(Editor's Note: At the end of each day here at training camp in Oxnard, the staff writers will each provide their own personal observation, ranging anywhere from a particular player who is standing out, a position that needs an upgrade, or even their own personal experiences regarding the daily rigors of camp.)
Rob Phillips: The Cowboys finished with a league-low 11 takeaways last season, but they've always had strong practice habits regarding forcing turnovers – and it might be even more noticeable in this year's training camp. Watch a running back carry the ball in team drills, and you'll see as many as four defenders trying to rip it out well after the whistle. After an incomplete pass intended for Alfred Morris, Barry Church scooped up the ball and ran the other way even though the play was clearly over. Morris did fumble a few plays later and Tyrone Crawford made the recovery. All that said, there's nothing like pressure that forces takeaways. The defense produced two interceptions in Saturday's preseason opener, and both were a result of hits on the Rams' quarterbacks.
David Helman:Props to Terrance Williams for what had to be his most impressive day of training camp. It's not to say that Williams has been bad, but he made a huge impression Monday. Two days after his fantastic touchdown catch against the Rams, Tony Romo looked in Williams' direction nearly every chance he got. At one point during the full-team portion of practice Romo rifled off three straight passes to Williams – two slants and an out route. Williams didn't just catch all three, but he did it against fierce competition from the secondary. Brandon Carr made excellent efforts at breaking up the two slants, and Williams showed outstanding focus to maintain possession – something he's been criticized for in the past. It's been a strong camp for Williams, and he put that all together in one good showing on Monday.
Nick Eatman:Earlier in the day on our podcast "The Break," we talked extensively about Alfred Morris and how he needs to be on the field even when Ezekiel Elliott returns. But after the show, I sorta joked, "is Darren McFadden still on the team?" Obviously, he is, but we just don't hear much about him right now and it seems like he's getting passed by on a daily basis. After Monday's practice, I saw McFadden walking off the field and asked him when he might be returning to action. "Maybe a couple of weeks," he said. "I'm ready to get out there." I would think he is more than ready now, considering how he's dropping now the depth chart without even playing.
Bryan Broaddus: We are all use to seeing Cole Beasley working underneath and through the middle but not much more than that. What I am now noticing in these practices is more of Dez Bryant and Terrance Williams running those inside routes but at a much deeper depth. It takes courage to execute those routes but the payoff can be tremendous. Both Bryant and Williams hit the defense on two separate occasions which resulted in sizeable gains. As long as this offense has a quarterback that is willing to make those types of throws and is accurate as Tony Romo, there is no reason that this shouldn't be a major way to successfully move the ball with this talent to work with.
