The Cowboys were in shells today and the practice didn’t seem to be as crisp as usual. All of the regulars on the injury list were still out, but Jason Hatcher did a little bit of resistance training on the bungee rope. He wasn’t working it too hard, so he still seems to be a little ways away from returning to practice. On the other hand, Isaiah Stanback was running some patterns at midfield, so he might be back soon. JJ was back at his normal spot of taking the first snaps with the 1st unit, so take that for what it’s worth.
They started with 11-on-11 with Romo out there with the first unit. Anthony Henry continued his strong play as of late when he broke up a pass intended for T.O. on the first play. Spencer jumped offsides on the next play, then Romo hit Witten down the seam. They ran a draw to JJ and he made a nice move to get around Spencer, then T.O. beat K. Davis on a quick slant. Fasano jumped offsides on the next play, then D. Harrington broke up a pass intended for Fasano, but it looked like Ratliff got the sack.
Johnson threw a quick pass to Tony Curtis to avoid a K. Davis blitz, then Curtis caught another and Courntey Brown had to make the tackle. Bowen looked like he got the sack on Brad, but it was more Brad’s fault for holding the ball too long. Moore came on and dropped the shotgun snap, then threw an incomplete pass.
Romo came on and tried T.O. again but Henry broke it up again. Romo then let one get away from him that went to no one but did hit Alan Ball who was kneeling on the sidelines. Next was a dump to Hoyte in the flats, then a short completion to Hurd. Johnson got sacked on his first play but they let it run and he hit Crayton deep. Bowen then got another sack. Bartel overthrew Andy Thorn, then Rabb beat Alan Ball.
They broke off for FG’s where Gramatica and Folk appeared to make them all, including both hitting 50-yard kicks. They moved on to kickoffs where Gramatica hit the 5 and 1-yard line while Folk hit the 1-yard line and then sent one a couple of yards deep into the endzone.
Back to some 11-on-11 where Romo overthrew Witten but Bradie had nice coverage, then Spears stuffed a JJ run up the middle. Spencer blocked a Romo pass at the line, then Romo overthrew Witten who was covered by K. Davis. MB3 tried a sweep but Alex Obomese disrupted the timing of the play.
Johnson hit Austin who had beat Glymph in coverage, Johnson had time because TT picked up a Nate Jones blitz. Austin caught a crossing pattern then Quincy Butler stepped in front of a pass and made an INT. Moore came on and had bad communication with Rabb for an incompletion, then tried a sweep but Bradie made the stop.
Romo was back and tried to hit Witten but Roy tipped the ball away before dropping to do his push-ups because he should have picked it off. Spencer had a good bull rush on the play over McQ. Hoyte caught one in the flats then T.O. caught a short one underneath. Bartel threw underneath to Curtis from a 4-wide formation and avoided a Roy blitz, then Battle had a short run.
After that they practiced kick returns with Miles Austin and Tyson Thompson being the primary return guys.
Next was 7-on-7, Romo threw a short pass to Hoyte, then overthrew Witten and threw low to Fasano for two incomplete passes. He tried to hit Witten on a seam pattern, but Carpenter was stride-for-stride with Witten and knocked the pass away. Romo finished by throwing to Austin but he dropped it.
Brad hit Urban in front of Jacques Reeves, then hit Adam Bergen short, followed by hitting Curtis deep. Moore threw a short pass to Battle then a short one to Rabb.
Romo tried to hit Crayton but they had a miscommunication on the pattern, then Romo missed T.O. on a deep pass down the sideline. He finished with a short completion to Crayton. Johnson threw short to Jamel Richardson and hit Curtis in the flats.
They gathered together for some more 11-on-11 and Romo hit Witten on a deep out with Bradie trailing him, then Ferguson broke through to stop JJ. Next, they ran a screen to JJ that worked perfectly and Gurode was out front leading the blocking. T.O. caught one in front of N. Jones, then Romo threw one away. He completed his session with a crossing pattern to Witten.
Johnson gave it to TT who made some nifty jukes to get a few yards in traffic, then they ran a draw which was a dud because Spears and Bradie were in the backfield. Newman ran a corner blitz and Johnson tried to throw quickly to Richardson but A. Glenn deflected the pass. Johnson finished with a quick pass to Austin. Moore tried a run to Battle but Obomese stopped it, then J. Thomas had good coverage on Urban and the ball was incomplete.
Romo came back with a dump pass to JJ, then ran a draw that didn’t get much. He threw short to JJ again then a Roy blitz messed up a MB3 run. Romo finished by throwing a pass that went out of bounds and ran a sweep to MB3 but Newman had good run support.
Johnson threw an out pass to Hurd, then TT had some success on a sweep. Bergen caught a short pass on a delay route; Battle tried the middle on a run and got a few yards before B. Phillips made the stop. Battle tried a run to the right that didn’t work, then Mike Jefferson caught a quick slant.
For the third straight day they finished a practice with a "hurry-up" drill. It was Romo and the 1st-string offense versus the 2nd-string defense. Romo was sacked by Glymph but the play was continued and Romo couldn’t connect with T.O. on an out pattern. Hurd made a short catch in the flats and J. Thomas ran over him for the tackle. Romo tried to hit Witten but K. Davis broke it up and N. Jones broke up Romo’s next pass. They were supposed to go off the field because that was 4th-down but Wade Phillips wasn’t pleased and sent them back out there. On the next try Romo hit Crayton across the middle for a nice catch-and-run, then hit Austin on the sideline. Romo connected with Crayton who beat Abram Elam, then hit Crayton on an out before hitting Crayton for a TD between Elam and N. Jones. Elam and Jones argued about the coverage afterwards.
Brad tried a screen to TT but Newman made the tackle in the backfield. He hit Urban on an out, then Ware got a sack, then TT made a catch. After another catch by TT, Hamlin made a nice break on the ball and should have made the INT but dropped it, so he did his push-ups. The drive stalled when TT caught one in the flats but it wasn’t enough.
Moore took his shot and hit Battle in the flats, hit Andy Thorn short, then had his pass tipped at the line for an incompletion. Damarius Bilbo, who was moved to WR for the entire practice, caught one across the middle, then Ball had good coverage on the next play for an incompletion. Then Khari Long, who just signed and was playing OLB, had a great rush but Moore slipped a pass into the flats. Thorn caught one short over the middle then Quincy Butler dropped an INT to finish the practice.
Be sure to check back for the Shango video later by clicking on the link on the right – and Grizz is not a Romo Hater! ;-)