Cowboys begin training camp with high expectations, rejuvenated buzz
For Tyrone Crawford and Zack Martin, this off-season has gone by quickly. Maybe it’s because the Dallas Cowboys advanced to the second round of the playoffs and were busy afterward trying to build a Super Bowl-caliber team for 2015.
Those high expectations have created a rejuvenated buzz around a team that went into last season without many expectations.
“Last year, I do feel we exceeded expectations,” said Crawford, minutes after the team’s charter plane touched down at Point Mugu Naval Air Station. “I hope we do the same this year, even though I know people have higher expectations than last year.
“That’s what we aim for in ourselves — to do the best that we can and hopefully the best is good enough.”
Added Martin: “This is only my second year, so I’m going to approach it just like I did last year, coming in and doing whatever I can to help the team. We know we’re starting from ground zero.”
The phrase “ground zero” has been used often this off-season by coach Jason Garrett, as he doesn’t want the team to feel last year’s surprise run carries into this year. In Garrett’s mind, it’s a new team, new season.
“Last year really has nothing to do with this year,” Garrett said. “We established that on Day One of the off-season program. You have to start at ground zero; you have to put your socks back on again and go to work.”
It all gets started Wednesday at the team’s facility in Oxnard. Players will go through physicals and the coaching staff will have a few meetings, but Thursday marks the beginning of practices.
The players are certainly ready to go. Most of the team went through a player-run conditioning test Monday. The Cowboys coaching staff couldn’t be part of it, but Garrett feels that showed the strength of leadership within the locker room.
Players went through it on their own even though they didn’t have to.
“I think it says a lot about the kind of guys we have on our team, the leadership we have on our team,” Garrett said. “Again, we’re not involved in that at all. We just demand that they’re ready to go on Day One, and I think they will be.
“Everybody — coaches, players alike — is champing at the bit to get back to work.”
Drew Davison, 817-390-7760
This story was originally published July 28, 2015 at 9:55 PM with the headline "Cowboys begin training camp with high expectations, rejuvenated buzz."