Jenkins started three games last year, recording 22 tackles, one pick and six pass deflections.

IRVING, Texas - This is the time of year when position battles start heating up. Obviously, nothing will happen until the first whistle blows down in San Antonio in about two weeks, but it's never too early to get into some of the more intense competitions that always emerge in camp.

For this piece, I'm going to pass on that one. We'll get to that soon enough. In fact, it sounds like it will be a daily segment on this website during camp, analyzing the more essential position battles.

But certainly when we do set aside the day to analyze those fierce competitions, it's a given that the right cornerback spot will be near the top of the list.

To me, it's a waste of time. Orlando Scandrick is good. He's going to play. Mike Jenkins is good. He's going to play. I'm not sure why it's a big issue at all.

This isn't like Montrae Holland and Kyle Kosier battling for the starting left guard spot. When know all about rotations and offensive lineman - doesn't exist. If you start on the line, you play the whole game. If you're a backup, you sit or maybe have a few special teams snaps, assuming you're even active at all.

So it's a bit puzzling what the fuss is all about concerning Jenkins and Scandrick.

The Cowboys feel strongly about both guys. If they didn't, they wouldn't have traded Anthony Henry away for a guy they were going to sign anyway. And they wouldn't have waited until the seventh round to draft a corner. The Cowboys still might have cut Pacman Jones like they did, but they would've probably signed a veteran in return, if they didn't feel so good about Jenkins and Scandrick.

Still, being the starter on the other side of Terence Newman is pretty important to these guys.

And this isn't just media or fan buzz. Even Jenkins wrote on his own personal website on June 29 in a blog that got right to the point:

"Heading into training camp, I'm the starter at right cornerback, and my job is to maintain that position. . . It's time to show anyone doubting me and even the fans backing me up, that I'm the guy the Cowboys wanted coming out of college."

Another excerpt of Jenkins' blog indirectly mentions Scandrick.

"It's my job to lose, but there's a guy behind me with nothing to lose. If he makes a mistake, it's not going to cause him to lose his job. If I make a mistake, the coaches are going to take a long, hard look at me in that position."

The only response that I've seen on this matter came from Scandrick's agent, Ron Slavin, who told a local newspaper that it was his understanding the job is still wide open and has been since the final mini-camp practice last month.

"That's how they left it," Slavin said, referring to the coaching staff. "All people have to do is watch last year's film, and [Scandrick] is only getting bigger, stronger and faster."

That statement bothers me a bit. But we'll get back to that in a moment.

Before this goes any further, I must say that this situation is actually a great thing for the Cowboys. Sure, it might sound like a little hostility. Or it sounds like something could be brewing between these teammates.

What it sounds like to me is a couple of cornerbacks. Show me a cornerback that wasn't confident and I'll show you one out of the league very fast. Cornerbacks are confident and they all believe they are the best players on the field.

So this is no different. And as young players trying to make their mark and ultimately play for that "second" contract, it's important for them to start. Jenkins wants to be the Cowboys' starter, running out of the tunnel when the Cowboys open the season and this new stadium.

You can't blame Scandrick for wanting that, too. I'm sure someone like Alan Ball or DeAngelo Smith or Mike Mickens aren't counting themselves out of the race, either.

Being a starter is something all players want. So that's great. Competition is always a good thing.

I'm not sure I've ever heard the term "cornerback controversy" and there's a reason for that. It's just a battle between two young players who both played well as rookies last year.

That's right, "both" played well.

And going back to the comment by Scandrick's agent of "last year's film," I'm not sure it's as one-sided as he or other people seem to think.

This is where I believe perceptions can be tricky.

Do I think Scandrick played better than Jenkins last season? No, not particularly. I think they both played in some sort of backup roles for most of the season, but both got ample playing time.

Now, did the play of Scandrick surprise me more than Jenkins? No doubt. Jenkins is a first-round pick. Fair or not, you're expecting a guy to come in and lock down everyone.

Scandrick was a fifth-round pick who is undersized. He is fast and based on perceptions, he's believed to be lacking toughness. What we found out early on is that's not the case with Scandrick. He might be about 190 pounds but throws every bit of his body around. He's not big, but he's physical.

As for Jenkins, I still believe he's a physical player, too. I know, I know what you're thinking. I was there, too. I saw the play in New York. We all saw Jenkins move out the way and avoid contact, allowing Giants tailback Derrick Ward to score a touchdown.

Too bad, that's the play people remember from Jenkins that day. He also scored his first career touchdown, picking off a relatively easy pass from Eli Manning.

But overall, taking the entire season into account, they both played well. I just think it's easier to say Scandrick was better based on your expectations for him and your expectations for Jenkins.

Scandrick certainly played well as the nickel corner in the slot. We've always heard it's the toughest spot to play and for him to do it as a rookie was very impressive.

But let's not forget that Jenkins can cover, too. He's also a man-to-man guy who likes to press. Had that been his role last year, who's to say Jenkins wouldn't have thrived as well? Then again, the expectations for him were much higher than a slot corner.

However, there are three good things about all of this.

First, and mentioned earlier, they both want to start. They both feel the importance of being that starter. They are both fighting for this spot, which should result in a higher-level of play from both of them. That should result in a higher-level of play from the overall defense.

Secondly, the good part about this position is that whoever doesn't start will also play more than half of the snaps, too. In most seasons, a defense will play its Nickel or Dime package about 50 percent of the time. So that means whoever doesn't start will play significant time in the sub-packages, too.

And third, since the popular opinion is that Scandrick is indeed further along than Jenkins, all of the draft status from a year ago is thrown out the window. Now, they're on equal ground with equal perceptions.

The best guy, from the start of camp to the end of camp, will get the job. The good thing is the second-best guy will be counted on quite a bit, too.