IRVING, Texas - Training camp always opens with questions about who you want to see. What are you looking for? What does your team need to accomplish?
For the Cowboys, one of those question marks has become a "mission accomplished." It looks like Miles Austin can play.
Except now he can't, not for a while. And the question still remains at his position.
Two losses on the summer record notwithstanding, there have been plenty of bright spots for HBO's Team in their training camp foray through the AFC West. Zach Thomas has been a revelation. Felix Jones and Tashard Choice look like the real deal. Orlando Scandrick keeps making plays. There have been others.
But probably no individual has made greater strides, been as pleasant a surprise, or excited with possibilities more than Austin, the third-year receiver with the incandescent smile and small-college background.
Austin was signed as an undrafted free agent from Monmouth University in New Jersey because he could run very fast and was an outstanding athlete with a will to succeed. In two years he became an outstanding kickoff returner and cover man, but he finished last year as an unaccomplished receiver to say the least.
The team's conscious decision not to draft a receiver or sign one in veteran free agency was based in part on the hope that young receivers would develop and provide needed depth behind Terrell Owens and a push to Patrick Crayton. Austin has spent the last month paying off.
Until last Saturday night in Denver. Two terrific second-quarter catches, one a highlight-reel touchdown grab for Brad Johnson, were followed by Austin, as usual, hustling to cover the ensuing kickoff. That's when he sprained the medial collateral ligament in his right knee.
The good news: Austin is not out for the year. Depending on his rehab, he could miss less than a quarter of the season. The bad news: Austin could miss a quarter of the season. A potentially explosive weapon that offensive coordinator Jason Garrett hasn't had has been taken away before he got to play with it.
Now, there are two preseason games and all those practices for someone else to take the snaps Austin had claimed with his play. Two games and practices for someone else to have a chance to make an impression.
Sam Hurd is obviously one of the someones. But Hurd has been in the team's three-receiver set, though he was being pushed by Austin.
The man who might benefit the most in the interim is second-year receiver Isaiah Stanback.
Stanback hasn't been in the league long enough to be an enigma, but he's close. Besides Owens, he is easily the most physically imposing receiver of the bunch, and it's not because of the dreadlocks. He's listed at 6-2 and 208 pounds and looks bigger. You watch him run and you want to see him make plays. That's why he was drafted in the fourth round a year ago, despite not having been a receiver since his freshman year in 2003. And, despite having missed half his senior season with a sprained foot.
A former member of the scouting staff heavily involved with drafting Stanback was heard whispering to network TV folks last year that Stanback could be the eventual successor to Owens. But injuries and inexperience kept him in street clothes for all but two games in '07. He was limited to three kickoff returns.
Now, Isaiah Stanback may be about to get a chance to show what progress he's made.
Healthy again, Stanback was able to go through the entire off-season program, the mini-camps, the OTAs, and be tutored by receivers coach Ray Sherman and Garrett and Owens. This is not the same player who was a one-man episode of "Lost" a season ago.
"Last year when I came in here I didn't know anything about the position," Stanback recalled before Tuesday's practice at Valley Ranch. A quarterback at Washington his last three years in college, Stanback reviewed himself as a rookie receiver. "I was just one of those try-hard guys learning on the run. I didn't get the attention I wanted and probably needed from my position coach because he had other guys he needed to get ready. This year is a different story. I've had the whole off-season, OTAs, mini-camp, and all those reps have definitely come in handy. They have high expectations for me. I'm still not where I want to be, or need to be, but the reality of the situation is that I've still only been out there for a year. I can't expect too much, but being an athlete and a competitor you have high expectations of yourself."
Stanback is right that more is expected of him.
A year ago, coaches did not want Stanback on the field in a game situation, not running from scrimmage. This year, Garrett acknowledges there are some things Stanback can do well enough to make plans around him.
"He's fast and smart and it matters to him," says Garrett, applying the family yardstick for players. "He wants to play and he wants to get better. As Coach Phillips has said, this game (Houston Friday night in preseason game No.3 at Texas Stadium) we're going to be playing our starters more than we have. But with Miles down for awhile, absolutely Isaiah will get more chances, and next week he'll get a lot."
If you're not sure about that "matters to him" part, go back and watch the kickoff returns Stanback has had the first two weeks. He attacks a potential hole in the coverage scheme. He clearly doesn't want simply to play, but to make plays. That's a trait coaches can't teach.
The difficulty is whether a former quarterback can make the transition to a new position fast enough to contribute to what should be a contending team.
"Just being semi-new to the position is hard," Stanback says. "I'm trying to take advantage of every opportunity I get, but the truth is you get rookie free agents coming in here with more experience than I have as a receiver. Guys have played the position for five or 10 years and things come naturally to them, things I'm still working at."
The quarterback he was makes it easy for Stanback to identify his strengths, though, as well as his weaknesses. As a receiver, Isaiah, what are you good at? He chuckles and doesn't hesitate. "I can run. I can run fast. Sometimes it feels like that's about it. I'm pretty strong. I'm strong in the weight room and I'm learning how to use that strength. If you don't know how to use it, it doesn't do you any good. I'm getting better in the running game, stuff like that.
"Route-running is getting better. There are still some routes I definitely need to work with, but I'm improving."
There are some similarities between Stanback and Austin, albeit for different reasons. Both began the off-season extremely unpolished. They are probably the two fastest receivers in camp. Both have potential that makes you giddy, and Stanback has tried to learn from his teammate.
"I try to learn from everybody," he says, "but for sure Miles is a great example of a guy who has been in a similar situation to me. Players who would show you a flash but be inconsistent because of inexperience. You can see what he's done with hard work. He's caught everyone's attention by making plays."
Depending on what Phillips decides to do with rookie Felix Jones, Austin likely would have opened the season as the primary kickoff returner. That's a job that could now fall to Stanback, who hopes to show the progress Austin has.
Keep in mind, Isaiah Stanback is about a year behind Miles Austin in development. He's not ready for prime time, but there is a chance he could be a showstopper. He admits he now feels more like an NFL receiver.
"I'm not nearly where I want to be," he says, "but I'm getting there. I'm making progress."
Will it be fast enough on this team? Another window of opportunity has just opened.
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