FRISCO, Texas – Day 6 is in the books.
Friday was already the sixth practice of this training camp in 2020 and the fourth in pads. Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy said Friday morning that the first precision game typically ran after nine practices. So while they will not be playing precision games, the Cowboys are fast approaching that point in their installation.
The team is out on Saturday for another practice on Sunday. Here are some notes to keep you posted until then.
- The name of the game on Friday was red zone and goal line. When offense and defense came together, they did the vast majority of their work near the end zone. It was a heavy emphasis on goal line runes and blocking assignments, with Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard getting a lot of touch at the goal line. It’s hard to judge in these situations, but it was encouraging to notice that the offense placed the ball in the end zone more often than not.
- The 7-on-7 period of practice also occurred in the red zone, which provided many opportunities for highs. There were several impressive touchdown jokes, including an overhead, toe-tap touchdown by Devin Smith. Blake Jarwin also had a fifty bit of footwork to get both feet down in the back of the end zone. It is possible that the catch was out of bounds, but the visiting officials ruled touchdown to the rep.
- 7-on-7, however, saw the defense get some victories. Trevon Diggs made a nice play to break up a ball meant for Michael Gallup in the back of the end zone. And Daryl Worley read Dak Prescott’s eyes on a ball to the flat, stepping forward for what could easily have been a pick-six.
- For the second straight day, the coaching staff gave a heavy workload to rookie running backs Rico Dowdle and Darius Anderson. At one point in the team period, Dowdle made four consecutive picks. Shortly afterwards, Anderson hit the ball five times in six reps. If the goal was to see what the rookies could do, they both seemed to pop something. Dowdle has some impressive footwork, allowing him to spin off an approach for a touchdown on the goal line. As for Anderson, it makes sense that his nickname is “Jet”. On the occasions he was able to break into the open space, his speed was easy to see.
