Dak Prescott shines for Cowboys in work with Dez Bryant, Jason Witten - Todd Archer, ESPN
With Tony Romo getting a day off, rookie Dak Prescott got a chance to quarterback the ones for the Dallas Cowboys. The fourth-round pick held his own, Archer writes.
With Tony Romo getting an extra day of rest, Dak Prescott took the first-team quarterback snaps for the Dallas Cowboys for the second time in camp. However, this time he got to work with Jason Witten and Dez Bryant.
When Prescott worked with the ones last week, Witten and Bryant were given the day off. Maybe it was the presence of the veterans, but Prescott was as sharp as he has been all camp.
It wasn't just the completion percentage that was impressive. It was where Prescott put the ball. On a pass to Witten underneath the zone, he put the ball on Witten's right shoulder, which instinctively told him to turn that way with a defender closing from his left.
Prescott took it to another level; who's got the edge between him, Showers? Brandon George, SportsDay
George gives Prescott the edge over Showers for yesterday's practice. Here's why:
Prescott was impressive Sunday but took it to another level Tuesday following the team's off day Monday. Prescott was as sharp as he's been all camp, completing 13-of-16 passes in team and 7-on-7 drills working with the first team as Tony Romo had the day off. Prescott was 5-of-6 passing in a hurry-up situation, with his only completion coming when he spiked the football to stop the clock.
Prescott shines again for Cowboys as Romo takes another day off - Clarence Hill, The Star-Telegram
Dak Prescott shows poise during the Cowboys’ two-minute drill, completing 5 of 5 passes to set up a field goal, Hill writes.
Rookie fourth-round pick Dak Prescott worked with the first-team offense and had arguably his most impressive day of training camp. Prescott was particularly effective during the two-minute drill. He completed 5 of 5 passes and led the offense to a field goal. Prescott completed the first two passes to Cole Beasley, then hit Terrance Williams and Dez Bryant before a toss outside to tight end Jason Witten to stop the clock, setting up the field goal with 9.4 seconds left.
Scout's Notebook: Dez On The Move, Lucky's Hands, New Scouting Report - Bryan Broaddus, Dallas Cowboys
Broaddus offers five notes from camp, and leads off with the good day Dak Prescott had.
I thought this was the best practice that Dak Prescott has had since we arrived in California. His command of the two-minute drill was outstanding. It reminded me of his days at Mississippi State. He was quick with decisions and accurate with his passes. There were several snaps where he had to deliver the ball into the teeth of a blitz and he was able to pull it off. He smartly used Cole Beasley, Jason Witten and Dez Bryant in the quick game to combat the pressure that he was facing. The offensive line and backs did a nice job of giving him the time to make the throws, but in the end it was his ability, confidence and poise that allowed him to have the success on this day.
Six Observations From Tuesday's Cowboys Training Camp - OCC, Blogging The Boys
One of the six observations is titled "Screw it, we're sticking with Dak Prescott and Jameill Showers," and OCC explains why that might be a good idea.
The Cowboys lost Kellen Moore at a time when the price for a veteran backup QB was arguably the highest at any time during the offseason. That price will come down significantly after final cuts at the beginning of September, which is when the Cowboys will likely make a move for some veteran help.
Keep in mind that the waiver wire order is the same as this year's draft order, meaning the Cowboys have the fourth-highest priority, meaning they get to sign players on the waiver wire ahead of all teams except the Titans, Browns, and Chargers. Only after Week 3 of the 2016 season will the waiver wire order change.
After Week 3, waiver wire priority is determined by the order of the NFL standings at that point.
For a quick rundown on the highlights from practice, check out Sisemore's report. It was another good day for a bunch of guys that may be tired of hearing the negative takes.
All in all, you have to be impressed with how this defense has responded after all the criticism they have received. It gets you excited to see how they do in the exhibition games as they prepare for the season.
Tues. Practice Recap: Defense Wins At The Goal Line, Dak Excels; More - David Helman, Dallas Cowboys
Helman leads with Byron Jones and his role in helping the defense to a 5-3 win in goalline reps against the offense, but we found this nugget on Darius Jackson particularly interesting.
Darius Jackson doesn’t get a lot of credit for his speed, but he clearly has some. Working with the second-team offense, Jackson broke through the line on a rep and housed a touchdown. It’s obviously tough to judge a running play in a half-contact practice, but Jackson sped past the secondary, and it’s doubtful he would’ve been caught.
With short-yardage focus, Dallas Cowboys' Tony Romo will not practice - Todd Archer, ESPN
The padded practice on Tuesday was centered around short yardage work, which led to Tony Romo getting another day off. But the big news was that the defense got some much needed reinforcement from players who have missed practices, especially in the interior of the defensive line.
While Romo will miss Tuesday's practice, the Cowboys will welcome back defensive linemen Tyrone Crawford (back), Cedric Thornton (virus) and Terrell McClain (toe). Crawford missed six practices, McClain five and Thornton three, which forced the Cowboys to move players across the defensive line. Linebacker Kyle Wilber (back) could return to duty after missing four practices.
Based on Twitter comments, all four of the defenders mentioned were active in practice.
Dallas Cowboys missed Orlando Scandrick in more ways than one - Todd Archer, ESPN
The injury to Orlando Scandrick last season was right up there with the ones to Romo and Dez Bryant for how much it impacted the Cowboys. Not only did they lose their best cornerback, they lost an emotional leader on the field who elevated those around him. Now he's healthy, and planning to bring that fire back to the game.
"I just want to get back out there and just help my team win," Scandrick said. "I'm going to bring what I bring to the defense. I'm going to be myself. I'm going to come out. I'm going to bring the fight. I'm going to be aggressive. I'm going to try and play with swagger and just be myself."
Lawrence Okoye goes from Olympics to Dallas Cowboys - Todd Archer, ESPN
We all know that Dallas likes to sign very athletic players. Lawrence Okoye, who has been showing up well in practices on the defensive line, certainly fits that bill. He competed in the 2012 Olympics in London, representing Great Britain and finishing twelfth. And given his relative inexperience as a football player, it doesn't hurt that he is a fast learner.
At 6-foot-6 and 310 pounds, Okoye has the build to play in the NFL and be a top discus thrower. He started training for the discus when he was 19, and two years later he had the national record with a throw of 68.24 meters.
The Complex Case of Jameill Showers - Bob Sturm, Sportsday
One of the hottest topics right now is whether Jameill Showers can win the backup quarterback job outright. Bob Sturm has a long, video-laden analysis of him that looks at both the good and bad about him from the 2015 preseason. It has been frequently remarked that Showers and Dak Prescott are benefiting from greatly increased reps due to the situation for Dallas. That makes this a very different year for Showers.
The other thing I want to point out is that the video I am using is from the 2015 preseason. For whatever reason, Showers only played sparingly. Dustin Vaughan was the guy they wanted to see play 12 months ago and Vaughan played 68 percent of the offensive series. Romo played 12 percent, Brandon Weeden played another eight percent, and that left just six series for Showers. And each of those series were in the fourth quarters when he had hideous pass protection, poor receivers and almost no chance.
Cowboys Concerns - What They Are vs What Is Stated - Steven Van Over, Cowboys Nation
This is a really good take from Steve Van Over about looking past the smokescreen of what Jerry Jones says and paying attention to what the team is actually doing about the roster.
The solution is to look at the Cowboys as you would any other corporate entity. Ask most any CEO how their company is doing and they have a canned elevator pitch response to lay on you touting the solid footing the company is on and the brightness of tomorrows prospects. It will be impressive. Then the next day they file for bankruptcy. You don't listen to what a CEO says, you look at what his company is doing. It's the same with the Dallas Cowboys.
Jason Garrett: Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is a first-ballot Hall of Famer - John Machota, SportsDay
Talk about a win-win. Jason Garrett got the opportunity to make a completely honest and accurate statement, and suck up to his boss majorly, all at the same time.
NFL trades are usually a lot smaller deal than in the NBA or MLB, but for some reason, there was a lot of trade talk about the Cowboys. Some of it made some sense, while other reports . . .
Report: Cowboys could trade RB Darren McFadden; fill other needs - Patrik Walker, 247Sports
This report is based on a radio interview with Todd Archer, who says that the Cowboys are going to be hard pressed to keep all the running backs in camp (and this is without considering Lance Dunbar).
Having drafted blue chipper Ezekiel Elliott and SPARQy rusher Darius Jackson after acquiring RB Alfred Morris in free agency, they now boast arguably the most depth and talent at the position in the NFL. This list also includes the 2015 starter Darren McFadden, obviously, who is set to return in a few weeks from a broken elbow suffered off the field...
...or is he?
As has been mentioned on this site before, McFadden is the worst fit of the group for Dallas' scheme, so he might be shopped to get what the team can.
Should Bears be interested in trading for Cowboys’ Ron Leary? - Zeke Barrera, Cowboys Wire
Ron Leary is another player who is starter-quality, but will likely not have a starter's job available in Dallas. The Chicago Bears lost their starting center for the season, and could be interested in Leary, since they have expressed a desire to be more athletic on the line (and have a guard that can move to center).
As for compensation coming back to Dallas? The Bears currently have Willie Young on their defense, playing out of position at outside linebacker. After playing the majority of his career as a 4-3 defensive end, the Bears switched defensive schemes to a 3-4 starting in 2015 and moved Young to OLB. He saw his sack total drop from 10 in 2014 to 6 1/2 last season. In Dallas, Young could return to the 4-3 defense, and instantly become the most accomplished DE on the roster.
Joey Bosa to Dallas Cowboys? Not happening - Todd Archer, ESPN
The idea of somehow working out a trade to get Joey Bosa from the San Diego Chargers - which totally ignores some realities of the salary cap and the rookie salary pool - was big in the, shall we say, less informed crowd on social media. Here's the bottom line.
It's all fantasy talk.
Celebrity drop-in of the day.
@dallascowboys training camp with @oscardelahoya to announce my fight September 17h under the #CaneloSmith card! pic.twitter.com/yUB6EBWdbL
— Joseph Diaz (@JosephDiazJr) August 10, 2016