FRISCO, Texas – In their three years together on the Cowboys, Brandon Aubrey, Bryan Anger and Trent Sieg have done a lot together.
Tuesday was a first for the group, as the three played a round of golf at the PGA Frisco course ahead of the KMPG Women's PGA Championship. They were paired with Japanese LPGA rookie Chisato Iwai, who is fresh off her first LPGA tour victory at the Riviera Maya Open.
The three have varying levels of experience playing golf and were humbled by watching Iwai do what she does best.
"She's been so straight off the tee, but then her approach and seeing how much she works the ball and how close she leaves herself for a birdie every time, it's incredible." Anger said.
While Iwai showcased her skills, the three repaid the favor on the first hole by showing her what an NFL field goal and punt procedure looked like, with Aubrey whistling a kick past the amazed Iwai and Anger later trying to land a punt close to where Iwai had chipped a golf shot.
It's not easy to try and play swing for swing with a professional golfer, but as an athlete, it brought out the competitive juices in Sieg to want to match Iwai's game.
"I think just as an athlete, you just always like to challenge yourself and find something that you can work to be better at…" Sieg said. "It's a very humbling experience, but it's a lot of fun at the same time."
Conversely, competing against one another is something that Dallas' specialists love to do in everything, whether it be on or off the field. It's part of the reason why they're so close as they gear up for their third year together with the Cowboys.
"Love keeping the crew together on the field is the first, most important thing," Aubrey said. "We've got a good thing going, would be sad to start from scratch. So to have the operation intact is fantastic, and then obviously love hanging out with these guys, so anytime we get a chance to hang out off the field, it's a lot of fun."
In their eyes, a lot of what they do as specialists is built on trust. From Sieg getting the snap correct, to Anger getting the punt away and the hold down on field goals, and Aubrey splitting it through the uprights, the time they've spent together in the last three seasons has helped build a dynamic that's tough to interfere with.
"Just knowing that we can trust each other both on and off the field, it means a lot," Sieg said. "I know Bryan's got my back, I know Brandon's got my back, and they know I have theirs. I think that does definitely carry over onto the field, just knowing no matter what happens, we'll get through it."
For the first time since they've been together, they'll bring that trust to a new special teams coordinator as Nick Sorensen joined Brian Schottenheimer's staff in the role this offseason, replacing John "Bones" Fassel.
With the amount of success the three have had together, there isn't a lot that Sorensen needs to change, but it is nice to get a different perspective on their operation and how it can be better.
"It's always good to have a new, fresh set of eyes just to see things and help out from a different perspective," Anger said. "It's always good to have a change up and have his point of view."
In Aubrey's case, he goes to his own kicking coach outside of Cowboys' practices and it's worked pretty well for him so far, earning two Pro Bowl nods in his first two NFL seasons. Still, he's seeing the changes that Sorensen is making to Dallas' special teams room early on during his tenure.
"It's the messaging in meetings, it's the specific fundamentals that are emphasized over the other, just things like hand placement, blocking, different terminology for a lot of the same stuff…" Aubrey said.
"And then it's just the personality difference between Bones and Sorensen, and each coach is going to be a little bit different on that front, it takes a little bit of adjusting but Sorensen's going to be great for us."
And the three together will likely be great for Sorensen and the entire team, largely in part because of the bond they've built over time. While some shrug off the notion of the camaraderie between the group helps them play better, Sieg fully believes that off the field relationships have an impact on the on the field product.
"All the best teams I've been a part of have really been close like that, like what Schotty's trying to do," Sieg said. "Really even the teams that we've played against, when you go against a team and you just know they've got that tight bond and they have fun playing… once one good thing happens, you can just feel as switch turn."
A tight-knit culture is only as strong as it stands during the hard times, which haven't come up just yet for Schottenheimer and the Cowboys. Nobody knows when they could come, but it more than likely will.
What makes them confident the Cowboys' culture can stay strong during the difficult stretches? Brian Schottenheimer, who prides himself on not changing who he is regardless of the situation, which has translated to his team.
"Everything seems good in the offseason, but you don't know until bullets start flying," Sieg said. "I do think that's where, like I said, we know Schotty, he's been in the building for years and we it's genuinely him and genuinely what he wants and it's not, 'I'm just trying to have fun right now and ride a high while it's high.'"
The bullets won't come flying anytime soon with the season still a few months away, but for now the specialists will settle for golf balls flying through the air as they get to continue to hit the links together ahead of another year as teammates.
"I'm so grateful to be back here, it's just an awesome place, great organization," Anger said. "And then having the two other guys together, it's invaluable. It's fun, comfort level is there, and like I said before, we push each other with everything, so just having the inner dynamic of competition and holding each other accountable, it's invaluable."
