In North Texas weather yesterday, a west coast wind blew in town so the Cowboys could keep things fresh. The San Diego Chargers swooped into Arlington for the first of back to back days of intermingling, in anticipation of Sunday night's preseason tilt. In the afternoon today, the two teams will participate in a controlled scrimmage.
We should probably take a couple different views on how the practice went, to try and reach a consensus. After all, the San Diego perspective of what transpired is just as valid as the Dallas perspective. Of course each side provides their own spin; so we'll also bring in an unbiased opinion.
Chargers heat up at Valley Ranch - San Diego Union Tribune
"It started off a little slow," safety Eric Weddle said. "… After the first period, we got a feel for them, and the intensity was there."
The defense, particularly, warmed up as practice progressed, getting three interceptions. The Chargers offense struggled in the run game. But, mostly, players got out of the competition what they expected as the bulk of practice had the Chargers offense going against the Cowboys defense and the Chargers defense going against the Cowboys offense...
For a more comments and a decidedly Dallas point of view, follow the jump.
The Associated Press also filed a story on the practice, this report courtesy of the Washington Post.
"Sometimes you can get comfortable working against the same guys," Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said. "It’s fun to shock the system a little bit."
The early start — 9 a.m. local time, but 7 a.m. to the Chargers’ body clocks — was a necessity, since it allowed the work to be done with temperatures still in double-digits. San Diego coach Norv Turner said that helped fit the theme of shaking guys from their comfort zones.
The Mothership checks in with their version of the story here. DMN's Brandon George made several observations from the practice today. Some that caught my attention...
CB Orlando Scandrick had tight coverage most of the morning and had a nice pass breakup over the middle against Chargers WR Malcom Floyd.
Rookie Bill Nagy continued to work at first-team left guard.
Several of QB Tony Romo's passes were high Thursday. Romo also threw an interception on a slant route during 7-on-7 drills.
On one of Romo's high passes, WR Dez Bryant went high to catch the ball on an out route near the sideline and was able to get both feet down in bounds.
Cowboys legends OL Larry Allen and Nate Newton and DE Charles Haley were at practice. Haley was also at the Cowboys' practice Tuesday at Cowboys Stadium, working with the team's defensive linemen.
ESPN's Todd Archer also chimed in with some thoughts.
LB Bradie James intercepted a Philip Rivers’ pass down the seam. Had he not picked it off then cornerback Orlando Scandrick was in position for the turnover. DE Marcus Spears had a pressure of Rivers in team drills.
LB Orie Lemon blew up FB Dean Rogers on a run up the middle in 9-on-7 drills. Lemon sent Rogers, who outweighs him by five pounds, a good two feet back after meeting him in the hole on a lead play.
RB Felix Jones showed a good burst around the edge on a run in 9-on-7 drills but he was only able to get there after TE Jason Witten did a good job of hooking LB Stephen Cooper to the inside.
Romo’s best throw of the morning might have been on a wheel route to RB Lonyae Miller down the sideline just over the reach of ILB Donald Butler.
On the injury front, David Buehler's MRI revealed a hip strain [DMN]. He's out for the Chargers game.
Buehler hurt the hip on his third kickoff during Monday's practice. He kicked off twice more after that, which he concedes "probably wasn't a good idea,'' but he thought the injury wasn't serious and wanted to fight through it.
Buehler is listed as day-to-day and it's too early to say when he'll be cleared to return to the field.
Kai Forbath made his first camp appearance, but remained in street clothes. Miles Austin missed practice again and has already been ruled out for Sunday's game. The Sporting News ran a short story about the opportunity this provides for Kevin Ogletree to solidify his depth chart slot. Ogletree, the current number three, will get first team reps on the outside.
Also in that report, confirmation that seventh round selection OL Bill Nagy will get the start at left guard on Sunday. Earlier in the week, we took an extended look at Nagy's performance in his professional debut against Denver last Thursday. Here's his play by play from both his first drive and the game winning one. Getting a chance to work against San Diego's "1's" in practice today and tomorrow should help ease him into what is sure to be a surreal experience.
-- Jason Witten talks about the opportunity being given some of these young receivers. [Star Telegram]
-- Dan Graziano uses an entire post to point out what we've been saying for a while about the search for a number three receiver. We found him in #82. [ESPN]
-- The 4-3 Flex isn't the only homage the current staff is paying to team history. Tomorrow over 50 ex-players will be in attendance for a lunch and sideline visits with the current players. [Star Telegram]
The afternoon practice with the Chargers at Cowboys Stadium is scheduled for 2:30 CT. The practice can be watched by stadium tour guests. Here's Garrett on what you could expect: