Coach Allen: Update on the injuries. [Aaron] Curry is still out with a knee. [RB] Taiwan Jones got a hamstring in practice, we'll see where that's at. [P Shane] Lechler's still got the knee. [DT Richard] Seymour, more preventative than anything else but it's dealing with his knee. [WR Eddie] McGee has the hamstring still, [WR] Denarius Moore still with the hamstring. [CB Ron] Bartell missed practice today with a hamstring. Obviously we got [TE] Richard Gordon back so that's where we're at, injury-wise.
Q: Ivey's released?
Coach Allen: Yeah, we released [DT] Travis Ivey this morning.
Q: Any chance you'd think about bringing him back if he got in shape?
Coach Allen: Just like everything else, we'll keep all options open and do anything we can to try to help this football team, but right now, that just wasn't something we felt was going to help the team.
Q: Officials out here today much less conspicuous with the replacement crews than the usual crews in terms of throwing out flags. I was curious how that works this year? Is there still the presentation that the players get from the officials or is that not happening?
Coach Allen: No, we still had a presentation from the officials. Bill Vinovich came in and did that, he's the Western Regional Supervisor for officials. He came in and did the presentation and obviously the officials were out at practice today. And my thing to them was, when we get a penalty, we'll throw a flag, but we won't do anything to stop practice.
Q: There didn't seem like there were a lot of flags.
Coach Allen: Well, there weren't a lot of flags. There were still a few penalties that we've got to get corrected.
Q: Is Rod Streater continuing to make an impression?
Coach Allen: Yeah, Rod's doing a nice job. I wish he would have made that play in the two-minute drill on a nice 7-route there. Every day he does a little something else to grab your attention and that's what it's all about. Like I've been telling you guys from day one, the evaluation process takes time. Part of getting notices every day, you do something a little different or you make a play here and there where it kind of catches our attention.
Q: As far as catching your attention about him, has it been his physical attributes or his work ethic and study habits off the field?
Coach Allen: I think all of that goes into it but at the end of the day, when I look at it, I look up and I see him making big catches down the field and explosive gains for our offense and that's really, at the end of the day, what I'm concerned about. Every day you look up and he's making a play down the field.
Q: What's Bartell's status on the team? Did he pass the physical?
Coach Allen: Yes, he was activated today. There's a new three-day transition period, so today was day one on that transition period. Tomorrow he'll be able to be out in non-contact situations, much like the rest of the team was when we came out and practiced early in the week on Monday and Tuesday.
Q: And the following day?
Coach Allen: Same thing. Day two and three are the same. Then full contact on day four.
Q: How long was that kick by Sebastian Janikowski?
Coach Allen: It was right at 60 [yards].
Q: He's so comfortable with Shane, and yesterday Matt [Leinart] was in there a couple times. How much of an adjustment is that for him trying to get used to a different holder?
Coach Allen: I think anytime you try to change things up a bit, there is an adjustment period. But he's such a veteran kicker, I wouldn't expect it to be that much of a problem.
Q: Is Shane making any progress?
Coach Allen: He is. Now when he gets back out here, I don't know for sure. But he's continuing to work out his rehab process and when the time's right for him to start kicking again, we'll have him back out here kicking.
Q: Is he doing that onsite, here?
Coach Allen: Yes.
Q: What are your impressions of Marquette King so far?
Coach Allen: I think he's done a nice job, but I'd like to see him more consistent. I think you see that in a lot of young players. As a matter of fact, we talked to the whole team today about consistency. That's how you win in the National Football League. You can't be up one play and down the next, or up one day and down the next. You've got to be consistent in what you do. That's something I preach to him, and want him to work on on an everyday basis.
Q: You look at your linebacker group now, what have you seen and what do you want them to get better at?
Coach Allen: Well, again, I want to see more consistency. From the first group, I've been fairly pleased. I think Rolando McClain is having a nice camp. Philip Wheeler is having a nice camp. Miles Burris is another one that shows flashes at you and does some nice things but he's got to be more consistent. He still makes a lot of rookie mistakes, but we've got to be better at our backup linebacker positions.
Q: What does the loss of Travis Ivey do to your 3-4 scheme?
Coach Allen: It won't change it at all. 3-4 is a personnel grouping, it's not necessarily a mentality of the way that you play defense. Dallas has played the 3-4 defense with an undersized nose [tackle] for a lot of years now so I don't really worry about that. If we decide to put some 3-4 groupings out there we just have to change up how we use them.
Q: Are you worried about Denarius Moore's hamstring injury?
Coach Allen: It's a concern because it's been a lingering, nagging type of deal. We have to make sure that we're diligent in the rehab process and make sure that we continue to get that strengthened so that it's not an issue during the season and we're not dealing with this on an everyday or every week basis.
Q: Without Ivey here do you feel like you need to fill his spot for depth purposes?
Coach Allen: We'll look and see. Our numbers are fine from a defensive line standpoint, we have plenty of numbers there but we'll look and see what's out there [and] if there's somebody that we feel like can come in and compete.
Q: You play a game in eight days and a lot of coaches have different philosophies, how much do you game plan and how much do you just do what you do?
Coach Allen: A lot of what we'll do early in the preseason is kind of do a little bit of what we do, it won't be so much about what Dallas is going to do or what Arizona is going to do. Obviously we will game plan but a lot of it is we just want to see our guys go out and just play, compete, and see what they do in a competitive environment against another team.
Q: Do you have all your game day preparation worked out? How the staff is going to work together…
Coach Allen: Yeah, we have that all ready to go and it'll be fun to get out there and actually play a game and see how it all operates.
Q: You had a coach in high school named Tim Edwards and KTVK TV in Texas wanted to ask you a question. He described you as a Brahman bull, hostile, mobile, and agile; what kind of impact has he had on your life and even now?
Coach Allen: Well he was my high school coach and growing up in the state of Texas, a lot of times those high school coaches are your father figures and guys that you really look up to. I think I was fortunate to be in the environment that I was in all the way from junior high through high school. Coaches have always been my heroes and that's who I've always looked up to.
Q: Anything in particular that carries you to this day and this new job?
Coach Allen: Just his work ethic and the way he went about doing his job. That's something that I've always tried to follow.
Q: What's the role of the fullback in this offense? Marcel [Reece] has done things the last couple of years that not a lot of the traditional fullbacks do. In this offense how does that play out for you?
Coach Allen: The fullback primarily in this offense has to be a blocking fullback. The way the scheme is set up, he doesn't necessarily have to be an old-fashioned smash-mouth type of guy, but the thing that we have to do as a staff is we have to find out what our guys can do and what they do well and then put them in those situations. If we have a guy, whether he's a fullback, wide receiver, tight end, it doesn't matter; if he presents a mismatch for a defense then we're going to find ways to utilize it.
Q: Because Marcel does do so many different things could you foresee a situation where he's split out and you have another fullback, whether it's Manase [Tonga] or Owen [Schmitt], in the backfield?
Coach Allen: Yeah, sure. I could definitely see that. We watched all the tapes from last year [and] I got a chance to see him up close and personal so I know that's something that is one of his assets to this team. I could see us splitting him out and doing some different things with him.
Q: Are you going to hit again tomorrow?
Coach Allen: We are going to be in pads again tomorrow, yeah.
Q: With the reduced amount of time you have, will there be a higher percentage of pads in practice than in the past or wherever you have been before?
Coach Allen: Yeah. When you were working two a days, generally the rule was that you went pads in the morning and shells or no pads in the afternoon. That is kind of what we are doing. We are getting one practice a day as a padded practice and then we are getting a little bit of walk-through time on the other stuff.
Q: Based on what you have seen so far, what do you anticipate the impact being of having a new defensive end in Tollesfon come in from another team and then Shaughnessy who was here but hurt, so to actually have those guys here and playing?
Coach Allen: I think they're going to be an impact. I think when we've got all of our guys up front and they are healthy and going, I think they are going to be a formidable opposition. I think both those guys, although they are different, they both have a skill set that we think we can utilize.
Q: What are the differences?
Coach Allen: Well, Shaughnessy is a bigger, more powerful guy and Dave is more of an athletic type of guy.
Q: You talked a lot about the zone blocking scheme, how is the offensive line coming together as a whole and who stands out to you?
Coach Allen: I think the offensive line is coming together. Just like everybody else, they have got to be more consistent. I have been pleased with Khalif Barnes. I think he has done a pretty good job for us. Mike Brisiel obviously. I think Wiz [Stefen Wisniewski] is coming along at the center position. There are still some things that he has got to continue to work on to get better. Then Veldheer over on the left side, he is the steady eddy guy. You don't really notice him and then all of a sudden and you say hey, he had a pretty nice day. Cooper has done a nice job. Obviously, he is a little bit older, and he is relying on his veteran savvy.
Q: What do you like about Brisiel?
Coach Allen: Tough. He is the type of player that we want. Whether he is the best athlete out there or not, he has got that mentality that we preach on a day in and day out basis. He is a very mentally and physically tough football player.
Q: How much of bringing him in was not just due to the fact that he had the background and great system, but the fact that he could help teach that to the younger guys?
Coach Allen: I think it's that, but it's those things I just talked about, about his tough mentality and the way that he has got that mental toughness we are looking for. The more guys that you can get that fit that quality, it permeates the locker-room and that is what we are looking for.
Q: The crowd out here, is it just sort of background white noise, or does it affect the way you guys do anything out here on the practice field?
Coach Allen: Obviously we notice the crowd. My message to the players is that we have work to do. Let's get our job done and not worry so much about what is going on with the crowd. I think any time you get the fans out here guys ratchet it up a little bit more because they want to look good in front of the fans.
Q: How have the other back-up defensive tackles looked? And was that a factor in waiving Ivey?
Coach Allen: No, that wasn't a factor at all in our decision with Travis Ivey. I think the backup tackles, Dez Bryant, I am very pleased with him. We have got to find out who that fourth defensive tackle is going to be and we are going to let those guys compete and see who ends up on top.
Q: Does anyone have an early lead? Has anyone impressed you so far?
Coach Allen: I don't know if anybody has got the early lead. I think we are going to just let that thing play out.
Q: In minicamp you were using tight ends to do different things. Myers seems like he has done a lot. Has he pretty much stepped up with two good young players?
Coach Allen: Yeah I think so. He has been a consistent player for us. With Richard being out for a few days that kind of set him back a little bit. Brandon Myers has been a pleasant surprise for us at the tight end position. I think having three different types of players is going to help us.
