For the Dallas Cowboys defense, the effects of the lockout are being felt in a very real way as the team attempts to prepare for the 2011 season through players-only workouts conducted at undisclosed locations throughout the area and headed up by veterans like Bradie James and DeMarcus Ware.
The problem is that the team has had little opportunity to discuss the new defense brought in by defensive coordinator Rob Ryan this offseason. So, even though they have playbooks, players on the defensive side of the ball are left to guess at the philosophy behind what they’re seeing on the page.
"It's kind of hard because we're looking at cards," second-year cornerback Bryan McCann said recently, per the Dallas Morning News. "We don't know why we're doing it. We're doing what the card is telling us to do."
Prohibited from contact with coaches since a few hours on April 29, Ware, James and other veterans, like Keith Brooking, have attempted to step in and help younger players to this end.
"But,” McCann said, “I wouldn't say anybody has more knowledge of the defense than anybody else.”
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