Quote:
Originally Posted by grbh
There was a discussion at the top of this page that made my Cowboy pants go uber (I learned that from Dirk) flacid. More cowboy talk please.
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Jenkins, Scandrick On Board With Rotation
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MINNEAPOLIS - The Cowboys' regular season begins Sept. 13, and as far as the right cornerback spot goes, no one has changed their stance - the Cowboys still plan to continue their preseason practice of alternating Orlando Scandrick and Mike Jenkins as the starter, and both corners continue to insist they're not competing against each other at all.
"Was it a battle, or were you guys trying to make it a battle?" Scandrick asked the assembled media after Friday's 35-31 preseason finale win over the Minnesota Vikings.
The Cowboys decided to alternate Scandrick and Jenkins game by game as the right corner spot during the regular season, and while both second-year players were hesitant to field questions about the decision, they both said they understood.
"They told us it was close and we've both played well," Scandrick said. "We both could've been the starter. It was the most logical thing."
Alternating starts was the plan from the beginning of the preseason, with Scandrick starting against the Raiders while Jenkins was injured, Jenkins getting the nod against the Titans, and Scandrick starting once again last week against the 49ers.
Neither corner played in Friday's game, so it's not as if one distanced himself from the other.
Both Jenkins and Scandrick want nothing more than to start opposite Terence Newman, but both said that the competition between them has residual benefits for the team. By pushing each other to get better, the Cowboys probably have two better second and third corners than they would have if one was declared the starter at the beginning of training camp. That's the nature of competition, Jenkins said.
"No matter where I'm at, the competition keeps going because there's always somebody behind us trying to take your position," said Jenkins.
No matter who starts, the other will hardly take much of a backseat. With the prominence of three-wide receiver sets in the NFL these days, defenses are forced to use a lot of nickel packages, which require three competent corners. Who plays where in the Cowboys' nickel is already set - Newman on the left, Jenkins on the right, and Scandrick in the slot.
But it's who comes off the field when the Cowboys are in base defense that is the issue, although it's a good issue to have. The Cowboys have the comfort of knowing they have two good corners to choose from, and those two corners have the comfort of knowing no matter what, they'll play a lot.
"Starting or not, I'm still going to get a lot of plays," Jenkins said. "I'm going to study my receivers, and I'm going to go in and study with the same mentality."