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Tony Romo ends Cowboys practice better than he started
9:37 PM CT
Todd Archer
ESPN Staff Writer
OXNARD, Calif. -- Saturday did not start out as one of Tony Romo's better practices. It finished much better.
Romo missed on the first four passes he threw in Dallas Cowboys team drills and was intercepted by Morris Claiborne to close one five-play period after he wasn’t able to connect with Dez Bryant. Had it been a live situation, Romo likely would have been sacked by Sean Lee before throwing the pass.
In the situational work to close practice, Romo completed all five of his passes, including a 20-plus-yard touchdown to Cole Beasley down the middle of the field. Beasley made a tremendous reach for the pass with two defenders underneath him, tapping his feet down before going to the ground.
On the day, Romo went 10-for-17 in team and 7-on-7 drills.
On to the observations:
Romo and Bryant hooked up on back-shoulder touchdowns in tight red zone work on Claiborne in one-on-one drills. But Claiborne was able to exact some revenge on the third rep when he was able to rip the ball free from Bryant for the breakup. Romo later hit Bryant across the back of the end zone for a touchdown in 7-on-7 work a play after Romo’s throw on a similar route was a tad early and fell incomplete.
Tight end Rico Gathers threw down an emphatic spike after he thought he's beaten safety Jeff Heath for a touchdown in the competition period of practice. One problem: He was called for offensive pass interference for pushing off on Heath. Several defenders were glad to point to the flag on the ground after Gathers’ spike.
With cornerbacks Orlando Scandrick and Brandon Carr and right tackle Doug Free sitting out practice, rookie corner Anthony Brown took the first-team nickel snaps; Josh Thomas replaced Carr and Chaz Green worked at right tackle. Green has had a good chance to show the coaches what he can do the past two days with the first-team offense with left tackle Tyron Smith sitting out Friday.
One interesting development: Derek Akunne worked with the first team at linebacker, which had been a role Mark Nzeocha has handled with injuries to Kyle Wilber and Andrew Gachkar the past few days.
This was easily Brice Butler's best practice of camp. He caught two touchdown passes, one from Dak Prescott and one from Jameill Showers. The fourth-year wide receiver was more fluid in and out of his breaks and did a nice job plucking the ball with his hands.
Rookie WR Chris Brown is struggling to get his groove as a punt returner. Maybe it’s the tricky winds, but he dropped one and let another hit the ground when he had ample chance to catch it.
Alfred Morris' best rush of the day came on a run to the right with left guard La'el Collins pulling. Right guard Zack Martin threw the initial block to open the hole and Morris followed Collins for a long gain.
9:37 PM CT
Todd Archer
ESPN Staff Writer
OXNARD, Calif. -- Saturday did not start out as one of Tony Romo's better practices. It finished much better.
Romo missed on the first four passes he threw in Dallas Cowboys team drills and was intercepted by Morris Claiborne to close one five-play period after he wasn’t able to connect with Dez Bryant. Had it been a live situation, Romo likely would have been sacked by Sean Lee before throwing the pass.
In the situational work to close practice, Romo completed all five of his passes, including a 20-plus-yard touchdown to Cole Beasley down the middle of the field. Beasley made a tremendous reach for the pass with two defenders underneath him, tapping his feet down before going to the ground.
On the day, Romo went 10-for-17 in team and 7-on-7 drills.
On to the observations:
Romo and Bryant hooked up on back-shoulder touchdowns in tight red zone work on Claiborne in one-on-one drills. But Claiborne was able to exact some revenge on the third rep when he was able to rip the ball free from Bryant for the breakup. Romo later hit Bryant across the back of the end zone for a touchdown in 7-on-7 work a play after Romo’s throw on a similar route was a tad early and fell incomplete.
Tight end Rico Gathers threw down an emphatic spike after he thought he's beaten safety Jeff Heath for a touchdown in the competition period of practice. One problem: He was called for offensive pass interference for pushing off on Heath. Several defenders were glad to point to the flag on the ground after Gathers’ spike.
With cornerbacks Orlando Scandrick and Brandon Carr and right tackle Doug Free sitting out practice, rookie corner Anthony Brown took the first-team nickel snaps; Josh Thomas replaced Carr and Chaz Green worked at right tackle. Green has had a good chance to show the coaches what he can do the past two days with the first-team offense with left tackle Tyron Smith sitting out Friday.
One interesting development: Derek Akunne worked with the first team at linebacker, which had been a role Mark Nzeocha has handled with injuries to Kyle Wilber and Andrew Gachkar the past few days.
This was easily Brice Butler's best practice of camp. He caught two touchdown passes, one from Dak Prescott and one from Jameill Showers. The fourth-year wide receiver was more fluid in and out of his breaks and did a nice job plucking the ball with his hands.
Rookie WR Chris Brown is struggling to get his groove as a punt returner. Maybe it’s the tricky winds, but he dropped one and let another hit the ground when he had ample chance to catch it.
Alfred Morris' best rush of the day came on a run to the right with left guard La'el Collins pulling. Right guard Zack Martin threw the initial block to open the hole and Morris followed Collins for a long gain.