OXNARD, Calif. – This part of training camp is in the books.
Practice ended Wednesday night, the Cowboys went through some meetings and walkthroughs, and now it's on to Hawaii to play the second preseason game against the L.A. Rams. From there, we get back to Texas and this thing really starts to pick up steam.
The longest part of the wait is over, and the season will be here before we know it.
Here are my notes from the Cowboys' final practice in Oxnard:
As the Cowboys prepare to depart for Honolulu, Bryan Broaddus has one last notebook from the practice fields in Oxnard, where they held their final West Coast practice.
Travis Frederick had one of those plays in team period where you're starting to see things coming back to him. Before his illness, he was one of the best centers in the league when it came to playing in space. When he gets out on the edge, he generally stays on his feet and finds his target. I haven't seen him pull much in these practices, but today I got a little glimpse of him doing just that. He was able to get out on the edge and put a nice shot on Jaylon Smith, which allowed Tony Pollard to make the cut behind him. I feel like Frederick is still not what he once was -- but I am starting to see those signs.
I kid you not. Joe Looney lined up at quarterback during run/play action period with Dak Prescott in the slot. Looney then clapped his hands and the formation shifted with him moving out to tight end. Prescott then trotted back to the inside and took his normal spot at quarterback. I don't know if Kellen Moore was just having fun with Kris Richard, but I know he got a laugh out of the guys behind the huddle.
I don't think Dorance Armstrong meant to knock the ball out of Dak Prescott's hand during team period, but he did a nice job of working around La'el Collins. It appeared initially that Collins had Armstrong walled off, but he was able to reach back with his left hand to force the fumble. It was a great example of the length Armstrong's length and how well he can use it to affect the quarterback in the pocket.
Dak Prescott to Michael Gallup on the comeback has been money all camp. Gallup has shown such a feel for how to drive the defender off the ball and then come back to the exact spot where the ball is. Today was the only time where I saw Prescott throw the ball short of Gallup and it resulted in an interception by Chidobe Awuzie. I thought maybe Gallup went too far up the field, but that wasn't the case. Prescott just didn't get enough on the ball and Awuzie was able to make the adjustment to keep it off the ground.
Alfred Morris still has the ability to make defenders miss in the open field. He was one-on-one with George Iloka and Iloka never had a chance. Iloka tried to break down on him, but Morris crouched really low then stuck his left foot in the ground, leaving Illoka grabbing for air. Since arriving on the scene, Alfred Morris has been outstanding in all phases of his game. The coaches are using him more and more in these practices, getting him ready for the season in case Ezekiel Elliott continues his holdout into the season.
I have been pretty critical of Mike White in camp, so when he does make a nice play I have to be fair. White, with the help of Jalen Guyton, made a pretty back shoulder fade for a touchdown. White read Tyvis Powell playing to the inside of Guyton and put the ball to the outside where the defender had no chance to make the play. It was the second time that I noticed Guyton where he had to fully extend his body in order to make the catch for the touchdown.
Devin Smith has put himself in position to fight for a roster spot on this team. Through his hard work he received more opportunities. In practice he was called out by Jason Garrett for the Compete Period, where he was going against Anthony Brown one-on-one in front of the entire team. Brown did a good job getting his hands on Smith right off the line, which knocked him off balance. Smith wanted to double-move Brown, but he just couldn't get away from him. Brown rode him the entire length of the route, which affected the way Smith tried to break on the out. Off balance and in bad position, Smith had no chance to adjust to Prescott's pass which fell incomplete.
Nothing gets Rod Marinelli more excited as when one of his rushers plays with perfect technique. Marinelli is big on hand use and how it pertains to pass rush. Joe Jackson was textbook on his Compete Period rush against Mitch Hyatt. Jackson's hands beat Hyatt's hands inside and this left Hyatt's chest exposed. With those hands inside, Jackson was able to grab Hyatt and then quickly jerk him forward out of his stance. With no way for Hyatt to control Jackson, he was in trouble and the result was Jackson winning the rep with a powerful move that was quite impressive.
