In Dallas, they have noticed the changes in Lance’s pitching mechanics during the offseason.
COLLEYVILLE — The Dallas Cowboys’ offseason program had ended just days earlier, but mid-afternoon on a Saturday in early June, Trey Lance works in the covered facilities of the Colleyville Heritage High School.
For over 90 minutes, Lance throws all kinds of passes under the watchful eye of his private quarterbacks coach, Jeff Chistensen. Among the five receivers is former Cowboys wide receiver, Terrance Williamsa third-round pick in 2013 who looks as fast now as he did as a rookie. The fans on the complex’s roof move, but they don’t cool it down much.
Yes, it is, however, better than working outside where the temperature reaches the high 90s.
Trey Lance will have plenty of opportunities to show what he can do during the Cowboys’ preseason. Todd Archer
“I have no reason not to be here,” Lance said. “That’s how I think about it. I guess I’m not in a position to slip up or anything, so for me, I don’t even think about it. I feel healthy, I feel great. Every time I come here, I get better. It’s one of those things where I would feel guilty if I was out there doing something else.”
The only break Lance takes before training camp will be a quick trip to Minnesota for a friend’s wedding. There’s too much to do, and too much at stake, before the Cowboys report to Oxnard, California, July 23rd.
Lance, recruit No. 3 overall in the 2021 NFL Draft For the San Francisco 49ers, he’s about to reach a critical moment in his career. He started two games as a rookie and two more in 2022 as the Niners’ primary quarterback before an ankle injury ended his season, ultimately leading to the emergence of Brock Purdy from the title of “Mr. Irrelevant” a quarterback de Super Bowl.
Con Purdy Locked in as their franchise quarterback, the 49ers traded Lance to the Cowboys last August for a fourth-round pick. Joining Dallas in the offseason, Lance was forced to learn the offense on the fly, knowing his chances of taking the field in 2023 were slim. Even this season, in the final year of his contract, the only guarantee is the $5.3 million in base salary and bonus, not even a chance to actually play backup to the Cowboys. Dak Prescott.
He will have to earn that, and prove that he has a future in the NFL as a quarterback in Dallas or elsewhere as an unrestricted free agent next offseason.
And that’s why Lance is at an indoor high school complex in June, training for nearly 90 minutes.
“I’ve got guys that work hard,” Chistensen said. “I’ve got a lot of guys that I’ve had for a while. He’s in the top three that I’ve ever met in my life, for sure.”
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Chistensen is the private coach of the quarterback of Patrick Mahomesalso. He additionally works with Aidan O’Connell of Las Vegas Raiders y Baker Mayfield of the Tampa Bay Buccaneersamong others in the NFL. Brady Allen of Louisville is with Lance for this session, and Chistensen has also been tutoring Quinn Ewersof Texas. Before Lance’s training this day, Dylan Raiola of Nebraska was with Chistensen.
Lance and Chistensen got together 15 months ago, in part because Lance’s teammate in North Dakota State, Zeb Nolandhe learned under Chistensen. A phone call and shared videos turned into a trip to the Dallas area for a session. Not long afterward, Lance was coincidentally traded to the Cowboys.
“Jeff “He was talking trash, like, ‘You’re going to be wearing a star on your helmet,’ and he was obviously just joking,” Lance said. “None of us had any idea, but it obviously ended up working out that way.”
When Lance started working with Chistensen, he had just been released from his ankle injury. He didn’t need to look rebuilt, just renewed.
“He had some misinformation,” Chistensen said. “We had to experiment with a lot of things he’d never done before, to get him to feel some things.”
The biggest change was in his footwork. Chistensen wanted Lance to be more “violent” with his lower body. And, a small change in his grip on the ball made the pain in his arm disappear. He is no longer required to ice his arm after long sessions. The fact that Chistensen has a history of working with Mahomes, the best quarterback in the league, is a big factor in the team’s success. NFLmade it easy to convince Lance of everything.
“I didn’t even know I could be like this,” Lance said. “Just putting my front foot down, not walking. It’s all about my feet and planting myself the right way. The arm is kind of a reaction to what your lower body is doing.” READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>
Trey Lance understands that at this point in his career, he can’t afford to make a stumble in his development. George Walker/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
As Lance throws quick passes to the outside or crossing routes, Chistensen places a red broomstick in front of his feet to make sure he doesn’t over-walk. At different times, he tells him to stand up straight, making sure he has the correct posture. Then, he asks him to close his eyes while he’s throwing the passes.
“It’s a game of feeling,” Chistensen said. “I want to elevate their sense of touch at their fingertips.”
Most passes fall perfectly into the receivers’ arms. When they don’t, Lance can almost self-correct when he makes a mistake.
“During these workouts, I try not to get upset or frustrated. [pensando en] “I’m not a big fan of completions. I know I’m working on something. So for me, whatever the emphasis is that day, that takes precedent over completions,” Lance said. “You slow your arm down a lot when you’re looking at the ball, so the first thing when you close your eyes, you’ve got to have the confidence to let go, that you’re going to be violent with your back foot, violent with your wrist and fingers. Watching the ball, sometimes you lose acceleration.”
The Cowboys head coach, Mike McCarthy noticed the mechanical changes in Lance during the offseason. Chistensen, who was a fifth-round pick for the Cincinnati Bengals in 1983 he played one year as quarterback for Marty Schottenheimer with the Cleveland Brownshad numerous discussions with McCarthy, the offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer and the quarterbacks coach, Scott Tolzien.
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He knows what they want for Lance.
“I have to deliver it and be a voice for them,” Chistensen shared. “If there’s a certain way you step back with your feet, or you read things from outside to inside or inside to outside, or deep to short or short to deep, or how you move in the pocket. I can always adjust what I do to fit what they need, because they’re the coach.”
In a season for the Cowboys that will be all about Prescott’s future, if he doesn’t sign a contract extension, or even the wide receiver’s future All-Pro, CeeDee Lambor the quarterback hunter All-Pro, Micah Parsonsand for a whole group of coaches who are in the final year of their respective contracts, Lance’s development is an interesting sidebar.
Compete for second place in the roden against Cooper Rushwho is 6-1 as a starter while trying to prove to the Cowboys and other teams that he can be what the Niners thought he would be when they selected him third overall. He turned 24 in May. He’s younger than two of the first-round quarterbacks taken last spring, Michael Penix Jr. of the Atlanta Falconsy Bo Nix of the Denver Broncos.
He started only 19 matches in North Dakota State and four in the NFLand one of those matches took place in a weather that looked like a monsoon in Chicagoin front of the BearsIn eight appearances, he has completed 56 of 102 passes for 797 yards, five touchdowns and three interceptions.
“He needs reps, and you try to give him as many reps as you can throughout this offseason program,” McCarthy said during the spring. “He’ll have a bigger role in the preseason, that’s the design. He and I talk about the preseason quite often. That’s what we’re building toward.”
Prescott hasn’t played a preseason snap since 2019, so Lance will have plenty of opportunities to show what he can do. He can’t wait to open the preseason on August 11 against Los Angeles Rams. Actually, none of the three preseason games.
That will be his moment to show the work he has done, and demonstrate what he can finally be.
“I feel like I’m in a good spot,” Lance said, “so I’m just excited to get out there, get some reps and let it fly.”
Even, perhaps, with your eyes closed.
2024-07-18 19:36:48
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