- Nate Livings was back at practice at left guard with the first offense, and his conditioning looked fine. He got a couple of reps in team run and much more work in the two minute period. He handled a couple of twist stunts without any problems while working with Tyron Smith, though he did have one issue where he gave up a sack to Orlando Scandrick off the slot blitz coming off his outside. He just didn't move his feet quick enough to his left to stop Scandrick. Livings saw him all the way but just physically missed the assignment. He'll need to get back in the flow after not working since early in minicamps because of his knee.
- If something were to happen at Mike linebacker with Sean Lee, I believe that the player that Monte Kiffin would turn to in his spot would be Justin Durant and not Bruce Carter. Durant as a Sam linebacker has been solid at the point of attack while playing the run, which is one of his strengths. But where he has shown the most improvement has been playing in coverage, which he never did with the Lions. Durant was very active during practice as the second middle linebacker knocking down a pass that Kyle Orton was trying to fit behind him in the two minute drill. Durant also managed to get in the throwing lane during the team run period, when Romo tried to get the ball outside quickly on a play to keep the defense honest. Durant has played with awareness and toughness, which isn't surprising given how much he is around the ball. So far it appears that this is a solid get for the Pro Department.
- With no Dez Bryant or Miles Austin in the lineup, Tony Romo turned to Cole Beasley, Terrance Williams and Anthony Armstrong at receiver to try and drive the squad into field goal range with the score 24 to 23 during two minute drill. Both Williams and Beasley had nice catches to keep the drive going, but it was Armstrong who stole the show with two catches in tight coverage as time was winding off the clock to get Dan Bailey in range to deliver the game-winning points. Armstrong has been the one receiver among the backups who has consistently shown the ability to get down the field with speed and put pressure on these corners. It's moments like these when the front office and coaches are sitting down studying tape that make or break whether players have a shot at the 53 and Anthony Armstrong stepped up big time to get in the mix. [embedded_ad]
- Two corners that stood out on film on Friday were Brandon Carr and Orlando Scandrick. For Carr it was another day where he got the best of Dez Bryant in the one-on-one drills. Carr is the one corner who can physically match up with Bryant and fight him down the field for position. The key for him is that he doesn't allow Bryant to get going but he also has a keen awareness of when Bryant is going up for the ball, then matching his strength with his own. It's been rare in this camp when Carr hasn't been in position on Bryant to defend the ball. He did have his struggles in minicamp in Dallas with Bryant, but training camp has been a much different story. Orlando Scandrick continues to build on good days as a corner and in the nickel. Like Carr, he has been physical down the field with these receivers getting his hands inside to knock passes away. Scandrick also did a nice job on the slot blitz which is a big part of this Kiffin scheme, getting a sack on Romo when he beat Livings. Scandrick has always had skill along with quickness but he is now playing like a confident player and like Carr, its showing up in his play. He has been very hard to beat one-on-one.
