“I haven’t played with a d-tackle like that my whole career,” Clark said. “I played with a lot of great players, but a guy that’s dominant like that at the defensive tackle position, he’s a great player. I’m looking forward to that, I hope they slide to him and I can get me some one-on-ones, and we do what it do.”
As much as the attention that goes to Williams opens things up for Clark and the rest of the defensive line, Clark knows that the work the two of them do together is what can really leave a lasting impact along the trenches and take Dallas’ defense to the next level.
“That’s the biggest thing is just growing that chemistry,” Clark said. “I want to know what he’s thinking. I don’t want to get in the way of his rushes or if he’s thinking about doing something, I don’t want to get in the way. When he’s getting in his one-on-ones, I’m going to let him eat, let him do his thing. Vice versa, and we just keep playing off each other.”
Playing off one another extends beyond Williams and Clark, and into the rest of the defensive tackle room. Clark knows that if the Cowboys want to make a postseason run, the depth at their position will be vital to the team’s success.
“That’s going to be huge,” Clark said. “[Otito Ogbonnia], [Jonathan] Bullard, [Jay Toia] and all those guys, LT [Overton], we’ve got a really good room, and a really good bunch of guys that’s been helping. [Ogbonnia] big, just big dude in there. The two, the four, the three and the nose, so he’s going to help us out a lot. Same thing with [Bullard], he can play all three positions. And they’ve played a lot of football, they’ve played in a lot of big games. We’re definitely going to need them later into the season.”
Going into his 11th season, Clark has seen the rules, regulations and standard procedures of training camp and the preseason evolve over the course of his career. With Brian Schottenheimer saying most of Dallas’ starters will likely not play in the preseason, it’s another sign of how things have changed in Clark’s ramp up approach to the regular season.
“Back then, you want to hit it and get all your days in, get all your snaps in,” Clark said. “Now, I’ll take the two days, get a good recovery day, and then hit it hard the last day. I think the way we’ve been doing it has been real good, it’s been helping our bodies, keeping us healthy for the most part. I think it’s been good.”
The Cowboys will practice again on Sunday and then have a recovery day on Monday ahead of their joint practice with the Los Angeles Rams on Tuesday. For Clark, that serves as his “preseason,” if you will.
“I love joint practices,” Clark said. “I’m a big fan of them. I’d rather do the joint practices than the preseason. You get six plays, probably the most, in the preseason, and you got to get all riled up for those six plays. I’d rather get riled up and get a good 30, a good 40 or whatever how many we get, and get some good competition.”