Texas NFL Capsules: Cowboys' Ware, coach differ over new moves

DeCamillis began working without a neck brace Monday, marking another milestone in his recovery from a broken neck suffered when the team's practice facility collapsed May 2.

"It's better than it is with that thing on, that's for sure," he said. "It was like wearing a turtleneck all the time, man. It was hot as heck."

The next part of his recovery is rebuilding the muscles that atrophied during the three months since he had surgery to stabilize fractured vertebrae.

"They said one of the biggest things that helped me was how big and strong my neck was," DeCamillis said. "Right now, you can see that it ain't big and strong any more. It will take a while to get it back."

The immediate challenge is getting used to sleeping in a bed again. DeCamillis has been sleeping in a recliner, but won't have it when the team goes to Oakland for the preseason opener Thursday night. Knowing this trip was coming, he's been slowly getting ready for it.

"I usually wake up two or three times a night, and try to get some time in the bed, try to get used to that," he said.

DeCamillis will be on the sideline during the game against the Raiders. He's not worried about anything going wrong so close to the action.

He's talked to other coaches around the league who've recovered from serious injuries and got some dos and don'ts about where to stand and how to protect himself.

"I won't be head-butting the players any more, I know that," he said. "I'm going to try to stay out of the way of the gunners, I know that, when they get out of bounds. Other than that, nothing's going to be different at all. ... I think everything will be fine."

When training camp is done and the team returns to Dallas, DeCamillis will need more physical therapy. For now, his job is therapy enough. He runs the special teams drills the first 20 minutes or so of every practice, then goes up to a coach's booth to watch and rest.

"It's just going to take some time, man, to get it right, that's all," he said.

Notes: TE Martellus Bennett twisted his knee in the morning practice and was held out in the afternoon. "These are the kind of the bumps that happen in training camp," coach Wade Phillips said. ... RB Felix Jones missed the morning practice because his surgically repaired left big toe was stiff, but returned in the afternoon. "I don't foresee it being a problem," running backs coach Skip Peete said. ... CBs Terence Newman (groin) and Mike Jenkins (ankle) missed both practices.

-- Jaime Aron

HOUSTON — Nobody would ever think to lump diminutive Texans running back Steve Slaton on the same list with Tedy Bruschi or Roman Gabriel.

He belongs with them, though — the latest of a very short group of players with Filipino heritage to make it in the NFL.

Most people aren't aware of Slaton's roots, but he's hoping to change that.

"It's just something that I'm very proud of and something that is a great heritage," Slaton told The Associated Press. "It's a little unknown, but I appreciate it 100 percent."

His maternal grandmother, Rosalina Billingsley, was born in the Philippines and came to the United States after meeting his grandfather, William, while selling vegetables when he was stationed there in the Army during World War II.

"My grandmother, she's from Manila," Slaton said. "My grandfather met her in World War II and I guess he fell in love at first sight and brought her over here."

Slaton's mother, Juanita Tiggett-Slaton, said Rosalina would spend hours talking about her culture and life in the Philippines with her grandchildren and that she has always shared a special bond with Steve.

"My kids are always curious about her life before she came here and love the story of how they met," Juanita said in a phone interview. "She would talk about those things and the struggle that she went through and the hard times and coming to America and having to face adversity. It was a struggle, especially with the language barrier."

Slaton's so proud of his heritage that he has a tattoo of the outline of a Philippines flag emblazoned on the left side of his chest. Slaton's flag isn't in color; but an actual Philippines' flag features horizontal bands of red and blue with a white triangle that holds a yellow sun and a trio of matching stars.

The red in the flag represents courage, a quality many would agree Slaton possesses in abundance.

Drafted in the third round in 2008, some doubted the undersized Slaton could be an every-down back in the NFL despite rushing for almost 4,000 yards in three seasons at West Virginia. Houston already had a starter in Ahman Green when and planned to use Slaton as a third-down back.

The plan changed when Green got hurt in the opener and Slaton got his first start in Week 2. He was doing so well when Green got healthy that he kept the job.

His performance was key in Houston's offensive improvement. Slaton led all rookies with 1,284 yards rushing and became the team's first 1,000-yard rusher since 2004.

Slaton's grandmother will turn 88 this week and though she doesn't understand a thing about football, she loves to hear his name announced when someone turns on the television for one of his games.

"She doesn't know what football is at all," Juanita said. "But I'll call her after a long run and I'll say: 'Did you see it Mommy?' and she'll say: 'They called his name. I heard his name.' "

Juanita didn't know that her son had started sharing his family history.

"I think it's neat because it is a rare thing for people to know that he has that heritage," she said. "For him to bring it up it says that he's proud of himself and his family."

There have been a handful of players with Filipino roots in the NFL. Along with Bruschi, the Patriots' star linebacker, and Gabriel, the outstanding quarterback for the Rams and Eagles in the 1960s and 70s, there's Tennessee's Eugene Amano, who was born in Manila.

Still, when asked if part of the motivation for sharing his heritage is the lack of Filipino professional athletes in the United States, Slaton brings up someone far removed from football.

"Me and Manny Pacquiao are holding it down for the Philippines," Slaton said, referring to the Filipino boxing champ considered the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. "I'm happy to go out there and see him do his thing, too."

Slaton is hoping to build on last year's success by fine-tuning his game, improving his pass-protection and helping the Texans fare better in the red zone.

The Texans are pressuring him in that area.

"Steve exceeded expectations last year," offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan said. "He did a (heck) of a job making it through the whole year and carrying the load. We still have to be a lot better in the running game ... we were horrible in the red zone and Steve knows that. Steve has to get much better in that area and we've got some guys that can push him. If some guys do it better, then they'll get the carries down there."

Slaton is prepared for the challenge.

"Being a year in the system is definitely helpful and I definitely know my place," he said. "I know the little things I have to work on and not really trying to grasp everything. I can work on a few things to help me get better and the team get better."

-- Kristie Rieken