowboys will have in Oxnard against the visiting Los Angeles Rams<\/a> on Tuesday. <\/p>\n

\u201cQuite honestly, I almost didn\u2019t have a joint practice,\u201d Schottenheimer said on Monday. \u201cJust because, \u2018Hey, if we practice the right way, why do I need to go practice against anybody else?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

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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<\/a> start with more of a 4-3 base approach.<\/p>\n

Related:Matt Eberflus has a point: There is an optimistic way to look at the Cowboys\u2019 CB issues<\/a><\/p>\n

The difference will help. But the fact that Schottenheimer also didn\u2019t deem it necessary is telling about the work the Cowboys have put in to challenge themselves so far in camp. They\u2019ve had their own internal chess match. Playing against an opponent should only show how well it\u2019s worked.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to be fun for us boys,\u201d Cowboys defensive end Marshawn Kneeland said. \u201cObviously being able to not have to go up against our guys and just really let it all loose, it\u2019s going to be nice. We\u2019re going to learn a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n

Consider how much of an opportunity Tuesday and Saturday\u2019s preseason game against the Rams will be for a guy like Nate Thomas. <\/a><\/p>\n

Thomas hasn\u2019t played an opponent in 841 days. He missed all of last season due to injury. He said he didn\u2019t play in the preseason and he didn\u2019t play in last year\u2019s 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. <\/a><\/p>\n

Thomas said that he\u2019s been looking forward to the chance to play against an opponent for quite some time. He said it\u2019s a chance to show others that it\u2019s 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\u2019 rankings. <\/a><\/p>\n

The skill of the Rams\u2019 defensive line should be a good litmus test for the Cowboys\u2019 offensive line. From a challenge standpoint, however, the Cowboys believe they\u2019ve already seen a lot — especially when it comes to Eberflus\u2019 blitzes and other attacks. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe d-line is moving, the linebackers are shooting, but I think it\u2019s 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,\u201d left guard Tyler Smith<\/a> said. \u201cI think it\u2019s helping us in the offense to improve and adapt to those things that we see in practice.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also helping beyond the trenches. <\/p>\n

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. <\/p>\n

That doesn\u2019t mean Schottenheimer has to take advantage of every privilege. <\/p>\n

\u201cI could look if I wanted to,\u201d Schottenheimer said.<\/p>\n

Related:10 early standouts from Cowboys training camp: CB Kaiir Elam, WR CeeDee Lamb and more<\/a><\/p>\n

If he did, then he and the rest of the offense would miss out on the anticipation and quick response that\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn terms of the chess match, I think right now their disguises are excellent, that\u2019s making us work,\u201d Schottenheimer said. <\/p>\n

\u201cIn terms of that give and take, of course you want to win, but it\u2019s not about winning and losing. It\u2019s more about, hey are we getting good work?\u201d<\/p>\n

The Cowboys believe they have been getting in productive work. They\u2019ve believed they\u2019ve learned a lot about themselves from themselves, especially when it comes to disguises and blitzes. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re doing algebra in a fist fight,\u201d rookie Tyler Booker <\/a>said about handling Eberflus\u2019 stunts and blitzes. \u201cYou have to know who\u2019s going where and where they\u2019re coming from, this, that, and a third.\u201d<\/p>\n

Schottenheimer liked that analogy so much he even wrote it down. Maybe he\u2019ll use it one day to describe his ambitions for the work his team does against itself.<\/p>\n

Photos: Camping with Uncle Dak! Cowboys QB gets visit from nephew at Dallas’ Monday training camp practice<\/p>\n

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Find more Cowboys coverage from The Dallas Morning News here<\/b><\/a>.<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"OXNARD, Calif. — Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer said he\u2019s kept notebooks over the years that helped formulate…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":119552,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5135],"tags":[5229,29841,7311,1596,8998,1232,54974,358,20026,3187,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-119837","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-brian-schottenheimer","10":"tag-cowboys","11":"tag-dallas","12":"tag-dallas-cowboys","13":"tag-nfl","14":"tag-oxnard","15":"tag-texas","16":"tag-training-camp","17":"tag-tx","18":"tag-united-states","19":"tag-united-states-of-america","20":"tag-unitedstates","21":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","22":"tag-us","23":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114974030717015524","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119837","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=119837"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119837\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/119552"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=119837"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=119837"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=119837"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}