'Like Riding a Bike!' How's Phillips Fit?

Last week's acquisition of Jordan Phillips was a much needed one for the Dallas Cowboys. The team had lost Sam Williams on the edge earlier in training camp and projected pretty thin inside behind Mazi Smith and Osa Odighizuwa.

Dallas moved within a span of 24 hours to trade for Phillips and sign Carl Lawson, adding a veteran element to this defensive unit. The sudden move proved beneficial for Phillips who did not quite click in the New York Giants' system.

That experience remains a key selling point for the nine-year veteran. Smith and Odighizuwa tout a combined four years of experience. For the needs of both sides this connection seemed the perfect fit.

The Cowboys will install needed depth up front while Phillips establishes himself in a scheme he believes suits him best.

"Ive played with some coaches that's from the Zim tree, so it was just like riding a bike," he said this week. "We knew it wasn't going to work there... I didn't know it was going to happen that quick, but I'm happy it did."

That move has shown a sprinkling of immediate progress. The 6-6, 350-pound Phillips performed well through limited action in the Cowboys' preseason win over the Las Vegas Raiders on Saturday.

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Dallas' sudden rush for defensive help has Zimmer's handprints all over it and bringing on Phillips makes for no exception. But there's no downside in that truth. Instead, the addition of Phillips and potentially others with connections to the Cowboys defensive coordinator remains important for the integration of a new system.

The Cowboys have stars littered across the defense and they will all surely have their moments. But schematically this group will undergo a change that may take time to fully translate when the regular season starts.

Having that contingent, including Phillips, mixed with the known commodities on this defense should make the process of that shift much easier.