Cowboys' Young Safeties Get “Disrespectful”

Rookie safety Barry Church has been making a strong push for a roster spot of late, but the competition is far from being over. Church will have to contend with some stiff competition in the form of Mike Hamlin, who will start in place of the injured Gerald Sensabaugh on Saturday, and LSU-product Danny McCray, who has made a name for himself on special teams, if he is to land on the 53-man roster.

Which is to say, impressive or not, Church is facing an uphill battle. But the group says that the competition is healthy, and beneficial for all concerned.

“It’s been great, it’s been camp fun,” Church said Tuesday. “Competition is fun, it’s all healthy competition, we all help each other out and it’s just been a great competition between me, Ham and the other safeties here in Dallas.”

To be certain, there’s no lack of respect among the safeties. Well, unless you count Thursdays. Each Thursday, in a newly developed tradition in camp, the rookies take each other to task in any way imaginable--including stepping on each others toes, both figuratively and literally.

“Disrespectful Thursdays, us rookies just made it up, it’s where we don’t care what anybody got to say, just kind of say what we want to say and, so far, it’s just been a game between us,” Church said. “It’s pretty funny, I like it. Just on Thursdays, on the field, in the meeting rooms, but it’s quiet in the meeting rooms, [you’ve got to] make sure nobody knows about it.

“But on the field it’s all bad, people throwing hats down, stepping on shoes--it’s Disrespectful Thursdays.”

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