OXNARD, Calif. - From Cowboys special teams coach Bruce Read's perspective, at least he has more teaching material for his players following Saturday's 31-17 loss to the Chargers.
On an all-around forgettable night, the Cowboys' units compiled a long list of costly - and near-costly plays . . .
Rookie receiver Danny Amendola fumbled his second NFL punt return upon taking his first NFL hit. The Chargers took over at the 31-yard line and scored their first touchdown four plays later.
Pro Bowl kicker Nick Folk drilled his only field goal attempt, a 35-yarder, but would've handed the ball to San Diego at its own 40-yard line had his opening kickoff dribbled out of bounds instead of squeezing into the end zone by mere inches.
Receiver Isaiah Stanback took a dangerous leap of faith into a crowd of Chargers on a second-quarter kickoff return. He was ruled down by forward progress but coughed up the ball after the whistle.
First-year running back Alonzo Coleman muffed, but quickly regained possession on his only kickoff return and hustled to the Dallas 17.
. . . but based on last year's inconsistencies, the most troubling issues sprouted in punt and kickoff coverage.
Both units struggled with containment; the Chargers averaged 20.5 yards on four punt returns, including a pair of 25-yard punt and kickoff returns by speedy Darren Sproles.
"We had some great learning tape for us," Read said after Monday's single practice at the River Ridge Complex. "We got some good lessons out of that, that we should get better. I think we learned about the game speed and how fast you've got to play. I don't think we played fast."
Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips seconded that notion in his Monday news conference, citing a particular kickoff in which some of the younger players were "five to eight yards" behind last year's special teams tackles leader and gunner, safety Pat Watkins.
"They think they're running fast but it's not game speed. I think they learned from it," Phillips said. "(Watkins) runs, and he runs hard, and I think those young guys saw that now. Same thing with our punt team - they were covering the field like they were supposed to but they really weren't getting down."
Read, who's entering his second year as the special teams coach, said he preached both tempo and technique on Monday. But he also kept Saturday's struggles in perspective because most of his core players - guys like linebackers Anthony Spencer, Kevin Burnett, Justin Rogers and Bobby Carpenter - weren't on the field long.
"Those guys played a couple of plays and they were out," Read said. "What we want to do is look at all those young guys, and sometimes it isn't pretty, but you've got to do it.
"I'm always looking for that Deon Anderson (10 special teams tackles in eight games). Last year he was a nobody and then we play and, oh my gosh, he's something else. I've got to give all these guys a chance."
But Phillips and the Cowboys also carry a sense of urgency to correct their kick coverage, knowing similar problems plagued them at times throughout last season and ultimately created a field-position disadvantage in their divisional-round loss to the Giants.
The club is expecting a boost in the return game from rookie running back Felix Jones (kickoffs) and cornerback Adam Jones (punts). Neither returned a punt or kickoff on Saturday but could have a significant role in the regular season assuming Adam Jones is fully reinstated.
Phillips has emphasized that the coverage absolutely must improve, however. Last year the Cowboys finished 29th out of 32 teams in punt coverage and 20th in kickoff coverage. Their opponents' average drive start was the 29.3-yard line (25th).
Gone is last year's special teams captain, Keith Davis (an "awesome leader", Read says), who finished fourth on the team with 18 tackles despite playing most of the season with a torn pectoral muscle. But Phillips said Watkins is a "star in waiting" on special teams, and Read mentioned that Burnett is growing into a vocal leader for the younger guys.
"There's just a lot of technique we need to work on. And we just need to have that 'go' in us, that fire in us," said receiver Sam Hurd, a fixture on the coverage teams who had 15 stops last year. "Keith Davis, when he was here, he lit that fire. He got on us, so we've just all got to get on ourselves right now."
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