Cowboys 5: Who won Smith, Quinn showdown? Rookie running with 1st team offense
Real football finally showed up at Cowboys training camp with the team donning pads and hitting for the first time on Monday.
This is 1975, 1985 or even 1995. There was some hitting, especially up front with the offensive line and defensive line, but there was not a lot of tackling. The buzz word is to “thud up” but stay off the ground.
But it was football as we know it today. No more t shirts and shorts, otherwise known as the underwear Olympics, which is likely what’s going on with holdout running back Ezekiel Elliott in Cabo right now.
Here are five things of note from the Cowboys’ first practice in pads:
1. Dak Prescott picked up where he left on in the offseason. He was sharp and accurate, completing 13 of 17 passes in team and 7-on-7. Prescott had a pretty deep ball to Tavon Austin, hitting him in stride behind Chido Awuzie. Prescott’s favorite targets on Day 1 were receiver Michael Gallup and tight end Jason Witten, who has picked up right where he left off after a year away broadcasting for ESPN. Prescott and Amari Cooper connected just once.
2. The young speed continued to shine through at receiver with Jon’vea Johnson, Reggie Davis and Jalen Guyton all hauling in deep passes. Davis had the play of the day, catching a deep pass in coverage from Cooper Rush. Johnson deep ball led to the most embarrassing moment when secondary coach Kris Richard pointed to the sideline to bench cornerback Chris Westry after he was easily beaten by Johnson.
3. Rookie fourth-round pick Tony Pollard got some run with the first team at running back with Darius Jackson in the absence of holdout Ezekiel Elliott. It was good experience for Pollard, who had a couple of nice runs in space. But it was Jackson who had the longest play, taking a wide open screen pass to house with a host of blockers in front as a convoy. Rookie Mike Weber also had a couple of nice runs but he also got the thud of day when he was met with a form tackle by safety Kavon Frazier after catching a pass over the middle.
4. One of the more anticipated matchups in the first day of pads was defensive end Robert Quinn against tackle Tyron Smith in the pass rush drill. It was no contest. Smith simply smothered him each time. It proved to be a clean sweep for the offensive line in the compete pass rush drill. Smith handled Quinn. Guard Connor Williams kept defensive tackle Daniel Ross at bay and guard Zack Martin proved immovable for Maliek Collins. Also worth noting, defensive end Dorance Armstrong had a nice day beating tackle Cam Fleming.
5. The biggest negative on the first of pads was tight end Rico Gathers, who let a perfect pass from Rush bounce off of his hands into the waiting arms of rookie defensive end Joe Jackson. It was a good look for Jackson, who dropped in the coverage, to be aware and take advantage of the opportunity. But it was a poor start to training camp for Gathers, who needs to finally show real progress in his fourth year playing football after making the transition from being a basketball player at Baylor. All potential means is that you haven’t done it yet. Gathers still has a lot to prove and show more consistency if he hopes to stick around in 2019.
This story was originally published July 30, 2019 at 9:23 AM.
