Jason Garrett: David Irving looked good in practice Wednesday, hopefully can continue today

We’re getting closer to Sunday night’s game with the Houston Texans, as such it’s time for another update from Jason Garrett. Coach spoke with the media on Thursday. (All Garrett answers are paraphrased and not actual quotes).

Will Terrence Williams practice today?

He will not practice today, he will work on the side with strength and conditioning coaches, he is working through a foot injury.

Did he re-injure the foot?

He had a feeling in his foot so that’s why not practicing. I don’t know about him seeking second opinions.

Offense has struggled on the road in recent history, what are the difficulties on the road?

Communication is the big challenge in a louder stadium, you have to handle communication at the line of scrimmage. Pace and tempo are big challenges.

The team has given up 11 sacks in road games?

I always think noise challenges you, defensive linemen have the advantage, your guys out on edge might not hear the snap call as well. We’ve played well on the road before, we just need to play well, we emphasize it in practice by playing noise.

Is running uptempo harder in noise?

There are a lot of different theories. Impact of huddling or not with crowd noise. People have debated that for years. I can see both sides of the debate at the end of the day but just executing quiets the crowds, run the ball and complete passes. It comes down to execution.

Do you use analytics on game day?

You have a lot of info going into game, all the situations. Analytics is a big new word in sports but tendencies in sports have been done for a long time. Maybe because of the information and how quickly we can get it, there is more out there. Typically you have info going into the game, and then accumulate more during the game. Down and distance and personnel groups, what teams do in those situations and you use that as the game goes on. But you also us your gut and believe in what you do, the matchups you like.

Jadeveon Clowney is versatile, he moves around and generates pressure?

The challenge is the guy and where they put him, people have been doing that for a long time, moving guys around. He makes plays from different spots. You have to identify where he is and have good communication.

How has La’el Collins been doing?

Doing really well, he is still young but is handling the challenges. He’s not perfect by any means, but he learns from experiences, plays the right way. He is physical and tough, and he’s refining his technique and becoming a better protector, he is learning from the coaches.

How did David Irving look yesterday?

He looked good, he got a lot of work in individual drills and team drills. He handled it well. Looked like he was moving around well this morning, optimistic about him practicing a full practice today.