Commanders

Daronte Jones enters his first season as the Commanders’ defensive coordinator. Washington EDGE Odafe Oweh said Jones’ defense is an “attack style” and wants to keep offensive players off balance. 

“It’s an attack style,” Oweh said, via Zach Selby of the team’s site. “Get guys off the spot. That’s what he [defensive coordinator Daronte Jones] tells the D-line.”

Recently signed OLB Leo Chenal said Jones is doing well making sure everyone understands the fundamentals and their terminology. 

“He makes sure we’re all set on the fundamentals before we move on to the actual defense and terminology,” Chenal said. “He breaks it down just so thoroughly to make sure we understand what we’re doing first before we get into how we’re doing it or the play call and stuff like that.”

Oweh added that Jones’ system puts him in a good position to be in one-on-one situations, but his system will still drop rushers into coverage at times. 

“Just getting one-on-ones, attack style letting us go frontwards instead of backwards too much,” Oweh said. “We’re still going to be dropping a few. And I’m cool with that because it keeps the offense on their toes.”

Cowboys

Cowboys CB DaRon Bland returns to the team after recovering from foot surgery he underwent in January. Bland says that he’s feeling good and is “full go” despite being limited in reps at this point of training camp. 

“I feel pretty good, real good actually,” Bland said, via Tommy Yarish of the team’s site. “I feel, right now, way better than I was the first time I had the surgery. So it feels really good right now to be back… We’re full go. Full go. It’s limited reps, but full go.”

Bland was frustrated to miss time, and it was difficult for him to “take that step back.”

“It was very frustrating, because it was also my first ever injury,” Bland said. “And to be able to miss games like that, it was real frustrating trying to get back on the field. I’m always one guy that’s always trying to push himself to be better. It’s hard to take that step back sometimes.”

Bland mentioned that he hasn’t had any setbacks with his recovery. 

“I’m confident right now,” Bland said. “This whole rehab, I’ve had no hiccups like last time. It feels way stronger.”

Giants

Giants QB Jaxson Dart enters the second year of his career after his impressive rookie campaign. New York DC Dennard Wilson said he’s taken notice of Dart’s quick release and decisiveness when making throws. 

“The first thing I noticed was his release. And how decisive he is getting rid of the ball. He’s a guy that’s extremely prideful about what he’s doing. He’s ultra-competitive. We threw a lot of stuff at him, and he’s so resilient. And then obviously watching him on film, the toughness and tenacity that he plays with in between whistles, it’s fun to watch him and it’s going to be fun to just watch all these young guys develop together,” Wilson said, via Steve Serby of the New York Post.