This one was quite by accident. I was using my zoom lens (Canon 70-200/4) and my 3X tele-converter. The combination requires a ton of light which the inside lights @ the Alamodome could not accommodate. This was one of only a few shots I was able to get, I liked how it shows motion but like I said by accident was the result! Click on the image for a larger version of what the lens combo looks like

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A great shot of Bobby Carpenter coming across and catching the ball in mid air. I am really interested in seeing play more this year. He of just about anyone else on the roster has never got a fair chance to play, especially considering he was a first round pick (albeit insurance at the time due to Greg Ellis’s position change).

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The one and only TO!

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There was a lot of this in the beginning and at the end of practice and it’s no wonder as fine tuned as these athletes are!

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Tony Romo #9 and next to him Jason Witten

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With the exception of Matt McBriar the punter, the others players pictured in this batch either did not make the team last year or are no longer with the team for the upcoming season.

This is Mike Jefferson, he was a long shot to make the team anyway but this one catch was quite remarkable. Initially he bobbled the ball and I mean two or three times before he finally came up with it. I have 4 shots or so, I’ll have to post the series some day. Great concentration to finally be able to haul it in.

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Another one of Keith Davis, clearly a crowd and fan favorite. No, he is not pointing at me (although I like to think so). Someone yelled out, “Hey Keith!! We love you man!!” and Keith being a good sport acknowledged the fan.

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I took about 32 pictures of Matt McBriar kicking this ball and it was very hard to capture the different moments in time. Half the time I kept getting these two shot, either just before or just after the ball had been kicked.

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Tyson Thompson made the team against all odds in 2006, the first native Irving, TX high school football player to do so. While he had blazing fast speed and was proficient enough returning kicks, he really never made it into the RB mix (inexperience and lack of trust from the coaching staff).

I personally believe a lackluster pre-season last year put him in the dog house and I don’t know aside from special teams if he ever made the playing field. One pre-season game in particular, it seemed like whenever he had the ball he was complacent enough to take what the defense gave him. There was no passion in his running. One play in particular he ran right for the sideline when he could have easily turned it up field for another 2 yards easily. I don’t know about you but if there are two guys ahead of me that will get 99% of the playing time, I’m going to do everything in my power to get the attention of the coaching staff with my play on the field…good atention!

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DALLAS COWBOYS 2007

Record 13-3 not too shabby! But ouch, the playoff loss to the Giants.

Oh well, a new year brings new enthusiasm and I thought I’d like to take one last look at the 13-3 team that I was fortunate enough to shoot one Saturday last July.

This year training camp got moved to CA thanks to the (idiot) schedulers @ the Alamodome. So sadly I will not be able to shoot the Cowboys this year. That’s ok, maybe during the time this year I can figure out how to land VIP access next year…thereby shooting from the field instead of the stands!

 

 

A friend and I recently had the opportunity to visit the Cowboys at the Alamodome for one of their Saturday morning practices. WOW, It was great! Sure, a lot of the action was too far away to get very many good pictures but the ones I got were pretty cool considering! Plus, we were in the 2nd row so we had a fairly clear shot of the field, coaches and players notwithstanding.

The practice lasted about 2 hours and since we are part of the TrueBlue fanclub we got to sit in a special section during the practice and even go onto the field for about 15 minutes.

Going onto the field was perfect timing, we really lucked out. During that time that we were there, the receivers were running deep patterns towards us. It afforded me a few choice opportunities to get some great shots of the receivers and CB’s going one on one.

During the 2nd portion of our time in the end zone we got to see the QB’s doing 5 step drops. We were all of maybe 10 yards from Tony Romo and Brad Johnson.

Here are a few from the first portion of team drills.

Secondary pass drills, not sure who the players are here.

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Roy Williams and Keith Davis. Keith having signed with Miami in the off season (who will be missed on special teams), and Roy entering a make or break year. Hey, if Roy plays well, he finally might earn his way to the Pro-Bowl and not just get there on name recognition like the last 2 years!

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Even if they are not going full speed, this still look like it would hurt!

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Miles Austin catching a pass on Quincy Butler

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Not sure if this is Austin again, making a break on the ball; Terence Newman and Aaron Glen looking on.

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