Cowboys Training Camp Report: Oxnard Practice #9

The Dallas Cowboys came out in shorts and jerseys today, they didn't even bother to bring their helmets. As such, today's practice was nothing more than a glorified walk-thru. So basically, there's nothing to report. The early special teams part was spent on executing onside kicks. The only thing that I can report from today is that David Buehler was very shaky when they ran a brief session of FGs. By my count, it looked like he hit maybe 50%. I have to say, nothing I've seen so far gives me confidence that he's going to be the man on FGs. But reserve judgment until a few more exhibition games.

Since there's no real practice report, I'll leave you with some general observations from the week of practice. I fly home tomorrow so this will conclude BTB's onsite coverage of 2010 training camp.

- The defense definitely dominated the practices early in the week. The offense was getting nothing in the deep passing game and the d-line was causing havoc in the backfield. But, later in the week, the offense started to find success, especially under Tony Romo. The running game clicked late in the week, and Romo was especially good in the hurry-up and redzone situations. So you can look at it both ways, the defense looks stout, but the offense got its licks in, too.

- As mentioned above, I'm still skeptical of Buehler as the FG kicker. He needs to impress in the upcoming games or the 'Boys may have to look for a vet. Of course, they could wait until the season has run a few games before deciding, but the situation bears watching.

- Coach Joe D. is the man. He never lets the special teams get complacent. Forget Rex Ryan on Hard Knocks, they should just give Joe D. his own reality show.

- Behind Romo, it's tough to have confidence. Jon Kitna wasn't as bad as Checkdown Brad Johnson, but he wasn't exactly lighting it up either. And Stephen McGee is not ready. Pray for Romo's health.

- Cletis Gordon looks like he's capable of helping this team. He has a nose for the ball, grabbing some INT's during camp, and he can do things on special teams. He should definitely be the #4 corner. I thought Bryan McCann outplayed Jamar Wall during this week. McCann made some plays, Wall not so much.

- Chris Gronkowski is playing his way onto the roster. With John Phillips out, there's a spot for someone to grab and 'Ski was making his move. He was getting love from Joe D. on special teams and he made some nice blocks in the running game.

- Sean Lee shows impressive instincts. He reads plays and gets to the ball. If he can tackle when the real thing is happening, we might have a player for the future.

- Barry Church and Danny McCray got a lot of reps at safety on the second team. I thought both of them played pretty well. Church had one day with two picks, but McCray was the more consistent of the two. Pat Watkins returned to practice over the last few days from injury, but his time might be over. AOA got some reps at safety, but they also gave him a lot of reps in the slot corner spot. It's hard to predict what will happen on the 53-man roster with the backup safety and corner combinations.

- Kevin Ogletree had a good week. He caught a lot of passes and is trying to work his way onto the special teams units. The one guy from the bottom of the receiver roster who impressed was Terrell Hudgins. He outplayed guys like Manuel Johnson and Jesse Holley. He might be a keeper for the practice squad.

- As far as the receivers who will actually get playing time, nothing much has changed. Romo trusts Austin, Crayton and Witten far more than he does Roy Williams. The amount of times he threw to the other three over Roy was very noticeable.

That's about it. Now it's on to the San Diego game and one important thing - No Injuries!