Tony Romo and receiver Dez Bryant getting back in sync - Clarence Hill, The Star-Telegram
Hill's five thoughts on Friday's practice includes how Dez Bryant and Tony Romo are "knocking off the rust" in training camp.
Romo and Bryant are getting back in sync after a little rust and some struggles the first few days of camp. "I think it’s always there," Bryant said. "Just knocking a little bit of rust I guess, if that’s what you’ll call it. Just knocking it off, getting back to good habits. And I think that’s exactly what we’re doing. We both love it. We want to come out and make plays. It’s what we love to do. It’s what we’re going to do."
Dez Bryant provides highlight of the day - Jon Machota, SportsDay
Dez being Dez.
Bryant provided the highlight of the day, snatching a Tony Romo back shoulder pass out of the air with only his left hand. He secured the one-handed catch inbounds before slowing up near the stands. Bryant flipped the ball behind him and then paused to stare at the crowd.
Sometimes @DezBryant does things that leave me shaking my head. Here's one of those moments from earlier today. pic.twitter.com/upEf5VCnhB
— David Watkins (@dwatkinsNBC5) August 6, 2016
Photo via @TomFoxPhoto pic.twitter.com/4s5OFxT6uH
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) August 6, 2016
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) August 5, 2016
Camp Sights: Daily Hot Takes Include Winning WRs, McAdoo Shining & More - Staff, Dallas Cowboys
The four staff writers each provide their own personal observation from yesterday's training camp action.
- Nick Eatman thinks Andy Jones might be this year's "receiver who comes out of nowhere."
- Bryan Broaddus was impressed with the fight the receiver group took to the corners "where in the previous practices that wasn’t the case at all."
- Rob Phillips continues to notice DE Mike McAdoo, and thinks McAdoo could end up as part of the Cowboys' eight-man defensive line rotation.
- David Helman ruminates on how the defense dominated the Compete Period.
Fri. Practice Recap: Dez Returns, Stephen Jones Speaks, More News - David Helman, Dallas Cowboys
Helman leads with how Dez Bryant returned to practice in style, but offers two interesting tidbits that won't make a lot of headlines. The first one one might cause some heavy breathing among fans: First-teamers Tyron Smith, Sean Lee and Barry Church had a veteran day off and taking their first-team snaps were Chaz Green, Mark Nzeocha and J.J. Wilcox, respectively.
The second one is about Ryan Russell:
The second-year defensive end continues to improve in this first week of practice. He baffled Cameron Bradfield in 1-on-1 drills, and he repeatedly made his presence known during the full-team portions of practice.
Friday camp report - Todd Archer, ESPN
Archer's summary focuses on Tony Romo making connections with Dez Bryant and Jason Witten, but also has these observations:
With Sean Lee (rest), Kyle Wilber (back) and Cedric Thornton (sick) not practicing, Justin Durant and Mark Nzoecha worked with the first-team defense and undrafted rookie linebacker Rodney Coe worked at defensive tackle.
With injuries at running back, fullback Rod Smith is being forced into some tailback work. He had some nice runs up the middle with the third-team offense, taking advantage of some big holes.
Cowboys feel quarterback Jameill Showers has ability to play in NFL - Drew Davison, The Star-Telegram
Showers may finally getting an opportunity to show he can play quarterback in the NFL.
Showers, 24, has made a positive impression in the couple days since Moore was lost for three to four months. He had arguably a better day than Prescott on Thursday, connecting on a couple nice throws working with the second-team as Romo had the day off.
"Showers is doing a good job out there," Jones said. "He throws the ball well. There is no denying that. He just has to get out there with the live bullets and execute and anticipate and do the things that will make him a better player. It’s a great opportunity for him."
Who gets more carries behind Elliott, Morris or McFadden? - Todd Archer, ESPN
Alfred Morris has been one of the positive surprises of camp, as Archer explains in his Twitter mailbag Darren McFadden has some work to do in his rehab.
Right now he cannot fully extend his elbow well enough to catch passes. The goal is that he is ready Week 1. Maybe that happens, but there has been a lot to like about Alfred Morris so far in training camp. He has looked quick. He makes good decisions. He has a feel for the scheme and when holes open. Right now, I'd go with Morris getting more carries than McFadden. I'm basing that largely on McFadden's health right now, but Morris has been better than I thought. He isn't the type of runner who will break the 50-, 60-, 70-yard run, but he looks quicker than I remember from his time in Washington. The Cowboys have a real position of strength with Ezekiel Elliott, Morris, McFadden, Lance Dunbar (once healthy) and Darius Jackson.
Butler's Progress, Looney Settling In, Intriguing Young DE - Bryan Broaddus, Dallas Cowboys
Brice Butler and Joe Looney make the headlines here, but the most interesting take from Broaddus is about DE Mike McAdoo.
At 6-7, 255 you would think that McAdoo has a better shot to make an NBA team than an NFL one. What I have learned about him is: don't let the thin build fool you, he has surprising strength in that frame. I am not saying that he's an overpowering player that can stand there and go toe-to-toe with Tyron Smith, but there are snaps where he is able to hold the edge when the ball does come his direction. His length is also an asset when he can extend on the blocker and keep that separation as he is working toward the ball. He is a slippery pass rusher that can capture the edge, and -- due to his frame -- not allow the blocker much of a hitting surface. McAdoo has been able to carry over many of the positive snaps from the OTAs and minicamps to these practices while at training camp.
Sturm's Friday Mailbag: Young Players Who Have Made An Impression - Bob Sturm, SportsDay
Sturm offers a veritable smorgasboard of exciting takes on the young players on the roster, with highlighted players including Jameill Showers, Kavon Frazier, David Irving, LB James Morris, Darius Jackson, Charles Tapper, and Dak Prescott.
I have spent quite a bit of time studying and concluding that the Cowboys Day 3 drafting has been very poor for a long, long time around here. But, the four 6th rounders in 2016 seem far more promising than other years and I bet they find a few keepers here.
Overall, as they head to preseason game 1 in eight days time, they are showing that they have many young contributors that are worth getting fired up about. And, given the situation on the roster that they have joined, chances are they will get plenty of chance to show whether they are NFL quality or not. The names above are some of those that have jumped out at me early.
Gachkar Having Surgery; Street Hurts Back; More Updates - Rob Phillips, Dallas Cowboys
LB Andrew Gachkar broke his thumb Thursday and is expected to be out a few weeks; Devin Street hurt his back and will miss a few days.
Coach Wade Wilson has missed two days of camp in Oxnard dealing with what the Cowboys described as a personal matter. Here's Brandon George of the Dallas Morning news with an update on Wilson's situation.
Source: Cowboys QBs coach Wade Wilson is expected to return to practice Saturday after missing last two days with a foot infection.
— Brandon George (@DMN_George) August 5, 2016
Trust PFT to make this all sound terribly ominous.
Cowboys QB Coach Wade Wilson takes personal leave - Zac Johnson, ProFootballTalk
Cowboys Quarterbacks Coach Wade Wilson has taken a leave from the team to tend to personal matters.
Friday, Cowboys Coach Jason Garrett told reporters he’s not sure when Wilson will return to the team.
Next stop, Dallas Cowboys? Ex-Giants DE Damontre Moore cut again - James Kratch, NJ.com
Damontre Moore has been cut by three teams since December, first the Giants, then the Dolphins, and now the Raiders. Naturally, that makes him a candidate for the Cowboys, or at least a candidate for a click-baiting headline (which we completely fell for).
The Dallas Cowboys have well-documented pass rush concerns. Moore can get to the passer (5.5 sacks in 2015). He might commit a personal foul once he gets there, but he'll get there. And, the Cowboys have signed guys with far worse issues before.
Moore is not a bad guy. He's actually a good guy with a big heart, albeit one who has proven on multiple occasions he cannot carry himself like a professional football player is required to. Talent is not the problem. Inexcusable penalties, unprofessionalism, immaturity, questionable work habits - those have been the problems.
The Giants finally gave up on Moore, their enigmatic 2013 third-round pick, late last season in the aftermath of Headphonesgate. Moore was then picked up by the Miami Dolphins, who waived him after April's NFL Draft. Moore then landed with the Raiders in May after clearing waivers. But his stint in Oakland is already over, a day after - what else? - he was involved in a scuffle at practice.
The Film Room: Seahawks' Malcolm Butler wins matchup versus Giants' Odell Beckham Jr.- Samuel Gold, Field Gulls
The Cowboys will be facing the Giants and Odell Beckham twice this year, so this post and accompanying video may be interesting: Gold put together a pretty good breakdown of how Butler shut down Beckham for all but the first play of the game.