Calvin Watkins, ESPN Staff Writer 11y

Cowboys practice report: Day 4

OXNARD, Calif. -- The Cowboys' fourth day of practice had the team working on the two-minute offense, shotgun formations and the hurry-up. There were no new injuries from the full-padded practice.

  • The two newest players had an instant impact. Defensive end George Selvie had numerous pressures and one sack on his first day on the job. Landon Cohen, the defensive tackle, was impressive with his pressure on the quarterback. Cohen also knocked down a pass. The Cowboys weren't looking for an expensive veteran player such as John Abraham. Instead, the Cowboys were looking for younger players who could create competition along the defensive line.

  • Defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin isn't afraid to make changes to the defense when he sees something he doesn't like. Kiffin benched defensive end Ben Bass for Cameron Sheffield after a mistake. A few plays later, Bass returned with the first team and didn't get benched again.

  • Wednesday was wide receiver Cole Beasley's best day of camp. His two best plays came on a quick slant on which he sliced untouched through the defense for about 15 yards. In a one-on-one drill, Beasley made a diving catch near the sidelines. Beasley has terrific speed and displays an ability to find open spots in a defense to become an open target.

  • The Cowboys' wide receivers took a big lead in their battle with the defensive backs. Things changed on Wednesday during the one-on-one period. The receivers didn't make a catch on the first four pass attempts until Beasley made a diving catch near the sidelines. Brandon Carr and Morris Claiborne are playing Miles Austin and Dez Bryant tightly in man coverage. It sometimes takes a perfect throw to complete a pass, but other times you see where the corner will hold the receiver to slow things down.

  • When veterans make a mistake, coach Jason Garrett penalizes them. Tight end Jason Witten has some of the best hands on the team, but he dropped a low throw from Tony Romo and Garrett sat the veteran tight end. It was the only drop of the day from one of the Cowboys' best players.

  • Defensive end Monte Taylor, who was impressing the coaches, was kicked out of a field goal unit because he was the 12th man. Details.

  • With Jermey Parnell out with a mild hamstring strain, the Cowboys mix and match a little bit at tackle. When Tyron Smith missed a few snaps with helmet issues, Darrion Weems checked in at left tackle. For the plays he was in, he held DeMarcus Ware pretty good.

  • The longer wide receiver Danny Coale sits -- he's got swelling in the left knee -- the more he gets behind. Eric Rogers and Jared Green were impressive during one-on-ones and in team drills.

  • Cornerback Orlando Scandrick knocked a Romo pass down on a corner blitz. Scandrick is good at anticipating the snap count and timing his jump to make these kinds of plays.

  • Wednesday's practice ended after B.W. Webb snagged the first interception of camp by a cornerback when he grabbed an underthrown Kyle Orton pass in team drills.

  • Former Cowboy and Hall of Fame wide receiver Michael Irvin visited training camp to conduct interviews for NFL Network. Irvin hugged several players: Romo, Scandrick, Claiborne and Bryant. Irvin also shared a moment with Jerry and Stephen Jones.

  • After four days of practice, a total of 13,230 fans have visited. There is no practice on Thursday.

^ Back to Top ^