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Cowboys relying on linebacker Eric Kendricks to lead and help shore up run defense

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Cowboys relying on linebacker Eric Kendricks to lead and help shore up run defense
Sport

Sport

Cowboys relying on linebacker Eric Kendricks to lead and help shore up run defense

2024-07-28 06:35 Last Updated At:06:41

OXNARD, Calif. (AP) — Eric Kendricks is serving many different roles in his first training camp with the Dallas Cowboys.

He is a starting inside linebacker, the defensive play-caller, and a veteran presence helping teach new defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer’s system.

Following a one-year stint with the Los Angeles Chargers, Kendricks is enjoying the reunion with Zimmer, his head coach for eight of nine seasons with the Minnesota Vikings.

“Obviously I’m familiar with the defense,” Kendricks said. “I’m in the middle of things, very comfortable. There’s always a lot to learn. We have different pieces, different components that I’m used to as well, so we have a lot of new stuff being implemented, which I’m excited about. And it forces me to learn as well.”

The chance to play for Zimmer again led Kendricks to sign with Dallas as a free agent after he had initially agreed to join the San Francisco 49ers.

Kendricks became an on-field embodiment of Zimmer’s ferocious defense in Minnesota, which peaked in 2017 with the NFL’s stingiest unit in both points and yards while Kendricks was selected as an All-Pro in 2019.

“I feel like Zim is very detailed, and you know what he's expecting from you,” Kendricks said. “And it’s about coming out and delivering that. Having a high expectation is never a bad thing.”

Kendricks, 32, hasn’t had to be the Zimmer translator in the first few days of training camp. He views himself as just another resource to help his new teammates understand and execute the defense.

However, the Cowboys clearly hold Kendricks in higher esteem. Linebacker Micah Parsons said the Vikings were the team he used when playing the “Madden” video game franchise growing up because of the disruptive defensive tandem of Kendricks and Anthony Barr.

“Not that he’s not in his prime, but when him and AB were young savages, it was always great to see what they did and what they accomplished,” Parsons said.

“So I look up to him. And then seeing how intense he is every day, it’s great to have that veteran leadership. … And it goes back to how much we missed (linebacker) Leighton (Vander Esch) last year.”

Not having Vander Esch for 12 games last season because of a neck injury that forced him to retire in March contributed to a decline in Dallas’ run defense. While the Cowboys were in the middle of the pack statistically, allowing 4.16 yards per carry, they struggled in key games and situations.

The Cowboys allowed at least 170 yards rushing in three of their five regular-season losses, including 222 yards in a shocking Week 3 defeat at the Arizona Cardinals. In an NFC wild-card loss to the Green Bay Packers, they allowed 143 yards on the ground.

“That’s been a place that we’ve just struggled with in the past couple of years, so putting a big emphasis on that this year,” defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa said.

With eight straight seasons making at least 100 tackles, Kendricks is expected to help strengthen that part of the defense. He had 117 tackles, including 79 solo stops, in his single season for the Chargers.

As valuable as his on-field contributions could be, Kendricks might be more important as a leader and mentor.

“I want to win,” Kendricks said. “I want to play good defense, first and foremost, and that’s what’s fun about it. I get the opportunity to get that chance.”

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

Dallas Cowboys linebacker Eric Kendricks answers questions during NFL football training camp on NFL Back Together Weekend, Saturday, July 27, 2024, in Oxnard, Calif. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

Dallas Cowboys linebacker Eric Kendricks answers questions during NFL football training camp on NFL Back Together Weekend, Saturday, July 27, 2024, in Oxnard, Calif. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

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Lewis Hamilton waves to fans as he drives a Ferrari F1 car for the first time

2025-01-22 17:49 Last Updated At:17:51

FIORANO MODENESE, Italy (AP) — Lewis Hamilton waved to a crowd of waiting fans on Wednesday as he drove a Ferrari Formula 1 car for the first time since joining the Italian team for the 2025 season.

Hamilton was behind the wheel of a 2023-specification Ferrari SF-23 bearing his racing number, 44, at the team's Fiorano test track, and wore a new helmet design in yellow with a prominent Prancing Horse logo.

Hamilton has shaken up F1 with his move to Ferrari after 12 years with Mercedes, where he won six of his seven world titles. The 40-year-old British driver has said he's fulfilling a childhood dream.

“I’ve been lucky enough to have achieved things in my career I never thought possible, but part of me has always held on to that dream of racing in red. I couldn’t be happier to realize that dream today," he said Monday after arriving at Ferrari's Maranello headquarters for his first day at work with the new team.

F1 tightly restricts teams from testing current-specification cars but the rules are more loose for older cars like the SF-23 that Hamilton drove Wednesday.

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

People gather outside the Ferrari track as British driver Lewis Hamilton tests a Ferrari Formula One SF-23, in Fiorano Modenese, Italy, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

People gather outside the Ferrari track as British driver Lewis Hamilton tests a Ferrari Formula One SF-23, in Fiorano Modenese, Italy, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

British driver Lewis Hamilton steers a Ferrari Formula One SF-23 at the Ferrari private test track, in Fiorano Modenese, Italy, Wednesday, Jan.22, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

British driver Lewis Hamilton steers a Ferrari Formula One SF-23 at the Ferrari private test track, in Fiorano Modenese, Italy, Wednesday, Jan.22, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

British driver Lewis Hamilton steers a Ferrari Formula One SF-23 at the Ferrari private test track, in Fiorano Modenese, Italy, Wednesday, Jan.22, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

British driver Lewis Hamilton steers a Ferrari Formula One SF-23 at the Ferrari private test track, in Fiorano Modenese, Italy, Wednesday, Jan.22, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

British driver Lewis Hamilton waves to fans during the first lap with a Ferrari Formula One SF-23 at the Ferrari private test track, in Fiorano Modenese, Italy, Wednesday, Jan.22, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

British driver Lewis Hamilton waves to fans during the first lap with a Ferrari Formula One SF-23 at the Ferrari private test track, in Fiorano Modenese, Italy, Wednesday, Jan.22, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

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